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russeliarat · 2 years ago

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The ACTUAL TotK AU I Have

I’ve passed all of my mock exams, so instead of me finishing coursework, have my TotK ‘AU’(?) thing. Basic pitch stuff. It’s long so I hope you like reading. (Btw I’ve been working on this for 4 months, any edits or additions are presented like this. It slowly starts to read a little more cinematically the further you read because more cohesive ideas started forming later on. I originally started writing in December 2022)

So just like in the trailers, Link and Zelda come across Ganondorf’s dirty corpse, which awakens from seemingly god knows what. Ganondorf breaks free of the hand-seal, breaks the ground under Zelda, and murks Link’s arm and the Master Sword. The recoil from his impromptu amputation sends Link also careening into Zelda’s death pit. Ganondorf’s being all menacing and shit, but the hand comes round and becomes Link’s new arm to stop him dying of blood loss/shock/to cauterize the wound.

Basically, the hand sent Link and Zelda back like 10,000 years or so, where Hyrule’s normal except for the giant floating sky islands everyone’s oddly cool about. In the first few days that Link and Zelda aren’t able to participate, Ganondorf has already gotten to work influencing Hyrule, bringing monsters back in a far more plentiful variety, manipulating his way into the castle and making tensions run high in all regions, and throwing Hyrule into general disarray. With knowledge of the Yiga Clan, Ganondorf manages to convince their leader of him being able to bring the downfall of the Hyrulean Royal Family and their Sheikah servants, and get them to follow his plan, which includes hunting down and killing any man who bares a sword on his back and is capable of a good fight. He also tells them to keep what’s left of the now scrapped Divine Beasts close to their territory and until careful watch, knowing that their reuse could lead to his defeat.

Link first wakes up in this temple which is essentially the Zonai temple for Hylia, who is the Zonai Goddess of Wisdom (yeah everything everyone knows ab Hyrule gets all sorts of fucked up and will send theorists into a mental breakdown). Her high priestess Hylia named ‘the Aama’ greets Link since he was apparently passed out in the forest for no reason, and they hit it off well and become friendly. She does note the glowy arm Link has is real powerful Zonai magic and even their resident amputee high priest hasn’t got that ability yet so Link has to be some kind of special, like blessed by the gods special but the gods are being weird and cryptic as usual. While the Aama deliberates about their next moves with Hylia, she sends Link to Iulii Village (the Zonai settlement) to mingle with townsfolk, promising to give him some proper clothes so he doesn’t die from head exhaustion since they live in the rainforest. He meets the Vamai and Zoclu, the God of Courage (Ekoza) and Power’s (Kikias) high priests while they’re running a celebration for something. Basically it’s for exposition about the Zonai and stuff.

Eventually, Link comes back to the temple and talks to the Aama, who tells him to visit Hylia inside the temple, who lives behind a curtain deep within her chambers. They basically reveal that Zelda was found with Link, but she was all kinds of fucked up and can’t remember anything but healed somewhat quickly thanks to residual Zonai magic that kinda just attached to her when they fell together. Hylia tells them about whatever’s going on with Ganondorf and that by getting seven stones from across Hyrule from each race, she can repair the Master Sword, jog Zelda’s memory, and hopefully murk Ganondorf (because again, Zonai magic is powerful asf). Before they leave, the Aama gives Link his toga and tells him that the Zonai gods possess the final stone and that they won’t go easy in their trials.

Off they go to collect the six other stones from each remaining race, which can be done in any order, but Zelda gets her memories back in chunks and so her personality slightly changes every time she views one (but there’s other memories scattered around Hyrule that don’t affect her as much as the main ones). She would also play like the Wolf Link amiibo as a support fighter, but she literally sprints after Link and copies his moves and stuff which would be cool. Kickass Zelda.

The different stone quests go as such;

They head into Castle Town and tell an old woman and her grandson about how they need to see the Hylian monarchs to obtain a ‘certain item’. The woman tells them that there is no chance they’ll even be considered in Zonai clothing and is taken into her tailoring shop, where a regal outfit is tailored and fitted for both Link and Zelda before the end of the day, when she walks off to arrange plans to get the two into the castle. When asked why the woman wishes to help them, her grandson (who is her male assistant) tells them how she once worked in the castle as the royal seamstress, but due to her Sheikah heritage, was punished harshly for a simple mistake and was forced to leave the castle and become a freelancer. The woman comes back after a short pause and tells them that she’s arranged for an old friend of hers named Impa - Princess Afian’s bodyguard and personal caretaker - to escort them around the castle and gain access to the royals. They request the help of the Hylian monarchs who brush them off, but the duo soon learn have a daughter (who isn’t a Zelda, but is alleged to be conceived between the King and a Great(?) Fairy so ooo worldbuilding) thanks to Impa, who becomes important because Afian asks Link and Zelda to help her find stuff to rebuild her ‘latest invention’ when they get some alone time, of which Impa supports them doing. The princess is a lot like Zelda, seeing as they both have tinkering and science running through their heads 24/7. They agree and it turns out, the fixed build was actually the origins of the Master Cycle Zero since it was supposedly an abandoned prototype for a fifth Divine Beast that the Sheikah were forced to abandon. Afian gives the two the spiritual stone she apparently found the treasury, which is weird because it’s very clear the Hylians and Zonai are on two very different sides of history. Impa scolds the princess, but allows them to keep the stone on the one condition that not a single word is uttered about the Master Cycle and Impa forces the princess to get rid of the project now that it’s finished in order to not upset her parents. The princess chooses to give this to Link and Zelda.

