Demons, and Nightmares, Endai In Between

Waking of Saturday, May 11, 2019 (comprised of raw note editings from April 5, 2023 through April 12, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

 

Demons, and Nightmares, Endai In Between

 

I went to the Coliseum and killed the Lynel. No sweat. It was awesome and I was feeling pretty good!

David said I was just showing off—to which I absolutely preened. Never done better with dodges and flurry rushes before!

However.... there was no shrine in the area. Nothing I could trip or activate to make one appear after clearing the dangerous space.

But I was not left completely without a prize; I took my new spoils to Kaysa to upgrade my Barbarian Armor. Now that I had seven Lynel guts, I could spare two apiece for each of the three armor pieces and still have one left over.

After that.... I went to Cotera, just because I hadn’t seen her in a while. I had her do up my new Amber Earrings all the way—I’d never seen her do the fourth level before—and my new Opal Earrings up three levels. But I would still need more Opal for the fourth level on those ones.

I ran around the Electric Lizalfos Baobab Grove in the Gerudo Highlands.... climbed further up into the range.... circumnavigated Spectacle Rock, just about.... Found a Korok beneath the little land bridge.... And a new Meteor Rod from a Wizzrobe who didn’t look like he really needed it....

No shrines though. Just wolves.

I circumnavigated Lake Mekar. I killed all the baddies on Mekar Island in the middle again. I even stayed on the island a few days waiting for respawns, though none ever came.

But still.... there were no shrines.

....

Hhhhhhh.

Hmm.

I would try Batrea Lake, by the Riverside Stable.

The Riverside Stable was on the west side of the Hylia River, but Batrea Lake lay in a forest on the east. There were two bridges convenient to the area, but.... Owlan Bridge seemed the shorter route. I jogged southward to cross.

On the other side, I found hecktons of Koroks, and megaBUTTtons of mushrooms of all kinds. And a very interesting giant hollow log stump in the middle of the lake.... with metal boxes inside of it.... Why?

But no shrines.

I meandered northward and came back across on the other bridge, Horwell Bridge—where I saw Leekah was in trouble again.

I saved her from her assailants, saw her to her feet, and began to escort her back toward the stable, when—that glowing, that fluttering, that cursed laughter....

We were waylaid by two Yiga and—just to complicate things—a friggin’ Octorok along for the ride.

I killed the archer in short order, but the big Yiga was more.... insistent. Amid the tussle I saw Leekah make a break for it—good. While she moved toward safety I continued to have it out with the big guy, but he was giving me such trouble.... And then as he leapt backward from my advances yet again, he landed shin-deep in the waters of the Hylia River.

I’d taken out my bow by this point and finally just shot the Octorok to get him to leave me alone. I still had the bow in my hands. A Forest Dweller’s Bow. I pelted the Big Yigaman with one of the bow’s triple-arrows, but upon seeing the paltry effect even this had, I fished into my quiver for something a little stronger—shin-deep in the water....

Ah! Shock Arrows!

Switching over to the new stock and aiming low into the current, I took him down in two juddering, spasming hits.

And he was down.

....His rupees must’ve sunk. But I sure as heck got his bananas.

I ran after Leekah, passing Beedle and Spoone on the way—Doctor Spoone—we really were already quite close to the Stable. But I caught up with her and escorted her the rest of the way nonetheless.

“I feel less anxious with you around,” she said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I said back, and I meant it.

That makes me feel good.

 

Uh.... And then I remembered something.... and made a manual save.

 

I wanted to test this Hylian Shield.

Strength 120.

Shield Guard Up +30.

What did it mean?

 

I ventured out into the lands around the Riverside Stable, looking for trouble.... Funny how it never showed up when you were looking for it.... until I finally was able to scare up a couple of Stalmoblins with sticks.

They banged their puny whackers against the brilliant, ringing shield of many ages.

This could take a while, I thought.

Un/fortunately, some time later, another Big Yiga showed up. Now we’re talking.

The sun or my impatience eventually claimed the two stalcreatures, and I faced my new opponent.

