The Princess and the King

Waking of Monday, April 22, 2019 ~ 3

The Princess and the King

I killed it. I killed the Flyer that had been circling the Princess’ adjoining tower. And a Turret that had targeted me from behind when I ventured out onto the bridge.

The memory was right there. I took a couple of pictographs, as I’d been doing at the site of every memory, but.... I didn’t recall it yet.

Instead I went across the way into.... Princess Zelda’s Study.

That’s what this tower was, was it?

There was a Silent Princess growing in here, springing up through the tumbled floorboards. I decided I would leave it alone.

And there was another diary—Princess Zelda’s research notes.

There were mentions of Impa, Purah, and Robbie, the discovery of the Sheikah Slate, and restoring functionality to it, and what it could do.... The Princess seemed particularly impressed that it could record images. Without the trained hand of an artist.

The research notes also mentioned the unearthing of the Guardians.... She said records indicated the Guardians were stored in five giant columns beneath the castle—[those things?]—But she said no matter how she looked, she could not locate these columns, and guessed they must have been buried deep.

Those giant columns.... I had seen a Guardian perched on top of one of them.... How were they even deployed? It must have been nightmarish.... All I could envision were Guardians spilling out the tops of those pillars like so many spiders.... and Castle Town.... wouldn’t have had a prayer.

I’d thought the mighty Pillars had aided somehow in containing Calamity Ganon, but.... maybe they were solely in Ganon’s power after all. They did glow red.... Maybe their massive presence and dark possession was the reason the Malice was so thick here to begin with....

In Zelda’s research notes again were recountings of the Champions mastering their Divine Beasts. Mipha had taken to it the fastest, heh....

And there was a passage regarding.... the Shrine of Resurrection.

I drew in a sharp breath when I read that.

She detailed its function and what it could do, but....

She hoped its power would not be needed.

....

When the time is right in the day, I will recall the memory.

But I fear this place.... It’s the wee hours now, but.... I have seen, every midnight, the air thickens....

Is every night a Blood Moon Night here?

Nice, this bridge. That Zelda should have a lovely walkway between her bedroom and her study. The views must have been glorious once. Now.... there’s just so much Malice....

I wait for the day to turn. I like to be in.... similar conditions. To the pictographs.

I climb the spire above her study—find a Korok!

Had to get on the far side so a Guardian wouldn’t see me from below. A decayed one, down on the circuiting road.

Oh the day is all dusk all day in this Malicious bluster....

The time is right. The ten o’clock hour in the morning and the shadows line up. I go back down onto the bridge.

Memory....

Zelda and I walked on the battlement in the sunlight, I in my same Blue Tunic and she in that beautiful long dress—wait no was it even the same one? But she was beautiful anyway, and—a Guardian! crawled on the grass down below, surrounded by attendant Sheikah tribesmen, seemingly leading it along.

Zelda leaned over the battlements and looked down on it.... fondly. And.... ughuh, it sent a squirm through my gut.

She was pleased that we’d come to a point where we could actually control them. But....

“What are you doing out here, Zelda?”

The voice was a man’s I hadn’t heard before. Deep, and gruff.

We turned.

The clothes were rich and exquisite. Guards flanked the doorway behind him.

It was....

King Rhoam.

I sank to one knee and bowed my head and did not move again.

But Zelda could only face him.

He.... tore into her.

He had told her to forget bothering with these ancient machines while she had an as yet unfulfilled duty to her kingdom!

She knew that—she knew—

She brought up that she and I had only just been to the Spring of Courage, where she had poured out every ounce of her prayers to the Goddess—

“And yet you are back here, wasting your time!” the King held it in her face.

Zelda pressed that she was doing everything she could—there was nothing else she could do!

But the King was a hard man and he wouldn’t have it. “You must be single-minded in your training...” he went on again.

I did not move.

“Do you know what the rumormongers are calling you? They are saying that you are heir to a throne of nothing. Nothing but failure.” Some—such—words—

The sting!

I.... could only draw my breath.

So harsh.

But could I blame him?

And could I blame her?

“But it is woven into your destiny to prove them wrong,” the King continued, and I sighed in gratitude at his grace.

But the King was still a hard man.

“As King, I forbid you to have anything more to do with these ancient machines. Do you understand?”

I had no power here.

And neither did the Princess, in the face of her father the King.

She was trapped.

