Fire and Flurry

Evening of Monday, May 13, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 14, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

Fire and Flurry

Dottie and the twins were over for a short visit, while Ben and Cami went to another store to try and find the right formula.

Mom and Dad were all over the twins. They are so—frikkin’—adorable.

But Dottie gravitated my way and kept telling me, “PLAY ZELDAAAA!”

So.... we played.

We started in my Hateno house, still in my pajamas. But Dottie chose a new outfit before we continued: King Rhoam’s green Warm Doublet, the Sapphire Circlet.... and Rubber Tights.

She just liked the look of those ones together.

Then after consulting my map, and letting Dottie know we were on the hunt for a shrine, we decided to go to Akkala to check out Tempest Gulch....

It was good; I had wanted a better run of that valley, just to make sure I’d covered all my bases. But with that Lynel in the way....

Mmm it was the same one I had been unable to kill before, when my friends were over to celebrate my birthday. Come to think of it, it had even been a blue one that time.

I hadn’t been strong enough then.

But now....?

Now it was only a very rigorous chore, and I was up to it.

It wasn’t a blue one this time, though.

On our approach, I showed Dottie the best way to sneak up on this particular Lynel, and climbed up into the bone-bleach crags. The land was cracked here, and toothy, like the Breach of Demise. Though perhaps it didn’t look quite as unearthly as that.

We climbed one of the most prominent rocks until we were high above the golden grassy valley below, where the Lynel prowled among the aspens. After that it was only a leap and a quiet sail downward.... some minor course correcting as needed.... and a properly affronting fwump onto the proud beast’s back where we rode it like a bronco.

It bucked us off after a bit though, and I conceded to fight it down on its own turf.

I had become much better at dodging the monsters’ swinging weapons and enormous, swiping claws.

“Flurry, flurry, flurry!” Dottie would say whenever time slowed down and a flurry-rush opportunity opened up.

We killed it, reaped the bounty of its innards....

And Tempest Gulch was ours.

We ran around the rocks as we twined our way up the canyon, combing here and there until we came to the lake, checking out more crevices, more hidden bends, more alcoves in the winding geography, but.... we found no shrines.

Well.... up into the volcano then. The rocks turned from white to red but were no less jagged as we ascended. Wandering, wandering, wandering....

Still no shrines.

I wanted to check out that ruin-looking place I’d left a marker on from the time when I was further south on the eastern flank.

Dottie told me to warp up higher to get to it; it would be faster.

I could see a somewhat nearby shrine, and Vah Rudania of course. Could be worth our while....

But I told her I’d have to put on fireproof clothes first. “Is that okay?”

“Can you still wear the crown?” she asked. The Sapphire Circlet.

“Mmmmaybe....” But I didn’t. It was the volcano, after all.

We warped to the Lizard, hopped a few crags and then sailed down toward the ruin. As we drew near, we could see some kind of Fire Wizzrobe prancing about the tottering beams and blackened foundations. Meteor, I saw. I knew that weapon. That was a Meteor Rod.

This was one of the stronger Wizzrobes, then....

I did not engage it at that moment, however.

Ben and Cami came back. And of a sudden it was time for Dottie and the twins to get ready to go home.

I kept the game paused as the children were gathered up. It’s always rough to step out mid-adventure. But we’d see each other again.

We said goodbye for the night....

~

Left to myself once more, I killed the Wizzrobe in mid-flight with a slow-motion ice arrow. But there was nothing at the ruin.

Well, no shrines anyway. Just the mystery of what poor settler or settlers used to live there, and the hope that they were able to escape the fiery havoc of Ganon’s minions.

That spot crossed off, I warped round the volcano’s cone to the Bridge of Eldin. For in paragliding from the top all the way down to the ruin, I had caught sight of that old road that wound up the side of the peak. Hadn’t taken that road since Yunobo and I had stormed the caldera....

So from the shrine near the bridge, I crossed over into the blazing central peak of Death Mountain, and once again hoofed it up on foot over the ash-blasted, embered trail.

But comb and search as I might.... I still found no shrines hidden in the volcano’s upper reaches.

Oh, fed up with everything I decided to PARAGLIDE TO ROBBIE’S PLACE.

From the top of the old caldera-road.

The mind-boggling distance slowly but steadily gnawed straight through all three of my stamina wheels, and I had to take a stamina-boosting skewer on the fly. But I did make it. Or close enough to it—I wanted to check out Bloodleaf Lake in the ravine below the furnace....

But there were no shrines there either. That I could see.