Man, that thing took a beating, but the Hylian Shield did not bow or break under the blows of the Yiga Soldier. I followed the man, pressing in close, giving no blows of my own but only allowing him to swing his Windcleaver at me again and again, clanging and banging off the Hylian Shield.... until this one likewise leapt away from me straight backward and into the river.

As it turned out, the river ran deep just there and.... the Yiga Soldier despawned?

But a fresh one showed up just a moment later.

The same one? Did the game recognize that neither of us had yet prevailed in our quarrel? Or was it a newcomer?

I never found out.

I don’t suppose it mattered.

My shield took a BEATING. I could see in my inventories that its pristine sparkle had long since gone away, but still this Hylian Shield would just not die.

As we sported all up and down—well, as one of us sported and one of us did science all up and down the riverbank.... the Octoroks began to crop up again. I didn’t need any stones to the face—I tried to keep the Yigaman in between me and them. They hit him in the back of the head several times. I don’t suppose it was unexpected, but it still made me blink and then give an irreverent little chuckle. The way they just smashed and crumbled off his poor noggin....

My Hylian Shield stood strong against every blow. I never even parried. I just took hit after hit after hit, head-on, every time seeing those tiny sparks fly as the shield’s unplumbable durability was chipped away. Pebbles from a mountain.

Again, and again, and again, and—

 

What in Hylia’s name was that ungodly sound?

 

It was a voice—definitely a voice, and it was coming from the Yiga, but.... inhuman. Layered.... rippling.... Demonic.

Oh my gosh, I thought, had I carried this fight on for so long that the Yiga was glitching out?

“Zwuauzwuzwuzwuaezwaeuwa—” Incomprehensible sounds.

The unholy utterances persisted through the fight now, as long as we ever kept going, the Yiga repeatedly chanting weird demonic things at me as he conjured his ground-burrowing explosions.

Daruk came back to thrice look in on me—what on earth must he have thought?—only to be hammered away once again, and then it was back to shield-beating.

But the Hylian Shield just would not die.

But I wondered whether my game might, at this rate.

But I would like to know the shield’s limits....

But this demon in my ear.... I didn’t want to hear much more of this....

 

I fled into my pause menu and reloaded that manual save.

 

My shield was pristine again.

 

It had never broken.

 

“I’d rather have this guy with me,” the memory ran through my head.

Brother Mow indicated the man who, while he had finished the obstacle course within the time limit, was now so wrung out and huffing and puffing that he had been reduced to puking his guts out onto the ground.

The other course-runners were taken aback. Oh? Not the bigger, tougher man who had aced his way through and finished first?

“I told you to leave it all on the field. I know that this guy [the puker] is willing to push himself until he’s falling over sick on the field, but him? I have no idea what his breaking point is. I have no idea what could make him just snap out on the battlefield, and be unable to carry on when it counts.”

 

Or some such words....

 

That Hylian Shield....

I wanted to know its limits....

I didn’t want it to ever fail me when I needed it....

 

I’m....

I’m going to bed somewhere. Maybe my house.

 

But before I did, I met a man on horseback whom I didn’t think I had ever met before. His name was Endai.

“Ah, I’ve seen that look in your eye before,” he said, “You’ve lost track of what’s important in life, haven’t you?”

Huh. Remarkably.... astute.

“Catching bugs, swimming, infiltrating the castle, sleeping... The possibilities are endless, don’t you think?”

....!?

Who is this guy??

....

Just another man on the road.

And then too soon.... we parted ways.

 

....

 

He was right. I had lost track.

The Princess was waiting for me.

Calamity Ganon.... was waiting for me.

 

But where were the last two shrines....?

 

....

 

I went to Hateno—I went home.

This is my house.

♪  This is my house. ♪ ....

I put on pajamas.

Yes, these are my new pajamas.

Because I’m a girl playing this game.

It was roughly 11:00 pm.

I slept until the morning....

Good night.

 

~

 

And in my dreams.... I was escorting someone.... a woman and child, I think.