Link and Zelda can also come across the ancient Zora, this specific species being called the Riverbed Zora, who live in Zora’s Domain and are kind of a mix-up between OOT and BotW Zora, compared to the two other Zora called the Lake Zora and Ocean Zora. For context to this quest, Lake and Riverbed Zora are the most important. Essentially, they come upon a magician who is in the process of being accused of performing ‘dark magic’ (Zonai magic) and is awaiting a kind of trial to see whether this is true or not. There have been rumours going around that this girl will be banished if found guilty and likely to live with other Zora due to the Riverbed Zora’s alliance and political agreements with the Hylian monarchy, who despise the Zonai due to a long-standing generational dispute about the differences in their religions. This magician girl asks Link and Zelda to help prove her innocence and direct them to talk with the Lake Zora to recreate the kind of magic she had been alleged to be practising. The Lake Zora are affiliated with the Zonai and share customs, but also share a semi-allyship with the Ocean Zora, who act as a neutral party in Lurelin Village, and the two are additionally tasked to gather materials only in Lurelin for the Lake Zora to help them with the craft. So they go do that and can get various results based on what’s made/performed, but ultimately she is declared not guilty with the right choices and she gives the duo one of the seven Zonai stones in private, revealing that she really does practise Zonai magic but asks them to keep it a secret.

At some point, they’ll also come across a Gerudo woman who is attempting to leave Gerudo Town and causing a ruckus, only to be denied due to how dangerous it is to be alone with how aggressive the Yiga Clan are within the desert. As it turns out, this woman is attempting to get her daughter back, who had been kidnapped by a Yiga clansman after disguising themself as a woman joining a festival. In the aftermath of the incident, normally no guard would let anyone in or out of the town, but it turns out that the Zonai had sent a message letting the current chief know that the two would be arriving to earn one of the spiritual stones. The only man in Gerudo Town, the Gerudo King, Usimo, has his attention brought to this ruckus and defuses the situation, bringing Link and Zelda to his throne room to discuss, telling them that getting anyone back from the Yiga is essentially a death wish and to leave it for him to solve politically since there may be many other children and adults taken hostage. Zelda refuses and proposes the most insane idea of infiltrating the Yiga and taking the child back from under their noses. The king relents after a long back-and-forth where Zelda attempts to prove their worth, though modifies it to make it safer and that only Link can go to lessen any potential - and inevitable - suspicions, but that should she get a signal, would blow the hideout up when Link were ready to leave as a kind of safe escape plan. The plan goes through, with preparations made such as a tailor making a custom suit etc, and Link gains a friends from within the ranks despite being considered an outsider who guides him through Yiga life. Eventually, Link is able to go up against other Yiga in a gauntlet of sorts and fights the Yiga leader, and though he loses, is accepted to actually learn Yiga magic from an ancient tome that passed down the more complex spells due to the achievement of a trainee working his way up to almost beating them. A little while later, Link gives the signal for Zelda, who ignites the place from inside the walls using metal, lightning, and the thunder helm. The two escape with both the child and the tome full of spells as an added bonus. As a thanks, Usimo gives the duo the spiritual stone for proving their worth and considers them Gerudo heroes. This stone was given as an act of allyship between the Gerudo and the Zonai.

The next quest to be discovered is of a group of Gorons who created a home deep within the hottest regions of the desert who escaped Death Mountain, surviving on spicy elixirs and rocks from the cliffside. They can either be found in this home or within Gerudo Town scouting for help once the Gerudo’s quest is fulfilled. At this moment when the quest hasn’t been completed, Death Mountain isn’t being an active volcano like usual. In fact, there’s a noticeable drop in temperature when approaching and a singular Goron standing guard will turn any travellers away because everything has frozen over. A Goron that has taken over a leadership role (though is very distinctly not the chief of the Gorons), Gigi, tells Link that something from within Death Mountain must have fed on all of the surface magma since none of it has been able to actually reach the volcano to keep it active and warm, thus thrusting a large portion of the Goron population into an impromptu hibernation period. Those who managed to escape found themselves housed within the desert to keep warm. Link and Zelda convince this leader to give them some kind of physical proof to be able to pass into Death Mountain, and the two discover that the spiritual stone was taken from the Gorons by this monster and disappeared into the complex cave systems to feed on the lava. These cave systems were actually closed off by the escaped Gorons who came back with elixirs to seal away the monster to prevent any more harm until it could be fixed, and so Link and Zelda have to go through this kind of dungeon-crawling, crudely-built bomb puzzle maze to get to the inner belly of Death Mountain, where they find the beast feeding on the lava, and kill it. Turns out that in the wrong hands for too long, powerful Zonai magic can turn regular people into distorted monsters and that’s what happened with this monster. They were a regular person visiting Death Mountain with very strong kleptomaniac tendencies, stole the spiritual stone, and was morphed into the beast. They all escape out of the mountain and find that with the fresh magma, the Gorons have begun to return to normal. If the chief, Tatemba, sees that Zelda already possesses other stones, he gives away theirs with some questions asked, though gets a second opinion from Gigi otherwise.

Atop a large sky island housing an erected rock with a wooden settlement, Link and Zelda find the Rito to request for their spiritual stone. However, the Rito’s chief were absent at that moment on undisclosed business and so the two were directed to talk to the second-in-command, who is a bit of a cocky ass. His name is Skirth. They attempt to negotiate a way to gain the spiritual stone, but with a combination of pride in himself and the Rito and of no knowledge that the Zonai leaders wanted the two to earn the stone, Skirth fervently refused. Fortunately for them, a little group of Rito children had grown to root for the Hylians and became disappointed. Skirth has quite the soft spot for children, especially his daughter, and relented, except he kind of didn’t because he gave the two an assumedly impossible task given Link and Zelda’s lack of wings: entertain and follow the Rito children around the sky islands, accomplishing what’s basically a bunch of side quests for them until sundown. He has no idea they have their own paragliders. So the two go ahead and do that and it’s specifically shown that his daughter called Bo, a girl wanting to become a Rito warrior which is forbidden for girls and women, took quite the attachment to Link and Zelda. This eventually manifests when no one notices Bo goes missing and they all eventually go to Skirth to get the stone they earned (and cheer the two on), when the chief comes back in a hurry. It’s revealed that a large monster had been blocking off a certain snowy section of Hyrule with a giant snowstorm too deadly to venture into and the chief was away with a bunch of warriors to figure out how to kill it, only for them all to be adjourned and come back to find the plans, weapons, and arrows gone, and a certain little girl missing. Link and Zelda immediately go to kill the monster and find Bo barely holding it together with damaged wings and 0 bow-shooting experience in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm. They manage to kill the monster and ask Bo what the hell happened, to which she answers that she got upset that she couldn’t become a Rito warrior but was so inspired by the two that she gained the confidence to fight off the monster. Zelda manages to tell her that it was far too dangerous but compromises that she can train to be a ‘land warrior’ instead of a Rito warrior and defend Rito Village from the land instead of the skies. Bo is happy with this and asks the two to train her, to which her father (who came along to fetch his daughter) responded to not push their luck and that she’s too injured to train for anything at all. He then goes on to give Link and Zelda the stone, saying they more than earned his respect for saving his child... and also to keep his initial promise.