I climbed up to Robbie’s place....

He and Jerrin said much the same things as they normally said, but—what was....?

Robbie’s Memoirs, the book on the little desk was entitled.

Had I—? Had I ever....?

Had this always been here?

Huh, I’d.... I didn’t think I’d ever read his diary before.... no but maybe I did.... once.... maybe....

If so it was a looong time ago. Yeah....

Or maybe I’d just been so transfixed by that Cherry could craft armor for me....

Had I really never seen this before?

 

 

The Entry With No Shrines

Waking of Friday, May 3, 2019

The Entry With No Shrines

I warped to the Akkala Tower.

Time for more exploring.

I sailed down, moved into the trees and cleaned out the Torin Wetland—that waterlogged version of the Valley of Terror. Aside from all the dead and rusted Guardians in there, there were also two crawling Guardian Stalkers and one stationary Decayed one. I’d wanted to practice my range parrying the Guardians’ attacks; I was doing okay I thought. But it was still easiest to time it when they were right next to me.

When there was nothing awful left to slay I hiked back up the road and cleaned out the Akkala Parade Ground ruins. There was a Hinox in there, and it was good enough to drop some GUTS for me, which brought me up to seven. I could upgrade some clothes with that....

I was exploring around, exploring around, sniffing into all the various corners of the leafy Parade Ground court, when.... I heard someone in trouble.

But there was no one nearby.

But I was deep in the shadow the Akkala Citadel and its bridges, towering above me. The person must have been....

“Revari.... ONEGAI,” I geeked, and the Rito Champion’s spirit took me up in a trice to the bridge ruins where a lone Hylian man was cornered, beset by Bokoblins.

I fought them off, and the man, Neil, thanked me, and gave me an elixir of some kind.

He told me about the Akkala Citadel. Evidently it had acted as a last stronghold of a sort. It was said to be unassailable. But when the Castle fell, the army here, originally meant to protect Akkala, had no royalty to lead them, and the concentrated attack from the out of control Guardians brought it to ruin.

“Hyrule may very well have made its last stand here,” he said, or something like it.

Hm.

I paraglided or galed my way over the broken bridge, over to the Citadel side, to sport with the Flyer making its rounds about the lower level, and took it down after only a few mishaps.

The Flyers were hard, but.... I was getting better, I thought.

Okay. I had enough Hinox guts, and Mija was just over there across the way. I sailed over to see her, keeping my eyes open for shrines all the while, but.... nothing.

Mija upgraded my Barbarian Armor to the max. YES.

From there.... Hhhhhh I considered messing with some Lizalfos down by the Rist Peninsula, but.... ehhh, decided against it.

Instead I warped to Gut Check Rock and traveled thence up and around the volcano to....

That Skeleton.

THE ELDIN GREAT SKELETON.

WHY DOESN’T IT HAVE A SHRINE?

I searched for clues. Anything. Something that could trigger the appearance of a Shrine. I scoured the adjacent ashfalls and cliffsides. I climbed over the nearby rocks. I ran along the skeleton from nose to tail-tip. I crawled in its giant eye-sockets and planted bombs. Nothing.

....

Well it had worked in Ocarina of Time.

....

But I was just having no luck.

Well, different luck—for there was a music and a sudden wind....

Dinraal!

I tried and failed to get another claw from the dragon. Nuts!

Eh I went and killed the Lynel next door. Silver. Did pretty well.

Came back and killed the bad guy camp under the skeleton—

WHY IS THERE NO SHRINE?

....I may never know.

Or it wouldn’t be any time soon at least. Because now.... it was time for sushi.

Hahh, the Eldin Great Skeleton was a hard place to get to, but.... ehhh I would just warp to.... somewhere.... and save.

I’d warp to my house. No. The Deku Tree.

I’d warp to the Deku Tree’s Navel.

And I did.

Sushi.

Ice cream.

Great afternoon with Mom. ^_^ <3

When I picked up the game again I did a little shopping and cooking at the Deku Tree’s Navel, and some more of the same at Rito Village. I just wanted to buy some ingredients that I couldn’t get out in the field, like wheat and sugar cane and butter.

Siara was around, and she’d been interested to see the amusing clothing-upgrade animations. So I warped to the Great Fairy Tera in the desert and set her to work on my long-neglected Climber’s Shirt, which I’d been retaining at low level for just this purpose.

The animations were cute and Siara laughed, from the glitter-blowing to the head-bopping to the face-kissing to.... well, whatever it is they do on the fourth one.