It was a dangerous time and place. Near to the castle.

I had to protect them....

A laser was targeting us—But we made it out of range....

Safe for the moment, and for the moment only. We were near to one of the gatehouses.

I could see something.... there near the castle....

There on the base of one of the rock pillars supporting the bridge over the moat... was that.... could that be.... some kind of opening into an inner part?

And on the bridge....

A Golden Lynel.

I had only heard of them in rumor.

But I had to get these people to safety.

Did they go on ahead? Did I send them? Or were they spooked by something?

Did they dash into the gatehouse too quickly? But there were Malice Mouths in there!

Or did a new laser find us?

They moved ahead to where I had thought that they would be safe, because I was busy fending off whatever was behind us, whatever was coming.... but something happened, something new, something spotted our movements.

No!

I was supposed to look after them. I couldn’t let them be hurt.

I had to save them—

Please no—

I had to keep them safe—

 

Maybe the Front Porch

Friday, May 10, 2019 ~ 4

Maybe the Front Porch

Oh gosh where would I pick up....

Okay last autosave.

Please be outside the threshold....

Okay.

I was standing outside the Sanctum. In my Climber’s Gear.

This was. Okay.

Oh my gosh I needed a breath of some real fresh air.

Okay.

Let me think....

No shrines in those upper reaches of the tallest towers. My hopes were beginning to wear thin.

I paraglided off the central Castle and onto the southeast pillar, considering.

Those guard houses maybe.... Maybe? I’d not gone into those....

This whole time I had been combing the Castle from the bottom up. But now, I’d try the closest guard house to the Castle’s front door. I was already pretty high up. I’d try combing top to bottom.

I floated down....

This was the guard house on top of which I’d found a Korok last time.

Bloody turrets....

I hunkered down on a battlement where I could safely see inside an upper window. The interior was thick with Malice and I was pretty sure I could see a mouth. Once I got inside, it would probably start spitting things at me. There were two eyeballs glopped onto the ceiling, but.... they wouldn’t open, no matter how close I got to them, how visible I made myself through the windows.... I would have to—

We’ll see....

I dropped down inside.

....

Okay.

The Second Gatehouse as it was called....

I shot the Malice eyeballs. As I suspected they hadn’t opened until I’d dropped in from the window and hit the central floor.

Also, the portcullises slammed shut.

And the dang little cursed skullheaded things came floating after me—a couple of ‘em had gotten out before I was able to dispel the Malice.

Also, Daruk went off.

And of course he yelled and everything, but that.... sounded like a bigger hit than normal.

And then I turned around and there was a White-Maned Lynel inside with me.

Oh.

One cursed Stalmoblin was still gumming after me.

I killed it.

And.... Then the Lynel beat me up.

For a while.

Oh. The sounds Link made.

Horrible choking gasps....

But I collected myself, got to my feet, replenished my health, and gave the Lynel what for. With the Master Sword.

And then he was dead, and I had his stuff. And another treasure chest with three Ancient Arrows.

My gosh, you think maybe the game is hinting at something?

I always considered my Ancient Arrows too precious and rare to use, but they were certainly as good as growing on trees around here....

However.... that was a different matter.

I didn’t think there was a Shrine here.

....

Dratblast it, if I couldn’t find another one on the Castle Grounds....

....

Where could it be?

....

I wondered if I could run to the First Gatehouse; there was surely something just as fearsome in there, and that attack meal I’d eaten was still in effect. For like two more minutes.

I ran.

Not like me, I knew. The Creeping Mouse, ever cautious. Not like me at all. But it would be a shame to let that attack meal go to waste....

Out in the exposed dun and grey, as I pounded over the dust with no walls around me, two lasers settled onto my back.

They seemed to come from either side.... maybe turrets posted about the Gatehouse entrance behind me.

The angle between the lasers tightened as I increased the distance between myself and my assailants.... but it was not yet so skinny that—

The lasers flickered, strobed, beeped—

I skidded and rebounded off the dirt, doubling back right as the lasers fired.

