#i would do anything for rauru

[deathlyfruit]

happy totk release 💚💙 i’ve already embarrassed myself in front of the hot goat man and blown up a few times so i’d say it’s going well lol

[rawliverandgoronspice]

behold: my second least favorite string of words in the entirety of Tears of the Kingdom.

(it's a little less transparent why this time so I'll explain my thoughts under the cut)

So why do I not like this?

In so many words: because if you remove it, the scene still works, but you lose the moral certainty of what is going on.

This single sentence does so much legwork for the entire game (the kind I dislike), to the point where I'm about 60% sure it's the product of a rework that realized how ambiguous Rauru's position was as the Good Rightful King and needed to nervously reassure the players that Ganondorf Is and Always Was the Invader, Actually.

(no matter that it leaves the gerudos in this awkward in-between state of both invaders and victims, while never dwelling in the specifics of their history and their own agency in the entire thing; brushed off as a sin they have to expiate through loyalty to the winners of that particular strife, but without explicitely blaming them either to avoid the implications of what that would have looked like)

If you remove it, not only do you lose a pretty clunky line that detracts from Ganondorf's intimidating presence (who is he even speaking to? who needs to hear this right now?) that honestly speaks for itself when it comes to his experience with warfare, but also you lose any tension and any mystery regarding why he is attacking in the first place.

You also... kind of rob Ganondorf's motivations of their meaning. "Hyrule will bow down before me" leads to asking... why? What does he want? What does he see in those lands? And what little we get with Rauru and then Link during the final fight begs more questions; why do you prefer hardship to peace? Why do you value strength? What leads you to want to rule a land devoid of survivors, become a king without a kingdom? I don't think we ever get satisfactory answers. If you remove this sentence, on the other hand... Subtextually, it becomes pretty clear that his motivations is that he felt threatened by Rauru's power, which is ripe with subtext and questions about whether this is a legitimate reaction, whether his "no survivor" stance is due to a feeling of betrayal when his own people turned against him post the Demon King shenanigans... I'm not saying it would fix the entire game's writing, far from it, but it would already do *so much more*.

(genuinely, I think he could have stayed completely silent during the Molduga Assault, speaking only in the Show of Fealty before going completely nuts after Sonia's murder, and it would have worked MUCH better in terms of characterization but anyway anyway

EDIT: ALSO!!! that way he wouldn't speak hylian to fellow gerudos, which is weird inherently)

Without this line, the core of the tension between the gerudos and Hyrule comes front in his conversation with Rauru; it allows the cause of his hostility to be Rauru's invitations, that he would have taken as a threat, and would have still made him warlike and domineering without making him cartoonishly flat, because, once again, Rauru is not acting in a particularly more legitimate way when Zelda arrives in Ancient Hyrule; and it would have been... fair to point that out. And make for better characterization for Rauru, and Sonia, and Mineru, and everybody. But the priority was for Hyrule to be pictured as unquestionably holy; always legitimate, always truthful, always beautiful, always just.

Also, and this is more of a nitpick but: why would Ganondorf want Hyrule, specifically, to bow down before him also? Was he at war with the rest of the disparate tribes before, and just carried on his ambitions to the very very newly-founded kingdom as they allied under a new banner? (though it seems to be implies the lands were crawling under monsters in a generic sense, and not Ganondorf's attacks in particular) Why would he even consider Hyrule a legitimate entity worth taking over then, if it is so new, born from the will of a powerful rival, founded by what is basically a stranger to these lands? Why would he covet something so young instead of destroying it and just calling the lands Gerudo Lands II or Grooseland or something?

I don't think any of that was even accounted for, because, beyond everything else: to me, this sentence is so clearly and painfully crammed in here to shield Hyrule from any potential blame and immediately characterize Ganondorf as Bad without having to remove any of the causes that could lead one to side-eye Rauru's little pet project as equally questionable.

Beyond the clumsiness, it is cowardly --and, I think, a little damning.

[worrywart-ish]

Everyone simping over Rauru when Mineru is Right There

[tinyetoile]

TotK has solidified my belief that the objectively correct way to engage with the Zelda timeline is to Not, outside of whatever immediately affects the game you're currently playing

[kil9]

finally started totk :] I got myself to the end of the temple of time (other side of the door) without opening the door, I think a cutscene is supposed to happen here but it hasn't triggered bc the door is still closed lol 💀💀

[alabasterpickles]

I was going to wait to share these? Because I have like twenty more drawings in the works, but there’s too many to post all at once anyway, so in the meantime my Zelda palies can have a handful of doodles

Some of these are old and a LOT of theme need context so I’m gonna list them one at a time from top to bottom, ahem

1. So, my sister and I have it in our heads that Tulin and Josha would get on like a house fire, partly because they are the only characters that are the same-ish age and partly because they’re both tenacious little turkeys (pun intended, yes) with LOADS of spirit to spare

But also, I can see Tulin hanging out around her a lot now that he's a Sage and will be spending most of his time at Lookout Landing. Plus Josha is all into history and relics and she's a little bossy so it just makes SO much sense that he'd develop a crush on her

I think he'd appreciate the attention, too! if he's anything like his hero, Revali, or even Teba (which, like father like son) he's bound to be a bit of a show-off around the ladies

Teba is somewhere off screen facepalming because his son flirts like a plywood board

2. NUMBA TWO; I was playing skyward sword on the switch, thought about loftwings, thought about Rito and bam! Crimson loftwing Rito. That’s pretty much all there was to this one. Thought about drawing Zelda’s loftwing as his wife too!

3. OKAY ITS BECAUSE DARSTON WAS MY FAVE IN ECHOES OF WISDOM, so i drew him in BOTW’s style. I have no regrets (I loved the Gerudo Princess too!) see a pattern here? Yeah, neither do I.

4. That’s just Gomo the Goromand because I’m lowkey in love with him and his funny little ‘do.

5. Just Urbosa being a total badass as usual and because her AOC dialogue in the Thunderblight Ganon fight sequence guts me a little.

6-9. Sage Charm designs I started drawing ages ago and still want to finish (but they’ll have to wait because of school)! I promise Tulin is there, he’s just trapped in thumbnail form!!!

10. Oldie but goodie because I am hyped for age of imprisonment and really, really, really look forward to seeing more of the dynamic between Rauru and his granddaughter. And also?? I want more of Zelda and Mineru’s relationship too, because that girl waited 10,000 years, witnessed the sacrifice of her niece, lost her brother, sister-in-law and her friends, AND her body, to help Link and if that doesn’t make her the coolest sage I don’t know what does

[powdermelonkeg]

You're big on Zelda, so I'm curious. How would you rewrite TOTK, if given the writer's room?

Fun question! *cracks knuckles* Let's answer it.

I've answered about the disconnect between BotW and TotK before, so I'm going to take some of those ideas and run with them here.

I'm taking the intended route, for the sake of keeping coherence rather than just making up an entirely new Hyrule from scratch. Link and Zelda are the same as they are in BotW.

To start off, I like the Zonai.

I like that they're an entirely new race of people in Hyrule. I love how weird-looking they are. I love that they're not human race #87.

I also love their bastard not-Zonai lovechild thing. If we saw more examples of Zonai, I would love for this funky lil dude to be part of them, kind of like how the Zora have a ton of variation between them.

So why don't we do that? Why don't we give them a kingdom?

And why don't we put some meat on the bones of what was already built?

There are Zonai-esque ruins all over the Depths, mostly in mines for Zonaite.

Their color palette matches. Rauru's braids and Sonia's earrings match brightblooms.

And the three dragons, who have Zonai features (segmented, color-edged hair, long ears, blunt muzzles, scale beard mouths), could have been a catalyst.

A catalyst for what, though?

It starts with the Depths themselves, and the dragons breaking free.

See, in TotK, the three elemental dragons all dive in and out of the Depths chasms. There's no explanation as to why, and the only explanation we have for the chasms forming is that it was like...geysers of Gloom.

However, the dragons in BotW are confirmed to have carved these canyons:

So let's go back in time a little.

The Zonai live in the Depths. They're underground, away from all the chaos that Hyrule has ever had to endure. They worship the bargainer statues as gods, they collect the souls of those above that drip down into the world below.

They have a rich mining industry, and coliseums for their greatest warriors to test their mettle against captured monsters.

They have their Secret Stones, and the one who's allowed to hang onto those is their leader.

That'd be young Prince Rauru.

The elemental dragons, Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh, are testaments to why no one can be allowed to have the Secret Stones. They were consumed by their power, literally.

One day, they break free, as if summoned by an unknown force. They tunnel through the ground and into the sky, connecting the world below to the one above.

The Hylians cautiously venture below, or the Zonai above. Prince Rauru, keeper of the Secret Stones, and Sonia, High Priestess of Hylia, meet.

They fall in love.

They marry.

Their marriage marks a unity between the Surface and the Depths.

(Maybe throw in a lil Skyward Sword continuity, mention that while Hylia sent the humans to the sky, the Zonai fled underground to avoid Demise, to keep the Secret Stones out of his grasp. You don't even have to name drop him, just say they went down to avoid destruction.)

Suddenly, Hyrule (the center part of the map, based around the Great Plateau, not the whole sub-kingdom conglomerate it exists as in BotW) undergoes a technological boom. Ganondorf, neighboring leader of the Gerudo, is interested. He talks trade with now-king Rauru, but there's the sub-plot of trying to get his secrets, which he steadily grows obsessed with.

Meanwhile, the Gerudo make their own expedition into the Depths.

There. The stage is set.

Now Zelda falls into the past.

She's found by Rauru and Sonia. Adopted as their daughter, more or less.

Also, the two of them have a small child. Nintendo, you CAN'T set them up as "they're her ancestors" and then kill them childless, descendants don't work like that. Zelda's immediately endeared to the kid, who reminds her of Link. Lil half-Zonai girl with a wooden sword who swings it at anything that moves. There are memories, it's cute.

In the past, Zelda witnesses, real time, Ganondorf going mad with power. They get along well at first, he's cordial, polite, a model diplomat. But she finds his troops in places they shouldn't be, confronts him about it and gets brushed off.

She tells Rauru, he's unwilling to throw suspicion onto Ganondorf. They're semi-friends and diplomacy is important! He's got to run this kingdom right. He can't fail, this is the biggest thing he's ever done!

(Sprinkle in a parallel to BotW Zel's fear of failure)

Some of the memories fill in gaps about Rauru's power, also. He's got what Link can do, minus Recall. Ultrahand and Fuse mainly, but Rauru's been experimenting with Ascend, excited because it'll make passage between the Depths and the Surface so much easier, and we see where Zel gets her scientific excitement from. Regardless of how different they look, they ARE family.

Ganondorf and Rauru get into a fight one day. A BAD fight. Maybe because Zelda tipped Rauru off, and despite telling her no, Rauru looked into it anyways. Regardless, they march out in opposite directions, and Zelda overheard it in the hallway. As Ganondorf leaves, he gives her the most SCATHING glare.

He then declares war on Hyrule.

Rauru makes a bid for allies, trying to get enough manpower to fight Ganondorf's impressive military. It's a struggle at first, but Zelda steps in, being the leader she's skilled at being and telling the others how crucial it is that they help. Ganondorf, meanwhile, turns to forbidden arts in his rage against Rauru, gets infected by Gloom/Malice, becomes scarily powerful. First Blood Moon. The Gerudo are kind of unnerved by him.

