A Ride into the Desert

Waking of Saturday, October 28, 2017 ~ 6

A Ride into the Desert

Back at the Outskirt Stable I cooked up a loooot of stamina elixirs for a later attempt at the beast of Satori Mountain.

But for now.... it was time to take Dragmire out for a ride. Up the road we went, between the towering hills and across the green fields, past the lumbering pack of Moblins to Digdogg Suspension Bridge. I walked him quietly here, and we sneaked round the side of the slumbering Hinox before plunging on ahead into the sandy desert lands.

Dragmire it seemed, while not able to put out bursts of speed, nevertheless had a tremendous power of strength. David enjoyed demonstrating this for me with his own tamed version of the Dark Horse—plowing over Bokoblins and Lizalfos, stunning or even killing them. He even took several damaging passes at a Lynel before this last creature had evidently had enough, and started pelting him with arrows.

He fled then.

But for myself I tried not to run Dragmire into too many obstacles. Clomp straight through them though he could, I didn’t want to overstrain him if I could help it.

At least, not without good reason and low-risk opportunity—I make no promises to smaller monsters on foot.

I had often been a very slow traveler, cautiously combing over the landscape as I moved, scouting dangers from all angles before proceeding, and generally creeping with the prudence—and speed—of a church mouse.

But here and now on my gargantuan horse.... and maybe.... just maybe feeling the press of time....

I needed to move.

We just.... went for a ride. Into the canyon. Dragmire led the way; he knew to follow the road. And the path went deeper, and the bordering canyon walls became taller, and the sunbaked land glowed dusty gold in the daylight—it was stunning.

I did not even slow down—except when I briefly had to dismount in order to Magnese an obstacle out of the way.

But onward we pressed. And after a time, we came to the Gerudo Canyon Stable.

I met a treasure-seeking Gerudo there named Calisa.

I am beginning to lose track of all the Sav’greetings they hail me with.

Calisa said that among the voe of this stable there didn’t seem to be too much treasure around here. “Well, except maybe for you,” she added.

^_^;;

I locked down the adjacent Kay Noh Shrine up on the hill across the way—and I decided that that was going to be the last thing I did. It was getting pretty late, and I really did need to get to bed.

I wouldn’t go any further tonight.

....

One guess how long my resolution lasted.

Blue Bedlam

Waking of Saturday, October 28, 2017 ~ 5

Blue Bedlam

The tack the stable gave me for Dragmire was.... exquisite! Guess they had to make it specially for him, as he was so huge. Heh, bright orange tassels to match his fire-bright mane and tail.... cool.

But there was one more thing left to do that would make his appearance perfect.

I boarded my new giant steed and warped back to the Outskirt Stable. It was Dragmire I would take out past Digdogg Suspension Bridge and into the desert; that was only fitting. But first....

I took Dragmire back out, and walked him over to the girl by the manger.

She was going to give my horse the Mohawk befitting the lineage of his grandsires.

The girl automatically began to ramble off her spiel asking if I’d like her to do up my horse’s mane and tail, but she stopped in mid-sentence.

“Whoa!” she said, looking up, “That’s no pony you have there, is it!”

She remarked on his size, and said she wasn’t sure they had any implements big enough for him, and went on to mention that he didn’t seem like the type to enjoy having his hair messed with anyway.

:c

So....

No Mohawk for Dragmire.

Hhhhhhh.

I looked at some of my other horses.... changed Memory’s braids to a single French braid.... yes that looked good.

I guessed the Dark Horse was too special to mess with.

Well.... that was fine, Nintendo.

I’d still take him out into the desert lands—his desert lands—as I pressed forward in my journey.

....

Or I would, in a little bit, anyway.

Satori Mountain was glowing again.

Back went Dragmire into the stable, and back I warped to the high, cold peak of Satori Mountain.

This time I scrambled all the way to the top of one of the three stones at its crest, giving myself an open view into the high clearing.

I felt like I’d stepped into a Studio Ghibli film.

Blupees pattered around everywhere, taking slow little hops and sniffing the airs, the grasses, each other, their ears perking and twitching. They seemed drawn in toward the center, toward the perfectly round pool beside the cherry tree, but they would not touch or enter the shallow water. The sight of them—twenty at least—ringing the edge of the pool, gleaming like lanterns in the ghostly teal haze.... was striking.

And standing once again in the water.... the blue beast. The Lord of the Mountain.

I paraglided in this time, and landed on its back.

And it dawns on me, the brazen disrespect my avatar must have for these holy mystical creatures.

Unsurprisingly, it began to buck and kick. But to my amazement, the unmistakable Soothe-button icon appeared.

