#I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF LINK AND TETRA FOUGHT IN A WAR (OR TWO IF YOU COUNT HYRULE WARRIORS) OR NOT. COME ON

[fourswords]

okay. wait. i need to rant about spirit tracks' convoluted history or it'll eat at me for the rest of my days.

OKAY. so. in the beginning, this is the tale told to link (and the players):

This is a tale from long ago. It's the tale of the first settlers of this land.

In the beginning, the people followed the spirits of good, and all was peaceful. But that era of peace soon came to an end.

The evil Demon King rose to power, destroying everything in his path. The spirits of good had no choice but to face him in battle.

The war that ensued seemed to last an eternity, and much blood was shed. Finally, the spirits subdued the Demon King, though they could not destroy him. Their powers were greatly depleted.

With their remaining power, they buried the Demon King's spirit in the ground. They built shackles to imprison him, and a tower that acted as a lock. These shackles cover the land to this day.

With their power drained, the spirits of good returned to the heavens. Suddenly bereft of both demons and spirits, this land was entrusted to us.

And what that seems to imply is that. The settlers??? Were Tetra and her crew??? Because the beginning starts with "the first settlers of this land" (and only One Group throughout the whole game have been shown to have settled there) and the whole thing ends with "Suddenly bereft of both demons and spirits, this land was entrusted to us" with absolutely no differentiation between those "first settlers" and "us" (and, since Niko was IN Tetra's crew, the "us" would especially make sense??). So basically, if I'm reading this right and am not just sleep-deprived, it's saying that Tetra and her crew arrived PRIOR to the war between the Spirits of Good and Malladus. Like, they showed up, were like "Hey, the last kingdom our people lived in was flooded to all hell with poisonous water and people can only sustain themselves for so many generations on those tiny islands we came from. Can we live here" and the Spirits were like "Yeah no problem, come on in" and so they started to live there. Whatever. Etc etc. There was peace for a few years, and then all hell broke loose.

And, see, the conversation between Anjean and Zelda about the history of everything goes like this:

Zelda: Oh... Did you know someone in my family?

Anjean: Feisty AND bright, just like she was! The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? Yes, I knew one of your ancestors. I met her when she had just arrived here. She and I were friends for a very long time.

Zelda: My family first arrived here about a century ago. Were you already here in the tower then, Anjean?

Anjean: That's a story for another time, my dear. Right now, we must discuss a matter more grave. Tell me, do you know the story of this tower?

Zelda: Only what the folktales say... Long ago, the spirits of good and the Demon King were embroiled in a never- ending war. In the end, the spirits could not defeat him. But they did manage to imprison him in this tower.

Anjean says she met Tetra when Tetra had just arrived there, and was friends with her for a very long time. And then Zelda asks her if Anjean was already in the tower when Tetra arrived, to which Anjean...dodges the question about. And then! This explanation about the Lokomos!

Anjean: Not yet. But there is a way to restore energy to the rail maps. You can ask my people to help you.

Zelda: Your people, Anjean?

Anjean: Indeed. We are called the Lokomos. We are servants of the spirits. They have entrusted us with protecting the temples and the Spirit Tracks. By playing our sacred instruments... We generate energy that powers the Spirit Tracks.

So, the Lokomos were entrusted with protecting the temples and the Spirit Tracks. Hyrule Historia mentions that they were specifically dispatched from the heavens to each of the four temples and the tower—which, of course, implies that if Anjean met Tetra when she first arrived, the tower was ALREADY THERE. And Hyrule Historia, again, asserts that claim!:

Continuing their journey, Link, Tetra, and the pirates at last came upon a new continent. At the heart of this lsnd sat a structure called the Tower of Spirits, from which the Spirit Tracks spiraled out. Here, Tetra founded New Hyrule.

SO IT'S LIKE!!!! HUH!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!! I could maybe understand things getting twisted and turned in folklore here and there, but it's only been a single itty bitty century since Tetra's crew showed up (and somehow Zelda is the fifth of her line, according to Hyrule Historia??? If the war started after Tetra's crew arrived there, I could see it—having kids young in case anything happened or something along those lines)—SURELY it hasn't had the TIME to become so convoluted yet??? And from two sources of information who were THERE (Niko and Anjean) no less??? Would it have killed them to be a little clearer in the actual game instead of the dubious "canon" that is Hyrule Historia. Just been like "Yeah we showed up and then this great war started after a few years of peace" or "Yeah this great war raged on before we got there and then we showed up right after it ended." Or SOMETHING. HEAD IN MY HANDS

[attllhak]

Flora’s Musings

So, here’s the WingAU fic I mentioned. It’s the first one I wrote and features the fun trope of “The Unreliable Narrator That Is History”, which I had a lot of fun with.

I, don’t have a tag list for this AU at this point. So, this part is just my preamble I guess. So, preamble over, here’s the fic.

-------------------

Zelda ran her fingertips between her shoulder blades. She tried not to think about what wasn’t there.