The blue-white bolts skimmed my shoulders and their combined blasts went off right in front of me.

Rebounding once more, I pressed forward again, through the vestigial smoke and heat—the path had been clear for a good length ahead; I could still run all-out and be fine—

For a while.

I pelted out of the haze and considered the remaining road between me and the other Gatehouse. Another moment and a tall, horny barrier of Malice would give me trouble.

The lasers came back. The angle was too tight to double back between them now.

Be-be-be-be-beee—!

I dashed to the side this time, veering in a hard right angle off to the left; the lasers once again exploded where I had been about to step.

And I was running again. I could see the eyeball. Right in the thick of it. Had to be the one. But.... bad angle. The Malace wall veered, and the eyeball was somewhat secluded, drawn back and hugging toward the right, facing toward the left. And I wasn’t quite close enough that I was confident I’d be able to land an arrow on the first try. Just a few more paces.... Though it was dangerous to prolong the attempt....

I sprinted until I came near enough to the Malice obstruction, drew my bow—already the lasers were—

They got me this time, just after I shot the eyeball.

Get up get up get up.... The Malice was disintegrating. Still, I thought.... no sense wasting the smoldering fireball engulfing me. I jumped, whipped out my paraglider, and rode the updraft from the lingering fire, sailing over the last wisps of the vanishing barrier, toward the other Gatehouse.... out of range. Good.

I touched down safely and ducked beside the stone entrance. No Guardians could see me here.

Now.... What could be in here....?

I peeked in the entrance of the First Gatehouse and saw the Malice Mouth directly above me. It remained dormant, only pulsing and wiggling every now and again with no prey yet trapped in the room.

The time-limit of the Attack effect from that last meal was still counting down. I decided I would dash to the other side, and I did. And down came.... as if from the ceiling....

Heh, I’d hoped it would be you.

Blue Lynel.

The kind against which I’d never gotten to test my mettle.

But I did here. And I was collected. And I dodged his attacks, and flurry rushed him many times.... Until the dang cursed Stalmoblin caught up with me.

But I put it down soon enough and finished off the Lynel. And then shot the eyeball. And then killed the remaining two cursed Stalmoblins.

And the First Gatehouse seemed to be mine. What was in this chest....?

Ten Bomb Arrows. Not bad! :)

Found five more in a chest on the roof.

Aaaaand... A Korok on top of the spire. Just as I expected! I thought in Lloyd Irving’s voice.

Shouldn't It Stand To Reason?

Friday, May 10, 2019 ~ 3

Shouldn’t It Stand To Reason?

Having cleaned out the Lockup, it was back to the tall chamber with the Moblin....

The Shaft.

It seemed to be directly below Princess Zelda’s Study and bedchamber.

Bracing beams supported the dark stonework for.... what must have been several stories overhead. Drainage came in from somewhere in a waterfall. A number of grates were set into the floor for this; the torrent sluiced in and gurgled away beneath them. One part of the stone wall stuck out like a barrel, all round—tubular more like, bound in by more beams and struts. I could just spy the Moblin on the other side of one of these supports. Malice glopped onto the walls and floor behind him....

But first.... there was a hidden bombable wall.... and that led to....

The West Passage?

I followed it into a rougher-cut tunnel; no bricks. There was a pool down here.... and.... moldy rotten Guardians lined up as if they were growing out of the walls, what—what—? Augh, they were dead, thankfully, but.... Ugh. The sight was.... It was like those robots from Castle in the Sky, all growing, all moldering.... only.... What did it mean? Hadn’t the Guardians come from those five Pillars somehow? Or had they been buried like fossils in the soil? Is this where the Royal Family had unearthed some of them? Er, had had some of them unearthed....? And so close to the passages they walked.... How.... creepy....

I proceeded cautiously until, Oh, I saw as I got closer—the pool was a hot spring.

And there were three little pools before three little statues on the other side of it.

Hard boiled eggs bobbed in each pool except the middle one.

I dropped an egg into that one, and it boiled. The Korok appeared.

