Sleepwalker

Waking of Sunday, June 16, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 17, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

Sleepwalker

I started up in Kakariko.

Where the ORB was.

....

The orb was in Impa’s house.

Impa’s house had the Worry Journal.

The Worry Journal mentioned Pikango.

....

I was going to find Pikango.

Maybe now that I had read the Worry Journal, he might have something new to say....

He usually turned up around Stables, and so I got to work sweeping the map, searching for Pikango at every single one....

Warping to shrine after shrine....

But.... I was....

....so....

....tired....

....

.

.

.

.

—Link gave an exertive little grunt and I opened my eyes.

I had accidentally climbed up onto one of the storage boxes outside.... what Stable was this?

Oh my gosh I was tired.

I’d been running on only three hours’ sleep.

Good thing I’d been facing a stable box and not.... some cliff or ravine.... or monster....

Where was I? What was next?

Lakeside Stable.

There was a girl named Cima there, at Lakeside, bearing a red exclamation mark next to her person.

Hadn’t seen one of those in a while.

I woke up a little bit more....

She related to me how frightened she was of the lightning whenever there was a thunderstorm.

Good heavens was Faron a poor choice for you, Cima.

She said lightning struck the stable so often that she became nervous at even the slightest bit of rain.... and then asked me if I could find out why.

Uh, why so much lightning, not why she was nervous.

I agreed.... But as it was not storming or even raining at the moment, I contented myself in the meanwhile with camping out for Farosh to make his passes over the lake. Got a shard of his fang for my patience.

I am so sorry, poor holy beast....

Eventually the rains did come—you never had to wait long in Faron—and I could see what Cima meant: Again and again and again the lightning pounded down directly onto the roof of the stable, shaking the building and the residents....

I donned my Thunder Helm for protection and.... probably asked Revali for a helping wing to get up there and see what was going on....

It was difficult to see in the flashing darkness of the storm, but as I drew near to the stable’s crown, I could see there was an axe hewn right into the horse’s forehead. My gosh....

I removed it, and went back down to the ground, but—

Cima was fast asleep.

It seemed I had waited into the night for the storm to arrive.

....

With nothing else for it I decided to just keep sweeping the Stables, but.... I never found Pikango.

When the sun was up again I returned to Lakeside and sought out Cima once more. I told her about the metal axe on the roof.

She was deeply grateful, and she gave me—

THE RUBBER HELM?

CIMA HAD IT?

....

Okay well I was a little more awake now, but....

Well heck.

BACK TO KAKARIKO.

I ran back into the woods to Cotera’s spring, and had her work her magic on the new piece of armor. She upgraded it past level two, and now that I had the whole Rubber set at such a level—I dived into my menus to see—

....

Unshockable was the bonus.

....

Why this was like another Thunder Helm.

....

....

Well it looked kinda neat, as I wore it.... The Helm was shaped like.... Well I guess the easiest way to describe it would be to say that it seemed as though a fish had nommed onto my head and was now clamped there, its swiftly tapering tail flipped up in a little forward-bending prawn-curl over my crown, where the fin fanned out.

Kinda reminded me of the central Zoran palace, actually....

Similar to the Ancient Helm, my eyes could not be seen.

....

I gotta go talk to Pikango down there again, but....

....I was.... so tired....

Quit the game.

Bedtime.

 

Shrine for a Rainy Day

Waking of Saturday, December 8, 2018

Shrine for a Rainy Day

It was time to fill in another unexplored spot in my network of shrines....

I warped to the Tabantha Bridge Stable, and set out east, away from the bridge, to explore the Seres Scablands—the land of those gigantic, anomalous, strange, otherworldly.... treeshrooms. And the land over which I had always—ALWAYS—seen a dark and pouring thunderhead, flashing from within with lightning.

The sky was actually clearer in the Scablands near the stable and the ensuing road. The eternal rain only really seemed to hover over the deepest heart of the enormous treeshroom sprawl, in a place my map called Ludfo’s Bog, back where the land flattened into a broad valley surrounded by tall mountains on all sides.

The topo had always seemed to indicate a kind of artificial rise in the middle of that valley.... I was positive there would be a shrine there....

I had traveled the road past the Seres Scablands a few times before, and I had seen the alien treeshroom forest. But for the first time I now indulged myself in plunging headlong into it in earnest, searching about its cracked and erupted earth, scaring Koroks out of the large, odd pocks in the ground, rainwater pooling in their bottoms.

What had made the ground this way? The land looked like it had boiled and then been left to sit, full of hardened bubbles like crusty cheese. But the rampant grass and unworrying flowers with their butterflies still left a gay feeling in the air. And the only beasties about were Chuchus, Keese, and the occasional Octorok.

I chased out a few more Koroks until I came to the Thundra Plateau—where the rain started.

A monk’s voice sounded: You who have come to this thunderous plateau... When the four spirits are settled in their places, the way to the trial will open. Or some such words.

Upon entering the darkness of the thunderhead I had caught sight of these strange, small, beacon-lights of differing colors, shining steadily through the gloom between the treeshrooms. Bright as lamps and somewhat above ground-level. Were those the “spirits”?

As I pressed on deeper into the storm, I saw that a couple of these beacon-lamps—orbs, I could see now, with strange emblazoned patterns on them—were perched atop imposing columns of more dragon-headed statuary. I also found the artificial rise indicated on my topo; it seemed to be a great, walled barrow of some kind. A Great Plateau in miniature, its raised surface upheld and bound in by an encompassing wall of dark stone.