And I finally got the perk for the Climbing Set, dimly registering that my climbing stamina usage was reduced or something to that end.

But my mind was already back on shrines.

I scanned the map, looking for triple-trees. Those anomalous little mini-copses of three trees or bushes or cacti standing in perfect, orderly little lines. Did those point to shrines?

I took stock; most of the things these formations pointed to were easy to find. There, that one pointed to a shrine, which had been hidden.... But that one in the desert pointed to Pocky’s Shrine, which was never hidden. But THERE, on that waterfall.... Where did that point to?

I warped to Faron to check it out, and couldn’t find a shrine. But I did find an ore cache that had been hidden.

Maybe the triple-trees pointed to secrets, and not necessarily just shrines.

Still, that desert one....

Hmm.

Running out of gas I worked my way over to the Highland Stable. I visited Malanya, who reported that I’m good with horses. Cool.

Took out Dragmire from the stable and rode to Kakariko. Didn’t stay at the inn, though. Just.... saved and put it to bed.

More Loose Ends

Evening of Sunday, April 14, 2019

More Loose Ends

I was in my Hateno House.

....

I didn’t even remember what I was doing.

So I decided to wrap up the sidequests.

First.... Kula’s Ice Rod. That Korok who was like another Nebb. He wanted to see an Ice Rod....

I searched Hebra, and had no luck, just a lot of Blizzrobes. Wrong rod. I searched the Gerudo Highlands, and found another Blizzrobe.... no good.... but then—!! There was an Ice Wizzrobe! That one had what I needed!

I killed it, and took its Ice Rod. I also tried for the swooping Farosh, but he took off before I could shoot him.

Well, if I’d chased two rabbits, both would’ve escaped.

I got what I came for.

I warped to see Kula in the Korok Forest, and showed him the Ice Rod.

He gave me a hundred rupees.

Cool.

Next.... Dugby’s Stick. Dugby that little Goron kid who was always hanging out in the hot springs near the Bridge of Eldin. He’d hidden something, probably a weapon, somewhere near there. And he said I could keep it if I found it....

I warped to the shrine near the Bridge of Eldin and started poking around.... hahhh, as I’d poked around many times before. Where was this thing? Dugby said it was between the hot springs and the Bridge of Eldin, but I’d never yet been able to find any hidden special “schticks”!

I just kept my eyes peeled for butterflies in the meanwhile.

At length I got up on top of that stretch that overhangs the railtrack, and wandered back to the far side of it, and—

ROOOOOCKS?

They were hidden around the back of a big upjutting protrusion of the red volcanic stone. A big grey clump of what was decidedly the explodable variety!

How long had these been here?

I blew it up.

In the hollow behind lay a Drillshaft. Heh, hadn’t seen one of those in a while. I took it back to Dugby.

He was amazed. Yeah he thought he’d heard a loud noise, he said.... XD

Well, I found it, so he’d let me keep it.

Cool.

I’d also found three Smotherwing Butterflies while I was there. That was enough for the Flamebreaker Armor, plus one for to keep in my pocket. Who was the closest Fairy?

Mija.

I warped.

Oh, but I needed Hinox guts for the Flamebreaker Armor as well, and.... I was short one. Dang.

But I could upgrade either the Soldier’s Armor or the Barbarian Armor. I’d run out of Naydra Horn if I did the Barbarian, BUT.... I did have enough Lynel Guts for it. Finally.

But which to choose....

Naydra Horn....

....

I chose the Soldier’s Armor. Got it up to 84 Defense! Sweet.

Next.... Shrines.

I just went to Kakariko. Checked those woods. That pedestal. Back up on the hill in Cotera’s Forest. There MUST be a shrine there. And there MUST be a Shrine at the Eldin Great Skeleton.... but how....?

I chased Naydra’s tail as I climbed further up into the mountains, but.... he gone.

Went back to the village.

Visited Impa. Didn’t save.

Reload.

One more memory, and that’s in the castle.

Ain’t got time for that, bro.

Pepp’s and bed.

GOOD NIGHT.

The Hunt for Red Lizalfos

Waking of Sunday, January 6, 2019

The Hunt for Red Lizalfos

When did I explore the rest of Rito Village? When did I climb the Neck? That tall, distinct spire of rock I had seen from so many angles all over Hyrule....

The weathered yellow stone gave pretty good purchase to stand on and catch my breath at whiles, carved by the wind maybe. One spot near the top even had a large hole that ran right through, making a little tunnel. It was shady, and pleasantly charged in there, with that energy only hikers can find in the little hollows they bond with and break bread with and part with at once.