Her wings would come in, she hoped, no she knew they would. They had to. As the princess fated to stop Calamity Ganon it was her duty to unlock her sealing powers, face him, and earn her wings.

It was why she was down here now, in the hidden and secret library they’d excavated. No one cared about this area of the castle, but Zelda loved it there. It was so full of knowledge, and there were records about the Queens and Princesses of the past, ones who had wings themselves.

It was certainly a good excuse to hide down there and do research.

There weren’t many documents on the founders of Hyrule, but she’d translated a few of the ancient texts and had learned much. Apparently her powers came from the fact she was descended from Hylia herself! There were exactly three paintings of her down there, and all of them were old and weathered. Two, one of her alone and one next to her husband, the first King of Hyrule, who was holding the Master Sword, his own wings giving him away as the first of Link’s incarnations, were so old almost all of the colour was gone. The last one, however, had been tucked into a book and, protected from the elements, retained some of its colour.

The goddess reborn had gold wings, bright and shining and as beautiful as everyone expected them to be. Her Hero, however, had red wings, a bright crimson with soft gold flight feathers. What was more, this painting seemed to depict them in their downtime, the goddess still dressed up and all, but leaning over the edge of her throne. Her Hero sat on the dias and leaned against the throne, and was messing with something in his hands that the goddess seemed to be watching, though age obscured what it was. It was entirely unprofessional and sweet, and it made Zelda happy. It made them seem less like untouchable figures of pure good and more like real people. She liked that they were people too.

There was only one picture of the next Queen, and it was so old and weathered that Zelda was scared to touch it lest it crumble into dust. This queen had smaller wings, though Zelda couldn’t tell what colour they were supposed to be. Her Hero was there too, and he had four wings, and Zelda couldn’t be sure but it almost seemed like each wing was a different colour. She couldn’t find any other record of these two, and so she’d taken a picture of the image on the Sheikah Slate to preserve it. This painting was important.

One of the Queens came from the point in history called the Split, a strange period of several thousand years where very different events happened at the same time. They had, through the records in the castle libraries and the temples across Hyrule, figured out this Queen had lived three different recorded lives. Regardless, she always looked the same, or similar at least, in all of her lives. She was a warrior, and her wings, indigo and white and flecked with gold, were always held in a way that showed pride.

Her Hero wasn’t always with her, in two of her lifetimes she ruled alone. In one of them, her Hero had died trying to fight Ganon, and was buried with wings wrapped about him, as was traditional for Heroes and their Queens. The Queen had been Princess then, the books say, and was only 17. I made Zelda uneasy, Link had turned 17 just a few months ago, and her 17th birthday was fast approaching. To think the Hero of Time could die at 17 made her worried for her own Hero. The next of the two he just, wasn’t there. There was no record of the Hero after he defeated Ganon, he just vanished without a trace. Zelda still wanted to know why. The last life gave the most information on the Hero, but he wasn’t listed as a Hero at all. There was no fight in this life, just peace and a failed arrest. As far as historians could tell, this was the most accurate life of hers, but Zelda wasn’t so sure. After all, she and the head of her Royal Guard both had wings. Something had to have happened. These were the only records of the Hero of Time where his wings were visible. A beautiful metallic copper, with darker bronze flight feathers. He seemed to keep them close to his body, like he didn’t want anyone to pay attention to him or them. He apparently married a farm girl in this life.

There were different heirs in each of these lives. For the first life the Queen was a fighter, one with all kinds of magic at her fingertips. Her wings were pink and red, and when she spread them a little bit of gold could be seen at the base of them. This was a Queen who never shied away from the many, many issues her people faced. And many issues there were, records argued whether the number of quests her Hero went on was five or six or twelve. He seemed grumpy in every painting, but after seven-ish quests Zelda would be too. His wings were pink, a million different shades at once. He also seemed to prefer long tunics or dresses to pants. Apparently he didn’t like pants.

After them came a pair of Queens. Zelda initially thought they were cousins, but apparently one was the other’s ancestor, as bizarre as that was. Only one of the two had wings, a soft amber or honey colour, a safe, warm brown. The Princess didn’t have wings, but was no less important if the records and paintings were to be believed. Their Hero didn’t look like much, but his wings, a deep, dark green with earthy brown flight feathers, told of his heroics enough that his looks didn’t have to. Records said he married the Princess, but they never had children, instead helping the Queen raise her bastard twins as a group. Zelda wondered if perhaps the three had all been together, so to speak, and the twins were actually his.

In the second life, there was only one heir, a woman who was named ‘Tetra’ and not Zelda. Her wings were blue, with red separating the blue from gold flight feathers. It was a beautiful colour. Her Hero was usually pictured at her side, his silver tipped sea foam green feathers shining next to her. Those two were always painted outside, and usually on a boat of some kind.