Hadn’t seen that trick before.

Noice.

I soothed myself in the spring. Seven or eight hearts back up to full. It was a welcome respite.

Continuing along the dark passage, I encountered some Keese, but.... nothing else.

A minecart track led its way out of the passage, but.... there was no minecart.

I guessed this was as far as I could go.

Okay then.... back to the Shaft....

I turned to start back, but—

NO. I was probably not going to come this way again. Just go! I told myself. The rest of the passage didn’t extend that far, judging by the map....

I climbed outside! With nothing else for it I crawled along the bare bleak stone beside the anchored minecart track until I got into the other tunnel. More Keese. Frost Pebblits? Easy enough....

I walked a little further to what seemed to finally be the end of the passage.... and.... Okay, it was just another outside entrance guarded by a Flyer.

Due diligence done, it was time to go back.

I took the Goron Minecart this time. Heh, hadn’t done that in a while.... and had never dared do it in the Castle! But, as I’d already cleaned out the passageway.... why not!

I had seen these tracks from far away across the moat before. Many times. How they arced around the great bald patches of stone surrounding the castle’s lower foundations. I could never see myself actually riding them, but now.... I wondered what it looked like from afar....

Back to the Shaft.

I killed the Moblin, and was able to have a proper look around the tall, tall space.... There was so much Malice in the way, how was I supposed to—

Ah, I see. The drainage waterfall was clear. I cast Cryonis on it a few times to make my own stairs up until I could reach that ladder.... And the ladder went up.... And where did this little passage lead?

But I stopped. What was this place? It looked like a little study or something. No. A little table more for like reception or something like it. Book-keeping of some kind. Recording. A little bookshelf.... once-ornate hangings like those in the Guards’ Chamber....

What or who passed through here? Market-goods on their way to the royal kitchen? Smithed wares for the soldiers? Visitors’ registry? A cleaning service? There was no way to know.

Something was lurking on the other side of an explodable wall. Something with 288 hit points. What could it be....?

The noises it issued made it out to be a lizard.

I killed it.

Oh, the Master Sword was running low on energy.

....

What about that shield?

What about the shield?

I wondered....

....

It was only a little alcove where the Lizalfos had been hiding; not really anywhere else to go. Okay what was that lizard guarding.... what was this.... treasure chest....

Oagh!

It’s a Shard of Dinraal’s Fang!

What in the heck! These are amazing! Will I find more? I DON’T KNOW! 8D

Onward!

I sniffed around and zeroed in on the only thing left I could find to mess with in the little record-keeping room.... a switch.

I flicked it.

WHAT! It activated an updraft back out in the Shaft!

I went and took it.... and oh it took me up high.... Twice as high as that first little record-keeping room.... to yet another room above, near the top. One passage from this new room led away outside, and another looked like it connected back to that corridor off which the giant circular staircase stemmed!

I checked the outside first.... and found that I could access a stairway that went back up toward the Outer Track—the area below Princes Zelda’s study and bedchamber.

I’d been around there already though.... Back inside. I would go back through the inner corridors.

There were horns and globs of Malice everywhere....

NO. Wait....

There was another passage, up near Zelda’s Chamber, that I could see on my map. An inside-corridor not connected with anything else, only accessible from the outside, right there. I’d go get that first.

And I did, and....

Oh, it was Princess Zelda’s room. Two layers. I forgot.

All right....

Back down then, to the Outer Track. I followed it clockwise, bending round to the north side of the castle.

-

Blast these log-notes.... blast my procrastination in finessing them.... Look I’ve been chasing the following paragraph all over and around the document for MONTHS because I could not remember when I first encountered its described architecture. What Castle-visit it had been.... Actually I think I had been going counter-clockwise at the time....

“I scooted around the bulky obstruction to continue, and there was a strange, sheltering overhang, pillared about the road from the living stone, familiar from a dizzy dream I had had before.... But I could only go so far before there were Guardians again, didn’t want to go that way....”

Yes it . . . . must have been an earlier visit.... with how I reacted to the Guardians.... drat.