I climbed right to the crown and walked out to the tip of the beak. It did make for quite a stunning view....

But after playing binocular—monocular—er.... After playing Slate games, at some point I went to the Great Fairy Kaysa, whom I felt I had visited least of all, here in this lastly-mapped frontier, and had her do up my Snowquill Ensemble as far as she could.

We enhanced the entire set three levels, but I was short two red Lizalfos tails before we could reach the fourth.

I wanted these clothes to be strong. I finally had the Wingaling Hat, it looked like I was going into the cold again, and I’d never had anything thicker than my 1-point Warm Doublet to protect me from the frost.

So I warped to the volcano, set my sensor to detect Smotherwing Butterflies in the meanwhile, and got to hunting Red Lizalfos.

Heh. The Hunt for Red Lizalfos. That’d be a good title.

I searched out both critters until I got three more tails, which put me at a total of thirty-one. Kaysa only needed thirty, but I always like to keep at least one spare of anything in my pockets. When I can.

Now I could upgrade my clothes to the fourth level. But.... while I was here.... I decided to stop by Gorko Tunnel to see if I couldn’t solve it and figure out what was behind that giant pile of rock at the end....

That, and.... I’d recently seen David do this.

Gonguron was the name of the mad Goron who had been digging in Gorko Tunnel, and he was still in there. But unlike the other times I had seen him, this time he had completely run out of energy, and was lying flat on his back on the ground. What had been the trigger? I never figured that part out.

At any rate, his big brother Bladon was wondering where he was, and I let him know. Bladon then asked me to fetch a rock roast from a little spot down the hill from the tunnel, near a little lava pool which, I guess, was a good place to cook rock roasts.

What was a rock roast? It was a big hunk of.... rock.... which resembled Raw Gourmet Meat. There were six or seven of them down there.

I made sure to kill the handful of Moblins crowding the path on my way down to the lava pool, but.... I should have known it was never going to be that easy.

Hefting the giant rock roast high over my head, I started the long trudge back up the hill, and lo, the way was an absolute minefield of Moblins, Fire Chuchus, and other nasties no doubt, along with the occasional rumbling of the mountain beneath my feet and the cascading of giant boulders down the hill.

It was basically an uphill, hotter, louder and more crowded version of the Rist Peninsula.

But I made it back to Gorko’s Tunnel all right, rock roast safely in hand.

When I set the roast in the little resident wok per Bladon’s instructions, and Gonguron caught the scent of it cooking, well that perked him up all right. He got up, grabbed the rock and started taking great, thunderous bites out of it. Holy Din, what are their teeth made of? And as soon as he had chowed down, with his renewed strength, he went at the last bit of bedrock in a fat and happy fury, until the wall finally collapsed and the Kayra Mah Shrine was revealed.

The trial inside was called Greedy Hill, and it was an absolute riot of boyish diversion.

Heh.

Okay back to birdland....

Ruins and Remnants

Waking of Saturday, November 17, 2018

Ruins and Remnants

After I’d had a good sleep, I went back to the field.

Heh, I kept thinking of it not as the central plains but as The Field. Like Hyrule Field, from Ocarina of Time. Because there was a feature I’d seen there ever since I had downloaded the Central Map from the Scary Tower: Ranch Ruins.

I went there now, and cleared it out. Just a couple of Bokoblins, albeit they were mounted. But for those kinds I’ve become quite fond of simply Stasising them in midair while their mounts ride on, right out from under them. Makes them easier to deal with.

I guessed it made sense that there would still be horses around this place, too.

Those two brutes and a Guardian later, and the Ranch Ruins were mine to regard, alone in the quiet.

Oh my gosh it looked.... I could see the similarities. The big, once-fenced horse pasture, with the racing track around the outside. The remains of the silo across the way. The place where the cuccos lived. Even the red tile roofings were still here, all collapsed into the dirt.... Oh my heart.

That was poignant.

Also, when night fell.... I found another stalhorse.

I guessed that made sense too.

Partly with the aid of the skeletal mount, I worked my way further around the central plain. Just killing Guardians, exploring ruins.... There was a Mabe Village, there was some kind of garrison....

I moved up toward Castle Town, and remembered that Korok on the western side, in the prison, the one that I could never figure out. Maybe I could give him another go....

I warped to that shrine in the cave on the very western edges of the castle’s territory, and worked my way inward, dodging the Flyer, killing the Stalker.... until I came to the old prison. How many times had I been here? Four?