Following the timeline that was decided to be ‘true��, the Queen following the Queen of Three Lives was her great-granddaughter. Her wings, sleek and graceful, were solid black save for the lowest layer of feathers, which was a soft golden-orange colour. Her Hero was hardly ever at her side, history said he spent most of his time in his home village or on assignments for the Queen. Zelda didn’t know if they didn’t get along, or if he hated the city and castle, or why it was that he was never around his Queen, but there was only one painting of him next to her. His wings were big, wide and strong, a range of soft oranges with a rare black feather scattered across them. He also wore a strange charm on a rope around his neck, but no one seemed to know what it was.

The only other Queen, save for the one from 10 000 years ago, was one with a story so outlandish that historians debated on whether or not she was real. She always held a sword or bow in hand, and her wings were either spread for flight or held in close for combat. They were gold, with white flight feathers that seemed to go indigo at the base of each feather. Black flecked the gold, making it obvious she was a fighter. Her Hero was always with her, his wings out behind him, flared up in a show of pride or confidence, a rallying cry for his troops. They fought in a war, so the records claimed. His wings were gold, shiny silver spots scattered over his wings, not dissimilar to the stars in the sky, that made his wings look like they glittered. He was beautiful, as was his Queen, and it was clear that the two were very close.

There weren’t any records on the wings of the Queen 10 000 years ago, nor her Hero, and Zelda didn’t know why that was. Perhaps those records were lost when the Sheikah split. It was unlikely she would ever know.

Zelda didn’t know when her wings would come in, and some days she feared they never would. It was a comfort at least that Link’s wings hadn’t come in yet either.

He found her a few hours later, bringing her a blanket and some food. He sat with her and politely signed a request for her to read to him. They read all through the night, and Impa found them the next morning, Zelda leaned over the desk with her head on her arms and Link leaning on the side of her desk, head tilted back and drooling. She left them there.

When the Calamity hit and she didn’t get her wings she felt like such a failure, especially since Link’s wings had just broken skin a few moments ago, greyish brown wings that were still all fluff coming through the slits in his tunic designed to accommodate them.

She sat next to him in the Shrine of Resurrection, just before they sealed it. His wings were still small, they had never had the chance to come in fully before he fell. She reached over and brushed hair from his face, watching his relaxed features and ignoring the burns on the rest of his body.

“Don’t worry, Link,” she whispered. “I’ll make sure they’re all safe until you wake up,”

She marched on the castle then, staring down the Calamity and ready to give everything she had to keep him at bay.

She reached forward, holding her hand out to the monster and ready to fight. She could feel the triforce on her hand burn in response, her body spilling a radiant golden light. The monster dove for her, and she held her ground, eyes open and ready to stand and fight.

A push on her shoulders, then the pressure bursting and wings spread out behind her.

Blue and white feathers sat on the ground where she was moments before.

(---)

Link stepped into the castle, tiny wings fluffed up in anxiety and nerves making them quiver. He paused as he moved towards the heart, lifting one foot.

Under his boot, was a pair of blue and white feathers, perfectly preserved from when they fell there 100 years before.

[the-delta-42]

To Find Hyrule 13

Remembrance

Takes place 15 years after Findings

Warning; Character death mentioned in the chapter

Tetra looked down at a map in front of her. Malladus’s monsters had taken the Ocean and Fire Realms, leaving the Snow and Forest Realms under the control of New Hyrule and the Spirits. Midna was looking at the different entrances and exits between all of the realms, from what the 21-year-old could see, the one common entrance and exit between all of the realms was the Tower of Spirits. Daphnes was currently passing the time by making strange noises with his mouth.

After the fifty-second popping noise, Midna threw a book at him, “Stop that, it’s getting on my nerves.”

“Everything get on your nerves, the war, your boyfriend, dad, mum, Gonzo, your boyfriend-” Daphnes was silenced by a look from his mother.

Link was currently with Gonzo and Niko, attempting to take back the Ocean Realm, with little success from the last few reports.

“You two, this is an incredibly serious matter, if Malladus takes either the Snow or the Forest Realm, he will be able to take us out with as much ease as clapping.” Scolded Tetra, giving both a withering glare. Both looked down at their feet, neither brave enough to directly challenge their mother when she was in a foul mood. There was a small clattering sound, making the group turn to face a five-year-old Princess Zelda. Zelda had a cucco in the torchlight look, especially when she spotted her mother.

“You’re supposed to be in bed.” Said Tetra, placing her hands on her hips.

“I had a bad dream.” Said Zelda, as Tetra walked over and picked her up, “Daddy was fighting a monster and it hurt him.”

“Little one,” Soothed Tetra, as tears appeared in Zelda’s eyes, “it was only a dream, a single monster would never be enough to take down your father.”

Zelda made a small humming noise, her eyes becoming droopy, before she fell asleep in her mother’s arms. Karane, Gonzo’s daughter and wife to Link’s right-hand man, Pipit, stood off to the side on the room, reaching to open the door for Tetra, before the door was slung open by a messenger, who was taking deep gulping breaths.

“News of the King.” Said the messenger, before sinking into a low bow, “They have broken though Malladus’s defences, the Ocean Realm is our again.”

Tetra smiled at the news, before she realised that the messenger was shaking, “What other news do you bring?”