I pressed it. Repeatedly. I patted the creature’s neck and murmured soothing sounds, but my stamina was burning away fast.

And I had no more elixirs to extend it.

The Lord of the Mountain bucked me off and vanished.

The Blupees scattered where I rolled to a halt off the side of the pool. I rose back to my feet, exhausted, wondering if I’d blown another opportunity.

But the teal haze did not dissipate. Before my eyes, the blue beast rematerialized in the pool, standing peacefully as it had before, pawing the pool’s shallow bottom and dipping its strange head.

It was not facing me—otherwise I think it would have bolted. I think it also helped that I stood several paces away from it.

It stood in perfect perpendicular profile to me.

Was it a mount? Or was it game?

Maybe it was remembering how ineffective my previous sword strokes had been that made me draw my strongest bow and nock a Bomb Arrow to the string.

I overestimated the arc, and the arrow just shaved the creature’s back before detonating on the far side of the pool.

There was lantern-blue bedlam on the mountaintop. The blue beast bolted, evaporating into thin air in a heartbeat, while the Blupees darted confusedly in all directions.

And yet, after a moment had passed and the rabbitkabobs had calmed down.... the blue beast appeared yet again.

This time I didn’t miss. But there was little difference to the result—the blue beast, now on fire, turned and ran, disappearing in mid-stride as it had before. The Bomb Arrow had not been able to fell it.

And this time, the ghostly teal haze did evaporate, the night became clear, the Blupees were gone.... and I was alone.

Guess it’s three strikes and you’re out.

Something glimmered on the far side of the pool.

I walked across the shallow water to find.... rupees.

I guessed I’d blown up a few Blupees with that first Bomb Arrow.

I pocketed the money.

....

Is that why it’s spelled Blupees and not Blupies?

The Big Dang Horse

Waking of Saturday, October 28, 2017 ~ 4

The Big Dang Horse

What had commandeered my attention after I set my controller down to charge....? Probably just the necessaries of life.

I came back and found that my lonely WiiU had gone to sleep.

Rats! I hadn’t found a proper saving point!

I restarted it all back up....

And I was on Satori Mountain.

The glowing beast wasn’t there. But the Korok I scared up was.... some consolation I suppose.

I went back to the Outskirt Stable. Probably. I let myself play too far and too long without logging—it gets hard to remember—

Suffice it to say that the sirens played havoc in my head again and I was off to the Great Plateau.

They say Hylians have long ears to hear the voices of the Gods.

I think when I play it’s more like hearing the call of attention deficit disorder.

Hm, or since he’s the avatar, and I’m the player, does that make me the God? He does so readily obey my every whim.... though I allow him the moments that must be lived one way and no other.

But let’s not get too meta just here.

The rain was pouring on the Stasis Shrine, but through the din I could still hear the mean, scruffling sounds of stal-creatures clawing up out of the earth and wishing to do me ill.

Not wanting to deal with them I ran toward the first empty edge I could see and jumped off into the cacophonous, blustering night.

I couldn’t see anything for the rain. Just dim looming shapes in the distance—mountains and hills. I had to consult my map to orient myself.

I wanted back in the Lynels’ Corridor.

I had unfinished business there.

Maybe it was that I had finally taken my horses out and showed them a little bit of love. Ah, my sweet babies.... I like to keep them locked up safe and sound—no telling what we might encounter out in the world. I didn’t want anything to happen to them.

Mm but they were still my proud and wonderful beasts, and I still liked to ride the roads with them.

And there had been that Mohawk mane style....

....

There was only one animal in the world for which that style would be so.... singularly and definitively befitting.

I touched down in the grasslands and jogged quickly toward the baobabs—there were wolves about and I didn’t need their attentions right now.

Presently the herd came into view. But.... they all looked the same. Five or six animals, milling around, cropping the grass.... All the same size.

Where was the big one?

Off to my right, right against the western mountain, one more dark horse pawed unconcernedly about. Fine place for it to stand when I was trying to compare them all.

I was sure it was the one from before—deep black body and a flaming orange mane and tail—but I wanted to make extra sure. I headed toward it, scooting round the baobabs in a fine game of ring-around-the-rosie until I was able to cow it back toward its fellows.

It joined up with them smoothly enough, droplets of water cleaving together. But was it all the way into their midst? The screen gave me no depth perception. The dark one still stood out big among the herd, and I was too far away to tell clearly—Was it larger for its size? Or for its nearness?

A littler horse walked in front of it.

Oh yeah, that was the big one.

And now that I had more stamina, I wanted to try it again.

And the slow chase was on.