The little statues stood patiently waiting as always. Two of the three little offering platters once again held Rusty Shields. Tricksy little punk Korok was still throwing that curveball, eh?

Well.... I would just look a little harder this time....

And I did.... AND IT WORKED! I found a Rusty Shield over by a ruined wall beside the moat! And dropping it on the third platter, I got the Korok Seed! Yay. ^_^

That loose end taken care of, I started thinking of what other little chores I could tie up.

....I had pictographs of all three Leviathans now—I warped out of Castle Town Prison and went to the Serenne Stable to find those guys again.... I remembered, they were in Serenne, not Akkala....

But I paused for dinner before I spoke to them.

And then after we had eaten, David wanted to have some time on the game. So I watched him play for a while.

As it turned out, that map-creeper had been spying on me for shrines now that I had passed him up! Every time I’d looked at my map, he’d been studying it for the shrines that I had and he didn’t!

The nerve! XD

He got some shrine that I’d already done; I can’t remember which, and a little while later.... I picked up the game again.

At the Serenne Stable, I finally got back to those three men loitering near the manger. I’d never bothered to commit their names to memory; one of them might have been Akrah....

One of them saw my pictograph of the Gerudo Great Skeleton, bleached by the sun and mired in the desert sands, and he exclaimed that he was so happy because now he’d finally be able to prove his theory that the great leviathans’ extinction was caused by a massive drought!

The next one saw my pictograph of the Hebra Great Skeleton, entombed and encased in the heart of the icy mountain, and declared that now he would finally be able to prove that it had been a mighty ice age that had wiped out the leviathans!

The last one saw my pictograph of the Eldin Great Skeleton, weathering away on Eldin’s Flank at the base of the fiery Death Mountain, and pronounced that finally he had definitive proof that the leviathans had all been killed by a catastrophic volcanic eruption!

I.... kind of shook my head with a weary grin and didn’t argue with any of them.

I just accepted the cool three hundred rupees they gave me for my trouble, and left them to it.

On to another loose end....

I guessed I couldn’t really say anything about David spying on me for shrines.... because I then went after some of the Koroks I’d seen him get!

Back to Hebra I went, scouring that river that fed into the Shrine Under The Hill—the Koroks were really thick along there. So were the Icy Lizalfos, but I made do well enough.

I wandered more and more southward, catching Koroks by the butt-ton, until.... Hey....

“I’m not freezing!” I said to David. :D

The mercury had indeed risen, I could no longer see my breath, and my cheeks and the tip of my nose no more blushed at the stinging cold.

I had come to some large stretches of bare rock over which the snow had no hold, and I was grateful for the chance to switch to my more protective Champion’s Tunic, and especially the agility-boosting Climber’s Bandana. It was a great help in climbing some rock faces in order to dive into a Korok’s lily-pad circle in a large, natural water pocket—whose contents were also safely temperate to boot. :)

The Divine Beast Bird wheeled so close overhead now....

And away in the distance I could see what MUST have been.... Rito Village! 8D Houses like Kass’, all forested up and down that mighty rock spire I had seen!

And just down the cliff from where I was.... a Stable! ^_^

But.... I didn’t go there.... not yet.... not yet. It needed a proper approach.

I whisked away instead to the Central Tower for more Koroks—for from what I’d seen when David was playing, I had missed a few hiding in the scattered copses of trees just south of the ruined Castle Town....

And as I hunted the little sprites I pondered back on the leviathan pictographs I’d shown to Akrah and his friends. And I wondered aloud to David that there seemed to be a shrine at each skeleton except Eldin.

And then I said, “I should not be saying this out loud.” But David never minded.

I’m not sure what David thinks, but.... I have my own suspicions.... Maybe it will be the last shrine that appears there, beneath the Eldin Great Skeleton. The one that has.... those things in it. Dang you, internet.... Or was it Madman Joseph? I can’t remember....

In looking at my map I suddenly saw the little white icon and realized—“Oh shoot....”—I’d left Memory standing outside the Serenne Stable. I warped back there to board him again; poor thing was standing out in the rain.... I’d left him out after taking his and Dragmire’s pictographs for the Compendium. Evidently White and Giant horses registered as separate breeds, or separate enough for the Compendium to give each its own entry.

Hmmmmm....

Of course it was possible there was a discoverable shrine at the Eldin Skeleton after all.... and I just hadn’t been able to turn it up.

Ummmmm....

Vah Rudania.