“I regret to inform you, your Majesty,” Said the messenger, “That Sir Gonzo has fallen in battle, Sir Niko has lost his leg and the King,” the messenger paused, “and the King is now missing an eye.”

Everyone in the room froze, to hear that Link had received an injury was rare, especially from a monster.

“Where is he now?” Asked Tetra, her voice soft. The messenger swallowed nervously.

“He is at Outset Village; Sir Niko was able to get him there before sending me.” Said the messenger, as Tetra strode out of the room.

Midna and Daphnes quickly followed, doing their best to keep up, little Zelda still fast asleep in her mother’s arms.

“Midna, you’re in charge while I’m gone, Daphnes,” Said Tetra, “I need you to go to the Tower of Spirits, take Zelda with you, and speak to Anjean. I’m going to collect your father.”

Midna wanted to protest but knew better than to question her mother on such a serious matter. Midna just nodded and headed back to the Throne room, Daphnes took Zelda from his mother and headed in the direction of a secret tunnel that lead into the Tower, he grabbed a broadsword and shield from a guard as he passed them.

Tetra quickly made her way outside the castle and to the private stables, quickly readying Thunder and Epona for the trip. “Follow us.” Tetra instructed the horse, before she mounted Thunder and rode for Outset.

TFH

Link scowled as Aryll went over his eye with some anti-septic. Pipit and Niko standing in the corner. Mila had headed out to the nearest shop to buy some more potions. There was a sudden commotion outside the house, prompting Niko to open the door, allowing Tetra to stride in.

“Tetra,” Said Niko, “I didn’t realise you were coming.”

“Well after hearing that Link had his eye cut out is a massive motivator.” Snarked Tetra, before her glare settled on Link, “Could you all give us a bit of privacy, if you don’t mind.” Although Tetra’s sentence was worded like a question, it was a statement.

After everyone else had filed out of the room and the door closed, Tetra turned her glare on full force. “You promised me, that when this started you weren’t going to do anything stupid.”

Link snorted, “I doubt taking a shot at Malladus would be classed as stupid.”

“That’s not the point, Link.” Snapped Tetra, “What if the cut had been deeper, what if it had been lower? I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the idea of becoming a widow!”

“Well neither of those happened, so we don’t have to worry.” Said Link, scowling.

“Really?!” Exclaimed Tetra, “How about you try explaining to a five-year-old, who just had a nightmare of one parent dying, that their nightmare came true! Zelda was in the room when that bloody messenger called!”

All of Link’s anger dissipated, “What messenger?”

“The one Niko sent, the one who told me that you were short of an eye.” Said Tetra, her chest heaving, Link was doing his best not to focus to much on it.

“Tetra, Niko didn’t send a messenger, Niko, Pipit and I were the only survivors.” Said Link, making Tetra’s heart stop.

“What?”

TFH

The residents of Castle Town were being evacuated into the Tower of Spirits, Midna jerked her sword, a monster sliding off it and onto the floor. Karane implanted an arrow into a Mini-Blin’s head, before drawing another arrow and shooting a Wolfos.

The messenger that Niko had sent betrayed them, opening the city to Malladus and his hordes. Midna had made quick work of the pathetic excuse for a man, ramming her sword through his skull. Midna idly wondered if Niko had actually sent the man.

Midna swung her sword at the neck of a Geozard, the blade making quick work of the scales. Midna was glad that her mother had sent Daphnes and Zelda to the Tower of Spirits, she didn’t want for them to be caught up in this.

An arrow suddenly pierced a Stalfos, a Snapper and a Snurgle, instantly killing them. Midna looked for the origin of the Arrow, spotting her mother, father, aunt Aryll and Sir Niko charging into the horde. Tetra was holding a weapon that they had been working on, as it was the hope for defeating Malladus. Link cut through the monsters, like a hot knife through butter.

Malladus, upon the arrival of Link and Tetra, promptly fled back to the Fire Realm, most of his horde following. That night, they celebrated, while the messenger had been one of Malladus’s spies, he told the truth about the Ocean Realm being under their control again.

For both Link and Tetra, the night was long, as they reacquainted themselves of each other. Three months later, Tetra was moved to the Tower of the Spirits, along with Daphnes and Zelda, expecting her fourth child.

TFH

Niko and Pipit slowly walked up to the Tower, both dreading the news they were holding. Upon reaching the foyer of the Tower, the two were greeted by Anjean, who realised something was wrong.

Tetra sat next to Daphnes and Zelda, her hand running over the small bump in her abdomen. Link and Midna were to meet them in a couple of days, to celebrate the pregnancy. Anjean quietly rolled up to Tetra, her face solemn.

“Tetra,” Said Anjean, while little Zelda played with the Spirit flute, “There’s something we need to tell you.”

Tetra looked at the Lokomo, a pair of legs standing behind her, Tetra looked up, spotting Midna’s blood covered face. Behind Midna was Niko and Pipit, Tetra looked behind the group, trying to spot Link.

