WHERE THE MEN ARE FINE ARCHERS

Waking of Sunday, January 6, 2019 ~ 3

WHERE THE MEN ARE FINE ARCHERS

It was snowing when I woke up. I’d been hoping for clearer weather, but.... oh well.

From the lodge, I skirted the jagged foothills southward, past the inexorable wolves, until I came the short distance to the great break in the wall of dark stone to my right: Dronoc’s Pass.

The pass opened onto a roughly round kind of dell, with a path leading round the edge, counter-clockwise back toward the north. The path so lay due to that the middle of the dell seemed to be a bottomless, gusty pit, full of dark, reaching spires like teeth.

I could see a round structure higher up at the north end; it looked Rito, and was about the size of one of their dwellings.... And there were big painted target-boards attached here and there to the treacherous rocks.

This seemed to be the Flight Range all right.

I made my way toward the circular building, and could see—Teba?

Someone was on the high platform. He looked like.... a snow white Rito.

I climbed a ladder to access the structure, went inside—there was a lit wok in the middle, but nobody around. Then I turned to the left and could see, on a kind of runway heading out over the dell, someone was hunkered there in the cold, working on something.

He just looked over his shoulder with a gruff, “Yeah?”

It had been voiced with its own cinematic.

This was Teba.

....

He just peered at me with his sharp, slit-pupiled bird’s eye for a moment before turning back to whatever he was doing with that bow, adjusting it, testing its spring.... “I don’t know you. And I’m actually pretty busy here. You should probably go.” His voice was so gruff and harsh....

But I approached him again, and told him that I could help him with Vah Medoh.

“Let me get this straight,” he said in bigger-than-normal font. ._. “Some random Hylian wants to help me bring down Divine Beast Vah Medoh? I’m not buying it. Let me guess, the elder sent you here to talk some sense into me.”

“That’s right,” I said.

And under his breath he murmured, “Just like the elder to trust any old fool who wanders into town.”

We introduced ourselves, and at normal volume he asserted he wasn’t going anywhere until he brought down Vah Medoh—until Vah Medoh fell from the sky. “If I have to kill Medoh... so be it.”

“Then let’s get started,” I say. Lol fresh little punk.

“You’re serious?” said Teba, “HA! Well, far be it from me to talk you off the ledge.”

Oh Dang! XD

I wasn’t sure whether I should like this guy or not....

“But it’s as the elder said: the only way to stop Divine Beast Vah Medoh is to get inside it.” But there was no way we could set foot in Medoh, he added....

“Actually...” I started, like I do, and contradicted.

“Not only are you wingless, you’re brainless too,” Teba retorted, “The only ones able to set foot inside a Divine Beast were the five champions of old, and unfortunately for us and for the rest of Hyrule, they all died 100 years ago.”

But Teba shook this off and came back to the present. “Never mind... Let’s focus on bringing down Medoh...one step at a time.”

He accepted my help and I was on board, but before we did anything, Teba wanted to test me here in this aerial archery training zone, the Flight Range.

He set me to destroy five of the painted targets within three minutes. If I could do that.... we could work together.

I DID IT WAY FASTER. Sailing over the dellpit, riding the gusts, now rising, now letting myself drop, I plugged target after target after target with my bow. And all the while Teba’s voice grunted begrudging encouragements in the background.... Engrossed in the task at hand, I only caught the last two: “One more...” and “Perfect!”

He had a bark of gravel and iron—His voice was so.... low and cool! XD

I pelted my five targets in something like thirty seconds—definitely less than forty—and Teba called me back in.

“Hmm... Not bad at all...for a Hylian.”

Why thank you.

“I’ve got to tell you, Link... When you first showed up, I thought someone was pulling a prank on me. But after seeing you handle that bow, I can tell you’re the real deal. You must have seen a battle or two.”

My choices were “Hundreds of them.” or “I’ve seen a few.”

I wouldn’t boast. “I’ve seen a few,” I said.

He grunted a syllable of laughter in a Hm. “Don’t be modest. I can tell just looking at you. Link... I feel I’ve heard the name somewhere before...”

Hhhh, they said that sometimes....

“Well, if you really want to help me bring down Medoh, it’s now or never. I’ll get you into position so you can give its cannons all you’ve got. Inside that treasure chest is a bow I’ve modified. Take it, and let me know when you’re ready.”

I went to check it out.... Ooh, a Falcon Bow.