I donned my Flamebreaker Armor and warped to the top of the volcano.... but—and I knew this would happen—I touched down on the side opposite where I needed to be.... and the Divine Beast perched in the way of my taking the short way round; the game wouldn’t let me get too close to it....

And so in only a minor huff I about-faced and began circling the caldera, sailing from crag to crag, and climbing to the pinnacle of each before leaping off again. After perhaps seven or eight of these slow, hot scrambles, I came to the north side of the caldera, from whence I could make the long, direct paraglide down the northern flank of the volcano to the Deplian Badlands below—which flight, even with my nearly full Stamina meter, required a few pitstops along the way.

This really was the most direct route to the Eldin Great Skeleton?

Once again, closest shrine to the east was Gut Check Rock, and that was a very long trek; closest to the west was at the shrouded Thyphlo Ruins, deep in a maze locked in darkness, and also a very long trek; and on the volcano the nearest shrine was that one beneath an ancient, petrified giant crab’s carapace in the middle of a lava lake, accessible only by railcar—not really meant to be a gateway to anywhere....

Gosh there was just NO easy way to get there....

There HAD to be something closer....

On the last legs of my long paraglide I saw that Dinraal was approaching from high in the east over the chasm that separated Hyrule from the north countries. I knew he would swoop down near the skeleton.... May as well try for a piece of him, I thought. But I was so far away still, and he was already passing by....

I gave it a shot anyway. My first arrow came up short—the distance was too great. With my second arrow, I aimed a little higher.... and I JUST caught him on his left hind foot! The scale shimmered and broke off, Dinraal made for the heavens, and I touched down on top of the Eldin Great Skeleton’s skull.

The scale gleamed and glimmered at me from where it had landed a bowshot away, down on the easy, flat ground. A bit forward and to the left of where the skeleton’s great nose was pointing.

“Well go get it,” says David.

“But there’s bad guys underneath this thing.” I wondered if the scale would wait for me, not depopulate, if I took time to play the Bomb game....

“Then we’ll do it real quiet like,” said David in Han Solo’s voice.

And Hnnnnngh I just jumped down and got it. And I found I needn’t have worried; the bad guys didn’t see me. They were situated more underneath the rib cage, and with the immensity of this skeleton’s skull, that was no small distance away.

David was in the other room when I picked up the scale—

“WHAT.”

“What?” asks David.

“DAVID.” I just—

He came back in.

It was not a scale.

It was Dinraal’s CLAW.

Never got wunna those before....

....

I think I’m over-Zelda’ed for this weekend.

Korok Woods. Pepp’s. Sleep. Done.

Good night.

The Ultimate Game

Waking of Saturday, October 28, 2017 ~ 3

The Ultimate Game

It was strange remembering that there were other climes I loved. There were too many mysteries on the volcano; I wasn’t ready to leave them unsolved.

But at length I paraglided down to the Foothill Stable. There was something I’d seen David do in his game.... maybe it was the only thing that could get me to finally come down, for I wanted to try it, too....

~

David had been at the Outskirt Stable. I had directed him there and told him there was a man named Trott who would buy his Raw Gourmet Meat for a hundred rupees a cut.

And as he visited around with the other people at the stable, he came to that girl by the stalls and manger, and she made the offer to style his horse’s mane and tail.

“They can change the mane and tail design?” David blurted through an open grin.

“Yeah,” I said, and then added wryly, “Man, you really don’t talk to anyone, do you?”

David laughed.

I guess we’re each ahead of the other in our own ways.

I myself hadn’t even looked at the mane designs. But David did then, with.... Shooper I think was that particular horse’s name.

There were so many fun and amazing styles.... XD

~

Now at the Foothill Stable below the volcano, I took out Brown. I knew I could have just warped, but....

I like riding the roads.

I rode Brown aaaall the way to Kakariko Village, by way of the Sahasra Slope, and then aaaall the way to the Outskirt Stable.

But.... I couldn’t bring myself to do up his mane and tail. He just looks so good the way he is!

Thrice, however, I gave a long mane and tail, reminiscent of his wild upbringing.

And Memory? Mmm with his royal tack he did not look out of place wearing braids. Ehhhhhh BECAUSE.

And as long as I had a mount under me, thinking of new lands and new stables.... I decided it was time I took the road out across and beyond Digdogg Suspension Bridge.

And so Memory and I set out toward the desert canyon....

But we hadn’t been traveling for more than five or ten minutes—game minutes no less—before my swiveling view gave me a glance of Satori Mountain.