“Midna,” Tetra asked, dread building up inside her, “where’s your father?”

Midna quietly clenched her jaw and screwed her eyes shut, prompting Tetra to look at Niko, who fiddled with his bandana, which he never took off.

“We were ambushed,” Said Niko, “the Gorons had been moved to another location by Malladus, we walked into a trap, Malladus was there.”

Niko started having trouble breathing, “He attacked Link from behind, Link fought, but, Namer betrayed us and-and distracted Link, long enough for Malladus to kill him.”

Tetra started gasping for air, before a sharp pain originated from her abdomen.

That night, Tetra brought her son into the world, the same son that Link would never meet or hold.

TFH

Malladus’s hordes were falling, no small part due to Tetra firing her bow at an exceptional rate. Her cutlass made short work of the monsters, until she was faced with Malladus. The Demon King snarled at her, his hair was orange, his eyes red and his skin blue, Malladus had a tail and a pair of horns on his head. Tetra spun her cutlass in her hand, her eyes narrowed into a murderous glare.

In Malladus’s right hand was the Phantom Sword, its blade dull, almost lifeless. The ensuing fight was long and violent, until Tetra rammed her cutlass into Malladus’s stomach, pinning him to a tree, before she ready the bow of light and fire a light arrow into the head of the Demon King.

The Lokomo sages were able to seal Malladus away, so while he was defeated, he wasn’t destroyed. His chains coated the land of New Hyrule, Midna, and her lover Derek, drew even with Tetra. Even though they had won the war, they knew that in Tetra’s eyes, the war was lost when Link was killed.

In the following years, people would describe Tetra as a fair, firm ruler. Although they would also mention that before the King died, she was kinder and warmer, people would say that side of her died with Link. Five years after the end of the war, Tetra stepped down from the Throne and Midna was made Queen. Another twenty years passed, before Tetra quietly joined Link in his place in the Sacred Realm.

[wandering-chronicler-blog]

The Wolf of Farore - Chapter 35

An Ongoing Zelda/Witcher Fusion Fic - Updates Wednesdays/Thursdays

War has come to The Kingdom of Hyrule.  The people cry for a savior as monsters and spirits stalk the once green fields of the provinces.  Famine grips the populace as the Gerudo Tribes and their blin allies strike along the borders.  Hope for peace begins to drown in the blood spilled in No Man’s Land.  But Hyrule doesn’t need another hero.  It needs a professional.

[First] [Previous] [Next] [Archive]

CHAPTER 35:  AN ANCIENT EVIL

A couple hours had passed since the attack.  Link sat in the office of Chieftain Komali along with Medli and Linebeck.  Aveil, a couple guards, two of the pirates and the hylian girl with her hair braded in a pair of pigtails sat on the other side of the room.  They all stayed in their groups along the walls and cahirs that were there, keeping quiet as they waited.  Behind the chieftain’s desk was a pair of rito guards with their arms folded.  The chieftain himself was out the door in the back of the room on a balcony, speaking with a far older rito.  The chieftain wore a burgundy tunic with white slacks under it while the elder had a long red robe that dragged on the ground. It also bore stylized markings of runes along its hem.

 Link glanced over to the others there.  The guards who had fought at the docks were exhausted.  One used his spear to prop himself up while a zora sat on a crate that had been dragged in bent over.  He heard snips of their conversation, worry in the voices that this was just the start of something worse.  He couldn’t hear what the pirates were saying, but the girl caught his eye for a moment as she removed bolts from one of her crossbow’s hoppers.  Looking up, Aveil was leaned against the wall.  Her left leg was propped up against it and she was watching the pirates.  

 To Link’s immediate right though was Medli, head in her hands.  She rubbed her eyes a little, but made no effort to sit up.  Next to her was Linebeck, who had seemingly fallen asleep against the wall in his chair.  Link gently put a hand on Medli’s shoulder and gave a sympathetic pat.  She looked up slightly, deep red eyes still watered with tears.

 “He did it to protect everyone,” Link said.  “Getting hurt like that was a real possibility.”

 “I know,” she said with a sniff.  “And I know he’ll recover, Valoo isn’t an ordinary dragon.  But I still saw my patron mangled by a monster.  And they attacked us in broad daylight.”

 “They attacked us like that in the seas too,” Aveil said, not looking away from the pirates. “Middle of the day.  Sun out.”

 “We only had a few of them though to deal with.  And… And that massive-eyed beast was with them!  I’ve never seen anything like it!”

 “We crippled the creature,” Link said.  He pulled his canteen from his back and offered it to Medli.  “If we hadn’t have done that, they both could’ve died.”

 The rito handmaiden looked at the canteen for a second before taking it, unscrewing the lid. “Still…  I wish we could’ve done more.”  She took a drink then.  “We’re going to need some extra help too if we’re going to the Tower of The Gods. Unless we leave quickly and are able to avoid another attack like this.”

 “I’m still waiting on my armor to be repaired,” Link said.  “And we’ll need to get some more silver and other tools to deal with the geozards.”