“Yes,” she could only answer, while the Guradian only swiveled between its handlers down on the lawn....

The sound coming out of the memory was different this time.

I have all the memories now.

I have to go back to Impa.

....

And I need more arrows.

Seven Prayers

Waking of Saturday, January 26, 2019

Seven Prayers

My last practice with Shelene and Jane went well.

We women are better singers.

jghjrlghrjlgjhrlea!!ASDFFGGHJKL;

It was time to pray.

After I awoke at Pepp’s, I warped to the Forgotten Temple, deep in the folded land at the head of Tanagar Canyon.

I first prayed before the Giant Goddess Statue, towering tall and smiling with her serene hands resting clasped over her belly. The powerful, imposing figure seemed to want and deserve being first.

And the Goddess granted me a Stamina Vessel.

From there I warped to.... but I felt no connection to Hateno Village.

I warped to Kakariko Village, placidly nestled in the mountains north of the Dueling Peaks, in the shadow of the Pillars of Levia.

I then prayed before the Little Koi Pond Goddess Statue, which was one of the smaller, more simplistic renditions, molded with the suggestion of praying hands. This one wore a little pinafore smock like an apron.

And the Goddess granted me another Stamina Vessel.

And, “Your being overflows with vigor. There is no need to further enhance your stamina,” the Goddess imparted to me. Or some such words.

That was three full wheels of stamina now.

That was what David had....

Following my old footsteps, from there I warped to Zora’s Domain, secluded in the fountains of the rugged blue mountains beyond the wetlands.

I then prayed before the Little Balcony Goddess Statue, which was unadorned, but held a prominent position before King Dorephan’s chamber.

Of course, as David had done, I asked for another Stamina Vessel just to see what would happen.... but the Goddess only reminded me once again that my being already overflowed with vigor, and there was no need.

So I asked aright, and She granted me a Heart Container instead.

From there I took a brief moment to put on my protective suit before warping to Goron City, high on the scorching western flanks of the mighty Death Mountain, crusted between claws of rock and lava flows, its air all flecked with embers.

I then prayed before the Little Crowned Goddess Statue, which was ensconced in a rough-cut shrine of rugged stone near Big Boss Bludo’s house. This one wore a bright yellow, three-pointed crown on its head! The make of it seemed to glow....

And the Goddess granted me another Heart Container.

From there I warped to Gerudo Town, the bustling oasis, jewel in the sands, and had to stop to put on some different clothing before entering town. I bought some arrows before finding my way back to the Forgotten Court and visiting with Muava.

I then prayed before the Little Court Goddess Statue, left alone in its quietude with only garbage and lost things for company, but no less faithful in its prayerful rendition, no less a conduit for worship.

And the Goddess granted me a Heart Container.

From there I warped to Rito Village, stacked in beautiful wooded seclusion in Tabantha’s piney wilderness, over breezy trails loved by the sun.

I then prayed before the Little Flowered Goddess Statue, set in its alcove in the Neck, adorned with comely cloths and wearing a circlet of flowers on its head and with flowers before its feet. Ahhh, this one is my favorite. :)

And the Goddess granted me a Heart Container.

And that was.... two statues of magnitude or personal importance.... plus the statues in the lands of the four peoples I had visited.... which made six....

Just one more.

And from there.... finally.... I warped to the Shrine of Resurrection, far away and back and long ago on the Great Plateau, back where it all began, hidden away in the cave so secluded, full of steps and barriers I had halted to climb when I was naked and weak as a kitten.

I rushed out into the sunlight quick as anything now in my rattling gear and thick clothing, and made my way to the Temple of Time, past the paltry Red Bokoblins around whom I used to be so cautious and calculated. One cut was all it took to bring them down now.

Past the crumbling walls and in the hallowed space inside, where the moss and the grass grew as soft as a prayer, and the air moved in glimmering haunts fit for fairies, I then prayed before the Temple Goddess Statue, standing in the midst of its attendant statuettes and smiling that same serene smile under a shaft of heavenly light.

And the Goddess granted me a Heart Container.

Seven Prayers. That would do.

I was stronger now.

Then....

Hateno Village.

I had unfinished business.

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.

Sometimes

Waking of Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Sometimes

D-amphetamine.

Venlafaxine.

Prazosin.

Mirtazapine.

Ketamine.

Theta burst.

Uhrmm the Iodine feels pretty good, actually. Better.

Better than I’ve been . . . in years.