High above in the sky islands, the Deku Tree resides with his forest children, the Koroks, within the Korok Forest. This is one of the few quests that are asked to partake in directly from the Zonai and must have completed like 3 other quests to do because of memory shit for Zelda’s character development. Asked by a few Zonai women who worry over their children playing rough with the little forest spirits in the future as their children won’t believe of their existence and refuse to be taught about them, they ask Link and Zelda to take some kind of picture after inspecting Link’s Sheikah Slate. They agree but mischief ensues because they’re the Koroks. They end up having to find and chase around Koroks of different types to take pictures of until they find a small, lone Korok with a very unique wisteria leaf seemed to have gone missing. The two soon find the Korok in a large, hollowed out tree within almost a kind of mystical grove back on the surface. It turned out that the Korok had found this tree while exploring and saw a little gravestone engraved with an ancient fae language that this Korok has been researching for a very long time. All he managed to figure out was the grave was dedicated to a Hylian boy who left his forest home eons ago. Not only that, but within the tree, behind the little living space the Korok had set up on a whim, he had a large rock cover a hole in the wall the tree had half-grown from. Upon entering, the Korok explains that they must leave or the two will ruin his research, though calms down and openly shares it once discovering that Link and Zelda where sent by the other Koroks to find him, furthered by the realisation of the incredibly strong magic stones hanging at Zelda’s hip and Link’s similarly powerful arm. He tells them about the rock and how it hides a mural he cannot understand due to a lack of cultural knowledge of Hylians - hence his research on the grave - and asks the two if they can help him with any context if he escorts them to the mural. They agree. Behind the tight squeeze, the rock hides is a large, open cave, blocked off on all sides. The walls are lined with small torches that had become unlit in the ages since the cave was last visited. On the other end of the cave was a metal mural with carvings of the previous princesses of Hyrule and their time’s respective heroes. Zelda remembers this from an old book she read a long time ago and can already feel a memory tickling at the corners of her vision, though none fully emerge (I haven’t edited this in a while so I forgot to mention that the stones can become vessels for one’s memories and emotions which is why Zelda holds these stones so dear to her heart - though they don’t give her any memories, she gains them exactly the same way Link did). The Korok offers for them to come back any time they like and that he’d love to share any more research with them. That’s when a previous Korok who had asked Link to find the other one came into the tree upon hearing his voice and scolds the missing Korok for his long parting, though sobs through his shouting. This is when we learn of the Koroks’ names; Brondu, the missing Korok, and Esri, his brother. Esri requests for his brother return, if only for a gathering that had been talked about all through the quest, and they ask that Link and Zelda join for thanks of finding and indirectly leading Esri to Brondu. Gathering back with the rest of the Koroks, they play music and dance til the sun sets. Esri gets the idea for Link to take a picture of everyone performing together. Brondu bashfully presents a stone to Zelda as form of a thank you gift, having no idea it was an offering made by the Zonai and merely thinking of it as a shiny, smooth rock. After the Koroks let the two travellers go, they travel back to the Zonai to show them all the pictures of the Koroks for mothers to warn their children of roughhousing and angering the forest spirits. It turns out that a child had found a nearby Korok and the children flock to play with him. A mother scoffs but thanks the two for their efforts.

As these little quests progress, tensions rise higher and higher behind the scenes as it turns out that Ganondorf’s influence has been able to get into the heads of the Hylian King and Queen. Ganondorf manages to make Princess Afian tell him of Link and Zelda and where they are, and not knowing any better, tells him of their acceptance into the Zonai tribe. He gets the monarchs to order the destruction of the Zonai after the quests, though Afian and Impa make their attempts to warn them of the incoming attacks. At this point, Link and Zelda have already been summoned to the Zonai temple, so that the Aama and Hylia could direct them on their next move. There’s a scuffle between some Zonai warriors and Impa and Afian, with the Zonai thinking they’ve come to attack them, but Afian runs to Link and Zelda, showing their affiliation and the Zoclu (who is nearby) and the Aama order them to halt their attacks. Afian blabs that they’re gonna die if they don’t hurry, and it concerns the two priests enough to usher them to Kikias’ temple where they may discuss this with the god. Once the Aama has rushed to get the Vamai, (through some kind of item I haven’t decided on) they are able to communicate the events with all three gods, who reside within the next temple Link and Zelda would progress to. Impa and Afian fully explain the details of the impending civil war and Zelda has a reaction to Afian’s description of the man who asked her about them, inciting a memory about Ganondorf. With Zelda’s recollection, they were able to come to the conclusion that they would defend against the Hylian alliances and work on their next moves while Link and Zelda attempt the fend off Ganondorf.