I crouched down and crept carefully up behind it, freezing when it turned, pausing as long as I needed, closer and closer.... The other horses snorted and cantered away if they saw me, but my only concern was the Dark One.

Careful not to come up directly behind it—didn’t want a kick in the face, not from that one—I came close to its right flank.... and hopped on.

The thing jumped and bucked as I patted and soothed it frantically—my legs were spread wide over its huge barrel trunk—and my stamina began to burn away. I had much more of it this time, but it was going down fast.

But a quick look into my pockets showed me my stock of stamina dishes and elixirs—I used them all—and on the dregs of the very last one....

The Dark Horse stamped itself into a huff, and stood still beneath me.

I’d got it!

What a BEAST he was! Strong, and proud, and beautiful. I walked him back and forth, here and there, patting his neck, trotting him, reassuring him, soothing him and murmuring sweet sounds beneath the baobabs.

Hahhh! When I got this beauty back to a stable I’d—

And then I saw the problem.

The northern end of the Lynel’s Corridor is a box canyon. To the north is the towering wall of the Great Plateau. To the west, the red tiers of the Gerudo Highlands. To the east, the lush but steep mountain range bordering the lake.

The only way out of this place was southward, past not one but two Lynels, and a small battalion of mounted Bokoblins.

Touché, Nintendo. Touché.

There was no way I was attempting that on a steed that had anything less than complete trust in me. I couldn’t afford any refusals.

And so I continued trotting the Dark One back and forth, back and forth, round and round, again and again, now stopping, now starting, now sprinting, now stepping, always assuring him with pats to his neck, but not too many too fast, correcting him quickly, rewarding him fairly, and loving him gently.

He was a giant to be sure, but he seemed to have no energy for bursts of speed. His fastest gallop.... was his only gallop. This had me worried for getting past those Lynels, but.... after a long time of learning and bonding and with nothing else for it.... we turned our heads southward, and plunged down the grassland.

The Lynels were actually.... surprisingly easy to slip past! And they did not pursue us once we were out of their prowling grounds. And with a bit of weaving and dodging, the Bokoblins did not pose much of a threat either!

I pressed the Dark One onward down the road—we weren’t going to stop for anything until I could register this beast!

And we came at length to the Highland Stable, and it was once again that terrible conniption of deciding on a fitting name.

I knew whose horse this had to be descended from. It was obvious. The huge size, the soot-black coat, the mane like a raging fire. The proximity to Gerudo lands.

But to name him after anything having to do with such a figure.... it would be like a swear word. ._.

And yet.... how could I choose anything else? It would feel untrue. Unfaithful.

But truth and faithfulness notwithstanding, did such a figure even deserve any such honor?

This was a real pickle.

....

You know, perhaps his name had already gone down in history a thousand times as the darkest curse a man could utter.

But perhaps his surname.... the second name he took from the time he rode the black horse with the flaming mane.... perhaps that name was and had always been a purely Gerudo device.

And he wasn’t a Gerudo. Not really.

Maybe it was a good, proud name once. A strong Gerudo name.

Maybe it could be again.

I spent my twenty rupees at the stable counter, and I called my gargantuan steed....

Dragmire.

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?

A Walk with Yunobo

Waking of Saturday, October 28, 2017

A Walk with Yunobo

David’s been kind. He stayed away from the volcano’s Divine Beast until I’d had a go at it. But now he felt free to plunge right up Death Mountain, and I watched him for some of the time.

He cleverly defeated those first Moblins at Eldin Bridge by climbing up a nearby crag and bombing the living daylights out of them. And as the second one finally died, he jumped off the rock to float down and collect its spoils.

But the cinematic started before he could deploy his paraglider.

And as the camera centered on the bewildered Yunobo, looking around to see if the coast was clear, David and I watched a dark shape swip down right in front of him and off the screen out of sight.

“Was that Link?” we both wondered, laughing incredulously at each other.

The cinematic ended, and the camera pulled back a gentle distance, and there was Link, on the ground.

Which was just . . . . great. XD

With a little more effort than I had taken the time for, David was able to destroy the Sentries using Yunobo as a projectile.

I didn’t know you could do that!! D8 ??

But I did feel a little clever in that I had thought to Stasis them, when this did not occur to David.

He also ran right past the first cannon without firing at Rudania. He was wearing full Flamebreaker Armor, and I wanted to see what would happen if he climbed up near Rudania’s big flaming right hind foot.

David was kind to oblige. XD

And the result was that he burst into flame. ÓuÒ;;

Maybe Vah Rudania was just too hot, even for the Flamebreaker Armor. Or maybe David hadn’t upgraded his armor to be fireproof yet.

After a bit either I told him or he figured it out that he should use the cannon on the Divine Beast, and he progressed on his way.