I circumnavigated it first, like I do, the lightning crashing down on my Thunder Helm at whiles; I couldn’t be bothered to switch out my gear. The barrow was so big around that it took a good few minutes to complete one circuit. The wall had worn and crumbled down in a couple of places, leaving exposed slopes of rock and earth that gave easier access to the top. These were handy as it was difficult to climb the walls in the rain. Not impossible. But definitely hampered.

But first, I went after the red orb. It gleamed atop a relatively short dragon-totem, which stood beside another one of the Scablands’ jutting ruptures—a perfect stepping stone to give me a leg up. It took some hard climbing and leaping up the surface between slippings down, but I made it to the top in fairly short order. I picked up the orb and chucked it down to the plain before paragliding down after it.

However, when I tried to carry it up one of the crumbled slopes and onto the barrow.... well, the slope wasn’t quite so smooth as that. One jutting lip of hardened earth impeded me yet from reaching the top without climbing, and I could not climb while carrying this orb. Nor could I simply throw the orb over the lip and up on top—it was just high enough to prevent that.... and it knew it too....

Try every angle and starting point that I might, I could not get this orb up onto the grassy top of the barrow.... A couple of times I only succeeded in accidentally dropping it on my own head. ☆☆ -_- ☆☆

After a while I decided to leave off the red orb for a bit, and I climbed up on top of the barrow to just go and see about the other orbs up there, for I was sure I’d seen some....

A purple orb was just sitting there, in the midst of the four inward-facing dragon-totems. Each of these totems had a colored symbol on its neck, and a waiting depression in front of it. So I picked up the purple orb and set it in its place before the dragon with the matching purple symbol.

Nothing happened. Just as well; there were more orbs to get.

Some rusting weapon or other was stuck into the wet earth up here, and it too drew the occasional lightning explosion. But after a time even I got tired of all the fireworks, and just put off all my metal trappings.

The green orb was a little trickier, as it sat up on top of one of the dragon totems, and there were no handy stepping stones of ruptured earth to give me a boost here. However, I did have almost three full wheels of stamina, and a lot of Climbing Gear.

I knew I could climb seven or eight steps or grips before the rain would send me sliding back down. And so it was grip, grip, grip, grip, grip, grip, JUMP! Sliiiide.... Which would have produced a net gain each time if I could just rinse and repeat that pattern. But sometimes I could only make a couple of grips up the stone before slipping back down to the ground. The results to my efforts were annoyingly random, but I kept trying....

And all the while the rain lashed and the wind blew and the thunder kept up a constant grumbling overhead, the Piano lazing all over the sodden grass, contentedly picking its nails as it watched me work.

I scrabbled and slipped and hit the ground repeatedly, panting and out of breath. But with much persistence, I eventually did make it to the top of the totem. And the green orb was mine to toss down onto the grass.

The green orb went into its place before the green-marked dragon.

Now for that red one....

I hadn’t wanted to use Stasis, as I didn’t like wearing down my weapons. But I could see no other alternative. Back on the crumbled slope to the barrow-top, I found a bit of earth that looked like it could serve as a ramp.... and there was just enough rock for the orb to sit without rolling down, too.

I tried a Bomb first, to see if that would do it.... then two Bombs.... But Ja Baij had neither the force nor the aim to get the orb where I wanted it.

So I picked a single-handed weapon to sacrifice....

I set the red orb down once again in the nook above the rock, positioned myself just downhill, Stasised the thing, and started whackin’....

This approach was much more controlled, and I had soon imbued the orb with enough force to send it rocketing up the ramp and high over the barrow like a golf ball.

I scurried up once again, was relieved to find that I hadn’t whacked the orb clean over the barrow, and set the red orb down in its place before the red-marked dragon.

One more.

The final orb, orange, was set atop another dragon-totem down on the plain off the barrow. The tallest totem yet....

I got to it, jumping, climbing, scrabbling, grabbing, slipping, falling, panting, running out of energy again and again and again.... until my persistence paid off and I got on top.

I cast the orange orb back down onto the plain, and went to position it on the makeshift earthen ramp....

Huh.... this corresponding dragon’s motif looked yellow, not orange....

I wondered for only a moment, and then placed the orb.

And in the flat grass in the midst of the dragon-totems on top of the rainy barrow.... the Toh Yahsa Shrine came rumbling up out of the earth.

The trial within was called Buried Secrets. And WOW that was a lot of big blocks to knock around and blow up. Much fun.

When Lightning Strikes

Waking of Saturday, October 13, 2018 ~ 2

When Lightning Strikes

I felt the nearness of my journey’s end. There was only one Divine Beast left. And I didn’t want any more blank patches when I faced it. If I was coming full circle, that circle had to be full.

It was time to fill in my map.

It was time to venture into the jungles of Faron.

I traveled by horse this time, deciding to give Brown some riding time; he’d done such a good job. We headed out from the Highland Stable, into Faron Woods, traveling slowly. Even on the road, and with a horse, I still preferred a cautious church mouse’s pace.

We found ourselves crossing paths multiple times with one Chumin, a vendor, and his donkey. He looked cool in his vest and shorts and said he hailed from Lurelin Village—that habitation I’d heard tell of around here before. His attire made it seem.... like a laid-back kind of place. Maybe it was a beach town....