They send the two off to the Sun’s Doors, a large sacred temple where the immortal and mortal can supposedly collide, yet has forbidden mortals from entering as it could change their humanity forever and usually only gods enter. The Sun’s Doors is also where Hylia, Ekoza, and Kikias resided as they were told of the rising tensions from Hylian alliances and the Zonai alliances from their high priests and worshippers increasing as the story progressed. The Sun’s Doors is this giant temple in the sky, higher than any other sky island which seemingly stretches into the clouds. The three gods congratulate Link and Zelda for getting this far and request for them to go through a kind of ultimate trial to gain the last spiritual stone, that would recharge the power to it’s maximum once all are gathered. They theorise that with all seven stones, the two would be able to rid Ganondorf’s influence of Hyrule and hopefully resolve the impending war before it’s too late. Zelda asks why they don’t just reveal themselves to be rid of the conflict caused by the different religions and Ekoza asks what she would think would happen if they were to destroy one of the connecting ties of Hylian life across the country and if it would even be right to do as such. They eventually go on to progress through trials within the temple, all a combination of the different skills the two were tasked with utilising throughout their journey to force their way to where the last stone is held. However, none knew of the fact that Ganondorf had attached a small piece of his Malice magic to Princess Afian before she ran to the Zonai, hoping to influence her too, yet he seemed to strike gold when she fled to the Zonai and attached a small piece of his magic to Zelda, managing to escape to the Sun’s Door with them. It was Ganondorf’s final chance to achieve that last push for ultimate power over Hyrule and it’s surrounding countries.

Ganondorf’s Malice was able to take form from within the Sun’s Door upon gaining an easy access to the seventh stone, jumping from Zelda’s back and becoming a disgustingly sublime beast, representing how his hatred was reunited with his soul and his overwhelming desire to finally be done with this cursed cycle of reincarnation. The beast takes the title of The Rot, a more literal name for its meaning. The Rot takes claim of the seventh stone and Link and Zelda has to furiously fight for ownership of the stone, but it’s all for nought as Ganondorf’s magic has one again become far too powerful for the hero and princess, and the holy gods must come to their rescue to banish the beast from their realm. Despite this, none could gain back the seventh stone, and just as quickly as their arrived, the two must leave to capture the stone back before Ganondorf is able to use it for his own desires. Coming back to Iulii Village and seeing the Zonai ready for war was a sight to behold. The Zoclu offers the two a place to fight beside the warriors, assuming the seventh stone had been retrieved, but when hearing of The Rot, hastily abandons his position to take them to Hylia’s Temple, where the Aama hastily writes letters to their allies requesting assistance. They all knew what was happening, and they knew it was likely going to be a losing fight, but this little village and the temples and homes and lives within are all the Zonai have, and they have to fight to protect it. They even go as far as requesting the help of the neutral Ocean Zora. The scrolls are hastily shoved into Link and Zelda’s hands and the Vamai begs them to play messenger because as much as they’d like to send carrier birds, the Hylian allies would shoot them down. Not even the Rito would be left unscathed without checks by Hylians, a war was about to commence. The Vamai just begs the two to humour them and stop chasing after that soon almighty evil to send their only chance of survival. When they accept, they do it under the guise of the night they returned to, hidden by shadows. The three high priests see them off, thanking them for their help, but telling Link and Zelda to not get absorbed into the war and to focus on Ganondorf once their messages have been relayed. The Vamai chases after the two, who ride on horseback, and beg them to return back safe. The priest knows their race will be left irreversibly damaged, if not completely destroyed, and wants at least someone to come back and remember their names and their faces. They regretfully admit that they have to be cowardly and hide their people but is told the strongest form of courage is to admit when you’re not as brave as you once thought. Zelda tells the Vamai to hide the Zonai innocents among their allies and to only disguise as Hylians when push comes to shove. The Vamai cries their possibly final farewell.

The letters are delivered. The Gerudo are very far away yet they relay a promise of effort to do whatever they can to assist a race of people and the two their indebted to. Link and Zelda ask the Great Deku Tree if the little forest spirits could do anything to help the struggling Zonai, and though their physical prowess is far too weak, their magic is strong and will attempt to aid in guiding the falling people. The Rito feel the need to refuse, seeing as they themselves are a very small, newly established race and the chief must see fit to protect his own people. The Ocean Zora say similar, that they cannot offer their combat, but offers their caves for hiding. The Lake Zora stand proudly for the people they share their culture with. And although they had the most powerful Sheikah in the Hylian army on their side, the Hylian monarchy would have her and the little princess executed if they found out about their involvement with the Zonai.

On the way, strange behaviour began to exhibit in Zelda; she would slowly get more angry at the lack of help from the supposed Zonai allies even if the reason seemed sound enough to Link, she would clutch at her string of spiritual stones as if it pained her to let them go, she’d go for long stretches of silence between her sentences as if she were spacing out. It came to a head when suddenly, Zelda slumped off her horse onto the ground, where the equine ran far as if sensing danger. Even Link’s horse starts to kick and nicker. When he went to check on Zelda, there seemed to be a distant, confused look to her eyes, as if glazed over. Zelda threw Link away from her, more powerful than before, clutching the string of stones close, letting out a pained scream as she looked to change form. She now seemed bird-like, sporting feathers instead of hair, covering her whole torso and arms, and the bones in her feet crunching as they morphed to talons. And as quickly as it happened, Zelda ran. Link seemed to chasse her all over Hyrule, attracting the attention of soldier beginning their first marches to battle. And every time, he’d manage to stop her from climbing walls or running away with scary agility, he’d be forced in his hand to slice away at the things that made her monstrous, hoping it was like Ganon and the Divine Beasts, that Zelda would be fine if all that remained was the parts that were her humanity. But it didn’t. All that sliced off was a sticky ooze of green-blue blood and the tearing of skin and feathers. She ran to the Korok Forest, the natural protector of the Zonai and Hyrule as she became weak and unable to fight back. The Great Deku Tree urged his children to hide from the fight that ensued and something in Zelda just clicked, triggering a memory. Leaving a weak spot open and fully in battle mode, Link thrust the Master Sword into Zelda’s abdomen and she crumpled against him, holding onto his shoulders weakly. It hurt her, yes, but at least she gained back her senses for a few moments and she was free of whatever those stones and those temples and that magic made her. Even though he attempted to lay her to the floor and apply pressure to the wound after realising his mistake, Zelda knew better, instead handing him over the string of six stones, asking him to make it alright for her and them, and asking why it was always them that took such a fall. What did they do to deserve something so cruel? Link mourned heavily, but had to push it down to make it alright once seeing the Koroks and hearing their promise to take care of his friend.