Thanks, Alex.

Had it really been three months?

Three months?

That was so long....

And how long had it been since December? Nearly half a year?

What was wrong with me?

My name is Andrea and I suffer from depression.

Sometimes I used to joke to myself and to others: “I can’t kill myself—I haven’t played the next Zelda game!”

‘Cause, you know . . . . it feels like there’s always gonna be another one . . . . somewhere down the road.

What happened in December? Oh, I was just writing a letter. To the Big Guy. Aonuma. Regarding this log. Wanting to share. Just wanting to share my mad little fan-love catastrophe I seem to have created here.

I haven’t sent it yet—the lower corner of the back page just looked so empty, like it wanted to hold some fanart. So I set to drawing some.

I haven’t finished that either.

Maybe I just wanted it to be too perfect. And I set out to do it, and then I get daunted and discouraged; I used to draw ALL—THE FRIGGIN’—TIME, what the heck was the matter with me?

Sometimes you have bad breakdowns.

Dark times.

But sometimes you find a respite, or solace from a kindly hand.

Encouragement.

And this Tuesday . . . . well it was blessedly quiet and calm. Much needed after two hours’ sleep the night before and only a brief nap in between.

Not three months. I couldn’t go past three months. I turned on the game.

I was still in the Deku Tree’s Navel.

And there was that doppelganger song again. Like an older, slightly more mature brother to the SS Faron Woods music.

Ah but even now as I try to recall it.... all I can hear is the colorful Kikwi forest....

But it was . . . . nice.

I wished I could play the discovery of the Master Sword again, but.... my last manual save was all the way back in the Spring of Courage, and the next autosave after that was already in the Keo Ruug Shrine.

Mmmm too far removed and out of reach....

Hhhh, and I dared not trigger another autosave by moving from the place that I was in—that tight little hollow. I just.... stepped around. Stood.

But the music was still so nice.

Soothing.

It was the nighttime version of the song.

In the end I only paused the game, turned the volume up a bit, and moved to where my computer and tablet were in the other room. How long had Photoshop been open with that file?

I cleaned up Link’s hair quite a bit, and added some more definition to his face—poor guy’s got eyes finally....

I wonder how many bandoliers and accessories I want to bother with. Even the Slate....?

But.... the evening and the conditions were good: I could still draw. I could still draw if I tried and if it was quiet. Maybe things like the Slate won’t be as difficult as I fear they might.

I didn’t realize how much just hearing the music would . . . .

I don’t know, it just made me feel . . . . It made the world feel . . . . softer.

It made it feel okay.

I had just been hurting so much and been so impatient for weeks.

Impatient for everything to just be over with.

I wanted to die.

Sometimes I still do.

Sometimes, I used to joke to myself.

Sometimes, it’s not a joke.

Sometimes you’ve just got to hold on to something.

Even More Bad Things

Waking of Saturday, July 29, 2017 ~ 2

Even More Bad Things

The deep valley ruins were expansive.... but blessedly devoid of monster life.

I climbed all OVER looking for that shrine, my locator beeping feebly at me at every triangulation. The house was still full and the table had filled up a bit. The chatter drilling into my temples....

I asked them if they could chat in the living room instead, and they were very kind to oblige. But Dad stayed and sat by me, keen to solve the puzzle.

“Why don’t you try bombing that platform?”

I knew it wouldn’t work, but I did it anyway, and planted a bomb on one of the great stone octagons jutting from the floor. “Cool guys don’t look at explosions!” I sang as I leapt off the platform and detonated.

But the stone remained solid.

And when the sun had gone down— “Wait a minute wait a minute—what’s that up there?”

“Those are Luminous Stone deposits. They’re not a shrine.”

The beeping seemed to be coming from.... one of three large stones, between which I’d scared up a Korok. But.... there were no weak spots to bomb, no cracks to enter. Nothing I could do would upset such a huge piece of rock.

I finally said, “I’m going to go to the end of this.... construct.... and see if I can get underneath.”

Dad gave a single surprised laugh. “I wouldn’t have thought of that!”

It was a long jog. I hopped on one of the stone ribs in the architecture, making it my pathway as I ran toward the little horizon that indicated that the valley became deeper further on. I jumped over more stone octagons and ran and ran until I came to an edge.

The place was called.... the Forgotten Temple.

The valley indeed became much deeper here.