It looked cool.

Teba told me normal arrows wouldn’t put a dent in Vah Medoh’s cannons. I’d need Bomb Arrows. “These are a precious commodity, so don’t expect me to do this again, but... take these Bomb Arrows.”

He gave me twenty. Don’t worry, Teba, I won’t waste them.

“Also, it’ll be cold up there. You’ll want to prepare a warm meal or bring some warm clothes.”

Well it was a good thing I was packing my W I N G A L I N G   H A T !

The plan was that he would draw Medoh’s fire, and I would destroy the four cannons.

Ohhhhhdfhdsjkalghjklgjfkl....

“I’m ready,” I say.

“All right. But let me ask you just one question,” Teba said, “Why are you doing this? Why risk your life to bring down Medoh?”

He sure dropped the Vah a lot....

Oh gosh my CHOICES.

“To rescue Zelda.”, “To save Rito Village.”, “I can’t just watch...”, or “Just because.”

Hm. I thought about this.... I was gonna be honest and say.... “To rescue Zelda.”

“Zelda? But that’s the name of the princess Revali served 100 years ago at Hyrule Castle. I don’t know what she has to do with Divine Beast Vah Medoh, but whatever. As long as you’re helping me bring down Medoh, your motivation is fine by me.”

....

“...Right. Get on.”

Oh my gosh!

He was a large Rito, not as large as Prince Sidon, but his wings seemed powerful and I didn’t suppose it was unbelievable that he could carry me!

We fly out! I’m on his back!

He told me if I wanted to retreat to just hover in the updraft for a moment and he would come get me—Vah Medoh was surrounded by a tempestuous updraft.... Good thing for me.

When we drew close, the Divine Beast threw up a blazing red force field that seemed to sizzle—it encapsulated the Beast entirely except for four protruding points.... THE CANNONS.

I jumped off Teba’s back and he peeled off and flew around and I could see the first cannon’s targeting laser chasing after him as he rocketed in great wheeling arcs through the air! But I had to focus on the cannon—as it was distracted I drew my bow mid-air and shot a Bomb Arrow at it—came up short—and so I hovered closer riiisiiing, DROPPING, riiisiiing, DROPPING and I shot it again at much closer range and got it this time and its life only went down halfway so I shot it again and BOOM it was down!

I circled counter-clockwise round the Beast to the next cannon and then—“Watch out!” came Teba’s voice—the next cannon was targeting ME!

“Teba I thought you said you would draw its fire!” D8

Cannons 2 – 4 put me in their sights, but the lasers had a devil of a time finding me as I paraglided up and then fell, up and down, up and down through the endless updraft. Teba flying around, wheeling, circling, calling out every once in a while in his gravel-iron bark things like “It’s targeting us!” And I going round so slowly it felt—the Beast was huge—until I finally blew up the last cannon!

“That’s done it!” said Teba, or something like it. “Well done, Link!” or some such words....

And he soared around....

And I thought “Now come get me, Teba!”  .____.

But I paraglided on down toward the Divine Beast.

And Teba watched.... and then grunted with a grimace.

Oh! D8

His left thigh.... was scorched right through. Ugh...

“Bad news, Link,” he said, his voice becoming more ragged. But I could tell he was trying his utmost to tough it out. “Looks like I got hit pretty good back there.”

He was hurting.

He said he was afraid he would have to get back to the Flight Range.

“If I can make it there,” he added.

BUCK UP, Teba, of COURSE you can make it back! 8C

“It’s all you,” he said, and gave a thumbs-up with his left outstretched wing-hand.... and then peeled away like a jet.

And I floated down onto the stern of the Divine Beast.

The top.... was mossy.

Felt....

....like some kind of Ghibli movie....

[[Now that I had a clear picture of Teba in my head—tall, white, stark, and gruff; pointed crest feathers springing back from his crown in an aerodynamic rush, sharp beak glinting, sharper eyes glaring—artworks began to dance in my mind of painful, post-assault shelterings in the Eye of the Neck, the freshly injured Harth wincing back against the stone, Teba casting a protective wing over him as he glares hungrily back up into the dark and flashing sky. There is rain....

Perhaps it miffed Harth even more that he was the one who’d been hit, even though the bright white Teba really should have presented a clearer target. But he would not stomach holding that thought for long....]]