We met a few other people along the way, Meeshy, and someone called Totsuna.... And....

An “Oh noooo!” floated to me from over a hill. I dismounted and ran, and found two Black Bokoblins, one of them beating up.... Tye!

I saw it pummeling him against the thick trunk of a tree; I saw him take hits—

What it does to a hero’s heart.

I killed it! And ran. Sorelia was down. I killed that one too!

And they were safe and ran to each other to huddle together like they do.

Those two....

It was a long way through the jungle, with many detours, a good deal of Koroks, and a nigh unplumbable heckton of mysterious ruins, towers and treasures. But after an age of walking the road beneath a downpour of thundery weather, we made it to the Lakeside Stable.

And dang that Shai Utoh Shrine behind the stable was a head-cracker!

I decided to board Brown. He’d had some good exercise, but.... I really preferred to travel on foot. There were still a few resident Koroks to chase, and they led me out from the rattling jungle and toward the overlook—and a Floria Bridge.

Floria? I wondered.... And I walked further, and—the name flashed across the screen.

IT IS LAKE FLORIA, I realized.

The Ancient Lake Floria....

I had.... kind of heard it was here.

But discovering it was still cool nonetheless.

I crossed Floria Bridge as the rain still hammered the world, and dang Farosh was just.... this was just his playground or something. For the first time from this low angle, I saw him swoop over the watery valley. He came quite close to the bridge, as did his attendant aura of ball lightning.

This place was hazardous.

Fortunately I still carried the Thunder Helm. But I made it to the other side of the bridge without incident.

And my shrine-locator started going off again.

One of the stablehands had said there was something strange on top of the waterfalls on this side of the bridge....

The road was so long, the Koroks so plentiful, the enemies so insistent, and my pace so slow. The distance was mounting in my mind and I wondered where this path would even take me. But I received some assurance from one Letty, who looked like a Sheikah girl in Hylian clothes, that Lurelin Village was indeed this way.

I was way off my map.

Hmm, maybe I should have gone for the tower, first....

I continued. My shrine detector was still brreep-brreeping; I was sure it must have been on top of the tall cliffs to my left. But there was no getting up there in this weather.

And as I continued along the path, with a tremendous rumbling, the sky turned fiercer still.

That was thunder.

OH LIGHTNING! C8

“Uh, you need to—” David started.

BUT I DIDN’T. I’d been waiting for this. I’d switched to metal weapons in the course of my frays, but I was still wearing my Thunder Helm.

I stood still on the path, and my sword and shield spikked and spacked and zapped and crackled!

David watched but I didn’t move!

TESTING.... TESTING.... TESTINNGGG....

Kracka-BOOOOOM LIGHTNING CRASHED DOWN ON ME AND I JUST STOOD THERE IN THE SHAKING EXPLOSION WHILE THE EARTH ERUPTED ALL AROUND ME AND I WAS LEFT STANDING AMIDST THE FLAMES AND UPDRAFTS RISING THROUGH THE FALLING RAIN STANDING SO STILL AND STOIC YET. The Master Sword still in my hand.

“DID YOU SEE THAT?” says I.

“Yeah I did.” He eats cereal.

SO COOL. I LOVE THE THUNDER HELM.

A little further and of a sudden I was out of the jungle and.... in a rather pleasantly sunny little valley between mountains.

But my shrine detector had stopped. Well I couldn’t have that.... I turned back. Where was that shrine? It had to be up on top of those cliffs. The road had skirted around to the right of them.

The little valley was refreshingly open and bright after the pouring din of the jungle. But it was a soggy sunshine. The rain came in patches—the most inconvenient patches! I tried every nook and overhang, took advantage of the highest rises in the ground that I could find, just trying to gain one of the lower steppes, for the cliffs were not sheer.... But always that rain! I COULD NOT CLIMB IN THIS RAIN.

And the blasted Yiga Clansmen hounding my footsteps were no help.

This was ridiculous. I would step away from the cliffs, and the sun would peek through, as if to check on my progress. I would return to the cliffs, and the clouds would just POUR! WHAT!

I looked down the road; the cliffs seemed to give way to a more sloping geography further on. It might be a long jog, but.... their tops seemed to connect to the clifftops back here. And if this blasted rain wasn’t going to let up—

Fine! I’d take the long way round.... I ran down the road. I ran for a long way but there was still no sign of this Lurelin Village.... How far away was it? And when the slopes turned gentler I hoofed it up into the hills, cutting my arc as tightly as the land and the rain would allow, passing four-legged bovines along the way—if they could get up here....

I traversed craggy ridges that melded into the tops of red buttes until I had come back toward the waterfalls, where I found.... Kass.

I actually had to paraglide down a butte to reach him. My shrine locator was once again brreeping like mad, and nearby there was a most obtrusive, yellow-cracked mound, standing on the edge of a large drop-off above the lake. Huh.

My gosh, I dared say I must have been at that place the stablehands had pointed out from the other side of the bridge—the place above the waterfalls with the big weird.... thing. This rock formation.

I walked to the edge and scoped into the rainy haze at the distant twinkling lights to check, dropping markers to be sure, for the rain was still too thick to make anything out for certain. And sure enough, that distant glimmer away below the drop-off and more than a few bowshots out was the Lakeside Stable.