We see Zelda and Sonia helping with the war. Sonia's got light powers, Zelda's are stronger, together they can destroy entire ARMIES of monsters, saving their warriors on the battlefield. A few instances of Little Princess trying to be involved like the grown-ups are, getting huffy when she's told no.

In the aftermath of each fight, Rauru runs around, sealing away the monsters' latent energy with green spirals. That's where the Shrines come from, though in the past, they're Luminous Stones—it's all faded by present day, the light bled out of them.

Sonia is on the battlefield against Ganondorf one fateful night, Little Princess wanders onto the field, both the girls panic about it, and Sonia tries to run away with her while Zelda affords them cover. THAT'S when Ganondorf strikes her—he's fast like a ninja, rushes past Zelda, strikes Sonia.

She falls. Little Princess tumbles.

Zelda races to Little Princess's side, picks her up to run away with her as Ganondorf gets Sonia's stone, and he transforms into the Demon King. He raises his army. Little Princess screams, and we see an uncontrolled blast of Hylia's power, like an erratic attempt at what Zelda did at the end of BotW.

It fritzes, Zelda hugs her tight and ducks down to shield her, and the power cascades across the battlefield, affecting monsters AND people alike. The war is in shambles. Ganondorf stares at the child and her guardian, and retreats in a hurry.

Cue Rauru running to their side.

He grieves his wife. Little Princess is kept safe by Zelda. The Gerudo shun Ganondorf and join Rauru's side, and everyone involved in the war dedicates everything to one final assault against Ganondorf, one trap to finally END him, to force him into the Depths and fight him on the Zonai's own turf. The Secret Stones are distributed. Rauru knows what he has to do, and at the climax of the final battle, he uses his Secret Stone to amplify his sealing magic, knowing it'll kill him in the process and locking Ganondorf away in the Depths.

Except, it's not that simple.

Gloom bursts out of the newly trapped Ganondorf's chest, flooding the Depths, eliminating everyone in its path. That includes the Sages, the assaulting army, and the VAST majority of the Zonai. Its sole purpose is to gather enough strength over time for Ganondorf to break his shackles, because the Gloom wants OUT.

(Subtly implied that the Gloom is the first iteration of Demise's curse of hatred, maybe.)

And Zelda is alone. Trapped in the past, stuck with Little Princess, her Secret Stone, and the last of Mineru's notes.

Gloom continues to fume out of the Depths, so they're sealed off. The Blood Moon keeps spawning new monsters, so Little Princess and the remainders of the construct caretakers are sent up to the sky, for her protection. Zelda's the one that orchestrates it. Her people once hailed from the sky, and it's always been known as a place of safety for them.

Is this self-referential to the history she's building, or a Skyward Sword reference? Who knows.

They go skyward.

Then the Master Sword appears, and Zelda knows what she has to do. It's compounded, of course, by crushing guilt over the fact that Sonia's death happened on her watch. She tells Little Princess to look out for the world ahead, tells her to be strong, and brave, and everything she wishes her dad had told her. Then ends it with a final message.

"I'm leaving you something very important. Take good care of it."

Then she goes off alone to become a dragon.

Present day.

Link's not guided by Rauru, he's guided by a strange, beautiful woman who looks kind of like Zelda (albeit with Zonai hair, eyes, and long claws), who has a deep regret for the world below and who knows the lonely world above like the back of her hand. She teaches him the basics of his powers as he visits the shrines.

The Great Sky Island is otherwise normal.

You go to Hyrule. The Light Dragon's the one that breaks the cloud barrier, and as she does so, she sheds a single tear. By the time you get to the tear's location, it's spread a mural of the memory it contains around it.

Whenever you Recall a tear, the Light Dragon sheds a new one somewhere else, and it's up to you to follow.

You're chasing Zelda, twice over.

Besides that, Hyrule's Surface is...largely unchanged. I'm still upset that the pirates assaulting Lurelin weren't ACTUAL pirates, so guess what, they are now. Splinter faction of Yiga. Also, River Zora take over Lake Hylia, there's a spat between them and the Sea Zora, and Yona is the princess of the Rivers.

Then you've got the Depths.

That's where you find the ruins of the Zonai civilization, and you start piecing together the world it contains on your own. You aren't told, you're SHOWN.

Rauru's ghost finds and guides you here. He has a moment of "hey, isn't that MY arm?", upgrades your abilities or shows you how to use them more efficiently (ups your build limit, shows you how to un-Fuse, teaches you DEscend, gives you Autobuild, things like that), then DIES-dies. You escort his poe soul to a Bargainer statue.

The biggest change to the Depths, though, is that under the Gerudo Desert, you find PEOPLE.

So remember how the Gerudo launched their own expedition into the Depths in the past? How the Gloom killed almost everyone and the world below was sealed off?

There were a sparse few survivors of the Zonai, and some unfortunate Gerudo researchers that also got trapped. The people down there now are descendants of both. They're not Zonai anymore, though.

They're Lomei. They evolved like how the Rito evolved from the Zora in Wind Waker. Their tribe name comes from the Zonai word for "loneliness."

Regardless, they're initially inhospitable to Surfacers, because Surfacers are how they ended up how they did. If you sneak into their city, you're captured, like a few unfortunate Zonai Survey Team members that have wandered in, only YOU can escape via Ascend. OoT Gerudo parallel.

You can earn the Lomei's trust by doing things for them (maybe beating all three labyrinths as a rite of passage?), and then they let you into their cities. They've got their own brand of tech based off of old Zonai designs. One of the Lomei scientists is working on a mechsuit—that'll be the sage that Mineru passes her stone down to. And it fits doubly, both because the Lomei ARE the descendants of the Zonai and because the Lomei technician and Mineru are both scientists.

The Lomei people give you more pieces to the complicated Zonai-Hylian puzzle, and they're the ones that first tell you the legend of the dragons-from-Secret-Stones. So you can either learn it from them OR get it revealed in Zel's later memories.

Besides that, the present plot is pretty much as normal. Still the same bosses. Still the same sages-help-with-everything, though each sage you rescue gives you another piece of what really happened at the final fight (rather than the same cutscene over and over), telling you about how Rauru sacrificed himself and the effect it had on the rest of the Depths.

I will change where the Ganondorf's Army fight takes place, though. It's ACTUALLY very hidden, like the game was trying to imply it to be when you chase around Kohga. You do still have to do that, but he accidentally directs you to a place that's hidden in the tiniest crevice near Hyrule Castle, one that's very easy to miss and sitting in a veritable sea of Gloom. Once you finish the Kohga quest, a poe hovers outside of the crevice, which leads into an even deeper chasm that leads to the Underdepths.

The poe's your help to get through the maze there, and wherever it goes, Sundelions bloom at the corners. If you go early, before getting everything done, you have to navigate that place yourself, and it's a nightmare.

But you do it. You get to where everything started, and you beat the army, then Ganondorf, then he shoves his fist down his throat and goes dragon.

As he breaks through the ground and curls around Hyrule Castle, he SHATTERS it. The building crumbles to smithereens, crashing into the Depths below.

You beat Demon Dragon, Zelda catches you on her nose, it's over. You're in the spirit realm over sleeping Zelda.

The poe appears over your shoulder, drifts away from you, then materializes into Sonia. She says nothing, just activates Recall, turns Zelda back to normal, then cradles her in her arms. She gives her a kiss on the forehead, looks at you, then says the same line Zelda said to Little Princess ages ago, with the single change of one word.

"I'm leaving you something very important. Take good care of her."

She fades, as does the Spirit World.

You're falling.

Zelda's falling.

You catch her.

She wakes up, sees you, then hugs you and sobs into your shoulder.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Roll credits.

Bonus for the memory completionists, the True Ending has Zelda meeting the grown Little Princess up at the Great Sky Island, reconciling with her, both of them saying how proud they are of each other. Then Little Princess turns into a poe, and Zelda promises to take her to the Depths so she can be with her parents again. As they walk away, Sonia's poe tails after them.

And THAT is a way longer post than I expected to write. Whew.

[gay-jesus-probably]

Let me just preface this by saying everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, TOTK is a really fun game, and I'm glad that other people have been able to enjoy the story as well.

...But I'm being dead serious with my complaints about the narrative being 100% imperialist propaganda. And I'm getting really tired of people replying to those posts by saying it can't be imperialist propaganda, because imperialism is bad and the game says that Hyrule is the good guys.

Like, guys. That's not the argument you think it is. Yes, I am aware that the game tells us Ganondorf is a flat, one dimensional character with no ambitions, interests or motivations beyond destroying the entire world for the hell of it, and also it's totally not racist because he's green, not brown like literally every other member of his race. Unfortunately literally all of these things are kind of the entire goddamn problem.

See, the thing is, everyone trying to make these arguments is accepting the game at face value. Hyrule is the perfect and almighty nation chosen by the demigod Zonai, and whose royal family has the right to rule due to their divine heritage. The other races exist to serve the glory of Hyrule, and they're happy to do it. Ganondorf is pure evil and must be stopped at any costs.

But that's not how anything works. The story informing me that Hyrule is the ultimate good that has done nothing wrong is the whole goddamn reason why I don't trust Hyrule at all. There's always more of a reason than that. And the game fucking suggests there was more going on! Ganondorf mentions Rauru has repeatedly 'invited' the Gerudo to become Rauru's subjects, and let's be clear here, it doesn't matter how peaceful those 'invitations' were, when the guy who owns every single magical nuclear missile in the world repeatedly demands you surrender to him, there's always going to be an implied threat of 'do it or get magically nuked'. Just that power difference alone shows us exactly why Ganon would feel threatened enough to invade. It's because Rauru was holding a gun to his head, and Ganon was expected to just trust that he'd never pull the trigger.

And yes, even if it wasn't intentional Hyrule was always threatening to wipe out the other nations, considering the entire royal family walked around openly wearing their magical nukes as cute accessories. If they couldn't be safely hidden away, there wouldn't be four other secret stones sitting untouched in a vault until the last second.

But that's never acknowledged. Of course Hyrule is the only nation with the right to the secret stones; even if other races get to touch them, they can only have them if they swear eternal blind loyalty and servitude to the glory of King Rauru and Princess Zelda. Ganon wanting to have one magical nuclear bomb out of a stockpile of eight of them is proof that he's dangerous and evil. I mean my god, what if he just walked around all day wearing a magical nuke and using its power for his own benefit, that would be terrifying. It's only okay when Hylian royalty does it.

And you can't argue that Ganon betrayed his own people, considering we don't get to know fucking anything about his relationship with his people. He's shows as the leader of the Gerudo, we're told he's a hero to his people, he has soldiers that loyally follow him into battle... and then oh nevermind, they all hate him and will spend eternity trying to atone for sharing a race with him. How did the entire race do a complete 180 in the span of at most a few months? Who cares, what's important is that now they accept they exist to serve Hyrule so they get to be the good guys now and we don't need to know why they were following Ganondorf, or why they stopped following him.

Basically my point is that yeah, I fucking know how the game insists everything went down. That's the entire reason I think it's imperialist propaganda, because the entire story feels like Hylian propaganda to conceal and justify some horrific atrocities that caused all of this. I literally do not believe that I'm getting the story through reliable narrators, especially considering that the only people allowed to actually tell me the story are all the characters that have the most reasons to be heavily biased in favour of Hyrule.

When the game shows me protagonists that have a massive amount of power and control over the entire world, then says the bad guy doesn't like that system just because he's evil, and literally nothing and nobody in the game says anything to oppose that take, I have some questions about what the fuck the story isn't telling me. And I'd really appreciate it if people would stop trying to argue with me just by telling me to stop asking those questions.