A wide patio-shelf of more stonework lay below me. I paraglided down to this second level, and had a look at the wall that held up the top.

There seemed to be a gigantic archway.... but it was blocked and filled with earth and giant standstony boulders.

But near the base was a bit that looked explodable!

Surely this would be my way inside!

I blew it up—!

A Korok hid behind it.

“Yahaha!” he giggled, “You found me!”

>_<

I walked to the edge of the second level, and saw a similar patio-shelf even further down. I paraglided down toward this third level, and was hungrily relieved to see that the archway in the wall between levels two and three.... was unobstructed.

I angled the camera as I touched down on the stone, so that I had a good look through the archway.

I registered only one thing: a number of dark mounded shapes.... like upside-down cereal bowls....

Those were Guardians in there.

I paused to flip the sensor in my Sheikah Slate to look for Decayed Guardians.

Unpaused.

Brreep-brreep! Even as I saw the nearest mounds light up red. Brreep-brreep! Their heads began to swivel. Brreep-brreep! Found me. Lasers locked on.

I RAN. Straight away. Straight toward the edge. Not bothering with any other controls. I just ran.

The camera remained directed at the open archway behind me, the horde of black shapes like spiders congregated in an overturned box, three hot red lasers boring into the back of my shirt—one of them blinking—it was going to fire, it was firing—

And BARELY I jumped off the edge in time—

The air began to rush and I caught myself with my paraglider before I hit the ground—the final rocky dirt bottom of this canyon.

“HAAAUUGH!” Dad and I looked at each other.

That was close.

“Only one thing left to do when you hit rock bottom,” I said.

“Dig,” said Dad.

“Start digging,” I concurred with a nod. u_u

I found a way to climb back up, which brought me back to the Korok level. I could paraglide down for another quick entrance this time.... Because there was something else I had noticed through that archway.... something absolutely ridiculous....

Air currents. Blasting up out of the floor. Meant to be sailed upon.

Heh, my brothers and I used to really enjoy playing a demo of a great little side-scrolling game where you controlled a paper airplane. The floor vents were your friend.

Seemed like the same story here....

Go nuts! Ben had told me at the lake.

I sailed in. The Guardians glowed red and began to swivel. I hit the ground for a few paces to regain the sliver of stamina I had spent. Jumped off the inner edge—there were so many of them in here—lasers tagged onto my shirt—the air current lifted me up—

One of the Guardians blew me out of the air and I fell in a flaming rush—too fast!—But I recovered before I hit the ground—the flames went out—oh my gosh so many lasers....

Up the updraft again, across the huge room—so many Guardians.

I neared a tall, thick barrier wall which seemed to bisect the length of the Temple—there was a hole in the middle of it. I headed straight for it, dropping a bit to get down to its altitude and inside it more quickly....!

I touched down on the last dregs of my stamina and ran to duck behind the mounded earth and rubble in this little alcove.

My gosh that was the LAST dregs of my stamina! Lucky I’d enhanced it as far as I had....

From my hidden perch I could see what that giant dark grey thing was at the far end of the Temple: an enormous statue of the Goddess.

My gosh it was like.... Skyloft....

What was this place?

There was still the other half of the room to cross.... and I crossed it, sailing through another net of pin-cushioning lasers and deadly blue bolts whizzing behind my back—how do you weave when the lasers come from so many angles?—but somehow none of them hit me—too low to make the hole in the last wall—had to drop to the floor, run through that opening down at floor level—lasers chasing me in—UHH!

I made it....

I made it.

And I found the shrine that had so MADDENINGLY eluded me up above.

And it was a Blessing Shrine.

You know, the Blessing Shrines seem to have the same muted music as a shrine you enter after it’s been beaten. Soft. Echoey. Like a memory or a ghost.

I received the Spirit Orb, the eighth I now carried with me, stepped outside, and prayed before the Goddess statue.

One Heart Container.

One Stamina Vessel.

One save.

And one quit.

My battery was out, and it was time for bed anyway.

Close to Home

Waking of Monday, July 3, 2017 ~ 3

Close to Home

After a lengthy pause to spend some sweet-lovin’ time with my family <3 I came back to the center of the Rist Peninsula, and decided to make my exit by alternating jogging and swimming straight toward the mainland. Chariots-of-Fire Beach was right there and that seemed to be the quickest way to it.