He left for Ganondorf, hidden within a castle rife with conflict. He dressed as if a Castle Town member, and acted the part, saying his thanks to the old woman of the tailor’s shop and asking her to keep his clothes safe. She refuses as they’re a part of him now, made specially by her and her grandson. She asks why he’s in such a hurry, they need to hide within the shop, but he brushes her and her grandson’s worries off, saying he’ll be fine, and rushing back out to the castle. With a bit of stealth and brute force, Link manages to make his way into the castle. Walking in makes him nauseous from the stench of Malice burned into his mind, but a single thread of powerful magic leads Link to where he needs to be. Within the great hall of the castle, Ganondorf puppeteers the King and Queen from their thrones, throwing wave after wave of guard at Link, themselves going to fight the hero when their numbers are exhausted. But Ganondorf gets bored when Link merely knocks them out and shows off his shiny green new toy. Ganondorf, in a display of power, raises the castle from the ground and suspends it high into the sky, far higher than any island bar the Sun’s Doors. He toys with Link about this is the culmination of thousands of reincarnations, of thousands of struggles with Hyruleans - with the gods - to do right by his people. He asks Link why he doesn’t let Ganondorf have his victory and let Hyrule’s suffering end, there’s even one of Hyrule’s worst civil wars unfolding right outside the castle walls. He concludes it must be a sense of duty, or perhaps morals, or maybe even cowardice towards his own inevitable death?

They clash, fighting for the stone that could remake or rebreak Hyrule. When Ganondorf gets a little too hurt for his liking, he resummons The Rot and forces Link to fight it again. But Link is fuelled by the deaths of his loved ones and the idea that he’ll near see the people he first woke up to meet all the way back in his original time. Link finds power from mourning, Ganondorf takes power from suffering, but they both take power from loss. That’s perhaps why Link is able to wrestle the stone from Ganondorf, they are equal in their pain and so equal in their power. It’s just destiny that Link happens to win. With Ganondorf on his knees, bleeding from his wounds and magic exhausted from the most strenuous battle of the cycle, Link reunites the seventh stone with the ones on Zelda’s string. He punches Ganondorf in his rage, once for the first Calamity he now fought and all the people who have and will die, twice for the second Calamity that was struck upon Hyrule and the people of his original time who suffered for 10 years, and a third time for the unnecessary death of Zelda, his new family, and the Link he used to be. Ganondorf smiles. Link tackles him off the cliff they fought upon, whispering his only words his reincarnations have ever spoke in front of Ganondorf - a promise that, no matter what, Link will keep him in his own personal hell forever. Ganondorf laughs manically as they fall, even though the odd green glow the surrounds Link’s new hand, powered by the seven stones, clawing at Ganondorf of its own accord as they both seemingly fall and fall and fall.

An unknown amount of time later, Ganondorf’s corpse lays motionless within a cave that seemed to have naturally formed itself around him. He’s sealed away by a glowing green hand that swirls around the cave structure, the tail ends of its magic etching sorrowful cravings of Zonai into the walls and tunnels. A quiet stepping can be heard and a faint torch glow illuminates the cave walls. Two familiar faces appear curious and approach, but something menacing tickles at the back at someone’s mind.

#more totk ideas #totk ideas #the big post lol #i've been slaving away for this please tell me someone likes this :')#this is the main story beats but there's more interpersonal story sections explicitly tied to identity for link and zel #keep in mind this was made prior to the february totk trailer

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stream-of-distracted-thought · 6 years ago

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Syre Meets Kikia

For the first time. Syre belongs to @the-lady-saron, Kikia and the associated characters are all mine. I wrote this as a gift for Christmas to her since she’d been begging me to. With her permission I’m gong to upload it to here. _____________________________

The day had been long, but normal for most accounts in the deep of the Darklit City. Kikia was on her way to her quarters within the King’s Palace after a day of dealing with the court and the grievances of the Diwa’ka. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she walked, feeling a little headache coming on. She was looking forward to the night alone.

But she was surprised by a small crowd of Diwa’ka coming down the hall. It was an odd hour for it to be happening, so Kikia was caught off guard. The crowd had a Bahnishal and a couple of Neejar flanking him. He greeted as they stopped in front of her, “My lady. I’m sorry to bother you so late, but we have a problem. Rather, a hard to handle prisoner.”

Kikia asked, hiding her annoyance, “Are they so dangerous that they can’t be kept in one of the local jails?”

“Not…dangerous…but we’re having trouble keeping her in her cell.” The Bahnishal replied. “She was captured as a petty thief but…she might pose a more serious threat.”

“Why?” Kikia asked.

“She…keeps getting out of her cuffs and cage.” He replied.

“How? You were using the power erasing shackles, right?”

“Yes, but they have done nothing.”

Kikia frowned and nodded. “Show me.”

The Bahnishal led her through the palace to the gates where a jail wagon was waiting. To Kikia’s surprise, a woman, tall, red-headed and with bright golden eyes. A large scar ran from her chin to under her ruddy red clothing. She was extremely fit and well-muscled. Large golden hoops hung from her ears and her eyes were rimmed with red. She was eating an apple, sitting atop the jail wagon, outside the bars. When she saw them, she waved.

“Hi! You came back! Do you have any more of these things?”

Kikia, confused asked, “You get free, and you don’t run?”

The woman shrugged. Kikia asked, “What is your name?”

“Syre.”

“Syre, you understand that you have been charged with theft and must suffer a punishment?”

“Yep.” Syre replied after another bite out of her apple. “What’s the punishment?”

“Jail time. A fine perhaps? What exactly did you steal?”