[marinsawakening]

I think the decision to make Ganondorf a flat evil villain in TOTK was to the story's direct detriment. Flat evil villains can work very well in the right story, but TOTK's story does not benefit from it.

Arguably the central theme of TOTK is the duty of kings (or leaders in general). Rauru and Ganondorf are clearly intended to be direct contrasts, Rauru with a philosophy where kingship means protection and Ganondorf with a philosophy where kingship means domination. Zelda follows in Rauru's footsteps. And that's about where the examination ends. Great game everyone hit the showers.

This 'examination' on the duty of kings is, to put it mildly, extremely shallow. There is no examination on what protection and domination mean, on how both kings arrived to their conclusions, what this materially meant for their subjects, etc. With Rauru, you could at least pick up on story details and cobble together a reasonable backstory for his motives and beliefs; the implied disaster faced by the Zonai people that led Rauru and Mineru to be the last remaining Zonai lends a decent foundation for Rauru's prioritization of protecting his people. While never properly explored, Rauru's beliefs are logical and can reasonably be ascribed to life experience by extrapolating from canon details.

Ganondorf on the other hand... yeah. Not so much.

Ganondorf is evil because he is Ganondorf. He believes that kingship means domination because he is Ganondorf. He wants power because he is Ganondorf. None of his motives make any kind of logical sense. Why does he want to cover the world in darkness? What purpose does this serve for him? What does he stand to gain from ruling over a world cast in night? Before the final boss fight, Ganondorf has a long, important-sounding speech where he waffles between talking about wanting to dominate and wanting to cast the world in night. I listened to it, deeply confused, and mostly wondered 'Is he stupid?' Seriously, why would he want any of this?

This is kind of the problem with cartoonishly evil villains: their motivations make no sense. Nobody sets out to destroy the world, because, y'know, they live on it. What is Ganondorf planning to rule over here, exactly? A world with nothing but his own created monsters? What is he dominating then? Why is reshaping the world so important to him, when he could just conquer it?

And of course: why does Ganondorf think that kingship means domination in the first place? What was different about him and Rauru for them to arrive at such polar opposite conclusions on their duty?

As far as the story is concerned, the fundamental difference is that Ganondorf was born evil. Ganondorf has no reasons for doing what he does, beside his lust for power, because he's evil. Even if Rauru has his reasons for believing what he does, this means nothing if his views are contrasted by a guy who's doing this because he was just born evil. No productive conversation regarding the nature of kingship can come from pitting a character against a strawman, and thus it means nothing when Zelda follows in Rauru's footsteps and makes protection her duty. Zelda isn't born evil, so literally why would she ever have done anything different?

Ganondorf has enough charisma to feel like a good character, but when you actually pay attention to what he's saying it becomes very clear very quickly he has all the depth of a cartoon villain. He might as well be cackling evil and promising to drown the world in pollution or something. His motives are non-existent and his actions nonsensical, and thus his views on kingship add nothing of thematic value to the story.

It is not terribly difficult to ascribe Ganondorf motivations based on TOTK's imperialist overtones, but such a reading clearly goes blatantly against the text. When you need to read against the text in order to add a modicum of thematic depth to the story, that's not great.

[ganondoodle]

i guess i have two totk rewrites now, im actually a bit annoyed by how much this ones starting to work

at the start of the game you and zelda go down looking for the miasma source, blah blah she takes the stone that fell from raurus hand, both ganondorf and rauru reawaken, both reach for zelda immedtiately, gan destroys some of raurus remaining body and takes zelda, you try to attack but get your arm hurt, gan attacks and knowing he cant do anything in this falling apart version rauru takes you somewhere else and fuses to your arm, he tells you it was beyond saving and says he will assist you in rescueing zelda from gan

you start your usual mission of ridding the temples and ancient hidden structures of monsters and take the stones (not to the sages but you colelct them like your usual mcguffins), rauru tells you stuff about things he knows and how it used to be, he also adds extra info to item descriptions, alot now mention a past golden age of peace and wealth, you notice the tattoos of your new arm spreading over time, he tells you its nothing to worry about and jsut part of the healing- after the only stones missing are ganondorfs and zeldas (one was held by the yiga, you beat koga for it), the mission is to find and confront gan, he has zelda with the last stone after all once you do, and zelda and gan try to tell you what the real plan was, rauru takes control of you to lunge for the last two stones, he reaches them and immediately lets you go (you lose the arm), maybe taking parts of gan in the struggle to revive himself or gan takes a fatal blow, rauru reveals his plan for to you and you enter an arena of his making (the weird shrine dimension/the thing i drew in that sketch) but you cannot win, you have lost your swordarm and alot of hearts/energy, you have served your pupose and are thrown outside like a now useless piece of paper, you get a short glimpse of zelda and then black out

when you reawaken you have the new miasma arm (or alternatively the shiekah prosthetic i used in my main totk rewrite, and ganondorfs spirit is living in it), you now have ganondorf as your companion (maybe zelda too? if i want to combine the ideas for both rewrites ... what am i doing here- gan would be more of a fi like spirit, zelda a physical companion from now on at your side) (you can now correct the history you learned before, the whole vibe is turned on its head- you also go back to the yiga, to ask them for help- ganondorf convinces them, they are now allies)

gan took zelda to keep the stone away from rauru and the monsters in the temples were to keep the other stones protected from him

all the item descriptions are now different.

your new goal is to stop the king of light (the world), to stop him from snuffing out anythign he deems to be unwanted, to rid the lands of darkness so the light may ever burn brightly with no shadow to find comfort in

your home is not the world the king knew anymore, but he wants it back as it was

as he tears the lands into the shape of his will

Tears of the Kingdom.

so, this is what i was working on before i was .. distracted-

its not connected to the totk rewrite, but born out of the idea of rauru being a full blown villain (like i thought for a good part of the game .. lol), had the idea of him giving you his arm so he then stays with you as a companion, and tells you stuff that isnt true throughout the game without you knowing its all false, the more you folow his advice the more those arm tattoo things spread (just like those weird falling rocks do to their environment in the game)-

at first i though it would be neat to have him slowly try to take over links body- sort of like dormin in shadow of the colossus kinda deal- but that would be hard to implement, so maybe hed just sap your energy until he has enough to fully rebuild himself at the end (or maybe even use ganondorf for it instead idk, didnt get that far) all the while you go around collecting the enigma stones not knowing hes making you do the dirty work for him on his path to reclaim ultimate power over this world and rebuild his ancient dreamland fantasy

not gonna work any further on it, already got too much to do and after all that i have lost interest in it :/ i really like the idea of villain rauru though ..

[avalypuff]

Answers to the common questions of “Why didn’t Zelda retain dragon features?” and “Why did Link’s arm revert to normal?”

I’ve been dying to do some analysis posts since TotK came out, and after seeing a lot of people complain about the above, I decided my first should be related to the endgame.

So, I’ve seen a lot of posts where people seem to misunderstand what was going on when Zelda changed back into a Hylian, and why Link’s arm returned to normal. Many write this off as simply plot convenience, and while it’s true that Nintendo wouldn’t want to leave the main characters of one of their most popular titles with permanent changes, I’m here to try my best to explain the actual reason these things happened the way they did, because whether you noticed it or not, there is plot relevance to this reversion.

Draconification is permanent.

This is an indisputable fact.

And while I have seen people criticizing the way Zelda changed back, the fact is she swallowed the stone knowing that she never would.

“I’ll be forever changed…”

Her cry for Link to find her was not for her sake. She wasn’t depending on him to find the key to changing her back. Nay, the only reason she desperately prayed for him to find her was so that he could get the Master Sword, which—ignoring game mechanics that would allow you to beat Ganondorf with literally any weapon with the right damage/durability ratio—canonically is the only thing that can hurt him.

When Zelda changed back, it was almost entirely thanks to Sonia. That’s right!

…Let’s take a second to recall this scene in which Rauru decimated the horde of Molduga.

We see Sonia extend her hand and then gesture for Zelda to do the same.

Here they’re extending their own power to amplify Rauru’s counterattack, even beyond the already-massive boost the Secret Stone provides.

In the final scene when Link finds himself hovering over the sleeping Light Dragon amongst a dream-like atmosphere, it’s really quite telling that Sonia is the first to rest her hand over Link’s, then followed by Rauru.

This time Rauru is fulfilling the role of amplifying Sonia’s power over time. Not just that, but adding it on top of the time manipulation that Zelda gave to Link at the beginning of the game.

That’s what’s happening here. This is immensely powerful, triple amplified time magic!

The change from dragon to Hylian wasn’t a transformation in the same sense that it was when Zelda changed from Hylian to dragon. I know that’s a confusing sentence, but consider the basis of Sonia’s time magic is recalling things as they once were.

Zelda didn’t retain dragon features because, through the power of time reversal, she was never a dragon to begin with.

This is the also the reason the Secret Stone reappeared on her necklace.

This is ALSO the reason Link’s arm reverted to its natural state before he was affected by the gloom.

And before y’all come at me with “well, why didn’t Rauru do that in the first place instead of giving his arm to Link?” Simple; Sonia wasn’t there. Even spirits aren’t omnipotent… in Hyrule. (Probably.)

The point is, this was essentially a lucky break for Zelda and Link, because if Sonia (and therefore Zelda, by inheritance) didn’t have time magic, there would have been no way to undo the Draconification. It would have been every bit as permanent as Hyrule legends and history says it is, and Zelda would be gone forever.

In fact, it’s likely it was a shot in the dark even on Sonia and Rauru’s part, considering there was no prior knowledge of reversing time on a dragon, let alone a person. It was a glorious blend of the convenience of Sonia’s time magic, and luck that it worked out the way they (“they” being all characters involved) wanted.

Anyways, to wrap this up, Draconification is indeed permanent, unless you have the number one badass-master-of-time-manipulation Queen Sonia on your side. Then you can probably undo anything. :)

[navisakura]

*Tears of the Kingdom Spoilers*

Playing through the Wind Temple quest has given me even more love and respect for Revali in retrospect because now it’s confirmed that he was literally just a guy™️.

All of the other champions were direct descendants of the sages who fought in the Imprisoning War, except him. He had no special powers or magic passed down through his bloodline, he was just some guy who was good with a bow. He had to develop and perfect his own technique to help him in battle on his own, no other Rito had ever done it before.

Which makes the fact that he, without any noble blood or fancy magic, was able to fight alongside the descendants of the sages AND the Hero of Destiny AND the divine princess/descendant of Rauru and Sonia even more impressive. His outward confidence and ego makes sense when you consider that he was constantly trying to prove himself to everyone, that he was a strong warrior despite not being born with power.

It’s also really sad that in the end, Revali’s bloodline ended with him whereas the other champions at least got to die knowing that their family and loved ones would live on. The only things that serve as a reminder of his existence are the Great Eagle Bow and Revali’s Landing. Almost everyone in Zora’s domain remembers Mipha and honors her memory with an entire courtyard for her statue, Daruk has his face carved in a literal mountain, but Revali is rarely mentioned in TotK. (Urbosa doesn’t really have anything but shhh this aint about her) No one that knew him is still alive, except maybe the former chief owl guy?