I ran a few paces north along the road to Robbie’s before remembering and veering off to the left, plunging into the huge sweeping bowl of grass to cut my way inland in a direct course toward the Quarry.

There was a memory there.... there had to be....

The shape of that strange little water body up in that higher alcove....

I came upon some Guardian remains to salvage, as well as another Korok inviting me to race off away from my intended destination. I almost just passed it by to come back later, but—augh, I ran up a little hill, grabbed it, took its seed and continued in my course.

A Flying Guardian loomed in the distance, almost directly in line with where I needed to go. There was another great crack in the earth between me and there.... very similar to that one by Jeddo Bridge, all with rocky teeth on either side....

I veered more north to give the Guardian some space, and found myself climbing a great grassy hill. Akkala is so hilly....

I guess everywhere’s so hilly, but.... augh. Akkala just feels so lush and leafy, but still with beautiful open space. It’s like a perfect lawn, but.... oh the word lawn just feels so insulting to describe it! It’s the kind of grass you just wanna lie down on and nap.

Akkala does hills right. X-)

Up on top of the hill was a sloping depression. Rather, the hill was shaped something like a donut. And from its center came the roaring rush of spilling water....

This was the Spring of Power.

!!

I floated down onto the bordering first level, an array of inward-spilling waterfalls—and saw there was a Goddess statue in here!

And down into the lower level.... simple, angular walks of stone.... a clear, enveloping pool....

And there in the center that pearl-soft glow, afloat with slow refractions and fairylike flares, that indicated there was a memory here.

I shed all my equipment and took a few snapshots. Beautiful snapshots. <3 The light was just perfect and the shimmering memory glow may just as well have been a part of the spray cast up by all the waterfalls.

What a most enchanting place to stand. ☼

But perhaps Zelda didn’t think so.

It was night, and a clear moon reflected off the water’s gently rippling surface.

Princess Zelda stood in the pool, the water up to her waist, praying before the statue of the Goddess.

Link stood some distance away at the last convergence of the little stone walks, in the proper entrance to the spring—a stone passage opposite the statue, leading straight off under the hill. His back was turned and his stance was broad as he kept watch at the tunnel, hands resting on his sword hilt, the tip of the weapon planted squarely between his feet.

He barely moved the entire time.

She was so frustrated—her praying words seemed pained and hollow. Was she really even praying anymore, addressing the Goddess? Or was she only lamenting to herself?

Or to the only other pair of listening ears?

She could not hear the Voices heard by her mother, and her grandmother. The promises of her lineage.... where were they? Hadn’t she always been true and faithful to the spirits that served the ancient gods? “Curse you,” she croaked as she let her hands splash into the water.

Her father only told her to stop playing at being a scholar. But things were supposed to awaken inside of her, she knew they had to.... Why couldn’t she hear them?

When would she hear what she was supposed to hear?

“What is wrong with me?” she cried.

My gosh that hit so close to home.

How often have I felt.... things similar to that?

When you are so assured by the ones you love of the precious gifts and joys to come—calmings when you need it; answers when the path is shrouded; surety on shaky ground.

And yet.... hollow.

You feel hollow.

And you wrestle within yourself Where is my peace?

The tales and experiences of so many close ones and trustworthy ones couldn’t have all been fabricated just to tell a Big Fat Lie to you.

And deep down.... you do have faith in the Goodness of the Universe, that life is not a sadist, and that things will work out in the end.

Because that is the nature of the world.

And you know that it is unfailing.

You know it.

It’s a Truth so sure you know it must be there, even surrounding you already, enfolding you on every side.

And yet.... if you can’t feel that grace in your own heart.... that grace so sure and certain....

Then the problem must lie in you.

All those promises you’ve known in the wells of your mind since before you can remember—of course they become fulfilled.

You’re just too deaf and blind to see it.

You just.... don’t work.

Maybe you were broken from the beginning, or maybe you’re just trying too hard. Or maybe it’s just your lot to walk in the dark longer than the people around you.

Nobody knows.

What is the line between seeing the light at the end.... and imagining it.... and wondering if your eyes were only playing tricks on you?

Something better has to be waiting on the far side....

But it’s hard to lean on that thought when you feel nothing but the shadows.

All Heroes

Waking of Thursday, May 11, 2017 ~ 6

All Heroes

One thing left to do.

I warped back to Zora’s Domain.

I found Mei hiding in Kapson’s pool away behind the stairs. She told me her husband had given her a stern scolding. Well, good on Fronk. What had she been thinking?