Time to see what their mysterious rock formation was about....

“Very impressive,” Kass said, “Not many could make it all the way up here in such rain.”

You’re telling me! I thought.

“Me? I stay nice and dry,” Kass went on, “My feathers repel the rain rather well. And my instrument is designed to withstand extreme moisture.”

Well that was handy. I considered.... If I’d seen a real instrument out in the rain.... even an accordion.... ugh I couldn’t abide such abuse.

“When your living revolves around ancient songs, you’ve got to be prepared for a few raindrops!” He smiled.

Kass sang the song handed down in this region for me. Heh.... I guess he’s kinda like.... Oh what is that guy’s name.... He even has his own -isms! Because he refuses to use the Italian. Is he dead....? Oh, what was it.... I keep thinking Purcell, but it’s not Purcell. That guy is definitely dead. He stayed out too late and his wife wouldn’t let him back in the house and he froze to death.

CONFOUND IT—it’s got a G in it, I’m sure of it.... ohhh.... GRAINGER! PERCY GRAINGER! Auwgh! That kinda sounds like Purcell!

Grainger?

....

Hm, he’s quite a handsome chap. Gads that photo looks old.

....Oh yeah, he’s dead.

I have forgotten more music theory and music history than most people will ever know.

Ah but PRESERVING SONGS HANDED DOWN.... Heh, why is it only now reminding me of Grainger?

I feel a sudden and renewed rush of affection toward Kass. Well done, mate.

AHEM! Where was I?

Kass sang his song for me!

When a lost hero calls down lightning from the sky

The monk responds from a giant mound on high.

Lightning, huh?

Heh.... This was gonna be good....

Through some persistence I was able to climb up on top of the rocky mound, where I re-equipped my metal trappings. (I’d taken them off while talking to Kass, because I didn’t want to inadvertently blow him to smithereens.)

After that I just had to wait for it....

So this was why it kept raining in this area.... NICE.

I waited.... and waited.... until.... snap-crackle-pop.... Kraka-BOOOOOOMmmm!

The mound explodacrumbled beneath my feet while I, the human lightning rod in my Thunder Helm, nonchalantly dropped onto the top of the Qukah Nata Shrine.

This dang shrine had been so hard to get to. I was ready to complete it and save and quit; my body was very tired. But first.... before he depopulated....

“Ah, so there was a shrine inside that crag split by lightning...” Kass said when I returned to him. “The bolt was so ferocious that I worried I might be struck down myself!”

You only weren’t before because I kept you out of danger, Kass!

“I’d say that’s worthy of being immortalized in song. Anyway, may the light shine ever on your path.”

Aw, with his lovely bird-smile with eyes half closed. ^_^

Love that guy.

Okay, let’s do this. I entered the shrine. And happily enough it was a blessing shrine! And inside the treasure chest were—

Rubber Tights?

Gotta say, I hadn’t been expecting that. What the heck....? XD

“These invaluable tights are resistant to electricity. They’re made with something called “rubber,” an ancient technology that no longer exists in this modern age.

WAT.

....

Okay. XD

That was.... very anomalous. It was four Spirit Orbs anyway. I came back out of the shrine and.... it was not.... storming?

The ground and grass still shone with moisture, but the world had opened up, and it was just that plimmering, shining, wetland music.... that happy Piano....

Frozen Goods

Waking of Friday, August 3, 2018

Frozen Goods

I slept at Outskirt Stable until morning, and when I woke up, it was raining.

From there I warped to Cotera to get an idea of what I needed—in essence, to have a look at my shopping list.... White Chuchus and Ice Keese Wings. Those would strengthen my new Desert Voe Gear. Cool. Well I knew just where to look for those....

And I warped to a shrine in the eastern Gerudo Highlands, just beyond the Death Hole Arena.... and started walking westward.

The frilled backs of camouflaged Lizalfos humped out of the snow in blatant arches; I dunno who they were trying to fool. I killed them and collected.... hhhh.... their icy white tails—I wished the normal ones would drop tails for me so readily.

There weren’t very many White Chuchus to go on, but I did find a few Ice Keese as I meandered over the icy plateaus. There were also quite a few treasure chests stuck in the frozen ground up here. I guess since it was such a harsh environment.... hardly anybody had ever come a-looting.

Some sights were familiar, some were new.... and then I came to that giant Lightning Symbol. I had seen it from many directions at many distances, bur now I walked along the shelf at its very foot. It was carved or painted, or both, into the stark red stone of the naked cliff, at least fifty feet above me. At the heart of the radial design was a Sheikah dais....

Along the cliff’s bottom, about a half a stone’s cast to the right, an icy Lizalfos watched me as I started to climb. I decided I would leave him be as long as he wasn’t raising any ruckus.

The way was slow, and I think.... I was not able to employ my Climber’s Bandana—I needed my Ruby Circlet to ward away the cold.

Either that or I just forgot. Like I do sometimes.

It seems I’ve become a man of many hats.

I climbed all the way to the upturned dais, and though I had a decent amount of stamina left, I nevertheless tested whether the tiny shelf of rounded stone would support me.

It wouldn’t.

I clung like a spider to the red, snow-dampened wall, swiveling the camera about me at the views. It was simply a Sheikah dais, turned up sideways and set into the heart of this.... lightning motif. The painted bolts stuck out in four distinct directions.... mmmm Skies of Arcadia woulda had five....