That also begs the question of wtf was the Rito sage doing at the time of the Calamity, but honestly they probably were just some random person with no combat experience, given that they didn’t know they were a sage :P

tldr; Revali is the best champion no I don’t take criticism

[smilesrobotlover]

Chapter 4- Shrines

First|| <-Prev next->

AO3

Summary: it’s been three years since Calamity Ganon attacked Hyrule, and everyone was recovering well from it. Until the strange substance gloom appeared, making people sick when they touched it. Wanting to find answers, Zelda and the champions went beneath the castle against her father’s wishes to try to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the King of Hyrule is desperately trying to figure out more about the gloom, though no one knows the true danger lurking beneath Hyrule…

Hey guys! This au is gonna be on hiatus while I wait to see what Age of Imprisonment has to offer. I just want to do what I can to make this how I want it to :) Hope you enjoy this.

Despite the struggle with the ability, ultrahand was a very convenient tool to use as Link traveled across the islands. Ziplines and planks helped him reach areas he couldn’t reach on his own, and so he was moving through obstacles that normally would make him stuck. 

Link kept his eyes peeled for the green shrine, but with the trees and small huts scattered across the island, the next shrine was possibly blocked out of his vision. After wandering around for a while, Link heard a sound, and he turned to see a steward construct cutting down a tree with a familiar ghostly figure watching it. Curious, Link walked over to Rauru, who was sitting on a tree stump with his head resting in his hand. It was an odd position to see him in—Rauru acted very proper and dignified from what he saw, so seeing him so casual was surprising to Link. Though he rarely knew the guy, so who was he to know how Rauru really acted? 

Rauru’s gaze turned to Link, a melancholic look in his eyes. He gestured to the steward construct cutting wood, inviting Link to look as well.

“Steward constructs were made to assist us,” he simply explained, “they gave us time to do things we wanted to do instead of worrying about chores. We were always fond of them.” Rauru smiled slightly, but it quickly dropped. “I’m surprised they’re still working to this day. There’s no one to serve and assist, yet they still work as if there is. It’s disquieting to me.”

Link watched the steward construct, simply cutting wood and tying the bundles together. He could understand why Rauru found it all disquieting, serving with no purpose. His mind went to the steward construct that was cooking food for people to enjoy, only for it to go to waste in the end. It must’ve been a lonely life for the constructs.

“Are you finding the shrines alright?” Rauru suddenly asked, and Link shrugged. “There’s a shrine just up ahead. It shouldn’t take you long to find it.”

Link nodded, grateful to have some direction, and he began his trek to the next shrine while Rauru simply watched. When he reached a small lake, he was able to spot the glowing green swirl above the gray shrine, along with a goron pacing in front of it. Thank Hylia.

Building a boat with his ultrahand, Link sailed across the lake, feeling excitement when Daruk spotted him getting closer. The goron rushed to the shore where Link landed, and Link was quickly scooped into a tight hug.

“Link! You’re alive!” Daruk cheered, setting Link down and looking him over. “Sorry, little guy. Don’t mean to hurt you.”

Link smiled and gave him a reassuring nod. Daruk grinned and reeled back his arm, making Link brace himself as the large hand smacked his back harshly. He nearly fell from the impact, but Daruk caught him before he could hit the ground.

“I’m glad you’re ok, little guy.” Daruk said, holding him close. “We were so worried about you! Revali came by and told me that you were ok, but he didn’t say you were coming here.” Daruk rubbed his nose. “That rito, never telling me anything.”

Link nodded, not wanting to say that Revali actually told him to stay put.

“So why are you here, little guy? You looking for everyone?” Daruk asked, and Link shook his head. It was certainly something he wanted to do, but he needed to focus on getting into the white building. Link pointed to the shrine behind Daruk, and he gave him a knowing nod. “I see. I was wondering what that thing was. I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Link nodded, stepping towards the shrine and staring at the green magic circle that appeared. Touching the circle, the shrine opened up for Link, and Daruk gasped at the newly-made entrance, his eyes wide.

“Woah! How’d you do that?”

Link lifted up his arm to show Daruk, and the Goron champion gasped at the sight.

“Is your… arm ok?” He asked, a hint of timidness in his tone, as if he were afraid to ask. Link simply shrugged again, not knowing how to explain the arm that belonged to Rauru. Daruk stared for a moment, but his concern quickly melted away. “Well, it looks like it’s ok. Sorta.”

Link mustered up a smile and rested his arm to his side. Daruk looked between him and the newly opened shrine and he stepped back, inviting Link inside.

“I couldn’t fit in there if I tried, but I’ll be waiting out here for you!”

Link gave him a grateful nod and walked into the shrine, feeling relieved that Daruk was safe and waiting for him. He was like a rock for him—no pun intended—and Link always enjoyed his presence. Knowing that he was waiting for him outside brought him much comfort, which was exactly what he needed upon stepping into the shrine.

Though he was bracing himself for it, the burning feeling returned to him as soon as he entered, causing him to stumble and gasp in pain once again. This was going to get old real quick.

“Link.”

Rauru’s familiar voice spoke up, and Link stood up shakily, giving Rauru a nod.

“I’m happy you were able to find this shrine. Now, let’s waste no more time. Hold out your hand.”

Link obeyed, extending his right hand and allowing the Zonai magic to absorb into his arm. Curious about the new ability, Link glanced up at Rauru.

“This ability is called fuse. It allows you to… well… fuse something nearby to your weapon or shield, thereby enhancing it.” Rauru turned behind him, pointing at a sword laying on the ground. “Why not pick up that sword just ahead and then fuse a nearby object to it?”

Link swallowed, dragging himself to the sword. He was excited to have a real weapon finally, and he spotted a rock laying nearby which he assumed was the object Rauru wanted him to fuse. Closing his eyes, Link reached out, the familiar feeling of his arm extending to grab the rock, but Rauru let out a hum of disapproval.

“This isn’t ultrahand. This is fuse,” he said. “They’re similar, but where you stick things together temporarily with ultrahand, you permanently seal things together with fuse.”

Link frowned, dropping the rock and staring at the sword. It must’ve been similar to strengthening his swords and weapons, merging the weaker ones into the main one to make it stronger. He looked between the sword and the rock, his eyes narrowed as he tried to think how to awaken the fuse power. 

“Fuse is a bit complicated, but it’s like a very quick way to stick things together with ultrahand,” Rauru explained in an attempt to help Link understand it better.

He nodded, feeling more confident with that comparison—he just needed to be quick. Link stared at the rock again, this time extending the sword, and using the feeling of the blade, the magic, and the rock, he was able to quickly grab the rock and fuse it to the tip of his weapon. 

“My, you picked that up quick!” Rauru exclaimed, walking closer to him. “It’s a powerful ability, perfect for more long term things unlike ultrahand. But because you’re new at this, you may only be able to fuse small things together, like weapons with objects.”

Link tilted his head. If he got stronger, would he be able to fuse bigger things together like buildings? He thought about the buildings scattered across the island and wondered if they were all built by fuse. The Zonai were mysterious indeed, and it was no wonder why Zelda was so obsessed with them. 

“Make sure you think before you fuse, however,” Rauru warned, his turquoise eyes staring at Link, “if you fuse something you don’t want to be fused together, tearing them apart would be hard, and may end up destroying one or both objects. So just make sure you know what you’re doing.”

Link nodded, staring at the rock sword in his hand. It not only looked different, but it felt different; it felt stronger. Glancing at the rock wall in front of him, Link confidently moved to it with his weapon raised. In one swing, the wall fell to pieces, crumbling at his feet from the force of his new rock sword. Satisfaction and excitement filled Link as he thought about the possibilities for fuse—the weapons he could create, how each object would strengthen the weapons, the possibilities were endless!

He heard Rauru chuckle behind him, clearly picking up on his excitement. 

“Fuse is a good ability, easily the most useful when you become strong enough. Let me show you something.”

Rauru led Link through the shrine, showing him a bush tucked away in a small room. The bush held glowing red fruit that Link had never seen before, and he stared in amazement while Rauru pointed to it.

“Fuse can work with arrows as well, try it out with the fire fruit.”

Link stared, picking off the fire fruit and observing it. It had dead leaves surrounding a warm, pulsing center. He was careful as he held it, not wanting it to combust, and he pocketed the fruits and looked up at dead leaves surrounding a chest on a wooden shelf. If this was a fire fruit, then maybe he could set the leaves on fire with it.

Using the bow and arrows he got from earlier, he pulled the string back, using the same feeling of fuse to merge the fire fruit and arrow together. The light brightened in front of him, intense heat making him sweat, and he released the arrow to the leaves where it immediately set ablaze. Incredible. Maybe the arm wasn’t such a bad thing after all if it gave him remarkable abilities like this.

When the chest fell, Link was able to open it to receive a key. He didn’t know the door ahead was locked, but he was glad he got the key first. Despite the excitement dulling the pain, he still felt weak and tired, so anything to make this shrine easier for him was appreciated. 

Unlocking the door and climbing a ladder on the other side, Link’s excitement went away when he saw a soldier construct, this one looking far more tough than any he’s fought before. 

“Oh no,” Rauru muttered, giving Link an apologetic look. “I forgot about the soldier constructs in the shrine…”

Link turned to Rauru. He forgot? This was a shrine, not a battle ground! What reason was there to having soldier constructs? The Sheikah shrines at least had small guardians to test him, but why here? 

“I’m so sorry, Link,” Rauru apologized, “I put the soldier constructs in the shrines to keep trespassers away. I didn’t think they’d still be here.”

Link groaned, holding up his rock sword and eyeing the construct as it began moving towards him. He just needed to focus on this battle.

Dodging an attack from the construct, Link swung his sword, his stiff and heavy limbs making him move slower than what he’d like. He landed a few hits on the construct before it swung at him again, and he was barely able to jump away in time. If he was feeling normal this battle would be easy, but he was clumsily moving around, barely dodging each swing his way. Fortunately though, his sword was enhanced and made it strong enough for him to defeat the construct in just a few hits, and it fell to pieces before him, with its own fused weapon falling to the ground. 

Then Link found himself lying face-up, with Rauru watching over him worriedly. Did he… pass out? 

“Are you alright?” Rauru asked, and Link attempted to sit up, his entire body feeling impossibly heavy. Rauru watched him for a moment, his arms out protectively as if he would be able to help him up. “You suddenly collapsed after you defeated the construct, and I got worried.”

Link rubbed his head, feeling nauseous. He needed to leave this place.

“The blessing is just up ahead, you’re almost there,” Rauru said, holding up one finger. “And no more constructs, I promise.”

Link nodded, feeling slightly relieved that there were no more constructs to fight, and he struggled to stand on his feet while Rauru lingered nearby. He was wishing the Zonai wasn’t a ghost so he could help him move to the end, but he couldn’t complain too much. Rauru was very helpful despite his ghostly state, and as long as he was by his side, he’d be able to drag himself to the light blessing.

“Your fighting is impeccable, Link,” Rauru commented as Link stood up, and he simply shrugged. It certainly wasn’t impeccable before with the way he was moving, but Rauru continued. “Despite your state, you fought well. I’m impressed.”

Link nodded, picking up his sword and the soldier construct’s weapon and moving forward, seeing Rauru follow out of the corner of his eye. 

Once Link reached the statue of Rauru and the Hylian woman, the feminine voice once again spoke to him, and the light blessing appeared before him. The fiery sensation of the gloom fighting back against the light flared up again, and he could feel himself threatening to pass out again, black spots pricking at his vision as he desperately reached out to the blessing. Then the pain subsided slightly, and he felt a warmth spread throughout his chest.