I found her children in the square; Tumbo only ran in his hyper little circle as children do, carefree as anything, and Keye was still playing with Laruta beside Lady Mipha’s statue—imaginary spear practice.

They both seemed untroubled.

But where was Fronk?

As always it was a trek around the entire Domain before I found him, hard at work on one of the many pillars along the stairways and ramps.

“Oh Link... LINK... LINK!!” he shouted when he saw me, and promptly began almost to melt at my feet, words spilling, tumbling, cascading out of his mouth—

I honestly don’t remember the specifics of any of the things he said to me, though I know there were many Thank yous.

But—I remember his gratitude. His sincere, unadorned.... unfathomable relief and gratitude to have his family back together again.

And that was all.

And.... it was enough.

Maybe I had been a fool.

I knew setting out to find Fronk’s wife wouldn’t necessarily bring me any closer to resolving the ills of the world.

But I did it anyway.

And I knew Robbie was waiting. And Purah. And Impa. But....

I kept searching anyway.

I put the whole world on hold.

Why?

....

Well to find one slippery fish woman, that’s why.

I did it because I wanted to.

I did it because.... families should be together.

I did it because—

That’s what Heroes do.

They help people.

Even when it’s foolish.

Even when they’re laughed at.

Even when the thanks are small.

Even when it’s terrifying or painful....

They do it because it’s what’s right.

Maybe I’ll try on the flight gloves next time. Seems like Dad’s old occupation may just sum up my whole job as the Hero of Hyrule, my whole experience just playing this game:

I Search, and I Rescue.

Maybe I hadn’t been a fool, whatever all Heroes may be called.

I don’t regret anything.

Waking of Tuesday, May 23, 2017

After all the places I’d been, all the towers I’d climbed, all the memories I’d found, all the shrines I’d combed, and all the friends I’d made, at the end of my Fool’s Errand, I prayed once again before the Goddess Hylia, and received a Hero’s Reward, manifold greater than any yet that I had gained.

Because I am a Hero.

An Encounter with SATAN

Waking of Tuesday, March 7, 2017 ~ 6

An Encounter with SATAN

There were inordinate numbers of bokoblins near the road as I came closer to Hateno Village. Some of them were even attacking people off in the woods. I could see the dizzy stars circling their poor beat-up heads as the bokoblins wailed away at them with their clubs and sticks....

But when the bokoblins saw me, they left off and came my way, becoming my problem instead. But red bokoblins were easy enough to deal with; they rarely gave me trouble anymore.

But I did not dare go near those people now running about the woods, no doubt looking for their savior, or running to get caught somewhere else....

It stank of hero-bait to me.

I done did my good deed, and I didn’t need a kiss on the cheek for it.

I went into the village.

A little boy asked me if I wanted to see what he found.

I’d seen this kid before. He’d asked the same thing before, but then run off in an unexpected direction and I had lost him completely.

“Sure,” I said, and followed him closely this time.

He brought me down a little path around a high bank of earth, to a dark statue, hunched with its knees beneath its chin, and with horns sprouting from its forehead.

The boy said it looked just like the one in the Chief’s house.

I.... looked at it.

It might have been an artistic-license take on the Goddess Hylia.... after all, that one in Kakariko had looked very different from the one in the Temple of Time....

The option came to Pray. So I prayed.

The tiny cinematic heavenly light came.... but after only an instant it turned dark, purplish and foul, like an evil cloud circling the statue’s base.

“Ah, so there are still some who pay me homage,” came a disembodied voice.

“You can talk!?” I said.

“Why yes.... you can hear me?”

“....Yes.”

“Now, that is interesting....”

The statue asked me what I was praying for. Long life? Wealth? Like the rest of my kind? This entity—whether male or female I did not know—used to deal in such.... dealings.... until the Goddess Hylia, displeased with its conduct, had trapped it in this statue.

It started talking about.... began to suggest making some kind of bargain with me....

Another cinematic ensued.

It cut to Link. He looked at the statue. Furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes shrewdly, cautiously.... began to react to something.... something that looked bad....

And everything went black.

And silent.

SRP claims it was some kind of a tripped breaker that caused the power outage in my neighborhood, but....

I’m pretty sure it was, in fact, the satanic statue of Hateno Village.

Oh, I did not envy whatever man they sent to sort it all out....