Rest in peace here on page 600, Dizzy-Dream Pillar Paragraph.

-

Now I passed through the sheltering stone pillars going the other way, rounding the gentle bend to the right, until I came to a Guardian embedded high up in a bleachy hill of rockfall and rubble on the right side of the road, spilling from some higher level of the castle grounds.

I killed it where it stuck out from the rocks at an odd angle; its Ancient bits and spoils came tumbling down, scattering over the landslide.

Across the road from where the Guardian had been—or what remained of the road beneath the rubble—I could see a dark passageway leading into a small hill. A brief consultation of my map let me know that this was one of the passageways into the Library.

! Then that Guardian.... It must have been the one I had seen back when I had come up out of the Library for the first time. The one that had frightened me back inside.

I’d stood my ground well enough this time.

Yes the “bulky obstruction” must have been that landslide outside the Library.... must’ve been heading counter-clockwise....

With the Guardian dead I was free to explore a bit further now. The mound housing the entrance to the Library was straight-sided, and tiered, with a little copse of dead pine trees at its humble crown. It must have been lovely once.

Up on top of the hill over the Library entrance was another chest....

Naydra’s Scale. Very nice.

I looked back. From this vantage point I had a better view of the rubbleslide; it really was massive and it covered the outer track. But.... above....

I wondered if I could scale that cliff. The one the Dizzy Pillars were carved from; the one with the sheltering overhang. It seemed to go right up to the back of the Sanctum. The back of the Castle. The back of the Sanctum....

On went my Climber’s Gear, and though it came to a close call with my stamina, I found that I could. Scale the cliff.

The air turned blustery with Malice.

Globs of Malice everywhere so thick....

This was the uppermost Earth. Everything above here was man-laid brick and stone.

Is there.... Is there....

It would stand to reason....

There must be a Shrine somewhere....

I peeked a little bit into the architecture.

Sanctum flashed on the screen....

I saw a large empty space.... looked like a boss room....

NOPE! NOpe. Nope noep noep I ran back out of there.... climbed around a bit, looked around...  [[Do you see how nervous I was? Never mind the spelling errors—I forgot to add the wonted fourth dot in my ellipsis!]]

But....

I wondered....

I.... WONDERED....

A big, flat empty space....

I....

....

Wondered.

Climbing again, on up into the brickwork, and I came upon.... What?

That little round crosscut of a tree-trunk, with a leaf-shaped pointer on it.

A Korok Race.

Even here.

I stepped on it. It targeted a nearby spire of the upper Castle architecture.

“You’re joking!” I hollered.

But I did it. Running off the edge and sailing over the sky.

“Bloody Koroks!”

Got him.

Okay this is really frightening, I thought. Couldn’t the Guardians see me from here? I felt so exposed on the spire top out in the open. But nothing targeted me.

I could go back down.... maybe....

The front door to the Castle Very Proper was just below me if I dropped.

But.... NO. I was NOT doing that yet. I was going back around to the back!

I paraglided back onto the level I’d been on, climbed around on the brickwork a bit more.... and....

This.

A window into the architecture.

This might have been the selfsame window I saw before. The one with a ladder inside it, leading down into a hole in the floor.

I crept inside.

No cinematics started; nothing jumped out at me.

I took the ladder down.

This was uncomfortably too far inside.... quieter, closer, and full of that unsettlement of when you’re out of the wind and in the den of the beast....

But when I reached the bottom of the ladder, there was too much Malice blocking the way further inward. But two other passageways stood open to the air on either side; I could walk instead around the encompassing ledgewalk. The cross-section of the castle was so narrow now.... It seemed there were three similar ladderways just like this one, inside similar buttress-like towers, leading back up.

This wasn’t a walkway I had been on before.... I could glance in windows here....

THERE IS SOMETHING IN THERE.

OH GOSH.

WHY.

Tentacles—what?

I GET BACK DOWN TO THAT FLAT SPOT!

OKAY I’M BACK WHERE I STARTED WHEN I’D SCALED THIS BLOODY CLIFF.