“May the light blessing grant you the strength you seek.” The voice said, and once again, Link felt himself leave the shrine, and he was back outside where Daruk patiently waited. As soon as the sun hit his eyes, Link felt himself waver, and he fell right into Daruk’s big hands.

“Woah! Are you ok, little guy?” Daruk asked, holding Link up as he leaned into him. Goddesses he was so tired…

“Ah, you always push yourself too hard,” Daruk muttered, carrying Link over to a tree and setting him down. “So how was the shrine thing? What’s going on with it?”

Link sighed, leaning back against Daruk with relief. He normally could handle overexerting himself, but with the gloom in him and fighting when he was already feeling unwell, he supposed it was too much. Rest was very much needed. Daruk stared at him for a moment while Link pointed to where the white building was, and he hummed.

“I see! With the shrines, we’ll be able to enter that building!”

Link nodded, and Daruk beamed, smiling at the white building.

“I assume the princess is in there; we’ll be able to get to her.”

Link nodded again, closing his eyes and leaning against Daruk. Once he got all the shrines, he and the champions would be reunited with Zelda, and they’d be able to find out what was happening with Hyrule. It’d certainly be nice to move past this island. Daruk pulled him closer, smiling down at him.

“You get some rest then, little guy. I’ll watch over you,” Daruk said softly, and Link took that as permission to fall into a deep sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wind blew through his hair, the sky a blood red as rain dripped down his face and into his eyes. He couldn’t see well, his vision blurry with tears as he looked around at the battlefield. The champions laid at his feet, eyes empty and dead, blood covering their lifeless bodies. He felt tears falling as he looked up to see the corpse from below the castle, watching him with hatred in its eyes, gloom pooling around it and facing him. Pain suddenly appeared in his abdomen, and he looked down to see blood pouring out of him, blood mixed with gloom that began to suck the very life out of him. He fell to his knees, watching helplessly as the corpse got closer. A boom was heard with each step, the piercing eyes never looking away from him. Another boom that made him flinch rang out, dread creeping throughout his body and grabbing hold of his very spirit. It was over, Hyrule was lost. The corpse raised the sword in its hand, the eyes never leaving him, and it swung down, making everything go black.

Boom.

Link flinched awake, sitting up and panting heavily from the nightmare. The loud booming sound was heard again, and he spun around to see Daruk fast asleep next to him, his snores sounding louder than thunder. He almost laughed, the snores entering his subconscious, but the way they were used in his nightmare made him unsettled. 

It was horrifying, the sight of the champions dead before him, and it was all due to the corpse they found earlier. Something they weren’t ever supposed to find. Link leaned forward, rubbing his face tiredly. It was dark outside, clearly deep into the night, and it was silent save for Daruk’s snores. Link must’ve been really exhausted to have slept so long. It was almost too long, with another shrine he still needed to find to get in the white building, along with finding Mipha. Every second away from her was agonizing. 

Despite the long rest, he didn’t feel any better; the anxiety from the dream before kept gnawing at him, and his stomach felt tight as he brought his knees to his chest, staring ahead of him blankly. It’d be wise to start moving during the day, especially while Daruk was awake, and he didn’t know where he was going, so he figured he’d have to wait for the morning.

He sat there for a moment, listening to Daruk’s snores that weren’t as distressingly loud now, and he heard a familiar noise to his side. A steward construct was moving towards him, something resting in its large hands.

“Link,” it greeted, bowing slightly and holding out a strange accessory with a capsule in a slot. There were several empty slots beneath it, and Link stood up to grab it. “I failed to give this to you, please take it,” it said, and Link wondered if this was the same construct that gave him the sheikah slate. Link bowed his head slightly in gratitude and the construct copied him, moving away while leaving him confused. What the heck was this thing?

“That’s an energy cell.”

Link spun around to see Rauru watching him. He supposed he should get used to the guy showing up out of nowhere. 

“Us Zonai invented technology that are scattered across this island,” Rauru began to explain, “but it runs off of our magic that we stored inside those energy cells. As long as you have that, you can use the technology whenever. But be cautious, because the energy may run out and will need time to recharge.”

Link hummed, clipping the energy cell on his belt next to the slate. It seemed useful enough, though he doubted he’d need to use it. Ultrahand and fuse were helpful enough already. 

“It looks like you’re feeling better,” Rauru commented, a gentle smile on his face, “I was worried, but with two light blessings, the next shrines should be easier to move through.”

Link smiled, giving Rauru a grateful nod. He hoped it was the case; he didn’t feel any difference with pain in the two shrines, but if he could feel even a little better with the third one, he’d be perfectly fine. 

“Speaking of, where are you headed to next?” Rauru asked, and Link shrugged. The zonai chuckled slightly and pointed to a cave nearby. “There’s a shrine in the colder region around here. If you enter that cave, it’ll put you on a path to it. With three light blessings, you should have enough strength to open the temple.”

Excitement spiked in Link’s chest, and he nodded. He was more than ready to find Zelda and leave. Rauru nodded back, glancing at Daruk and suddenly vanishing. Link stared, slightly confused, until he heard Daruk stir behind him, the goron sitting up with a confused look on his face.

“Who was that?” He asked, and Link held up his new arm. “Oh! Was that the spirit of the arm? Wait a second—” Daruk stood up, staring at the arm and the spot where Rauru was. “Was he the voice that spoke to us earlier?” Link frowned, and Daruk gave him a look. “The arm grabbed you and transported us up here from the castle, and a voice told us that you’d be ok.”

Oh right, Link forgot that Rauru technically spoke to the champions before. Link nodded, confirming Daruk’s suspicions. 

“Huh, well I guess he’s on our side then, yeah?” 

Link nodded again.

“Well good! We’ll need all the help we can get!” Daruk exclaimed, patting Link gently on the back, which he was grateful for. A normal pat from Daruk would’ve knocked Link out in his current state. “Well, I heard him talk about the shrines. The snowy area is where Revali spends a lot of his time. Hopefully he’s over there!”

Link nodded in agreement, though if he saw Revali, he’d definitely get an earful from the rito for not listening to him. Deep down he was hoping Mipha was there instead, but zora didn’t go to colder areas, so he knew it was false hope. Link looked at Daruk and pointed to the white building, deciding to move on and hoping Daruk understood what he was trying to say.

“You want me to go to the white building?” Daruk asked, and Link nodded. It’d be best if all the champions were together when he got strong enough, though Daruk looked uneasy.

“Are you sure you’ll be ok, little guy? You’re clearly not as strong as you were before.”

Link gave him a reassuring nod, giving Daruk a playful punch, which he probably didn’t feel. Now that he had some rest, he figured he’d be well enough to get to the next shrine, as long as it had no constructs. Daruk didn’t look convinced, but he finally accepted.

“I trust you, just be careful, ok?” He said firmly, and Link smiled, patting the goron’s giant arm. Daruk smiled back and watched as Link faced the direction to the cave, walking towards the mouth and standing for a moment. If there was one thing Link wasn’t at all comfortable with, it was caves. Really, any small space, seeing how it was hard to move around and fight enemies in a smaller area. But he needed to move forward. He gave Daruk a wave and headed inside, immediately feeling the cold and damp air hitting his face. The cave wasn’t as dark as he expected it to be, and he noticed some interesting flora in the cave that he’s never seen before. Granted, he was never one to observe plants like Zelda, but he was well familiar with them. These ones, however, were brand new to him. They looked like closed up seeds, around the size of his hand, and light was emanating from them, covered slightly by the leaves. He couldn’t help but pluck the plants from their spots, pocketing them just in case. Maybe they could be useful in a darker area; caves were normally darker than this one. 

Despite his unease, he looked around the cave, curious about other plants that were in there with him, and he spotted a chest against the wall. Opening it with excitement, he found more clothes, this time it being a green and tan sash. Struggling to put it on himself, it seemed to cover half his torso, while his right arm and chest were left bare. It didn’t cover him fully, but it was better than nothing, and the sash was quite comfortable.

Before he could leave the cave, he heard croaking and saw a glowing frog hopping on the ceiling, with it blowing bubbles at Link that pushed him away slightly. He couldn’t help but watch in confusion, curious about what the thing was. He’d never seen anything like it before as it hopped from side to side, blowing bubbles every so often. Deciding not to start a battle, Link held up his hands and backed away, finally leaving the musty cave. Relief swept over him when he felt the fresh air hit him, and he spotted another lake right in front of him. He was going to build another boat like before, but he spotted steward constructs around strange contraptions, and he felt inclined to see what they were up to.

The constructs greeted him and explained zonai technology, which Link remembered for his conversation with Rauru earlier. Deciding to test out the technology, Link built a boat with a supposed fan on the back, and with its activation, strong air blew and sent Link and the boat to the other side with ease. He now understood why Rauru gave him the energy cell, since ultrahand and fuse wouldn’t do much with technology that needed activation.

This journey to the next shrine was going slightly better, with the path being more linear for him as he walked to yet another cave. A minecart rested at the entrance with fans laying beside it, and he immediately used ultrahand to stick the two together. Hopping in the cart, he activated the fan and held tight to the cart as he went flying down the rail. But this cave was much different than the other before, and he was quickly plunged into darkness that sent his heart to his throat. 

A string of curses left his mouth as he clung tightly to the cart, ducking down to protect his head as he went flying through the dark cave. If he had known that it’d get this dark, he wouldn’t have jumped into a cart!

Bracing himself, the cart finally hit something that stopped it, and he opened his eyes to see light shining amongst the darkness, with more stewards working. One noticed him and began to float over to him, bowing its head.

“Hello,” it greeted, and Link bowed his head back, crawling out of the minecart. The steward construct gestured for him to follow it to the fiery furnace, allowing Link to see the glowing green ore in the cave. 

“I hope you have brightbloom seeds with you,” the construct started, “you’d be lost in here without them.”

Link frowned, not knowing what brightbloom seeds were. The construct pointed to a bundle of the seeds he found before, and he pulled out the ones he pocketed.

“Good, you have some,” the construct said. “If you throw it or attach it to an arrow, it will open and light up the surrounding area. Useful for dark areas like this.”

Link’s mouth fell open, looking at the seed in surprise. That was useful. Clutching the seed in his hand, he reeled his arm back and threw it into the darkness, and just like the steward construct said, it exploded into light, revealing the plants on the cave walls and illuminating the ore. That was very nice; he thought he would have to use the limited light from the seed to see, but he supposed there was a lot more to the plant than he realized. Truthfully, there was a lot more to the island in general.

Giving the construct a grateful bow, Link headed off into the dark cave, using the seeds whenever he needed light. The island was big, but soon everything began to repeat itself to Link. Trees, zonai technology, steward constructs, huts, and soldier constructs seemed to repeat themselves wherever Link went. Until he made it to the snowy area on the island, and he realized that he was woefully unprepared for it. The clothes he was wearing were nice but they were not built for colder climates. They barely covered his skin as it was! Looking at the snow, then back at where he came from, he let out a sigh. He was losing his patience, and he didn’t want to go on another fetch quest to find warmer clothes. He was just going to have to bear it. 

Letting out a breath, Link ran into the snow, immediately feeling the frigid cold on his bare skin. His toes went numb immediately as the snow piled onto them, and Link wanted to simply curl up, but he kept going. He couldn’t stop moving, or else he’d freeze to death. Running through the snow, Link avoided constructs and ice chuchus, running into caves that were pleasantly warmer than the outside, and eventually he found himself staring at an ice wall, the shrine sitting right on top of it.