 “I’m sure Komali would be willing to supply you.”

 “Hoping so.  But there was a lot of damage down there.  They’re going to need supplies.”

 “Gonna have to repair the piers too,” Aveil added.  She watched as the girl came over to them.  She herself looked a little beat up from the fight with a bandage over her arm and dirt on her face.

 Link glanced up at her, seeing she held two crossbow bolts.  They were his silver ones.  “Here,” she said.  “I didn’t need all of them when help came.”  She glanced at Aveil for a moment.

 “Keep them,” he said. “Just in case.”

 “Silver’s expensive though.”

 “I can handle myself. And they might be coming back.”

 “She can handle herself pretty well too,” Aveil said.  “Took down nine of those things while we were holding the path up there with the other two guards here.”  She motioned to the zora and rito guards who were also in the room.  “If you could pull those sort of shots with a recurve, you’d be a heartseeker in The Tribes, Aryll.”

Link’s jaw fell open as he looked the young woman over.  “I…” He smiled a little.  “Do you have a telescope?  With a pair of seagulls drawn into the top?”  Medli had said she was there, but the last time he’d seen her was before he’d gone through The Change.  Looking closer now though he saw the girl who’d hidden behind him so long ago.

 “Yeah, but…”  She glanced down and then back at him.  “What does-  Wait.”  She tilted her head.  “Link?”

 He looked up at her. “You get my letters?”

 She dropped bolts.  She laughed, a massive smile across her face as the bolts clattered on the floor.  The sister he hadn’t seen in over a decade threw her arms around him.  “Nayru’s Love!  It’s you!  What are you doing here?!”

 He hugged back with a grin on his face.  “Helping a friend.”  Link took a deep breath.  “I’m glad you’re okay.  When the war started it stopped any correspondence.”

 “Did you get mine?” She pulled away, letting go, but still smiling.

 “I didn’t.  I was deployed to the Castor Wilds. Until…”  He cleared his throat.  “I’ll tell you later.  It’s a long story.”

 “Against the blins?”

 He nodded and looked back at Medli.  “Aryll, this is Medli.”

 “Hi.”  Aryll offered a hand.

 The rito sniffed once and composed herself before shaking Aryll’s hand.  “Good to finally meet you,” she said with a sad smile.

 “Oh, he mentioned you in the letters!  You helped him on a job for Hyrule out here.”

 “More than one, but yes. Your brother has always been a friend to us.  I’m glad to see wanting to help people runs in the family too.”

 “Yeah.  I heard something was going on with the couriers so I found a way to get up here to try and get letters to people.  At least in the islands.”  Aryll looked back to her brother.  “So, what’re you helping them with?”

 “Getting to the bottom of where the couriers are,” he said.

 “The Crown wants you to do that?”

 “I’m…”  He let out a sigh and shook his head.  Link was about to tell her that he was no longer with The Crown when two more pirates entered.  One looked fairly ordinary with a striped shirt and bandana on his head. The other though, made him go silent. “I’ll tell you later.  Meet me when we’re done.”

  “Are we ready to actually talk about what happened out there?” the second new arrival asked. Link watched her very closely as Aryll walked to the woman’s side.  “And what in Demise’s name those things were?”  She wore a blue vest over her shirt and pants that looked they had once been white if not for the black blood staining them.  She’d wrapped a bandana around her arm, blood staining it from a wound, and put her hair up in a messy bun.

 “I heard one of the handmaidens call them geozards,” the zora said.  He rubbed his nose and cleared his throat.

 “Never heard of ‘em before.”

 “Not surprised,” Medli said. “They’re supposed to myths.”

 She turned to look at Medli, stopping briefly to look at Link.  Their eyes met and he focused.  He couldn’t let her know.  He did see the captain’s jaw fall open slightly though before another voice interrupted them.

 “Every myth has a grain of truth, dear Medli,” someone said.  It was the older rito.  He walked into the room followed by the chieftain.  “They are primal zoras.  Beings that live far deeper than their more amiable cousins.”  He motioned slowly to the guard in the room.  “They have had no need to change for they are content roaming the Abyssal Plains.  The ones who attacked us however…  Are unnatural.  Altered by magic to the point they are tainted.”

 “We figured that,” one of the pirates said.  “So we got some witch out there making these things.”

 “It’s too powerful,” Link said.  “The skill needed to make something like that is intense.  I don’t know of any mages who would be capable of it.”  That was a lie and the pirate captain raised an eyebrow slightly when he’d said it.

 “I’ve met a couple who could,” Aveil said.  “I can count on one hand how many witches might be able to alter a creature to make it that dangerous and full of magic.  Two of them are with The Tribes, one is dead and the third was last seen decades ago in the Castor Wilds.”

 “You can never trust a gerudo though,” the pirate grumbled.  He shook his head as he leaned back in his chair.  “They’re just thieves, murderers and whores.”