Divine Beast Vah Rudania

Waking of Friday, October 13, 2017 ~ 2

Divine Beast Vah Rudania

I landed on an open platform on the Divine Beast’s bronzy back.

“Hey, little guy. Long time no see.”

It was the voice of Daruk.

He greeted me, encouraged me, believed in me and, like Lady Mipha had done, directed me on where I’d be able to find a map of “the guts of this place”, for I wouldn’t get far without a map.

I looked around and knew he was right. I literally could not make heads or tails of where I was. It took a little bit of trekking to discover that my landing platform was somewhat above the base of the Divine Beast’s tail, behind its hips.

The main control unit stood on the center of its back, beneath the arcing spine of spikes.

So that was to be the final arena.

Well.

From the platform, there was a doorway into the interior; a hallway ramp led down into what looked like a wide space.... befouled with those rancid eyeballs again.... But that was the chamber where the guidance stone with the map was.

I stepped across the threshold—

And a door slammed down fast behind me, Rudania’s dorsal vents contracted all the way, and it was lights out.

I couldn’t open the door again.

At the bottom of the ramp, two lit braziers cast a few blue lumens dimly into the space, and beyond in the inky blackness, malice pools glistened evil dark magenta while wicked eyeballs popped yellowy-orange here and there. Aside from these three visions, the darkness was absolute.

....

Blue Lumens should be the magic shop across the road from The Groggy Moblin.

I saw that with the Divine Beast’s interior closed off from the volcano’s heat, the temperature had decreased significantly, and so changed into some clothes with lesser heat-resistance but greater defense.

I would see to the nearer eyeballs first. But I was low on arrows....

No, I was low on normal arrows. But I had over sixty Ice Arrows.

Waste not, want not.

I switched to Ice, and took out what eyeballs were closest. They crystallized and shattered with a satisfying keeeeshh!

My weapons inventory was full, but I momentarily dropped something in order to grab the torch beside the brazier—this offered much better lighting than the couple of glowing elemental weapons I had tried.

My way was slow. There was no telling what I would find in the darkness. Only all around me dripped that weird Blood Moon haze up into the air, smoking like unholy demons while the music tapped out a creaky-eerie rhythm on a subdued chorus of drums.

But aside from the pools of malice, and a few treasure chests, the chamber seemed empty.

Lighting further braziers with the ancient flame opened new doors, ways through the dividing walls in this huge space. I did meet one small Guardian deeper in, but not much else on my way to the pedestal that gave me the map.

And upon that upgrade to my Sheikah Slate, the dorsal vents reopened, and a burning rusty light filled the gigantic room once more.

But I did not spontaneously combust in the exposure; it seemed the interior of the Divine Beast remained somewhat temperate. Even so, I switched back to my Flamebreaker Armor.

The map indicated there were five terminals to activate this time. And just as with Vah Ruta, it seemed I could manipulate this Divine Beast to some extent to help me on my way. But there weren’t any individual moving parts. Rather, I COULD TURN THE WHOLE LIZARD ONTO ITS SIDE.

I had wondered about that, when I had first passed through the darkened room with nothing but that blue torch. For in the darkness I had come upon strange holes in the floor, barred openings, trapdoors with extraneous protrusions beside them—ledges to stand on.

I found a nice, tight little corner to hide in the first time I tried turning the lizard—you had to be careful not to be standing on the wrong surface and dump yourself into the lava when you did this.

I hit the button, and Vah Rudania went into a slow, sideways creep up onto the wall of the caldera and clung there, settling to stillness again with a resounding groaarr....

The loose treasure chests meanwhile tumbled around the inner chamber. I wondered if I would inadvertently dump any of them into the inferno.... Hard to keep track when the whole room tilts....

To be honest, I found Vah Rudania’s terminals much easier to activate than Vah Ruta’s. Perhaps they were easier. Or perhaps I simply had more experience and could better apply my skills to my situations by then. Perhaps it was, so to speak, just a whole ‘nuther animal.

At the activation of the first terminal, the creaky-eerie drumbeats evaporated and the music once again took on a darker, more sinister, noticing tone. Quicker. Watchful. Aware.

Like the place was on to me.

Just like in Vah Ruta.

But unlike in Vah Ruta, I found myself gratifyingly bounding through the terminals. Tipping the beast here, placing an orb there, activating doors and rollicking through obstacles. Reading the Rube Goldberg like an interesting novella.