Shock Arrows.

I concentrated before jumping—sometimes I only let go when I mean to leap—and in midair I drew my bow, twisted back round, took aim, and snapped a spattering, zapping bolt of crackling electricity right into the dais.

On the shelf below, the Keeha Yoog shrine erupted from the snow, and I received the monk’s blessing.... as well as a completion notification to an either unwarranted or completely forgotten shrine quest. When had I spoken to this “Geggle”....?

Well that’s embarrassing I mean usually I take such note....

When I exited the shrine, the Lizalfos was gone.

I continued westward until with a shock I realized I had reached the northern end of that saddle—the Risoka Snowfield it was called. I found where the little Taluses had guarded the Meteor Rod, but the chest had not respawned.

Well.... no worries there; I still had the weapon.

I still hadn’t gotten enough White Chuchu Jelly, though. I fished for them all over the snowfield, tangling with Lizalfos, with Bokoblins, with wolves, with no blasted shortage of stalmoblins.... with all kinds of things.

And then I checked out that skull-den....

I don’t like to venture into those if I can help it. I’d much rather draw the fiends out of the structure to play. But I was surprised when I drew near to this one’s mouth and saw that it was empty anyway. Empty save for one solitary chest in the middle of the space....

Huh.

I approached the chest and HALF A DOZEN WHITE CHUCHUS EXPLODED OUT OF THE GROUND. Huaghh. Gave me a start I tell YOU what.

But when I had recovered from the shock, as I backed up from their freezing attacks, I grinned to myself—these were just what I needed....

I killed them all and turned over a plentiful supply of White Chuchu Jelly. And by this time, I had gotten my fill of Keese wings, too.

Satori Mountain was alight. For kicks, I warped to it, subdued the Lord of the Mountain, and rode him to the Outskirt Stable. Here I dismounted and tried once again to take its picture, being careful to keep it in my view the entire time. But evidently even just raising the pictobox counted as looking away from it; it snorted, galloped away a few paces and vanished.

Ah that was all right.

I knew where it lived.

I had my frozen goods; it was time to visit Cotera. She raised my Radiant Outfit one level—when had I picked up those Luminous Stones?—and she upgraded my Desert Voe outfit to level two. And two levels of course meant the outfit got a perk.... and the Desert Voe perk.... was shock-damage resistance.

Well wouldn’t THAT have been nice! |D

The Collected Hero

Waking of Saturday, July 28, 2018 ~ 5

The Collected Hero

This was different, too. I’m sure of it.... I think in other Divine Beasts I had never been able to make actual contact to the main control unit with my Sheikah Slate. But now I stood and placed the Slate against the console with a definitive clack.

Nothing.

Link doesn’t need a voice. He has eyes.

You could see him anticipating the rebuff.... and it came, with its repellent explosion of swirling blue light, which coalesced into . . . . a most hideous and grotesque apparition, like the others.

Lither than the Fireblight Ganon had been. Tall—like Urbosa....

And only now I wonder if there will have been a correlation in all their physiques—OH HYLIA, he didn’t—

Their spirits had been trapped?

. . . . . . .

I will not pursue the thought.

There is no time.

Thunderblight Ganon was come for me.

One cruel, sullied-magenta hand was free, the other limb bore a large and vicious kind of Thunderblade—it crackled hungrily.

Urbosa’s voice came to me again—this was the thing that had ended her life one hundred years ago. It was powerful, and fast. She told me to be very, very careful—“Don’t let this place become your grave,” she said, or something like it.

I was ready.

But first, as soon as I was able, I raised my pictobox and took a shot.

My Compendium registered the subject....

But the image was a blur.

Oh dear, what would happen when I unpaused....?

I couldn’t stay still forever. I was the Hero and I had a job to do.

When I came back there was only a very rapid Whoosh-whoosh-WHOOSH-WHOOSH—sha-WHACK! and I was tumbling through the air off the platform—the blow had come from somewhere behind me—a few hearts gone—

Blurs. That’s all he was. A flurry of rushing sounds, streaks of dark color, and then SHRACK! the slice would come and send me sprawling. But I saw that though he was fast, his blows were relatively weak, and electric shock never made me drop my weapons—that was a blessing.

Sometimes—rarely—I was able to dodge it, and come back and get a few hits in.

Sometimes I was able to pelt him with a Bomb Arrow to the face.

Urbosa spoke strongly in my ear time and again, spurring me onward—Be cautious. Stay strong. Fight! Some such words—

Rush-rush-rush-POW! I spun through the air.

“Oh my gosh, what does he WANT?” I howled to David.

“Block it with your shield!”

But I didn’t want to waste Daruk’s power....

Some beloved weapon shattered and I swiped through my pockets for another....

The Master Sword glowed stronger. Sixty damage.

Why did it do that? Why was it sometimes stronger and sometimes weaker?

Was it stronger now because it sensed the evil around it? Did it only manifest its power when it was most needed?

Then again why did I keep refusing it? It was there for me to use. And I couldn’t ignore it forever. This was what it was made for. To be a Bane against Evil....

I switched to the sixty-strong Master Sword—Daruk gave me an opening—and sliced-sliced-sliced against Thunderblight Ganon while I was close enough—

And then came the point when he had had enough. What would he do now? I wondered as I peered from behind a distant strut.

