Lunacy at Washa's Bluff

Waking of Saturday, August 11, 2018 ~ 2

Lunacy at Washa’s Bluff

Forget Faron Woods—I wanted that shrine at Washa’s Bluff, dang it.

I rode Memory out from Hateno, still collecting this and that for a bit until we arrived at Dueling Peaks. I boarded him then, maybe for time’s sake, and warped ahead by my lonesome to the Ridgeland Tower. After making a few flights for Branli, setting a new personal best distance record, and earning a few more rupees, I continued on foot into the rolling western hills.

The traffic was unusually thick, and I made a lot of new friends on the road, not the least charming of which were Nazbi and his horse Dauntless. I don’t even remember what they were on about; I just thought it was great to meet such a brash, young-hearted character with a horse by the name of Dauntless. They were a merry duo....

Another hop, skip, and a jump and I had made it to Washa’s Bluff, and the pedestal I’d need to stand on in order to call out the shrine. Kass waltzed away on his accordion in the treeshroom above me....

Hm. I wanted to go see him.

A quick warp to Satori Mountain and a long and precise paraglide saw me up into his lofty home. He recited the riddle for me, to stand on the pedestal bare—

Um....

When the moon bleeds and enemies are reborn, the monks will something as they have sworn, stand on the pedestal bare, with nothing between you and the air.

Or some such words.

It had been a while since the last Blood Moon, and Washa’s Bluff wasn’t exactly easy to get to.... I’d had the thought to do this in my mind for some time, but now I was actually doing it—I was going to wait with Kass until the next Blood Moon. That way I would be sure to get the shrine!

I almost went crazy listening to his music. I read his journal, I climbed on top of his house.... There wasn’t much else to do.

And when there was no Blood Moon that night, I laid down some wood and flint, built a fire, and waited ‘til the next night....

And as luck had it.... that was a Blood Moon.

So I floated down and stood on the now glowing pedestal.

And stood.... and stood.... and stood....

And Zelda’s vision of warning loomed through the night....

And I stood.... and stood.... and....

The pedestal went out?

Wha-euh—? Where was the shrine??

I scurried back into my menus and tracked down the shrine quest details.... I read the poem carefully....

Yes, yes, Blood Moon, blah blah blah....

Stand on the pedestal bare, with nothing between you and the night air.

Stand on the pedestal bare....

Stand on the pedestal bare.... with noth—

OH MY gosh.... this—

The descriptor, “bare”, referred to ME, not the pedestal!

UGHH I couldn’t believe this—Washa’s Bluff was so isolated, so far away from anywhere—There was no quick way to reach it, and Blood Moons gave such short notice.... I’d been so focused on actually being there during a Blood Moon that I hadn’t bothered to heed the rest of the poem....

I’d needed to strip for the shrine to come out.

I thought “bare” was just a rhyming device! Padding! I mean, judging by how every other song and poem in the game had felt when it reared its asymmetrical head.... The localizers had been wonderful and clever; I don’t deny that, but for friggin’— THEIR SENSE OF RHYTHM AND METER....

....

Wonder why it took me ‘til page four hundred to bring this up.

....

Probably ‘cause it’s the first time it’s gotten me in trouble.

....

....

I suppose just a comma might have helped but In my experience once you set a shape for your lilt you plumb that thesaurus ‘til the language FITS or you don’t come back at all.

Dang it.

The thwartation made me reckless; I warped to the Shrine of Katah Chuki—I was gonna get that Korok in the Castle Town Prison....

I actually found a lot of Koroks along the way. But when I closed in on the prison, and killed the Guardian that had scared me off before.... the little row of three statues stood with one platter empty, and the other two bearing.... Rusty Shields?? I didn’t have a Rusty Shield!

And considering the location you’d have thought I’d be able to find one fairly easily but no matter where I wandered there were absolutely none in sight!

So I tried just moving the Rusty Shields over and filling all the platters with apples.

Nothing happened.

Dang it!

I was just thwarted all over today.

I wandered a little more around the riverlands northwest of the castle; there was yet another Consolation Korok on a little crag below the ruins of that Ancient Laboratory or whatever it had been north of Jeddo Bridge. And a Star Fragment struck the earth a good ways upriver, near the base of the northernmost of the gigantic sealing pillars surrounding the castle—I made it there by Ninja Suit. Been picking up a lot of those lately.... due to waiting around looking for so many Blood Moons, I realized.

I flitted back along the shore beneath the Elma Knolls to where I had been, and scared up one more Korok before.... just warping to the Keo Ruug Shrine and sweet Pepp’s bed. I was tired.

It was 10:40 in the morning, game-time.

I slept until noon.

Heh, sounds about like the sleep I might get here, I thought, and went to bed.

The Measure of Creation

Waking of Friday, August 3, 2018 ~ 3

The Measure of Creation

That light—it was definitely a fallen star. If I could just get to where it was in time....

I ran along the high southern bank, rushing for a better view.... There! It was in the wetlands. A warp to the shrine there, a dash through the shallow water.... and it was mine.

Yes!

I looked about me. It had been a while since I’d visited the wetlands. And I was still short on Lizalfos tails....

I hunted them as the day was long.

[Masks are SO handy!]

Still, the element of surprise could only help me so much when it was a Silver Lizalfos. For there were silver ones now, and they were exceptionally strong.

But one good thing I noticed was that these new silver ones were much more willing to part with their tails upon defeat! Excellent. And so I very slowly began to regain my supply....