“Some food. Uh…I think a map. Uh…some sort of metal thing that was shiny.”

“A cheese strainer.” The Bahnishal explained. “Mine, actually. And broke it trying to do something weird with it.”

“Weird?” Syre replied. “You grate cheese with it. I was trying to do that.”

“See? She’s strange.” The Bahnishal complained.

Kikia muttered to him, “She must be an outsider. I would have done the same thing at one time, when I didn’t know anything about magic items.”

He blinked at her blankly. Kikia asked then, “Are you Alumian?”

“Aluma-who?”

“Alumian.” Kikia repeated. “Are you part of the special unit?”

“No and no.” Syre replied. “I have no clue what you are talking about.”

“Then you are…Imperial?”

“No.”

“You are from beyond the forest? To the south? The land of sands?”

“No, no, and no.”

“Then from where?”

“Not here.”

Kikia suppressed an eyeroll. “So, will you serve time, or pay the fine?”

“That rhymed.”

“Pick one.”

“How about neither?”

Kikia growled, “You will pick one. Do not test me.”

Syre gave her a massive grin and said, “Test you? Are you going to explode or something?”

Kikia took off her crystal ring and then let red enter into her vision. The shadows rose up and wrapped around Syre’s arms, pulling her off the wagon and onto the ground. Syre seemed un-surprised. She only said,

“Cool magic. Reminds me of…some other underground people.”

“This is just the tip of it. Don’t make me mad.” Kikia answered sternly. “You will go to the dungeon until you choose your punishment.”

“Okay.” Syre replied with a happy shrug.

The shadows formed into two Shadow Ghosts and whisked her away into the palace grounds. Kikia let her eyes clear and then then addressed the Bahnishal. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Thank you, my lady.” He replied. He returned to his cart and prepared to leave. Kikia headed back into the palace, swearing under her breath. She was ready for a night of peace and quiet. She got back to her quarters, shut the door behind her and ditched her pink silk scarf. Jillian was waiting for her. She said,

“You’re running late.”

“There is a new prisoner. I had to take care of her.”

“Oh I…” Jillian started to reply. But she paused and stared past Kikia. Then,

“This is a nice part of the palace. You live here?”

Kikia whipped around to face her balcony and saw Syre sitting on the railing. She gave her a big goofy grin and waved. Kikia was stunned for a moment and then anger flared. She snapped, “How did you get out? Is this your power?”

“Power? Like strength?” Syre asked. “Or like…magic? You guys seem to use those interchangeably.” Kikia didn’t have an answer. Syre hopped down off the railing and offered, “You look super mad. You want a hug?”

Kikia answered as she slipped her crystal ring off again, “No. I want you in our dungeon.”

“Its really musty down there.” Syre complained. “Can I have a room like this one instead?”

Kikia lashed out with her power, ordering the shadows to rise and wrap around the red-haired woman. She snapped, “You are going to the dungeon and you will stay there!”

Syre shook her head and suddenly her form disappeared from existence and out of the shadow’s grasp. Kikia was stunned. Then behind her,

“Ooo. Sorry. Guess I made you mad huh?”

Kikia whirled around as Syre opened the door and stepped out. She said, “I’ll just go find a room on my own.”

The door swung shut before Kikia could get a hold of herself. She hurriedly grabbed her cane and said to Jillian, “Stay put, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Yes, my lady.” Jillian said with a hint of fear in her voice. Kikia burst out of her room and glanced both ways down the hall and saw Syre just as she disappeared around one corner. Kikia yelled,

“Guards! Guards! The prisoner is free! Capture her!”

She picked up her cane, allowed the shadows to swarm over her weak legs and arm and raced down the hall after Syre, calling for back up as she did. Before long, she saw the armas of the Neejar hurrying to flank her. She issued orders to them and they spread out into other halls. Kikia checked every guest room she could only to find them empty. Just as she was about descend some stairs, she heard footsteps echoing down the hall behind her. She turned and saw Syre running through the perpendicular hall. Kikia pointed and ordered her Shadow Ghosts, “There! Capture her!”

The Shadows rose to her bidding and dead Imperial Soldiers wreathed in black flame raced down the hall in pursuit with Kikia close behind. But as soon as she rounded the corner, she saw that the ghosts were looking around, apparently having lost their quarry. She growled in exasperation. She ordered the Shadow Ghosts in their alternate world to spread out and look for the woman. In a few moments, one of the ghosts popped up with a location. Kikia turned to head to it, but then another ghost popped up and offered another. Then another did the same. Before long, Kikia was confused and still unsure of where Syre had gone.

One of the armas came down the hall and met her. It echoed, “We are unable to locate her. Every time we narrow in on the prisoner she disappears to another part of the castle.”

Kikia sat down on a bench in exasperation, trying to think of a way to capture the woman. She rubbed her aching head and then came up with a sudden idea. She said, “Call off the search. Syre is curious about the Diwa’cita from what I could tell. We will lay a trap. Let your armas appear dormant. Wait until she isn’t expecting you and then get her. My Shadow Ghosts will do the same.”

“Yes, my lady.” The arma responded. It took a position up next to the wall by her bench and assumed a pose as if it were just a suite of armor and the blue glow that emitted from the breaks in the metal dimmed significantly. Kikia leaned back and let the shadows fall from her arm and legs back to the ground below her and adjusted her glasses. And she waited. Finally, after some time, the arma next to her lit back up and said, “We have her.”

“Bring her to me.” Kikia ordered.

“As you wish.” The arma stated.

It went silent again, communicating with the other armas. Another few minutes passed and then Kikia heard the sound of metal boots on the floor. She sighed as the two armas brought forth Syre who was wearing one of their suites of armor. The woman giggled as the two let her go. Kikia asked,

“What are you doing?”

“I found this suite of armor just standing around, so I tried it on.”

Kikia stared at her for a second and then said, “Get out of it.”

“Uh..no.” Syre replied with a smile.

“Syre, get out of the armor.” Kikia ordered.