A fire arrow there, some Magnesis to follow through.... But there was one terminal which stood in a small, enclosed alcove with only one entrance. And the threshold of that entrance was comprised of a line of fire-spewing vents in the floor. The flames reached up to the ceiling, and there was no way around.

But after only a moment of consideration, I remembered, and stepped up, quite literally, into the line of fire.

The Great Fairies’ handiwork stood firm.

It did not even faze me in the slightest.

“I’M FIREPROOF, SUCKAS!” I sang out, relishing my upgraded Flamebreaker Armor set.

I was having quite a good time. I found a spare treasure chest way out on the club of the tail, and I even ventured out onto the tip of the nose to take a smiling self-portrait with the beast. :)

Soon, though, I was closing in on the final terminal.

Daruk’s voice had been encouraging me forward.

I carried the blue flame on a long walk outside to light another torch on the Divine Beast’s back, which released another orb, which I then guided through its track inside the tilting beast with gravity games....

The orb landed in a pedestal, which tripped open a door, which gave me access to activate the last terminal, which I did, and—

“Great work, little guy!” Daruk’s voice sounded, and he instructed me to proceed to the main control unit.

It was the only place left to go.

It was late, I was on a cusp, and I wanted to eat a bowl of cereal.

But I was in the moment.

Putting it off would wreck it.

I looked in the fridge, settled for the dregs of a bottle of prune juice to be my liquid courage, and activated the main control unit.

Hylian Charbroil

Waking of Friday, October 13, 2017

Hylian Charbroil

You know, Goron City can be confusing. Absolutely bewildering down on the ground, where the geology is all the same color, all jutting up in a million variations of the same craggy shapes.

It took me a while before I gave up on my HUD and just consulted my full map. And even then.... I took the cheap way out and simply warped to the shrine near Eldin Bridge.

When I hiked up the hill I found Yunobo cowering beneath Daruk’s Protection; two Black Moblins were harassing him.

Well! I had just the mask for that! C:

I donned the Moblin Mask and dashed up the trail. The Moblins turned at my approach and eyed me suspiciously....

I hadn’t quite thought through what exactly I intended to do. Sure enough I was able to get close. Very close. Right up next to them. Which gave me the element of surprise. But there were two of them. And surely they wouldn’t take kindly to any suddenly violent turns on my part. Hmm.

In the end I just did the best I could—I Stasised one of them, and just started walloping away, fortuitously landing the same blows on his fellow as well. They both went down but there would be no more taking them off guard after that.

Moblins can hit. @_@

When I had dispatched them both, the camera swiveled back to center on the trembling Yunobo, and I suddenly hoped that I wouldn’t be forced to move through an otherwise epic and momentous cinematic while wearing.... a Moblin Mask.

But Yunobo only stood up to look around and see that he had been saved, and the game released me to approach and address him on my own.

PHEWF. ouo;

There was a cannon nearby, like the ones at the North Mine. But when I rolled a bomb into it and tried to fire, nothing happened. Huh....

So I turned to speak to Yunobo. He thanked me for my help, and asked where Big Boss Bludo was.

“He’s not coming,” I said.

“What?”

I explained to him about the painkillers not having any effect, and Yunobo looked downcast and fretted about what they were going to doooo.... Yunobo had Daruk’s Protection, and it was the only way to drive Vah Rudania up into the volcano, but Bludo had to work the cannon....

“I’ll do it!” I said.

Yunobo was shocked. He impressed upon me how dangerous this was. Especially for a Hylian.

But with that wonderfully unscripted series of animated mouth movements and gesticulations that Zelda games have become SO fond of lately.... I explained to him I assume that I actually did need to get inside that Divine Beast.

That seemed to lend him a little courage. Heh, for a Goron he just seems so.... youthfully tender.

Yunobo told me that Eldin Bridge was kept raised to bar Vah Rudania from coming down and across from the upper cone. Actually I wondered whether the Divine Beast would even need the bridge.

Likewise, with the bridge in such a position, we wouldn’t be able to cross further upward. But Yunobo said I could knock the bridge into its lowered position by firing him at it with the cannon.

And he hopped in.

:I

So I rolled in a bomb, took aim and blew it up.

You ever launch someone into the sky in a rolling fiery arc?

I’d thought it might be a trick shot, an angle somewhere between set firing directions, and so almost shot him off too early! But he just barely nicked the upper corner of the raised bridge.... and brought it swinging down.