Link was a remarkable climber, but not even he would be able to climb up the icy walls that led to the shrine he needed to get to. He circled the shrine, staring up at it in frustration and trying to think of ways for him to climb up there. Just as he was about to find something to use his ultrahand on, he heard familiar flapping behind him, and a cursing rito landed right next to him. Link turned to him and smiled at Revali, who was glaring back at him with his wings crossed.

“Is that thick skull of yours incapable of listening or something?” He started to shout, getting close to Link and pointing his wings at him. “I told you to stay put! And what do I find when I return to get you? Absolutely nothing!” 

Revali’s wing swung in frustration, his other one resting on his waist. Link simply looked down, expecting this anger from Revali, but he couldn’t sit around no matter how injured he was. The rito had to understand that. 

“And look at you! You’re wearing absolutely nothing!” Revali looked at Link’s clothes, a disgusted look on his face. “You must be stupid or something traveling through here in that!”

Link sighed, already annoyed with the conversation, and he turned to look at the shrine. Revali finally stopped ranting and looked up to where Link stared, and he let out a sigh.

“Do you need to go up there?” He asked, rather begrudgingly, and Link nodded, hoping he’d at least give him a ride. Revali rolled his eyes and let out a groan, crossing his wings and facing away. “Because you almost died before I’ll help you up there. Just this once though, you hear?”

Link gave him a grateful nod, waiting for Revali to kneel down for him to climb onto his back or something, but instead the rito took to the skies, grabbing what little fabric Link had on him in his talons and plopping him right next to the shrine. Link let out a grunt as he fell to his side, his skin going numb from touching the snow, and he scrambled to his feet to give Revali a glare.

“What? I got you up here, didn’t I?” 

Link sighed, moving towards the magic circle, activating it, and entering the shrine, not caring about Revali’s reaction to the sudden opening. Once again, he braced himself for the pain, but to his relief, the pain had subsided a bit, at least a bit more compared to the last two shrines. However, he was still in excruciating pain, and he inhaled sharply.

“This is it, Link.” Rauru appeared before him, holding out his hand. “Just this one and you’ll be able to enter the Temple of Time.”

Motivated to reunite with the princess, Link held out his hand, the dizziness already beginning to overwhelm him, and the magic sunk itself into the palm. Link glanced up at Rauru, waiting for an explanation. He was almost excited to see what this new ability was.

“What you just received is the ascend ability,” Rauru began to explain, “it lets you travel through what’s directly above you—to ascend through it and emerge on top of it. You’ll find it quite useful in all sorts of places and situations.”

Link looked down at his hand. That did sound useful, but he wondered how he’d be able to do it. 

“Come, Link, test it out here,” Rauru invited, guiding him to a low-hanging ceiling. “Jump straight through and you’ll be on top of it. It comes naturally, trust me.”

Link let out a breath, pointed his right arm to the ceiling, and jumped. Landing on his feet, Link looked down at his arm and up at Rauru, confused.

“Make sure you focus magic on yourself and where you’ll want to go,” Rauru added, and he nodded, pointing his arm again and jumping weakly. Once again, he landed on his feet, not ascending through anything. Link gave Rauru a pleading look, having no strength to struggle through this. Rauru nodded and pointed at the ceiling, his tall figure reaching it with ease. “You need the magic to essentially soften the ceiling. It will temporarily turn it into zonai magic, allowing you to travel through. Start by focusing the magic on the ceiling.” 

Link pointed to the ceiling, focusing the familiar magic of the ultrahand and fuse on the spot he was looking up. His arm quickly began to tingle, burning from it being raised, but he tried to focus. The arm glowed, the green magic leaving it and resting on the ceiling. Soon a green circle rippled right above Link, and Rauru let out a hum of approval.

“That’s it. Do you see that circle? That’s the path you will be allowed to travel through. Now ascend.”

Link nodded, letting out a small exhale before imagining the magic reaching down to him, and he suddenly felt himself being pulled up into the green circle. He held his breath instinctively, closing his eyes as if he were jumping into water, but instead he found himself in a strange green world, swirls of zonai magic surrounding him. He was able to breathe normally, but he certainly didn’t feel normal. There was something pressing down on him, making it feel like he was underwater, and he realized he was hanging halfway down the ceiling. With a strong kick, Link was able to fully enter the ceiling, his hand guiding him through the zonai magic. Kicking his legs made the small trip go faster, and soon a bright light appeared from the end of the ceiling, and Link found himself halfway emerged, the magic still rippling through the ceiling. 

“Look at that, you ascended,” Rauru cheered, a small smile on his face. Link smiled back, dragging himself out of the strange dimension below. “Told you it came naturally.”

Link certainly wouldn’t consider it coming natural to him—it felt very odd—but he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t find it fascinating. The rest of the shrine was simply jumping through ceilings and getting from place to place, with it being relatively simple for him. Though, unlike ultrahand and fuse, it required a lot of physical effort to successfully travel through, and by the end he was downright exhausted, once again feeling like he was about to pass out. But at least he wasn’t cold anymore.

“Nice work. You have some natural talent to you,” Rauru said, giving Link a proud look. “You’re strong, and it’s no wonder why you’re called the hero.”

Link stared for a moment, his brows furrowed as Rauru looked away. How did he know he was the hero?  Of course, before Link could even attempt in asking him about it, Rauru disappeared before his eyes, as if not wanting to explain his comment, and Link was left alone in front of the statues. He hesitated for a moment in front of the green circle, knowing what was to come once the light blessing appeared, but he pushed forward, knowing that it would do nothing but help him. Touching the magic circle, the statues were once again revealed, the light blessing appearing before him. Not wasting one second, Link reached for the light blessing, gritting his teeth as the gloom within him squirmed and wriggled against it. He grabbed the light blessing finally, the gloom being forced out of him as the light warmed his whole being, and he was sent away out of the shrine. 

The cold shocked him to his core, and he practically crumpled to the ground as his whole body went numb. He made a grave mistake coming here without any winter clothes, that was for sure.

“Well well, look who decided to finally return.”

Link looked up to see Revali simply standing above him, an annoyed look on his face. 

“You could’ve warned me before you decided to march right into that shrine! Honestly, do you know how confused I was standing out here? Not knowing whether to leave or stay? What were you doing in there anyways?”

Link swallowed, standing up slowly and giving him a glare. The last thing he needed was to appear vulnerable in front of Revali, so he attempted to hide his shivering. Which didn’t work. The rito stared at him bemused, looking up and down his frozen figure, and he let out an annoyed sigh. 

“You’re so pathetic, climb on.” Revali turned around and knelt to the ground, inviting Link to climb onto his back. “This is the only time I’m allowing this, you hear?”

Link stared for a moment, debating on actually taking Revali’s offer, but the cold convinced him and he was quickly on the rito’s back. Admittedly, he was a little worried about his weight against him—Revali wasn’t exactly the biggest or strongest rito around, and Link was almost the same size as him. But he took to the skies safely, gliding down to the warmer region in front of the Temple of Time. The two landed, and Link slid off of Revali’s back, giving him a grateful pat while the rito let out a groan.

“Ugh, my back,” he complained, and Link rolled his eyes. 

“Hey!”

The voices of Urbosa and Daruk calling to them drew their attention, and they all met up with each other.

“Did you do it? Did you visit the shrines?” Urbosa asked breathlessly, and Link nodded, holding up his arm.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Revali asked.

“Link needed to visit the shrines of the island to get into the white building,” Urbosa quickly explained, already turning to it.

“Wait, what?” Revali turned to Link. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve helped out more, you know!” 

“Oh quit your squawking, Revali. Let’s just get into the temple and find Zelda!” 

“Hold on.” Daruk stopped, holding out his hands to stop everyone. “What about little Mipha? She needs to be here too, right?”

It grew silent, and Urbosa turned to Link. “Did you ever see Mipha?”

Link shook his head, and she nodded.

“Alright. Revali, go find Mipha. We’re going to get into the building.”

Revali seemed hesitant, but he knew better than to argue with Urbosa, and he took to the skies once again with the others watching.

“Come on Link, let’s get Zelda,” Urbosa pressed, practically dragging him to the Temple of Time. Once again in front of the large, white doors, Link touched the magic circle gently. He admittedly was feeling anxious—whether it was nervousness or excitement, he didn’t know—and the magic circle giving way made his heartbeat spike. It opened.

The doors shuttered, dust and particles falling into their faces as they moved apart, and finally, they were inside. The lighting was warm, with the sound of wheels turning straight ahead of them, and a glowing stone floating right before them. 

“Zelda? ZELDA!” Daruk called out, moving away in an attempt to find the princess, and Urbosa did the same.

“Zelda! We’re here!” She yelled, but there was no response. While the two scrambled around the temple, Link’s eyes were fixated on the stone, as if it were beckoning for him to come closer, and he reached out to touch it.

Before his very eyes, the room he was in disappeared, replaced by an ethereal plane with fog covering everything, except for him and her—Zelda.

Link’s eyes widened when he saw her, but he didn’t move, for her behavior confused him. She was floating above the ground, her chin pointed high, and her eyes closed. Her hands were clutched at her chest as if holding something, and when he stepped closer, her arm held out to him. Link stared, his brows furrowed as if he’d never seen such a thing before. Cautiously resting the new hand in hers, a golden light appeared from her, traveling from her arm to his. Then she let go, her hand returning to her other one, still not looking at Link to his confusion. Glancing down, Link noticed a symbol appearing on his hand, right in the center within the circular jewelry. He looked back up at Zelda, opening his mouth to ask her what was going on, but instead the world around him vanished, and he found himself back in the Temple of Time, with a baffled looking Urbosa and Daruk watching him.

“What was that? What happened?” Urbosa asked, and Link looked up to find the stone gone. 

“Where is she? I thought she’d be here!” Daruk said, a hint of frustration in his voice.

“I thought the same thing, but she’s clearly not.”

“No… no wait, there’s a door up ahead!” Daruk pointed to a large door on the higher level, and he and Urbosa wasted no time in running to it, effortlessly climbing over the wheels and running to it while Link simply stayed behind, his eyes on his hand. It all felt strange to him, the way Zelda acted before, the strange temple, everything. In a way, he almost felt… sad. They weren’t going to find Zelda here.

“Link.”

He turned to see Rauru watching him, a confused expression on his face as he watched Daruk and Urbosa try to open the door.

“It seems you got a new ability,” he muttered, gesturing to his hand. Link looked down again, staring at the strange symbol. “It’s recall: the ability to reverse the movement of an object through time.”

Link watched him, almost desperate for him to answer his questions, but Rauru simply sighed.

“What you just saw before, is a mystery even to me. I was expecting Zelda to be here as well, but it seems that isn’t the case.” He faced where the stone used to be, his eyes narrowed. “Perhaps it was a sort of echo—one that reflects her sheer will.”

Rauru’s voice was low and quiet, almost as if he were speaking out of respect, and he stood motionless for a while. The sounds of Urbosa and Daruk struggling filled the air, and after a long moment, Rauru turned to Link.

“I wish I could teach you how to use recall, but that was an ability I never learned to use. But it no doubt will prove useful to you.”

Link nodded, moving to join Urbosa and Daruk, but Rauru quickly stopped him.

“The door they are trying to open tests your vitality. They cannot open it, but you can. Yet you remain in a weakened state and will fall before you are able to do so.”

Link practically felt himself slump, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. What was the point of everything he just went through? What was the reason he was sent to run across the floating island, if he got nothing out of it? He thought they’d find Zelda, he thought they’d be able to leave and find out what was happening to Hyrule, but were they to remain stuck here? All because Link wasn’t… strong enough?