It was lit up.

The sun wasn’t even down.

I looked at the clock: the time was five pm, and the whole of the night lay ahead of me.

....

I brought Memory to a screaming halt, dashed back to the stable, and boarded him again.

I wanted to try and catch those Blupees at their meeting!

When I warped to Satori Mountain it was raining, and I shivered in the cold, but my Warm Doublet was enough for that.

I hiked up the slippery slope to the three-way crevasse at the mountain’s peak, and creeping forward to the highest split, I once again saw those little blue rabbitkabobs visiting with each other in the ghostly teal haze.

I was able to snap their pictograph this time. Blupees, my Compendium said.

Huh, from David’s mention of their name I’d thought of it spelled ‘blupies’ in my head.

Ah well.

I edged toward them, wondering how they would react—

There was something else in the clearing beyond.

Big. And glowing.

Crystal-blue like the rabbits.

Was this the Beast that Quince had told me about so long ago?

I snapped this one’s pictograph, too. And—

The Lord of the Mountain, my Compendium called it.

Huh. o.o

This was that beast.

It pawed the ground like a horse, looking about like a nervous deer, and its face.... made me think of an owl for some reason. Strange antlers sprang from its crown.

The ultimate game, I thought.

Wasn’t that what somebody had said?

Satori Mountain was the place to find game.

And this Lord of the Mountain.... wasn’t this the ultimate game?

I nocked an Ice Arrow, took aim, and let fly.

The thing reared and froze and I was paragliding in. The nearby blupees scattered and disappeared. I hit the beast again and again while the ice held, but when it finally broke free—

It vanished.

It was gone.

All the blupees were gone, too.

And the night was clear; the teal haze evaporated, and I could see the stars.

It seemed the mountain wouldn’t light up anymore, if that one got scared off.

Volcano Wanderings

Waking of Saturday, October 28, 2017 ~ 2

Volcano Wanderings

I wandered on down the road toward a treehouse that looked intriguing. I had it out with the slew of Moblins up top; but pacified as they were by my Moblin Mask, they couldn’t be kept at bay for long once I started throwing punches.

I had almost polished off the last of them when I heard the Blood Moon music.

That wasn’t good.

I quickly ransacked the three treasure chests, headed for the ground floor, and was duking it out with a Lizalfos when midnight struck.

Too late.

When the vision ended I was surrounded by baddies again.

I booked it.

There were Koroks here and there.... another Shrine.... the Qua Raym Shrine? Maybe.

What else was around here....? I knew I’d meant to take a bit more time visiting the South Mine, as the last time I’d seen it I’d come tearing through under the influence of a certain elixir, and was gone before I had seen much of anything. And it had that familiar music I’d wanted to hear more of, too....

But I also remembered one of the Gorons in town having mentioned an Igneo Talus to be defeated at Darunia Lake. My imagination flared up with more cannon shenaniganry.... that sounded like FUN....

And so I ran back to the lake at the North Mine with its cannons and had a grand old time blowing up the resident baddies.... but could not find a Talus to shoot anywhere.

Wasn’t this a quest? I checked my sidequest log. Yes it was a quest.

I selected it, dropping a location marker for this particular quest to show up on my map.

And show up it did. Right over there. Across the lake and on the shore.

Out of range of the cannons.

No cannon shenaniganry this time. :c

It looked like I’d just have to kill it the old fashioned way.

So I did—after finding a perch low enough to keep its attention but still high enough to protect me. (Don’t go for the extra-high cliff; he’ll pelt you before you can climb out of reach.)

The quest log updated, and I went back to report to whatever Goron it was that had set me to it. I remembered. It was the apprentice of that—

Ah.

Hhhhh.

The apprentice of that Master Rohan.

I remembered. Or rather, I didn’t remember. For most of the points of this particular sidequest had sailed in one ear and out the other due to the fact that my mind had jammed like a printer on that name:

Master Rohan.

And I wondered where my friend had gone.

It’s been nearly three years.

....

Seemed this Goron Master Rohan too was an artisan. His apprentice—Fugo was his name—thanked me with some reward or other, probably rupees. But Master Rohan himself was.... a bit grumpy as I recall. Brooding and gloomy and crotchety.

Guess that’s a nut to crack some other day.

I don’t even remember what their whole deal was anyway. Fugo wanted some kind of acknowledgement or something from his master....?

Hhhh. Master Rohan.

I wandered on, eventually coming to a place called Gorko’s Tunnel. It was fairly short, and dead-ended, and there was a single Goron inside, swinging a pick at the tumble of rocks at the far end.