I watched him all the way up the mountain (he never once was spotted by a Sentry) and into the volcano until.... the trapdoor clamped down behind him and locked him in the darkness.

And on that grinning bombshell, I left to go attend to some other things.

When I came back some time later, he was about to face off against Fireblight Ganon, but he first left to regain full hearts by sleeping at his house.

Which I told him was LAME. And like some crotchety old geezer I told him that back when I did the Divine Beast I did the whole thing at half hearts, and I never warped away or even ate any of my meals!

But he went to rest at his house anyway.

I don’t have a house yet.

It was fun watching him defeat Fireblight Ganon. He was quite stumped for a while, but he was brave and kept psyching himself up to venture out from behind the posterior structure to try a new tactic . . . .

I stepped out for his ending cinematics. It was his fourth beast, and we suspected there might be something extra, and I didn’t want to be spoiled.

And there was something extra, he said.

But I did watch the part with the ghostly Daruk.

And after a little more time, David insisted that I play.

He really does want me to catch up.

And I believe he wants to talk about more of the game with people. And I know that feeling.

Hah. Welcome to my life, David.

I played from the activation of Vah Rudania when I started. Because I wanted to see it again. And.... I was still logging, and I wanted a refresher for the scene.

Sometimes I go through the game faster than I intend, and.... I lose some of the finer details.

Dang this log.

The bright, gold-tinged light that had borne me off the beast brought me down into Goron City.

I can never bring myself to make the avatar run, after things like that. I just can’t.

It just feels so.... uncalled-for.

Being thrust back into normalcy after the brutally insane places I’ve been?

It’s like being on another planet.

It’s a kind of dazedness, a kind of triumph, a kind of relief, a kind of sorrow, which for me will forever require a walking pace.

Yunobo told me the Boss had summoned me, and that that kind of thing couldn’t be refused.

And he rolled away.

I walked after him, toward the Boss’s house.

Bludo said Yunobo had told him everything. And he was amazed and grateful that we had subdued the Divine Beast.

“But did you have to wait until my back finally felt better?” he griped, pressing that now I was making him look like big fibber!

In the end he rewarded me with a gift he said I could find in his house: a blade once wielded by the legendary Daruk himself.

“Take it. Keep it. It’s yours,” he said.

I couldn’t fit it in my inventory.

So I left it there.

Which was just as well, I figured; one block of my weapon inventory was already taken up by Mipha’s spear, which I dared not use any further lest it break.

Made me think of getting that house again. Maybe weapons could be stored in houses....

Why hadn’t I gotten that house yet? Well.... I had my reasoning. Although to be honest I’d since been “spoiled” on that point—I knew by then that it was—

Mm but maybe you don’t.

....

In which case I’ll just say....

....

I just wanted to wait until I had seen all the land first, before choosing a place for me to live.

I was wandering around Goron City, still at a walk.

I saw Yunobo. He was walking too.

I went to speak with him.

“I’m going for a walk today,” he smiled, “Want to come?”

And that was all he said.

And he continued in his slow and easy NPC pace.

Well, he wasn’t like that tour guide back in Hateno, huffing and puffing and making me jog. He was just.... walking. Slow as Uli from Twilight Princess.

But he had invited me, so I followed him.

After a very brief climb, he came to a stop in the middle of a short bridge over the thoroughfare below, and turned toward the volcano.

I spoke to him again.

“Welcome to my secret hideout,” he grinned to me, “This is the best place to get a good view of Vah Rudania.”

We both looked at it, perched way up there at the mountain’s top, lasering toward the castle.

“To think we actually fought that thing...” Yunobo continued. “I’ve never been afraid of it... until just now.”

I guessed it was all hitting him at once.

“It’s strange, but ever since we defeated Vah Rudania, I’ve felt like my ancestor Daruk is somehow with me all the time.”

He turned to me.

“Link, I did good, didn’t I?”

“You did your best!” I said, and this seemed to give him a little more confidence.

“Yeah, I did, didn’t I.”

Or some such words.

“And with Daruk’s Protection I know my ancestor will never let me down.”

Or some such words.

Or some such words.

Sometimes I forget the exact things people say.

Sometimes I prefer not to go back and check.

Sometimes I just try to do my best, too.

Dang this log.

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 . . . .

Ja Baij Triumphant

Waking of Friday, October 13, 2017 ~ 3

Ja Baij Triumphant

But of course, I was repulsed from making contact with my Sheikah Slate.

Unholy dark clouds swirled up around the main control unit, the evil energy condensing into a swirling blue light that was.... much too pretty for what it portended....