“NOOOO I DON’T WANNA DO IT!” I hollered to no one.

I’ll.... I’LL SAVE IT FIRST. OH GOSH.

I crept closer to a broad opening to the inside.

NO THERE IS A BIG EYEBALL UP THERE OH GOSH

WHERE IS THE LAST SHRINE?

WHERE IS IT?

IS IT IN HERE?

THIS CAN’T BE RIGHT THERE FEELS LIKE TOO MUCH DANGER.

I CAN’T EVEN GRAMMAR ANYMORE.

DEVIANTART THUMBNAILS.

I felt more comfortable perusing the art because I’d gotten past most of the spoilers, but—

HOW DO I KNOW?

OH GOSH WHAT IS IN THAT ROOM?

I DON’T WANNA DO IT.

I’M JUST LOOKING FOR A SHRINE.

IS IT IN HERE?

SHOULDN’T IT STAND TO REASON?

SHOULDN’T

IT

STAND

TO

REASON?

ASDFGHJKL;

Two more steps.

....

Black out.

....

That’s not a shrine.

....

Things.... started.... happening.....

NOPE! C8

I’M CHECKIN’ OUT OF THIS GAME.

WIIU MENU PLEASE!

Privy Thoughts

Waking of Monday, April 22, 2019 ~ 2

Privy Thoughts

I looked around.

There was comfortable (albeit ruined) furniture, a bookshelf, a little dressing screen over on the other side—there was a chest behind it, but.... not yet—and.... the remains of what must have been a grandiose bed. But the upper canopy was collapsed down upon it. Wardrobe. More.... more furniture....

Was this.... Zelda’s room?

I read her diary.

The first entry:

After meeting with the Champions, I left

to research the ancient technology, but

nothing of note came of my research.

The return of Ganon looms—a dark force

taunting us from afar. I must learn all I

can about the relics so we can stop him.

If the fortune-teller’s prophecy is to be

believed, there isn’t much time left...

Fortune-teller?

Ah, but turning over these thoughts in

my head puts me ill at ease. I suppose

I should turn in for the night.

P.S. Tomorrow my father is assigning

HIM as my appointed knight...

Oh my gosh, she.... she hated me....

Next:

I set out for Goron City today to

make some adjustments to

Dvine Beast Vah Rudania.

I still recall feeling his eyes on me as I

walked ahead. The feeling stayed with

me so long, I grew anxious and weary.

I remembered that day! Walking along the little lake, what was its name?

It is the same feeling I’ve felt before in

his company... And still, not a word

passes his lips.

So I really am silent.

I never know what he’s thinking! [Oh, I must be infuriating!] It makes

my imagination run wild, guessing at

what he is thinking but will not say.

What does the boy chosen by the sword

that seals the darkness think of me?

Will I ever truly know?

She.... wanted to know what I thought of her?

Then, I suppose it’s simple. A daughter

of Hyrule’s royal family yet unable to

use sealing magic... He must despise me.

OHHHH NOOOOO no no no, Zelda, no!  D8  >__<  T__T Oh gosh I can’t—

Next:

I said something awful to him today...

Eh? What.... could that have been?

My research was going nowhere. I was

feeling depressed, and I had told him

repeatedly not to accompany me.

But he did anyway, as he always does,

and so I yelled at him without restraint.

Could that have been.... at the Ancient Pillars, in Tabantha?

He seemed confused by my anger. I feel

terribly guilty...and that guilt only makes

me more agitated than I was before.

Is she going to muse on all the memories I’ve recovered?

Next:

I am unsure how to put today’s events

into words. Words so often evade me

lately, and now more than ever.

He saved me. Without a thought for his

own life, he protected me from the

ruthless blades of the Yiga Clan.

I remember.

Though I’ve been cold to him all this

time...taking my selfish and childish

anger out on him at every turn...

No, but you were always so weighed down.... with something....

Still, he was there for me. I won’t ever

forget that. Tomorrow, I shall apologize

for all that has transpired between us.