And a glistening metallic tablet like an overly tall tombstone appeared in the cracked surface beside me so suddenly that I was unsure whether it had slammed down from above or sprung up from beneath. It gleamed with a sharp electric charge....

Then more tablets fell—I could see the trailing lightning now—they were definitely falling, one after another in perfect succession, chasing me at a crisp hundred and twenty beats per minute as I fled from their rhythmic onslaught.

When Thunderblight Ganon had laid enough of them into the bulkheads, I gather he must have set an explosive current arcing through the lot of them to fry anything caught in their web—I gather. I couldn’t tell exactly because I was too busy putting distance between myself and that trap.

And so Thunderblight Ganon had another go—and I had another run. These crude lightning rods were more dodgeable than his rushing attacks. But.... I had to gain some points of my own.... Urbosa urged me on.

I claimed a higher spot and, as the monster detonated another web of electric death, sent him my love in the form of a Bomb Arrow.

There was no effect.

Great.

What could I—?

I thought, as I ran. My arrows were now ineffective. I couldn’t hit him. And I couldn’t get close enough to him to try any melee weapons either—that might bring me too close to those lightning rods.

What could I do?

Well, what did I have at my disposal?

What had this Divine Beast given me?

Nothing. Only the weapons from those Guardian Crawlies.

But I couldn’t use my weapons.

What else did I have?

Well.... I had a Sheikah Slate.

Those lightning rods looked like they were metallic.

Oman Au—Magnesis!

Oh great, I thought, this is gonna be tricky....

But I turned around in my flight, and as the lightning rods were planted but before they could be charged, I activated the Slate’s Magnesing power—the nearest lightning rod glowed pink in indication—I could grab that.

And I did, the Magnesis rippling out of the Slate far too slowly for my liking—it latched onto the rod with a clean electrical snapping—Where was Thunderblight Ganon?

He was up there to the left—

You can’t run as fast when you’re holding something in Magnesis. I took a few steps, turned, raised the rod higher, shot it forward, casting all my hopes into the trajectory—

I had worried for my aim, but somehow.... the rod connected! And Thunderblight Ganon came tumbling out of the air at the counterattack!

Now—

I paraglided from the platform and sailed in—the Master Sword glowed so bright—and I gave no quarter as I swiped and sliced and cut—

The monster leapt upright again—was I hit?

“Link!”

It was Urbosa. Only calling my name.

None of the Champions had done that before.

Their words had always been urges and suggestions and hints and encouragement, but this brave Gerudo Warrior only calling my name in the heat of a terrible and ferocious battle....

I appreciated that.

Of all the Champions thus far she seemed the most.... real and invested.

Thunderblight Ganon’s one evil eye glared at me fiercely.... and then began to glow.

The laser settled over my heart.

I backed up.

“What are you—?” came David’s voice.

I only had a few seconds—was everything in order? It seemed to be.

The laser glowed hotter, began to beep.... and beep....

. . . .

And beep . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

The shimmer appeared in the air, and I swung my shield as the blast came—

Khing!

Time slowed as the bolt rebounded off my shield and flew back into Thunderblight Ganon’s face!

“You parried it??” says David.

“Well I’ve had a lot of practice!” says I and my heart was a bold roaring lion as I ran back in and walloped away on Thunderblight Ganon where he slumped against the curving wall—Slicing and slicing and slicing as his life-meter dropped—

He spent his all in a final cinematic leap from my last attack—and he writhed and shriveled and died in the air with the same piercing scream as the others had done. High and keening as an exploding kettle.... but no more horrific in my ears.

Only wretched.

The Bravest

Waking of Saturday, July 28, 2018 ~ 3

The Bravest

I was still dressed as a vai when I pulled up to the island of rock in the desert sands—the Eastern Lookout Post. I wanted to look around a bit myself first, and found a Gerudo named Sudrey inside. Guess she was there to man the place.

She said she hadn’t expected the Chief would call for the help of someone so.... short.... as I was.

Ouch. XD

Maybe it was this affront to my physique that reminded me to change into something a bit stronger—I ditched the girl clothes, and decked myself out for maximum strength.

Outside the outpost was a ladder up to a high platform. I found Riju up there and spoke to her as the late sun cast everything into red fire.

“So that’s what you really look like,” she said upon seeing me. And I don’t know why it should have, but it took me by surprise—she had only seen me as a vai before then after all!

Riju set to explaining her plan, and I wondered.... Would it be hard and fast with speed on our side, like with Prince Sidon? An approach on foot from a safe distance, and a volley of heavy ranged attacks, like with Yunobo?

What would Riju’s plan be?

Vah Naboris drew energy from the earth through its feet, she explained. If we could disrupt that process, we could subdue it. We would go out by sand seal, Riju wearing the Thunder Helm to protect herself and anyone near her, and I employing Bomb Arrows—Riju supplied these as well, twenty of them—and they would be for Vah Naboris’ feet.

The Divine Beast would rain lightning down on us once we drew near. But if I could stay close enough to Riju I would be safe. However, if at any point I felt it would be better to retreat and regroup, Riju told me not to hesitate to say so.

....So that was it then. Just....

Up close and personal.

We readied our sand seals back down on the ground; I was afforded one of the redder, tamer, faster ones to use. But before we got going, Riju asked me to back up a bit first.