Rauru picked up on his despair, and he let out a small laugh. “Do not fret, Link. There is one more shrine on this island. I didn’t think it’d be needed, but I see now I was wrong.” Rauru turned to look up into the sky, with Link following his gaze. “The shrine is where you first awoke. I’m sure if you get the light blessing, you may find your way forward. And you may find Zelda.”

Link stared, hope sparking within him once again. It was small, but it was better than nothing. The flapping of wings interrupted them, and Rauru once again vanished before him as Revali landed.

“You got it open!” He exclaimed, his eyes looking around before landing on Link. “Did you find Zelda?”

Link shook his head solemnly, and he looked around Revali to see if he could spot Mipha. He didn’t.

“I searched high and low. I couldn’t find Mipha,” Revali explained as Link searched. “I’m sorry.”

She must be where the last shrine is, Link thought, looking up at the sky. He turned to Revali and pointed at the highest sky island, hoping he’d understand what he was trying to say.

“You… want up?”

Link nodded.

Revali gave him an annoyed look. “I told you, it was a one time thing! I’m not flying you around like some… chauffeur!” 

“What’s going on?”

The two saw Urbosa walking towards them, her brows furrowed as she stared. Link pointed at the sky again, which she looked to.

“Is there another shrine?”

Link nodded.

“Will this get us past that door?”

He nodded again.

Urbosa frowned, looking right at Revali. “You fly him up there, understand? We need to get to Zelda and the only way is for Link to get stronger!”

Revali scoffed, turning away with his wings crossed, but he listened to Urbosa and knelt to the ground.

“Fine! I’m only doing this for Zelda though, so don’t get used to this!”

Link climbed atop Revali once again, giving Urbosa a nod as Revali took to the skies. He could tell the rito was struggling to reach the height they needed to, but with the help of the wind, the two landed back on the island Link first woke up on, right on the platform that he dived off of before. 

“Is this the place?” Revali asked, and Link nodded, heading into the building. “I’ll see you at the temple then.”

Link looked behind him and gave Revali a nod, and he ran, desperate to get to the final shrine. It was much more difficult moving through the place compared to the first time, with him not only having to swim, but also having to climb up walls to reach where he needed to get to. It took a moment, but Link finally found himself in the big room where the gears turned, and right in front of him, he spotted a small, red zora, with her back facing to him.

“Mipha!” Link exclaimed, and she spun around, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. Unable to hold himself back, Link sprinted to her, her meeting him halfway, and he scooped her up into a hug and spun her around. Finally…

“Link! You’re ok!” Mipha cried, her arms tight around his neck as if she were afraid to let him go. The two held each other for a long moment, relishing in each other’s presence, until Link pulled back and pressed his lips against hers. She practically melted into the kiss, the world around them disappearing as they only focused on each other. 

Mipha finally pulled away, her eyes wide and frantically searching his body. “What happened? I saw this building open and I tried to find you, but you weren’t here. I was so worried.”

Link gave her a peck and rested his head against hers. “I’m sorry. I would’ve stayed if I had known.”

Mipha shook her head, a smile on her small lips. “I’m just relieved to see you alright. When we arrived here you…” Mipha sighed, looking down. “You were on the verge of death. And no matter what I did, I couldn’t heal you.”

Link frowned, watching her hands rub against his chest anxiously. It must’ve been the gloom that stopped her magic, which made him nervous. Was light magic the only way to survive the substance?

“Your arm!”

Link looked down at his arm for the millionth time, Mipha tracing her delicate fingers along the markings and jewelry. 

“It’s not mine,” Link explained, “I’m borrowing it.”

Mipha stared, his quick explanation clearly explaining nothing for her. He chuckled slightly, pulling the arm away and taking a small step back. 

“It saved my life. Don’t worry.”

Mipha didn’t look relieved, but she still smiled, her beautiful and small smile. Ever since the Calamity, the two had chosen to spend more time together, knowing that they almost lost the chance to when it first attacked. He was nervous to do so—he didn’t know how he was going to feel, how he was going to be treated by others, and how the friendship between him and Mipha would change. But it changed for the better. Mipha moved things slow, which was exactly what he needed, and her strong, comforting personality made spending time with her incredible. He always felt drained around others, needing alone time whenever he got too fatigued to play the role of the hero, but Mipha took that stress and obligation away from him, almost making him feel refreshed whenever he spent time with her. Safe to say, he’s fallen madly in love with her over the past few months.

“Do the other champions know?” Mipha asked after a moment of silence, and Link nodded.

“I saw them all. I’ve been collecting light blessings to regain my strength that the gloom took from me.”

Mipha frowned. “Is it helping?”

“Yes. The only way to dispel the gloom from me is with these light blessings.” Link shuffled his feet, looking up at the turning gears. “I need to go to one more shrine to get through a door at a white building, where we can hopefully find out about Zelda.”

“Zelda!” Mipha covered her mouth, standing close to Link. “The others theorized that she’d be in the large white building. Do you think she’s there?”

Link sighed, looking down at the ground. It was all so complicated, so much so he couldn’t really understand what was going on. He turned to Mipha after a moment and gestured to the gears.

“Help me up there and I’ll tell you everything,” he said simply, and Mipha nodded, wrapping an arm around Link’s waist and summoning a strong fountain of water, allowing the two to jump onto the tall ledge. And Link explained everything to Mipha as they walked. Rauru, the shrines, the temple, the constructs, and Zelda in the strange realm from earlier. He explained it all while she listened intently, staring straight ahead while they walked. They were able to reach the final shrine, and Mipha finally decided to speak up.

“So… Zelda isn’t here then?” She asked glumly, and Link sighed, shaking his head solemnly. The others still had hope, but the weird vision he had before made him believe otherwise. It was too strange…

Link walked up to the shrine, activating the magic circle and creating an opening. He turned to Mipha, gesturing for her to stay put, and she nodded, though rather reluctantly.

“Please be careful, Link,” she pleaded, and he nodded, smiling at her and heading inside. As much as he’d love to bring her with him, it’d just be too much to worry about. Especially when the familiar pain of the gloom flared up inside him appeared, causing him to waver. Though he didn’t stumble this time around.

“Link.”

He looked up to see Rauru once again watching him, but he didn’t gesture for him to hold up his hand. Instead he turned towards the shrine where many gears and wheels appeared.

“I’m not sure how much help I can be with this new ability of yours,” he muttered, his hands fidgeting with each other. “It was an ability my… my wife had.”

Link stared, immediately thinking back to the Hylian statue that stood next to him at the end of the shrines. This was the first time Rauru mentioned her.

Rauru sucked in a breath and nodded, clearly pushing aside his emotions. “From what I understand, she simply turned the time on an object and returned them to their original place.” He turned to the wheels turning in the shrine, and he pointed at them. “I’m sure you could make them spin the opposite direction to get where you need to go. But, I’m afraid that’s all I can share with you.”

Link nodded, grateful for the advice. He stepped closer to the wheels, staring for a long moment as they turned. If Rauru didn’t have this ability, then it probably wasn’t based on the zonai magic he was becoming used to, which would make things tricky. For a few minutes, Link stood in front of the wheel, trying to connect to it to reverse time, but it wasn’t having it, stubbornly turning the way it was originally intended. Link was growing frustrated at the lack of progress, his body growing weaker and weaker the longer he was in the shrine, all while Rauru watched from the side. He seemed more down this time around, not speaking up or giving any encouragement he gave before. Link did want a little bit more support, but he didn’t want to make Rauru agitated. So he suffered in silence, trying to activate the recall ability. After a moment, he sighed, rubbing his aching head. He was getting nowhere…

“Link…”

Link opened his eyes, looking up and around the shrine. The voice from before, the feminine one, said his name. He strained his long ears, trying to hear the voice again, glancing at Rauru to see if he noticed, but he didn’t.

“Link,” the voice spoke up again, and he looked up at the ceiling of the shrine, listening intently. “Try to connect to the wheel in front of you. Allow it to tell you where it once was…”

Link blinked, once again turning to Rauru to see if he reacted, but he didn’t. Instead the zonai was staring into space. Link turned back to the wheel, taking the voice’s advice to heart, and he held out his hand, closing his eyes. It felt awkward, opening himself up to something speaking to him, but it worked. In his mind, he saw a vision of where the wheel once was, the time reversing for him to see the path it went. As if pressing the screen on the Sheikah slate, Link touched the wheel in the vision, and when he opened his eyes, the world around him was frozen, the wheel beginning to reverse back to its previous state. With a gasp, Link quickly jumped onto it, allowing it to carry him forward. He landed on his feet when he got over the wheel, and Rauru appeared right beside him.

“It looks like you figured it out. Nice work,” he congratulated, a small smile on his face. “It should be easy from here on out.”

Link nodded and began to move through the shrine, using his other abilities and recall to his advantage. Rauru was quiet for most of the shrine, save for the few words of encouragement, but when Link used recall again, he finally spoke up.

“So… you and that zora girl?” he asked, and Link spun around with his face growing warm. Rauru chuckled, raising a hand in defense. “You must forgive me, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop. It’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak.”

Link looked down, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Though Link felt rather attached to Mipha, being public with her still made him (and her) feel uneasy. There was a stigma around the races of Hyrule intermingling, and they knew they would be met with scorn if people found out about them. Link especially was anxious over it, with enough eyes already watching and judging him. Rauru picked up on his uneasiness and he looked away.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s clear you mean a lot to each other.” Link nodded slightly, still feeling uneasy. Rauru closed his eyes, going silent for a moment. “Keep a watchful eye on her. Keep her safe.”

Link paused, looking up at him. There was pain in his voice, a hurt expression on his face, and he suddenly disappeared before Link, right when they arrived at the end. The more time he spent with Rauru, the more confusing the zonai got for him.

As soon as Link got the light blessing, the gloom was sent out of him and he was taken back to the entrance, where Mipha waited patiently. As soon as she saw him, she rushed to his side, helping him stand as he wavered slightly. 

“Are you alright? You were in there for so long!” Mipha asked, grabbing onto him and pulling him close. Link nodded, too tired to speak, and he began moving to an opening, knowing that it was time to return to the temple. He didn’t think they’d find Zelda, but he knew that they would find something important. Mipha simply followed, not pressing for him to speak further, and they stepped outside to find themselves by strange bird-contraptions. Mipha wasted no time in leading Link to it, and she positioned it against the slope so it would glide off. Link helped her, not knowing what she was doing, and when he gave her a look, she finally explained herself.

“These things glide through the air! I take it we need to go to the white building, yes?” 

Link nodded, understanding now what Mipha was trying to do, and the couple pushed the bird down the slope, both clinging on for dear life as it flew off of the island, and they were airborne. 

“It’s a bit terrifying… I will admit,” Mipha yelled out against the wind, her voice shaking slightly, and Link wrapped his arm around her to keep her more secure. She giggled and rested her head against his shoulder, noticeably relaxing into him. “Thank you.”

Link helped lean the glider forwards so it would reach the temple faster, and soon they landed right in front of the temple, where the rest of the champions waited. They let him walk past him, and he soon began reversing time for the gears on the side, climbing over them and jogging up to a Hylia statue. He was about to move past it until it spoke to him.

“Hero, give me your light blessings, and I will make you stronger.”