I was using the Master Sword more and more. And it wasn’t always pristine, and sometimes its power faded completely, and I had to let it rest and breathe.

But I was using it.

I was letting it fulfill its purpose.

And that was all right.

When I couldn’t find any more Lizalfos to fight, I turned once again to the loose Guardian Stalker, donning my double-upgraded Ancient Armor on the approach....

And when I killed it this time.... I wasn’t sure if it was just me, or if it was my armor’s Ancient Proficiency perk at play.... but it seemed that the defeated Guardian dropped more ancient parts than usual. Including a core!

I wonder.... Is that what the Ancient Proficiency did?

I continued to wander all over the wetlands, finding a few more Lizalfos sequestered here and there, scaring up more Koroks, and discovering that the giant water buffalo grazing around were most definitively unrideable. I took a few hits from the great brutes in my close-quarter attempts, but that didn’t keep me down for long. I was bolder than I had been before. Very much so. In my brazen meanderings I even killed the red Hinox before its music could even start up. David remarked on this with an incredulous scoff, and I kept my cool like a boss.

I also began to put into practice one more secret the Master Sword held. Actually I don’t think I would ever have discovered it had the loading screen not mentioned it in passing.

I don’t often throw my weapons, see.

But if you used the same button that would throw any other weapon, with the Master Sword in your hand.... and if you happened to have full hearts and health....

Well, I suppose the result would just stand to reason! for anybody familiar with the Zelda Universe. For myself it was only a surprise until I thought about it for a moment.

I stood at full power, and swung my sword, swung the Master Sword as if to throw it.... and out shot a swirling blue-white bolt of my own! 8D

How far it could travel before disippating depended on how many hearts I had.

But DANG! XD

It was so awesome to fire lasers.

At one point, employing the projected energy to break open ore deposits, I thought I had solved the problem of ever damaging another hammer again. But even without making physical contact, using the laser still sapped the sword’s strength.

I had run it clean out of energy twice now....

Huh.

Well that mechanic never came up in previous games.

Ah well.

When the wetlands were quite empty I decided to take a break on the Hinox’s island, and take a few pictographs of my various weapons for the Compendium.

The Master Sword wasn’t the only thing running out of juice; I puttered around a little further, cleaned out a little cave I found of some treasure....

Hm, perhaps the controller battery was feeling a bit lowly, too.

I took a break.

I went to the fridge and took out the very last bit of Mary’s cake that I had reserved for myself and no one else—it had been my birthday after all.

I had a seat at the table with a nice glass of milk.... and ate the Triforce.

It was delicious.

Unsaved Again

Waking of Wednesday, June 20, 2018 ~ 6

Unsaved Again

There was nothing else for me to do on Zirco Mesa; I needed to get back to Gerudo Town. I could see it, far, far below on the desert plain, and I had half a mind to try paragliding as far as I could toward it, just a long flight down the hill....

But, almost as if the game were trying to hurry me on toward my destination, a star fragment fell just around that moment, landing almost within spitting distance of those ruins between the town and the Ice House—

Oh dratblast it what are those called? Do they have a name? I can’t keep saying the ruins between Gerudo Town and the Northern Ice House I’m going to call themmmm.... the Iceway Pillars.

At any rate, that fallen star was fresh, and daylight was impending, and that was a risk of losing it. Dear me.... it’s tough to abandon being king of the mountain.... Hmm, hmhhmmm, hmm, hmmm, HMMM I jumped.

I flew in a high, cold beeline through the frigid sky for a while, until I saw that my stamina was half gone and my distance only quarter covered giving myself another Call of the Wild flashback—And the ground was really beginning to warm with the approaching dawn—there wasn’t enough time—

I warped in midair back to town, changed right away into my Hylian Tunic, Sand Boots and a Lizalfos Mask, sprinted out north-northwest towards the shimmering pillar of light even as it was fading and dying—Kilton was over there but I couldn’t visit with him right now—

And I got it. Got the Star Fragment just as the sun crept over the horizon, claimed the sky for his own, and declared all other lights null and void.

Excellent.

I turned.

Kilton was gone.

....

Well....

That was fine.

I went to Gerudo Town’s gate, momentarily forgetting myself.... and remembering again as soon as Merina and Dorrah reminded me that no voe were allowed in the city.

Oh.... right.

So I went back to the shrine to change.... That needs to be a picture, really. I can see that artwork in my head: Link changing into girls’ clothes under the shade of the shrine’s overhang. He’d be leaning against the.... that would be the southeast inner wall. Far back. The hassled look on his face would make me want to title it something like.... ‘This is / Ridiculous....’ or some variation.... Morning lighting would be best, so the city wall glares bright and the shade is deep and obscured. Wonder if the angle could be worked to include Merina and/or Dorrah in the deep background.... just for added context....

Hm, I cut a previous instance of artistic musings that cropped up in the log.

....

Maybe I’ll go back and reinsert it for the blog.

Wearing the proper attire once more, I walked into town as a vai.

Frita bade me good morning—she still felt unsure about using the Gerudo words; she said she didn’t want to go blurting them around and seem as if she were saying “Look at me! I can speak another language!”

“I understand,” I said.

I love this game.

I bought some more Bomb Arrows, for I’d used quite a few of them on Kohga, and then it was straight on into the palace.

But Riju wasn’t there. So I spoke to Buliara.

She said Riju was.... upstairs? And I’d been given permission to go up to speak with her, which I did. I gave back the Thunder Helm; a memory ensued....

But I didn’t save it.