She was wearing the Thunder Helm (which was a little big, she had conceded). But she wore it confidently now and offered aloud an unashamed prayer to her ancestors and the great Champion Urbosa. She called on their aid in her time of need—her people’s time of need—and asked for their protection in the dangerous endeavor we were about to undertake....

And a crackling, shimmering field emanated from the Thunder Helm—pale, energetic yellow—a wide, protective bubble.

And then....

We started.

“Stay close,” Riju had told me, and I tried to now. Our sand seals plunged ahead through ancient ruins and between tottering towers of stone—easy enough to dodge. But it was more difficult to stay inside the Thunder Helm’s protective circle. The conflicted weavings of our passage aside, it seemed that Patricia was slightly faster than my own sand seal....

And then we entered the dust cloud.

Arizona Fog I would have called it.

The horizon vanished, distance disappeared, and we were inside the night.

I could only stay close to Riju; at least she seemed to know where she was going.

What were we doing? We couldn’t see anything, the world had closed around us, we were shooting off into the oblivious blank of an ocean of tiny grit, all the while nearing a Divine Beast that was FREE ROAMING where it would—

Brreep-brreep! Brreep-brreep!

I shut off my shrine detector.

The boundaries of the universe only swirled darkly around us in an impenetrable sphere.

What were we doing?

Chief Riju stopped by the ruin of an ancient stone wall, and I followed suit. The dust thinned a bit and we could see Vah Naboris tromping gigantic through the gloom.

So big....

We started our run—it was so difficult to make my seal keep pace with Patricia—too far forward, too far back—A chill burst over the screen in a cloud of cold and I switched to my Ruby Circlet—blasted desert climate—The Divine Beast walked, left legs, right legs, left legs, right legs, paying such little regard to two insects like us—but as we pursued after its massive, slow meandering with all our tiny and furious might, we could feel its attack charging and incoming—a powerful, precise reticle centering on my position—my position—come on, seal—and still the Divine Beast walked and we two tiny worms dared to charge closer—

Kra-KKAAOOWwww! Lightning shattered down—but at that very moment I was safe inside the Chief’s protective aura. Nothing happened. We were untouched. Invulnerable.

Excellent.

But it wasn’t always so easy.

I was pulling backward and forward of Chief Riju’s position as if connected to her by a yo-yo. Vah Naboris tromped ahead so slowly, so deliberately—so hugely—I couldn’t keep up unless I made a dash for it with my seal, but Riju held Patricia in reserve—The Divine Beast was gaining—

And the lightning loomed again and I had to fall back—and I didn’t always make it.

Kra-KKAAOOWwww!

My hearts vanished by more than half. Gone. In a flash.

Lost my sand seal—it popped up out of the sand a little way ahead and stood still, waiting.

Riju wheeled round and came back to me—the protective field was there.

“Link! Do you want to fall back for now?” Or some such words she said.

But I never gave up.

My stocks were plentiul; a few well-prepared dishes saw me strong and on my feet again—and then it was the rush of reality back in my face as I dashed beyond the Thunder Helm’s protection to reclaim my sand seal once more.

Riju and I charged closer, and closer.... and I fired Bomb Arrow after Bomb Arrow—but I was a poor judge of distance and my shots always came up short—the monumentality of this thing—how far did I have to dash toward it before it stopped growing in my view?

But some of my shots connected—in the rushing, tumbling push-and-pull between me and Riju, I let fly my explosives and two of Vah Naboris’ house-sized feet went dark—please tell me they wouldn’t regenerate if I delayed....

And lightning reduced me to a sizzling heap again.

How many times did it strike me down like that?

“Do you want to fall back for now?”

No.

This Divine Beast....

This Chief....

What were we doing?

We two humans—well one human, one Gerudo—but she was short enough—but technically I was a Hylian—

WE TWO tiny things.

We were using what was at our disposal.

The Chief was using what was at her disposal. And what was at her disposal were sand seals and nerve.

She felt like that shot from the old Xena opening sequence, standing unafraid on the rocky shore and crying defiance at the rising Poseidon, the Force that could crush her in a heartbeat....

We two tiny things.

She was surely the bravest child I had ever met.

Vah Naboris was far away now, but I came back to my sand seal, and we surfed through the dark sand once more, in pursuit.

I stayed close to Riju and waited this time for lightning to strike.... and only after it did, and immediately at that, did I shoot my sand seal forward, stopping for nothing and spurring it onward until I was at the monster’s very feet—not house-sized—HILL-sized—They pounded into the earth all around me, the sand exploded, one step equalled death, and they moved—so far and fast they moved at one stride from the beast—but my arrows caught them—

Kra-KKAAOOWWwww!

Riju circled to my position and kept me safe until I could regain my feet....

The strategy was sound.... but.... and I had the meals to spare.

One more run waiting for the Divine Beast’s attack to deplete itself of energy, and another mad dash forward.... another brush with ten thousand tons of crushing, beigebronzy death.... Bomb Arrows away....

And the last foot went out, and the mighty Divine Beast Vah Naboris sank to the earth—we had literally brought it to its knees.

....It had the same face as that on the Thunder Helm....