 Link saw the viper’s glare lock with the pirate.  He caught Aveil’s hand twitch slightly and turn.  If she had wanted to, she could’ve grabbed her hookshot and pulled them onto her sword.  He was sure it’d all be in one fluid action as well.

 “Hey, you wanna try pissing off one of the people who helped keep the island from being overrun?” the captain snapped at her companion.  

  “Captain Tetra,” Chieftain Komali said as he pulled the chair out from his desk.  “If your crew cannot be civil, I’m going to have to ask you all to wait in the commons room.”  She elbowed the man who’d made the remark.  He looked to the elder rito, who thanked him and took a seat. “Besides, one of your crew fought right beside her without an issue to keep the geozards from reaching the caverns. Aveil has given us no reason so far to question her words.”

 The elder cleared his throat.  “If we may continue?”

 “Please do,” Tetra said after glaring at her subordinate.  Link fought the urge to smirk slightly, knowing the look the pirate was getting too well.  She turned a little then to face the elder, looking relaxed, but he caught the tenseness and alert gaze.  

 Medli nudged Linebeck then to wake him up.  He snorted and shook his head violently as he sat up.  “That’s my treasure!” he said.  “I found it!”  He blinked a couple times, seemingly realizing where he was and cleared his throat.

 “As I was saying…” the elder said.   “The culprit is the grain of truth in the old myths.  From the evidence we’ve gathered we can reason it is Bellum.”

 “Bellum?!” Medli nearly shouted.  “With respect High Priest Zepps, Bellum’s been dead for thousands of years!”

 “What is a Bellum?” the zora asked.

 “An ancient demon,” Medli said.

 “More than that,” Zepps said.  “He was an old god; a being that predated the creation of the world by The Golden Goddesses. He had a place in the depths of the ocean and a place in the natural order of things.  Because of the laws of nature though, he came into conflict with others.  Namely the Ocean King and Sky Spirit.”

 “I’d assume then that Bellum was defeated,” Tetra said.

 “At great cost,” Komali said.  “The old stories passed down by The High Priest of Valoo to his attendants are the closest record we have.  They say that Bellum had a following on a great continent.   And his servants crafted suits of armor that would harvest the living for sacrifice.  The conflict grew.  Lives were lost.  The Ocean King and Sky Spirit had to do something as Bellum’s influence spread through the continent.”

 “If I recall the stories right, it was not just his influence that spread,” Medli said.

 “You’d be right, child,” the elder said.

 “What happened?” Link asked. He leaned forward a little and picked up the bolts his sister had dropped on the floor earlier, but did not leave his chair.

 “Well…” Medli began, “if I recall right, Nayru wept for the loss of life and her tears flooded the continent.  Washed away all the blood so that there could be a fresh start.”

 “That’s one of the Hyrulean retellings actually,” the elder replied.  “What happened was his phantoms nearly cleansed the entire continent of life, absorbing it.  In the end, the only thing the Ocean King and Sky Spirit could do was undermine Bellum. The Sky Spirit taunted and distracted him, while the Ocean King dove under the continent.  Bellum had wrapped his many tentacles into the continent so better to feed off of the life there.  And thus, with just a little trickery, the entire continent was brought down upon the god.  All that remains of it are the scattered mountain tops and some of the islands. Outset, Mercay, Gust…  Most of the larger islands in the trade circle are the edges of the continent’s mountain range.”

 Link saw his sister gasp and look shocked at the tale.  “An entire continent?” she asked.

 “Yes.”

 “How?  And if Bellum is under it all?”  She shook her head and looked at the floor.

 “What she means to say is how could this thing survive an entire continent being dropped on top of it?” Tetra asked.  She bowed her head slightly at the question.  Link caught it and remembered another time she’d done that.  “Even if it did, it’d be buried under goddess-only-knows how many tons of rock.”

 “A dead god can still dream, captain,” Aveil said.  “Some of The Tribes believe that Demise’s tomb is in the heart of the Haunted Wasteland. It is his hate that makes the sands shift and why there are so many monsters in the region if you believe local legend.”

 “Anyone actually been out to see it?”

 “One or two witches have made it there.”

 “Mmm…”  Tetra looked back to the elder.  “So why use the geozards then?”

 “Simple, I’d assume,” Komali said.  “He’s not at full strength.  But strong enough to influence the things in the depths.  He can’t make his servants yet so has to utilize the local resources as it were.”

 “Meaning twisting the geozards,” Link answered.  “Be simple for something like Bellum then.”

 “Indeed,” the elder said.

 “I had a feeling this was all connected,” Aveil muttered.  “So… Bellum is in The Abyssal Plains in the center of the islands.”

 “Looking that way,” Link said.  “If not for the attack on the island, I’d say we’d need proof, but it looks like he’s trying to remove potential threats to his return.  Logically, we can reason Valoo is a descendant of the Sky Spirit.”

 “That’d be right,” the elder said.

 “This is way out of my pay grade,” Aveil said.

 “No one’s asked you to go after an old god,” Tetra said.

 “Yet,” Linebeck added with a yawn.