“Well, I’m in a suite of armor and you aren’t.”

“Get out of the suite.”

“You’re not my mom.”

“I’m the leader of this”-

“I’ve got a suite of armor. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Get out of the armor!” Kikia commanded.

“No. My armor.” Syre taunted.

“You are not inside armor. You are inside one of my Diwa’ka.”

“Oh…I don’t see any guts in here.”

Kikia rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It doesn’t have guts. It’s an ethereal Diwa’ka.”

The Neejar said in its echoed voice, “It tickles, a little.”

Syre’s eyes got huge. She said, “I felt that. The suite vibrated.”

“That’s because you are inside one of my Diwa’ka. Please get out so it can go back to its duties.” Kikia ordered. Syre pouted for a moment in protest. Kikia shook her head and said, “Drop your arma.”

“Huh?” Syre started to ask. The armor lost its glow and clattered to the ground at Syre’s feet. She looked down at it with surprise and disappointment. Kikia put a hand on her hip after that and asked,

“What is it that you want?”

“I don’t want anything. I’m just here to explore”- Syre started to say but stopped and stared past her. Then Kikia caught the sound of a tapping cane behind her. She turned a little to see the Darklit King approaching them from down the hall. His ghostly yellowed eyes were wide as he observed the commotion.

“What’s going on? Is this the human that’s been loose in the palace?”

“Yes. It is.” Kikia replied. She growled towards Syre, “For some reason we can’t keep her in her cell, your majesty.”

“Whaaaa? This is your King?” Syre exclaimed suddenly. She skipped up to him and bowed. “I’m happy to meet you, your majesty.”

The Darklit King grinned and said, “She’s at least polite.”

Syre suddenly reached out and shook Griffgar’s hand. “I’ve never met a walking mummy before”-

There was a sudden snap and the King’s arm was in her hand, detached from his body. Syre winced and said, “Oh gosh! I’m so sorry!”

She tried to put it back as the King laughed heartily. He said, “It’s okay lassie. It’s not going back on that way though. You’re a strong one.”

Syre looked down at the arm in her hand like she didn’t know what to do. The King winked and said, “But look, I can do this!”

The hand wiggled on the detached arm and Syre laughed in response. Griffgar asked, “This is exciting. Where did you find this one?”

“Out in the markets, stuffing food in her face without paying. And stealing a cheese strainer.” Kikia replied. “The market guards couldn’t keep her restrained, so they sent her here. We’re having the same problem.”

Griffgar gave Syre a grin and said, “Well I wouldn’t want to sit in one of our smelly dungeons either, waiting for whatever fate the local crotchety sourpuss dictates.”

Kikia gave him an angry glare which he returned with a wide grin.

“That thing with the holes was a cheese what?” Syre asked.

“A cheese strainer.” Kikia answered her.

“I think you mean a cheese grater.” Syre replied.

“It’s a magical item. So, it has a different name.” Kikia explained with exasperation. Syre’s face lit up again.

“Well now I want one even more if its magic!”

The King chuckled and said, “I’ll have one bought for you.”

“Thank you, your majesty!” Syre replied with another bow. She then held out Griffgar’s arm and asked, “So how are you going to get your arm back on?”

“The palace hand will stitch it back on, no worries.”

He turned and motioned for her to follow. Syre skipped after him and called over her shoulder, “Is limpy coming?”

It took Kikia a second to realize who the woman was referring too. Her patience snapped. She yelled, “What was that?”

The Darklit King got a strained grin on his face and he quickly interjected in a loud whisper which Kikia could still hear, “Now lassie, we don’t say that around her. She gets a bit touchy when you mention the limp.”

Syre lowered her voice and replied, “Oh. Sorry. What should I call her again?”

“You can call her sourpuss if you want.”

“My title will do, Syre.” Kikia growled. “Lady Kajalar is what I want you to call me. Or Regent Vicereine, your choice.”

“You heard that?” The Darklit King asked with a knowing grin. Kikia shook her head at him and then limped her way down the hall ahead of them. She slipped her crystal ring back onto her finger and felt the familiar inability to use her power anymore. She grumbled as she did,

“Let’s get her a cheese strainer and figure out what to do with her, your majesty.”

The group settled in the palace’s dining hall. A palace hand went to the unpleasant task of sowing the King’s arm back to his body. Most of them hated doing it. The King was weird enough without them having to see what was under his clothes. Kikia sat at the far end of the table, rubbing her head. The night’s excitement was leaving her more tired that she should have been. Syre had stayed with them and was excitedly talking with the Darklit King who was more than happy to entertain her bubbly personality. They sat at the other end of the table. He was always excited when something unexpected happened in his keep.

Kikia had sent for Jillian a while ago, and her servant had come down with her dinner and tea as well as a medicine for her headache. She also took a vile of the bitter herbal mixture that helped staunch her seizures when they crept up during times of stress. It made her a little foggy headed, but it was better than the alternative.

The red-haired woman explained how she had come to the Diwa’cita. It was nothing short of a magical explanation and Kikia wasn’t totally sure she believed it. Syre jabbered excitedly, “And I took this jewel and poof! I was here! I don’t always know how these work and Inari is going to be livid when she finds out I stole it! I can’t wait to see the look on her face!”

Syre held out a glowing purple orb that was small in the palm of her hand. Kikia had gleaned that it was the source of Syre’s ability to jump around space at will. That would explain why the power suppressant shackles hadn’t worked on her. Though she had yet to explain who this Inari was. The Darklit King asked, “May I touch it?”

“Probably not a good idea, your majesty. Don’t want you to teleport to someplace you can’t be found or something like that.” She replied and tucked it back into a pocket. She glanced down at Kikia and shot her a grin. Kikia sent a small glare back at her and turned her attention to the mirrored wall. She heard Syre whisper to Griffgar,

“I think she’s sore that she couldn’t catch me.”