None of my implements could speed the work.

I gathered that the tunnel seemed to lead to somewhere or something special, but I couldn’t get out of the Goron what that could have been.

I couldn’t get it out of David either. He was infuriating.

.... though I don’t suppose I’d have it any other wayyyyy maybe.

So many dead ends just leave you so confounded.

Where do people go?

Daruk's Protection

Waking of Friday, October 13, 2017 ~ 4

Daruk’s Protection

With the demonic apparition defeated, I was finally able to activate the main control unit on Vah Rudania’s back. And when I did—

“Great work, little guy!”

I turned and there stood the spirit of Daruk, all ghostly teal.... but grinning hugely and with his arms spread wide.

Similar to what Lady Mipha had said, but in much gruffer terms, he explained to me that since I had slain the monster that got the best of him, his spirit was finally free. “Sorry that my resting with the rubble caused so much trouble for you...” he added, “But now Vah Rudania is back under our control!” He pounded fist into palm with palpable force and I daresay a small shockwave.

Man, I bet even Goron ghosts could knock you out if they tried.

Daruk went on to say that he wanted to give me something.... a power he had, called “Daruk’s Protection” . . . .

Oh yeah, I knew.

It wouldn’t do him any good as a spirit, he said, but maybe it could help me.

“Ready? Here it comes!”

These Gorons don’t do anything small. ._.

With a strenuous roar he seemed to summon a ball of energy between his giant palms, and with a “Hah!”, clapped in my direction—

And his power plunged into my chest and I was surrounded with a burning, powerful light, my feet again momentarily losing contact with the ground on which I’d stood as I closed my eyes and took it all in.

And when I was myself again I tried it—I planted my feet and rammed the knuckles of my fists together—feeling all the more impressive being ironclad in the FlameBreaker Armor—and the shimmering, lava-colored dodecahedron flared into being around my person.

I was invincible.

And I let go of it and flexed my gloved fingers....

Daruk continued, “I’m gonna take this thing down the mountain where I’ll have a clear shot at Calamity Ganon. And when you get inside the castle . . . we’re gonna light that place up!”

Or some such words he said....

Hadn’t Mipha said something about.... draining Ganon’s power?

What did he mean ‘light it up’?

And there were parting words—more encouragement I am sure.

I like Daruk’s temperament.

But I remember the very last thing he said before the light swallowed me up to transport me away—

“And.... Give my regards to the Princess,” he said with a grin.

Vah Rudania, lit a purer blue this time between its joints, instead of the corrupted red, clawstomped its powerful way out of the crater and perched atop an impressive crag. Its head moved, lizard-like, getting a fix on the castle I assumed—for the six segments from nose to neck then shuddered apart, splitting the whole of it wide open like a flower. And inside, a great bronzy barrel telescoped out into menacing life, charged with a mighty whirring, and let loose the enormous red beam. Straight into the calamitous clouds about the castle.

Little halos of the same energy ringed in and out of being along its length....

“Well, that about does it!” Daruk spoke to the Divine Beast or maybe a bit to himself. Or maybe to the player. “All we have to do now is wait for the perfect shot.”

Perfect shot?

Hadn’t Mipha said something about sapping Ganon’s power?

What were these beams, anyway? Wouldn’t they just work to weaken—

Red circles.

A red imploding circle on the target. Repeatedly shrinking to the center and then reappearing.

It . . . . was familiar . . . . ?

Oh my Hylia.

The Divine Beasts were Sheikah technology.

Like the Guardians.

THAT LASER . . . . IS A LASER OH MY GOSH WAT THIS I CAN’T—

Daruk took in the landscape.

“Hyrule looks good even after a hundred years,” he said, “The old rollin’ grounds sure are a sight for sore eyes.”

His eyes and his tone fell a bit.

“I wonder how the Gorons.... fared after the Great Calamity. I hope they’re still going strong even after every—”

But the camera had angled behind the figure of Yunobo, on a crag further down the cone, as he gazed up at the Divine Beast, and the ghostly teal figure on top of it.

Daruk had seen him too.

Yunobo gasped in wonder.

“Well would you look at that . . .” Daruk mused, “Still going strong indeed!”

With a manly grunt, he thrust his huge right fist straight up into the air in a rugged salutation.

And with that kind of delight you only feel when you know you are the sole partaker of the rarest of gifts.... Yunobo shouted and waved his hand vigorously back, laughing his exultation to the morning sky . . . .