He landed back nearby on the rebound, a little unsteady and with stars dancing around his head. We could go into the mountain now, he said.

I had wondered if it would be anything like it had been with Prince Sidon—hard and fast and in a desperate rush!

But Yunobo was saying—what—we just—

....

On foot??

I’d wondered if perhaps we would have to do cannon acrobatics together but WHAT we just—the bridge is down and then—what, just—over we go? Onto the mountain? WHERE THE GIANT FRIGGIN’ LIZARD IS?

I dunno there was just something off-putting about climbing up after it, into its territory, on our own measly feet.

But that seemed to be the only option. Yunobo followed after me as I moved. Heh, I like it when the NPCs do that. ^_^

He was a bit slower than I....

Near the far end of the bridge we were thrust into a cinematic—Vah Rudania spotted us. The four large circular vents on its back dilated, and a host of smaller, buzzing, propellered things came swarming out.

Oh great, I thought, Those things are gonna come after us and I’m gonna have to shoot them, how many arrows do I have—

Yunobo lamented this new development as well. Evidently Vah Rudania did this whenever he and Boss Bludo came close. If those sentries spotted us the Divine Beast would go into a rage and cause the volcano to erupt; landslides of fiery boulders would come raining down. Bludo could just smash those boulders to bits with his fists.... But he wasn’t here....

I would lead and Yunobo would follow me, but with those sentries in the air.... he proposed we should decide on a signal for when we should move and when we should stop.

My options to respond were

A wink!

A whistle!

Mind powers!

XD

I suggested a whistle, and Yunobo said that was a good idea, even though it was a little like calling a horse....

The cinematic released me and, still fearing those sentries, I ran for cover like a self-respecting coward. But nothing came after us.

So I tested the whistle. It came out different! A short drill of three quick peeps brought Yunobo snapping to a rigid standstill with a “Hup!”

I moved away a short distance and whistled again. It was longer with a rolling pitch this time.

“Coming!” Yunobo called, and ran to where I was, stopping beside me with a triumphant “Ha-ha!” as if we’d just outwitted something.

Heh, that was for when we’d have cleverly gotten past something I guessed. His dulcet tenor voice is so tender....! XD

The whistle alternated between these two patterns, and when in earshot Yunobo was strict to heed it.... but I wished he’d had a slightly quicker reaction time....

We started out tentatively enough, but it seemed the sentries were not actively seeking us out, and so after a short time I had us plunging up the hill and into the crags.

Well.... plunging as fast as Yunobo could go, anyway. He would always catch up to me panting, and even gasped once, “Wait up!”

Poor guy.

The sentries shone bright red searchlights directly below where they hovered or patrolled. They seemed simple enough to slip past at first—though I did have to work on Yunobo’s timing! Under one of the first sentries, before we could reach the shelter of an overhang—before Yunobo could reach the shelter of the overhang—the beam caught him and—

Some buzzing alarm.

“This is bad!” Yunobo cried.

And Vah Rudania hammered the mountain with its enormous club of a tail, sending red-hot rocks cascading down in a thick and terrible rain of crushing DEATH.

They didn’t seem to reach us beneath the overhang, though, where I crouched down and Yunobo shivered beneath Daruk’s Protection.

But much of the rest of the mountain was not quite so forgiving.

The sentries were tricky! The beam of one stationary one I had to block with a large metal plate propped between two rocks. Clever. Others I discovered could be destroyed by casting bombs into nearby updrafts, and detonating when they reached the sentries’ level. Cleverer!

I had Yunobo stay put when I saw more Moblins in the distance, and put my mask on to go and have it out with them.

Turned out they were guarding another cannon! Yunobo hopped in, and I tried launching him at one of the sentries....

I’d say he overshot it by at least a quarter mile.

But he came bounding back and uncurled from his rolling posture, and told me to watch where I was aiming.

I guessed the sentries couldn’t be dealt with that way.

And I guessed.... it was to be a shot at the Divine Beast then—we did seem to be following it counter-clockwise up the cone. I aimed the cannon and fired, Yunobo struck true, and Vah Rudania groared and clambered further on, Yunobo rebounding back a moment later with more stars around his head. He was pretty pumped at our progress!

There were two more cannons, each guarded by two Black Moblins. We jogged our way upward and onward, skirting the sentries we could manage. Whistle. “Right!” Whistle. “Hup!” Whistle. “Coming!”