 “Actually, that is what myself and High Priest Zepps are asking,” Komali said.  He walked in front of the desk, hands behind his back.  “Before you arrived from the docks and cleanup below, we spoke at length with Ambassarod Tolec.  We’ve agreed this is not something we can wait on.  Bellum represents a threat to the entire South Seas. Regardless of what else is going on, he needs to be dealt with.”  He looked at the collected group.  “He is on his way back to the Craetor Depths and Labrynna to campaign for assistance. Before he left, we quickly drew up some contracts.  I am willing to hire each of you to find a way to find the zora who was captured by the pirates in the region.  Get information from him and then, if possible, find a way to stop Bellum’s raids from continuing.”

 “You’re what?” Tetra asked. She had a look of disbelief on her face. “You’re asking us to go after a goddess-damned demon god at the bottom of the ocean.”  Tetra looked to the rest of the group there.  “A group of pirates, a couple sellswords and a disgraced Labrynnan privateer after a dead god?”  In spite of her tone, he caught the look in her eyes.  There was a sparkle and a plan already forming in.  He wondered if what Komali said had given her the idea or not.

 “How much are we talking?” Linebeck asked.  Link could already see some of the greed in his eyes.  He shook his head at the smuggler. “What?  I’ve said it before.  There’s nothing that says we can’t do some good and get paid well doing it!”

 Aveil began to laugh a little.  “He’s got a point,” she said.  “And if Bellum regains its power, we wouldn’t be around long enough to enjoy it anyways.” She looked back at the chieftain. “I’ll take a look.  I make no promises until I’ve seen those contracts.”

 “Medli brought me in hoping I could help,” Link said.  “And you guys have always helped me.  So you can count on me.”

 “If the price is right, me too,” Linebeck said.

 “You really thinking about your wallet after hearing all this?” Medli asked him.

 Linebeck pulled his flask out of his coat and opened it.  “You two are going to need a boat to travel still.  And I have a contract too with Aveil.”  He pointed at her.  “Though we both agreed on ‘escape clauses’ in case we needed to make ourselves scarce…” He took a drink then.

 “We did,” she answered. “Which is more than I can say for the one with Remor.”

  The chieftain looked to the other side of the room.  “What about you, captain?” he asked.  “Can we count on your crew?”

 Link watched her as she looked at the floor for a minute.  He then saw her shake her head and look back up.  For a moment, he caught a sorrow in her eyes.  It was replaced with a mostly emotionless look. The same one he’d seen a couple times since the war had started, but he wasn’t going to let on.  “We’re just pirates,” Tetra said.  “It’s out of our paygrade and we’ve no interest in going after dreaming gods at the bottom of the sea.”

 “So you’re not going to?” Ayrll asked.

 “Look, Aryll, you might’ve come here to do some work for the rito and we’d give you passage as you played mailwoman on the islands we passed, but this is not what we do.”  She looked back at Komali.  “Even if we wanted to help, our main mast got destroyed in the fight!  We can’t go anywhere at any reasonable speed until it’s fixed.  We also lost six people to those things.”

 “I’d like a little payback, captain,” the larger of the pirates said.  “Those bastards whipped us.  Nobody gets away with that shit.”

 She looked back at him. “I’d like to as well, but this sounds like a really fast way to die.”  Tetra looked back at the chieftain.  Link saw her expression slightly change and how she shifted her weight. She’d figured something but wasn’t about to say it in front of an audience.  For a moment, she glanced over at him.  Link tried his best to keep a neutral expression.  “You really want our help, you’re gonna have to give us some incentive.”

 Aryll spoke up before anyone else could.  “The fact that if Bellum gets out and threatens everything isn’t incentive enough?!”

 “Like our gerudo friend said.  This is out of our pay grade.”

 “You said you needed incentive,” Zepps said.  “So how about you sit down and we discuss it?”  He shook his head a little and rubbed his left side a little as he shifted his weight.  The old rito looked the pirate captain in the eye.

 There was a moment of silence as the group was quiet.  “Well… No harm in discussing it at least,” she said.  “I need to talk to you about getting some letters into Hyrule anyways.”  Link smiled slightly at her words.  He knew exactly what she was doing now.  He held his tongue though as a small, sad smile came across his lips.  

 “When will we need to have a yes or no on those contracts?” Aveil asked.

 “By tonight,” Komali said. “Time’s of the essence.  We don’t know what some of his plans are or where he is.”

 “What makes you think the zora’s still alive too?”

 “We don’t know.”  He looked down.  “We need to find out.  From what Tolec said though, he’s a tough one.  Out of Termina’s Great Bay.”

 “Well, we’re already heading into the area and the Tower of the Gods as part of our plan,” Medli said. “So we’ll be able to check there. If not, there’s Mercay.  They’d probably be able to point us in the right direction.”

 “You know how dangerous it is there,” Zepps said.  “But be careful.”

 “Of course.”

 Komali looked to the rest of the group.  “If there is nothing else, we must discuss things with Captain Tetra and see if we can come to an agreement.”