Link paused, staring at the statue for a long moment, almost not hearing the words. Unlike the voice from the shrine, there was no voice, but more of a feeling saying things to him. Walking closer to the statue, he bowed his head slightly and prayed to the goddesses, not knowing what he was praying about. A warm feeling enveloped him as he prayed, and he felt the gloom moving in his body once again. But instead of it fighting back against the light, it felt like it was shriveling up, simply not powerful enough to fight back against the divine light. Then the feeling disappeared, and Link watched as more gloom left his body, his entire being feeling stronger than before.

“What was that?” He heard Revali ask from behind him, and Link stared at his hands, walking up to the door and pushing it with all his might. He felt the strength within him beginning to leave, but just as he was about to collapse, the door budged open, and they could see out in front of them.

The champions were all silent as they walked past the large door, the sun setting behind the horizon, giving the sky a beautiful orange hue. A structure stood in front of them with glowing magic swirling on a pedestal, and just as Link expected, there was no Zelda.

“There’s nothing here,” Daruk commented, disappointment in his voice. 

The others remained silent, but Revali flew to the structure, with everyone following closely behind, save for Link.

“I’m glad to see that you were able to open the door,” Rauru’s voice was heard behind him, and Link turned to see him standing against the wall, staring at the newly opened door. He turned back to Link. “Are you feeling better? You seem to have more strength in your step.”

Link nodded, admittedly feeling a little better, though not back to normal. Rauru stared for a moment, then nodded.

“You haven’t fully recovered, but that was to be expected. You were almost beyond saving.” 

Link instinctively looked down at his arm, knowing how the gloom felt within him before. It really didn’t surprise him. 

“The shrines and light blessings were able to remove most of the gloom ailing you, which is a good thing,” Rauru continued, and his gaze softened. “I’m glad to have finally met you. You’re just as Zelda said.”

Link frowned, his curiosity getting the better of him. “How do you know Zelda?” He asked, and Rauru’s eyes widened slightly, but he smiled at him.

“She came into my life when Hyrule was just beginning to grow,” he simply answered, looking out into the dimming orange sky. “The Zelda you know was taken to the past, my era, the founding of Hyrule. But that was a long time ago, I do not know where she is now.”

Link blinked, staring at Rauru for a moment. “In… the past?” He repeated, and Rauru nodded.

“Yes. Zelda has a lot of power within her. Divine light magic, and time magic. She sent herself to the founding of Hyrule when she took my secret stone.” Rauru looked at him, a serious look in his eyes. “Link, listen closely. During my life, I fought the Gerudo King Ganondorf, one who stole power that didn’t belong to him and tried to destroy my kingdom.”

Dread rested within Link’s stomach, immediately thinking about Calamity Ganon, one who nearly destroyed everything he loved.

“I was only able to seal him away,” Rauru continued, “for many centuries it seems, but he broke free, and now your era is danger.” Rauru’s breath hitched, and he looked down in shame. “I am part to blame for it. I have passed on, and I cannot move freely as a spirit, but I am attached to my arm. Please…” Rauru bowed down to Link, and he couldn’t help but step back. “Please, let me fix the mistake I made, let me help you defeat him once and for all.”

Link stared at Rauru for a long moment, in shock from everything he was just told. Zelda was in the past it seemed, but would she be able to return? And the name Ganondorf, was that the corpse from before? From what it sounded like, Rauru was a king, possibly the first king of Hyrule. Ancient history was merging with the present, and Link didn’t feel like he was well enough to deal with it. 

“Ok,” Link finally said, and Rauru looked up at him, a smile on his face.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and he disappeared before Link’s eyes. Looking down at his arm, Link could practically feel Rauru’s presence in there. It was probably why he was always near Link, finding him whenever he needed to. Turning to the champions, Link jogged to where they were, climbing and jumping over the broken bridge. Using ascend, Link was able to reach the platform the champions stood on, and they all jumped back in surprise.

“Link!” Urbosa yelled, watching as he crawled out of the floor. “Since when could you do that?”

Link pointed to his arm, then stared at the glowing yellow magic before him. The champions decidedly moved past the zonai magic Link now had, and Mipha gestured to it.

“We’re trying to figure out what it is. We can’t help but feel some connection to Zelda with it.”

Link looked over at Mipha, then at the magic, and he suddenly felt the presence of the decayed Master Sword on his back. The sword chimed weakly, matching the pulsing light of the magic, and Link pulled out the sword. The chiming grew stronger, and the magic grew brighter, and when the two touched, the night sky around him faded into a bright blue sky, where Zelda watched with a shocked look on her face. The sword disappeared from Link’s hands, and reappeared into Zelda’s outstretched ones. She gasped when it landed, staring in amazement at the decayed sword, acting like her curious self once again. Her hand traced along the blade, listening to the chiming of the spirit within, and she hugged it, determination on her face. Then she was gone once again, and Link was back with the champions, the sky completely dark now.

“What happened to the sword?” Daruk asked in amazement, and Link looked down to find that indeed, the Master Sword was gone. Before he could even think about what happened, however, a loud boom was heard, along with a loud roar, and the champions all turned to see the white dragon descending to the sky, the clouds parting for it. The clouds all faded away, revealing their land of Hyrule, and the dragon cried out again, diving to the land below as if leading them to it. The champions all watched in amazement, and the familiar sound of the princess’s voice was heard.

“You must find me.”

The dragon flew further and further away from them as the champions stared, and Link turned to look at all of them. His eyes locked with Urbosa’s, and they both nodded in agreement. They could finally leave the island.

“Champions,” Urbosa started, stepping closer to the edge with her hands on her hips. “Let’s get to Hyrule.”

[rawliverandgoronspice]

okay and not only did Ganondorf's efforts were countered by Rauru's upheaving from the top while Ganon raised hell from the bottom, but also, I HC Rauru, through the stone, willingly sent Zelda back to the past --knowing she would pick up the stone because she shows up with it in the future.

All of that because he wants Ganondorf destroyed at any cost, and he knows it's his best shot.

alright new totk headcanon: ganondorf did try to put gloom everywhere when he woke up as a mummy, but rauru is actually the one who caused the upheaval to put every single chance behind link in his fight against ganondorf

[balo-badartist]

[This is just a first draft for a character design thing for a fanfiction, dw about it if you weren't sent the link, it's just that private links are incredibly difficult to negotiate with and I don't want the bother]

Structure: I used his Fierce Deity body type with the slightly bigger frame and muscles mass. I'm not sure if he should be smaller, though. Botw/Totk link is somewhat androgynous, and this is more Fierce Deity oriented.

I think the spine end of his tail might be too fluffy, since you said the tail end was fluffier. The guards for his shins I definitely took liberties with, and I couldn't recall the color of his wolf feet so I just copied his Twilight Princess wolf feet. The waist area of his clothing might be off. I hope I did the groin guard justice, idk if u can see it in the mess but I did add the wolf face. And I definitely took liberties with the shape of his horns - I took after Dinraal for the horns, since you said his arm scales were inspired by Naydra. If they're supposed to look more like another dragon, or if they need more leaves, let me know. And I took inspo from the design of Rauru's ears like you said, but I also took the liberty of flattening his ears against his skull, similar to how animals in aggressive mode will do. I tend to make hair very long and flowy, so let me know if it's too long. And the braids were just bc I thought Zelda would've added them. :3

As for his lighting, it will be unrealistic moonlight (moonlight would never give such strong contrast that I’m showing here, but it’s just a part of my style atp I need those hot whites) above him but figured that part doesn’t matter. He lacks the internal illumination as of yet, that will take some finessing. I'm probably going to use bioluminescent algae and fungi for it. Idk if I'm missing any details, but I'm a very detail-oriented artist so let me know if anything looks off! It is lacking the finer embroidery details in the fabric as of this first draft. This was just as much fun as I thought it would be.

[valictini]

I've been asking myself these questions regarding totk's story and my deep disappointment in it, because I know a lot of people loved it, I know a lot of people felt it was a better story than botw, and I know a lot of people believe that Zelda games never had good stories to begin with....

But no, I do think the story objectively sucks, is worse than botw's, and could have easily been better. Totk's story is flashier and that's pretty much all it has to offer.

Part of it is its execution, how using the same blueprint as botw (deliberately non linear) was a baffling move when you tried to tell a linear story. You shouldn't be punished for pursuing the story earlier than when the devs planned. You shouldn't be able to spoil yourself the story. You shouldn't be presented with the exact same information 4+ times at points where you're supposed to be rewarded for your efforts. You shouldnt have to slog through a mystery when the game KNOWS you already know the answer. And yet, this happened to an alarmingly large number of people!

So yes, the execution wasn't good.

But the story itself isn't good either. Not only did they decide to cut ties with botw's lore, but they didn't even fully commit to the new lore they introduced.

The zonai civilisation has no substance. We see two (2) of its members and only interact with their ghosts in very, very few instances. During those interactions, we do learn tidbits of this civilisation, but as soon as the tutorial is over, you will never learn anything new from a zonai again. A couple lines during the tutorial is where the bulk of zonai lore happens. The rest is: jumping minigame said to be the same ritual young zonai would do to become adults and the explanation of draconification.

You could maybe say that the mere existence of zonai tech, the mere existence of secret stones, the zonai gear and the ancient hero aspect could be considered zonai lore. But what these things only really add to the lore is that the Zonai 1) were always everywhere and 2) were very powerful. That's pretty much it.

(The ancient hero aspect is especially infuriating to me. It could be a whole post.)

So, not only did they replace the Sheikah by the Zonai for no reason, they didn't even flesh them out enough to be interesting. But they didn't exploit the rest of the story to its fullest either.

- The heart of the story happens in the ancient era, yet we don't see much of it. All the new things we see: the inside of ancient hyrule castle's throne room, a garden and one (1) gazebo in a field. We don't get lore for the dungeons aside from their name, and the ancient sages don't add anything to them either. In general, we don't get lore of the ancient races, not even the hylians or the gerudos.

- Zelda was retconed into being stupid enough not to make the connection between Ganondorf and calamity Ganon. She was also sent back into being a compliant little princess that can't put her foot down when she knows the people around her are making mistakes.

(As an aside, I'm fully of the opinion that Calamity Ganon was a better antagonist than Ganondorf. At least you don't have to fanfic your way into understanding why he wants Hyrule destroyed. He's a magical beast full of hatred, the end.)

- The whole plot is centered around dragons, and yet totk manages to have LESS content surrounding the three dragons of Hyrule than fucking botw.

- Hylia is no relevant anymore. The statues are apparently their own entities? And they have counterparts in the depths with he bargainer statues? Never elaborated on.

The ending cutscene contains a deus ex machina that manages to retcon elements of its OWN story. (Rauru was supposed to be gone after the tutorial. Zelda was supposed to be gone after becoming a dragon.) Realistically, I knew Zelda wouldn't stay a dragon, but I was genuinely shocked at how little of an explanation we get for her return.

And we have 0 impact on her return as a player. Nothing we do matters. She turns back no matter what. Despite many opportunities to make it work in universe.

We could have had something tied with the other dragons, the three sources, to Purah's experiments with time, to the four temples, to Hylia, to the bargainer statues, to the triforce...

But no, just a vague "ghosts that should have disappeared eons ago use their powers to get her back through your arm".

We don't even have an alternate bad ending where this doesn't happen. It will happen, no matter what. For the cinematic shot at the end.

Oh and Link had to get his arm back too. I know they needed their cool parallel of Link catching her hand at the same angle as when he failed to do so at the beginning, but it just all feels so inconsequential as a result.

Everything's solved, everything's good, nothing that happened in this game ever mattered.