I momentarily wondered if I might even see Daruk instead. That light.... so fair....

But a few heartbeats later, the light coalesced into a massive sword, no a right sword-arm, the hulking limb clamped upon by some titanic hilt, from which gleamed a blade of Ancient make, twenty foot long at least—into a cruel left hand on an arm more lithe, palm curled upwards with vicious nails and malicious magenta flesh—into the bottom of the torso, the terrible drippy body, lost like hanging guts, uneven, non-corporeal, irrelevant—and into the head—into massive, massive armor in a wreck of towering dominance, wild horns jutting strangely and bloodred mane split into two matted flags waving—

Some of this I only remember from later glancing at the pictograph I took.

I think I was too close.

But I’m not going back to take another.

Fireblight Ganon was much beefier than Waterblight Ganon had been.

Ugh.

Fortunately, I still had a million ice arrows.

What a serendipitous elemental affinity.

Daruk’s voice encouraged me as I pelted him with arrow after arrow, as I dodged his blade and played ring-around-the-rosie about the main control unit, as I felled him and ran in swinging with the biggest stick I had on me—a Royal Claymore or something, some two-handed longsword with a sharp point and golden embellishments....

I don’t think I sliced him up too much between arrowings, though. I tried one time but.... so close, so dangerous....

And when Fireblight Ganon’s life meter was half-emptied.... he upped his game.

With a terrible roar no living thing could emulate, the monster flexed and flared, fire engulfing its person. The Ancient Blade turned a hot, bright orange. The thing took a place in the air, and began charging up what I could tell would be a devastating attack.

I took cover behind one of the many struts supporting the spiky frill on the Divine Beast’s back. The fiery charge raised in pitch, in intensity, until I heard the monster release it, and the air around me was instantly BLASTED outward, ignited, from where Fireblight Ganon hovered.

But I was safe. That was good cover.

I was confident.

In fact, I was still running on just the half remaining hearts I had left after climbing the volcano.

....

Sweet.

I peeked around and shot a few more Ice Arrows at him, but he soon found a new spot to occupy and charge up a new attack.

I had to move and duck down again.

I glanced at his life-meter. Was I doing any damage?

I stepped out once more and watched carefully as I pelted him again: the Ice Arrows seemed to impact on the encircling sphere of flame; they never made contact with the body beneath. And the life-meter didn’t go down.

My Ice Arrows were now ineffective.

Great, how was I going to hit him? I thought. Projectiles couldn’t penetrate the fireshield; did I need to get up close and personal with a melee weapon?

I looked at Fireblight Ganon again. He was charging up another fireball to cast at me.

And I looked at him.

Arms straining, claw hand trembling, muscles working.... he was gathering in a lot of energy for this....

And I saw—pulling it in.

Sucking it in.

Like those Rock Octoroks....

And a suspicion I’d had of the four Divine Beasts blossomed into further realization.

Four Divine Beasts.

Four Plateau Shrines.

Four Slate Functions.

Each of these four beasts must have something to do with each of my four Slate functions....

Water with Water for Zoras—Cryonis—that one was obvious.

Magnesis and Stasis, those could go either way with the Gerudo and the Rito—

But Bombs?

Bombs were always and forever a Goron device.

And the Gorons were dealing with Vah Rudania.

Vah Rudania had to be dealt with with bombs.

Hadn’t the land of Eldin prepared me for such? Cannons activated by bombs, railcars activated by bombs....

And pulling, sucking Rock Octoroks, defeated by Bombs.

All of this flashed through my mind in the span of a heartbeat or two. Or maybe more—I’m not sure; my heart could have been going pretty fast.

Fireblight Ganon seared with raging heat as he completed his charge and let loose another exploding firebomb—I ducked where the blast couldn’t reach me.

But when he next stopped in the air to charge another attack, I called upon Ja Baij.

In my hour of need, I called upon the aid of the Sheikah Monk Ja Baij!

And Ja Baij delivered.

The round Bomb I hurled toward the demon menace was swirled up in the sucking whirlwind, spinning closer and closer—past the fireshield!—and I detonated.

I don’t remember if I could see the blue of the explosion. But I knew the monster felt it.

He tumbled out of the air and crashed upon the deck of Vah Rudania’s back, stunned and dazed! And in I ran!

I was so far away, but in I ran, swinging and slicing!

Too far away indeed—I didn’t get but a few hits in on him. But I got the pattern down, and there was no safety for him then.

I repeated the attack a few times as Daruk’s voice cheered me on—“Lay it on him, little guy!”

And I did.

And Fireblight Ganon screamed a high keening as it died.... high, high, wailing, shrieking like an over-boiling teapot.... terrible thing....

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.