And other such noises he made.

.... “Wait up!”

Heh, there was even a little icon for Yunobo on my HUD map.

It even had his same fretting little face! XD

But it was deucedly difficult getting him past the last cluster of sentries before the third cannon. That one sentry going round in circles.... the one I couldn’t bring down with any air-drafted bombs....

Alarm.

“Oh no!”

Red-hot boulders.

Alarm.

“It saw us!”

More rib-shattering chunks of flaming rock.

Alarm.

“This is bad!”

Just bury me in the molten rubble rolling on the ground getting my SKIN seared off, no cover from this unrelenting, cacophonous—

It would have been helpful if Yunobo had run ahead to duck and cover, but he kept running back to that little outcrop. And I.... just did the best I could staying close to the cliff walls, trying to let the rocks bounce over me.

Isn’t that what they teach you for hiking?

I tried hunkering down near Yunobo once.

I was BOWLED RIGHT OFF THE MOUNTAIN. The cascade of hot earth blew me cartwheeling through the open air, down, down, high over the endless dark spires like the reaching pits of hades. It took me a moment to recover enough to deploy my paraglider—and turn myself back toward the mountain’s face where I clung like a bedraggled spider.

It was a bit of a climb to reach Yunobo again—thank goodness I had the stamina. But my hearts couldn’t take much more of this. I’d lost Mipha’s extras plus about half my normal red ones climbing this blasted volcano.

In the end.... I forgot the whistle, and just had him follow close after me as I timed a winding path beneath that infernal circling sentry.

And we made it to the last cannon.

Two dead Moblins later, I fired Yunobo at the Divine Beast again, and it seemed that Vah Rudania had had enough. It clambered over the jagged, oozing lip of the cone, pushed itself over the edge to fall into the crater, and—

THE VOLCANO ERUPTED.

With a tremendous rumble, a titanic spray of hot lava ejected out of the caldera.

But it didn’t hit us. And nothing more terrible happened after that.

The Divine Beast had only finally settled down into the very heart of Death Mountain, lizard legs splayed as at rest . . . . or recalculation . . . .

“That was so cool!” Yunobo crowed as we crested the top in cinematic, “You really put a licking on that thing!”

Oh I just love this kid. XD

I don’t remember much else of his parting words. I just remember his voice still so slight and tender, so hopeful as he bade me good luck in finishing the job, as I leapt off the lip after the beast, paragliding down, down, down into the core of fire, and Yunobo still stood there above, back meekly hunched and clasping his low hands before him like he does, blue neckerchief ruffling in the surging, embered heat....

TWO HEROIC MEN TOO AWESOME FOR WORDS

Waking of Saturday, March 18, 2017 ~ 9

TWO HEROIC MEN TOO AWESOME FOR WORDS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Man. His voice so fair and princely even here.

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

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

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

Again and again, THAT VOICE.

WHO VOICED THIS GUY?

“Can you stop that ice?”

“Get those Shock Arrows!”

“You did it, Link!”

“Shock Arrows ready?”

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

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

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

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

GAUGH.

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

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

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

I did want to get inside it.

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

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

The Deviated Hero

Waking of Friday, March 17, 2017

The Deviated Hero

I once again meandered about the beautiful Zora’s Domain, and on this occasion took my sweet, sweet time.

“You’re female, right?”

The single option available for Link to select when he speaks to Dunma.

“Why, yes. How observant you are!” Or something to that end, she replies.

“How old are you?”

“....That’s not a question appropriate to ask a girl you’ve just met.”

The game does.... Well I think it is the least blank I have ever seen Avatar Link before. And not just in Zora’s Domain; there have been other places where a definite attitude all his own has cropped up, in his various response options.

By which I mean it’s a little bit of a tighter fit for the player to impress his own image into the Avatar—sometimes I haven’t cared for any of the responses I’ve had the option to give! (I think Skyward Sword offered a better variety of personality for the player to assume.) But.... I suppose it’s easy enough to pick the responses most appropriate—or least unappropriate as the case may be—to the persona you wish to project into the gameworld.

Not to say Link’s hinted personality is not, at times, charming in its own right.

And I do.... respect it....

As I respect the semi-voiced dialogue—spoken words during important cutscenes....

Dang you Prince Sidon that dulcet tenor timbre and the winning grin just—

....

It’s always tough to match up the lip-flaps.