What followed then were some of the most beautifully animated and charged cutscenes I had seen thus far: the two of us, the Chief and I, surging the final distance to the subdued Divine Beast, Link swinging off his sliding shield as his sand seal came to a halt, leaping deftly into a run to join the Chief where she stood, and imparted a few final words.... There was only so much Chief Riju the leader of the Gerudo could do—the rest was up to Link now.  And Link as he hurried to board Vah Naboris.... clinging fingers and toes in a kneeling position to that slanted surface as the beast began to rise again.... I could feel the strain and balance in his muscles oh if he could just hold on....

These were the best cinematics.

In The Breezy Shades Of Night

Waking of Saturday, July 28, 2018 ~ 2

In The Breezy Shades Of Night

I warped to the southern steps of the Gerudo Highlands to dig into that weapons cache I had found so long ago. Found and then left buried behind a mass of boulders like a big expensive squirrel-horde. Those blades were shiny....

!

I shall call it....

Magpie Rock.

Yes.

Armed with the good stuff, I then warped to Gerudo Town, and proceeded to cook up a few extra meals in one of a couple of unused woks just off the square.

After that....

The only thing left was the Throne Room.

I entered slowly. Buliara was there. But Riju was not. However, the bodyguard informed me that I had been given special permission to visit the Chief in her sleeping quarters, upstairs.

I took the stairs on the left (there were two staircases), and the guard on the halfway landing remarked that the Chief must have thought pretty highly of me, a foreign vai, to be allowed up there.

I continued up to where the staircases met, on an outer balcony overlooking the city. Riju stood there.

“You needn’t say a thing,” she started, “As Chief of my people, I can feel my heirloom’s power radiating from you.”

Or some such words.

She went on to explain that she could feel worry, in the eyes of all her people. She was such a young chief. And to have lost the Thunder Helm in the first place....

It must be hard to have so many expectant eyes upon you.

I handed over the helm, and Riju put it on, then turned to face me.

Her eyes could not be seen; the helm seemed more like a mask. Six embossed tendrils sprang over the front before ending in little blue-jeweled spots like eyes, gleaming in two columns of three apiece. The ornamental vertical halo cresting the back radiated with lightning motifs.

“Well, how do I look?” she asked.

Like a spider, I thought, and lost myself to memory....

Vah Naboris towered still and quiet in the desert of the night. Link’s tiny figure walked across one of its expansive decks, toward a low huddle of.... nondescript humanity....

Then the camera caught up and took better note, and I saw the Champion Urbosa turn her head slightly at my approach, and take the most.... beautifully animated regard of me as I drew near.

But she moved softly, and spoke more softly still—she wasn’t alone where she sat on the deck, on a makeshift throw of rug and pillow. Princess Zelda leaned, dead asleep, against her left side.

“Well you got here fast,” Urbosa said to me, “She’s been out on a survey all day today.”

What did Urbosa ask me then? Whether I noticed something in the princess? The exhaustion? The frustration? I don’t remember.... and because I was Link, I didn’t answer either.

“Your silence speaks volumes,” said Urbosa.

Hurr. |D

She went on to explain, in her low and lilting voice, how the Princess just got frustrated whenever she saw me wearing that sword on my back. “Don’t worry, it’s not as if you have any fault in any of this,” she added. Or some such words.

The Princess had just been working so hard.... “She once passed out in the freezing waters searching for this sealing power,” Urbosa said, “That’s the kind of motivation that drives her research.” The Gerudo stroked the little Hylian lightly on the cheek. “She really is special.”

And yet she felt like a failure....

Hhhh.... why? I didn’t understand....

“The night brings a chill; it’s time we bring her in,” said Urbosa, but then she paused. “Or....” she said, this singular floating conjunction running a rogue operation outside the ever-present text-boxes.... what?

And rising in Urbosa’s green eyes came a light just as mischievous....

What...? o__o

Urbosa extended her right arm out toward the desert.... and snapped her fingers.

The sound came loud and crisp in the silence before being immediately dwarfed by the shattering Kra-KAOWWww of a bolt of lightning! Right out in the desert next to us!

Zelda gasped and sat bolt upright. “What was that?” she panted, “Urbosa? Did you feel that?”

And as she turned about on the rug her eyes fell on me.

“What are you doing here?” she shrieked. She sounded embarrassed.

But Urbosa threw back her head and let out a low and HEARTY laugh.... for honorary contralto points.... while Zelda’s head continued to spin between the two of us....

“What?” said Riju, “You’re just staring...”

There were two choices. I tried to be nice, and said, “It looks good!” ....instead of “It’s a little big...”

Riju smiled.... and shifted the large helmet to a more secure position as she moved her head.

The Chief aimed to stop the Divine Beast. She had researched its power, and confided to me that her people would be entirely helpless if it made it to the town.... And she once again asked for my aid. “Will you help me?” she said.

Sometimes I feel like the contrast between the yes-answers and the no-answers can be a little bit extreme. That wasn’t quite the steady, manly, heroic response I felt like giving, but.... I wasn’t gonna leave this girl in the dust.

“I will!” I said.

And Riju gave a shaky laugh, “Who knew that just a simple, confident pledge of support from you was all I needed to set my mind at ease?”

Heh, she could disguise it so well, though.... Even so, that felt good. <3

Chief Riju asked me to meet her at the Lookout Post, east of town. “Take a sand seal,” she advised, “You can get in some practice with them that way.”

And so I did....

. . . .

But not before I gave myself a proper tour of the Chief’s bedroom. Oh my gosh so many cartoon sand seal prints everywhere and the stuffed sand seals on her bed were so cute!!