And then...I will try talking to him.

To Link. It’s worth a shot.

She called me by my name!

Next:

Bit by bit, I’ve gotten Link to open up

to me. [Uh! What does she remember that I don’t?] It turns out he’s quite a glutton. [WHAT?]

He can’t resist a delicious meal!

When I finally got around to asking why

he’s so quiet all the time, I could tell it

was difficult for him to say. But he did.

What.... did I say?

What did I say?

With so much at stake, and so many eyes

upon him [hahh, truly], he feels it necessary to stay

strong and to silently bear any burden.

I can accept that.

A feeling I know all too well... For him,

it has caused him to stop outwardly

expressing his thoughts and feelings.

I wonder what I had been like before, then.

I always believed him to be simply a

gifted person who had never faced a

day of hardship. How wrong I was...

You’ll feed my ego with talk like that, Princess.

Everyone has struggles that go unseen

by the world... I was so absorbed with

my own problems, I failed to see his.

Well.... to be honest I didn’t think much of yours with all I’ve had on my plate lately. I only knew something had been weighing on you.... and I only wondered why....

I wish to talk with him more and to see

what lies beneath those calm waters [heh, calm?],

to hear him speak freely and openly...

And perhaps I, too, will be able to bare

my soul to him and share the demons

that have plagued me all these years.

I wished you had....

Next:

Father scolded me again today. He told

me I am to have nothing more to do with

researching ancient technology.

The basis of the plan? But I can’t judge a king....

He insisted that I focus instead on

training that will help me awaken

my sealing magic.

That’s hard.

I was so frustrated and ashamed I could

not even speak. I’ve been training since

I was a child, and yet...

Mother passed the year before my

training was to begin. In losing her,

I lost not just a mother, but a teacher.

Oh Zelda....

Mother used to smile and tell me,

“Zelda, my love, all will be well in

the end. You can do anything.”

But she was wrong. [No.] No matter how I try

or how much time passes...the sealing

power that is my birthright evades me.

What does it even mean to be born Hylian Royalty?

Tomorrow I journey with Link to the

Spring of Power to train. But this, too,

will end in failure. Such is my curse.

No, Zelda, you’re not cursed!

I wish I could reach back and tell her so....

Next:

I had a dream last night... In a place

consumed by darkness, a lone woman

gazed at me, haloed by blinding light.

Oh.... I do like hearing about dreams. Did you know that about me?

Go on.

I sensed she was...not of this world.

I don’t know if she was a fairy or a

goddess, but she was beautiful.

Tell me.

Her lips spoke urgently, but her voice

did not reach me. Would I have heard

her if my power was awoken?

Or was my dream simply a manifestation

of my fears? I am sure I will know the

answer soon, whether I wish to or not...

Don’t let it worry you. Only take what you can from it. But you should never let a dream worry you.

Next:

I turned 17 today. [I remember this too!] That means this is the

day I will finally be allowed to train at the

Spring of Wisdom.

I’m suddenly just so grateful and admiring that the Princess kept a journal.

When Link arrives, we will set out for

Mount Lanayru. The other Champions

will accompany us there.

Oh no.

Is it the memory I’m thinking of?

I have not seen my father since he last

scolded me. [Oh no.] Things are too strained

now... I will meet with him when I return.

Oh no, oh no.... no....

...

Actually...I’ve had a horrible feeling ever

since that weird dream. No one would

believe a failure of a princess, but...

What is it? What did you do?

Right now, for no particular reason, I am

filled with a strange and terrible certainty

that something awful is about to happen.

....That was the end.

She never said what she might have done about that feeling.

Did she see her father again?

I tried to remember King Rhoam, so far away and long ago on the Great Plateau.

Did they part well?

I don’t know.

And now I’m here in.... what may very well have been Zelda’s bedroom.

The sun was sinking in a fiery radiance, beautiful despite the Malice dripping through the air, it set the room with a golden light.

I’ve got to kill that Guardian up top.... the Flyer.

There is a memory up there....