“Oh, probably lassie. She’s not used to someone besting her in combat or a chase. Don’t mind her. She’s usually this dour.” He whispered back, as low as he could. Kikia was some distance away but that was nothing for her sharp hearing. She ignored them, pretending she couldn’t. Griffgar was pretty good about judging how far she could hear him, but she had let him guess a bit on the distance. She didn’t want the court to know just how good her hearing was. It made it easier to deal with threats or problems within it should she overhear. It was part of her job, as there was no way the King could handle such threats himself, or he just wouldn’t.

“Really? I’m surprised she can do anything with that limp”- Syre started to whisper back. Kikia cleared her throat and asked,

“So, when are you going back to your world or…wherever you came from?”

“I don’t know. This orb is a holder of chaos and its kind of uncontrollable. Sort of…kind of…I can make it work okay. Don’t ask me how though. No clue.”

“You don’t even know how your own powers work?” Kikia asked exasperated. Syre said,

“It’s magic. Not power. At least, not the type of power you mean.”

Kikia shook her head with a shrug. Syre answered, “I don’t know. The orb kind of does its own thing and…I don’t know how I made it bring me here.”

“And who is this Inari person exactly?” Kikia asked.

“She’s my FRIEND!” Syre stated. “Annnd, also a god. So, she’s pretty awesome. Although I heard she like, ATE a bunch of other gods so she’s kind of scary too. But cool. Cool-scary.”

Kikia rubbed her head again. Gods didn’t exist in her opinion. Maybe Inari was an accumulation of several of Syre’s ancestors? The more she thought about it, the less she cared. She really just wanted to retire to her bed for peace and quiet. She heard Syre whisper to Griffgar again, “Does she seriously never smile?”

“She does, lassie.” He replied.

“How do you do it?”

“By not making her annoyed, for one thing. Hard to do, trust me.”

Finally, Samuel returned with a newly purchased cheese strainer and placed it on the table in front of Syre. He said, “It was a bit hard this late, but I managed to find one.”

Syre picked up the crystal object. It was square in shape, with holes along its flat surfaces. She shook it a bit and asked, “How does this thing work?”

“You put the cheese on it and it will make different kinds as you specify.” Griffgar explained.

Syre grinned brightly and said, “I want to try it!”

“You are welcome to use the kitchen supply of cheese if you wish.” Griffgar replied with a chuckle. Syre popped to her feet as Griffgar pointed to the kitchen door. He continued, “I’ll have a page wait for you and take you to a guest room when you are done.”

Syre scampered to the kitchen and disappeared behind the door. Griffgar turned to Kikia and said, “I’ll keep an eye on her. You go get some rest, Kanala.”

Kikia sighed and asked, “You sure you can handle her?”

“I’ve been due for some excitement. I’ll be fine.” He replied with a sincere smile. Kikia stood and gave him a short nod. She then answered,

“Thank you. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Kikia returned to her room, got into a night gown and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, she was roused from her deep slumber by an unusual and unpleasant smell. She opened her eyes. She was laying on her side, so through her bad eye she could only see the world in a blur. However, something yellow was laying next to her. She lifted her head so that her good eye could see what it was.

If her scream of rage could shake the foundations of the palace, it probably did. Kikia came storming out into the hall, screeching, “SYRE! WHY IN HEAVENS NAME IS MY BED COVERED IN CHEESE!?”

Syre popped her head out of an adjacent room, looking a bit sleepy, but still her irritating, mischievous grin persisted. Syre skipped from the room, and past Kikia into her quarters. The red-haired woman went to the bed, scooped up some of the cheese and said before she put it in her mouth, “Oh, that’s where it went. You like cheese?”

Kikia came back in and stood at the door, scowling at Syre in silence. The red-haired woman swallowed and reached for more and said, “No?” And then around the mouthful, “Mmmph mmm free breakfast.”

Kikia was having a hard time shoving aside the murderous streak that was urging her to reach out and strangle the other woman. She felt her eye twitching with the effort. Then she heard the sound of foot falls on the hall floor and a moment later,

“Kanala! Is everything alright!?”

Kikia let out a breath as she recognized the voice. Devon had arrived for tomorrow’s festival. She turned to him as he almost slid to a stop at her door. He was dressed in dusty traveling clothes, a white tunic with a black vest and brown pants and boots. Across his chest was a cloth sling and in that was their baby son, Ishamel. The baby’s eyes were wide though he was silent as he nursed a pacifier in his mouth.

Jillian, Haria and Keven were right behind him, all with wide eyes. Haria had her powers up, black claws extending from her hands. Keven had a spear that was too tall for him, probably snatched from a Neejar on the way up the stairs. Jillian had her dagger drawn. Kikia answered,

“Its…its fine.” She went to him and wrapped her good arm around his neck. Devon still looked a bit worried and then he saw Syre, munching on the cheese off the bed. The red-haired woman was staring between them all with wide, curious eyes. He frowned and asked, “Who is this?”

“Her name is Syre…of…somewhere.”

“Lyria.” Syre said. “Nice to meet you all?”

Devon replied as Kikia pulled away, “Devon Kajalar. These are our sons Keven and Ishamel, and our daughter, Haria.”

“Our?” Syre asked. Devon looked confused. Kikia explained,

“This is my husband.”

Syre looked shocked. She asked, “Wait, you aren’t married to the King?”

Kikia just shook her head. “I’m not a queen…anymore.”

“So, you were married to him?”

“Thank the heavens no! I’d have found a way to kill the bastard by now if I was.”

Syre was left looking confused, but she picked up another slice of yellow cheese and held it out towards Haria. She asked, “Want some? Its good!”

Devon leaned over and whispered in Kikia’s ear, “Is this…some new thing I should know about?”

“Huh?” Kikia asked, semi-distracted as Haria hesitantly took the cheese from the red-haired woman.

“Are we going to need to start ordering more cheese for home?”

It took a few moments for Kikia’s brain to click into place what he was talking about. She gave him an exasperated expression and whispered back, “No, no, no! I did not suddenly grow interested in cheese. This bumble-head dumped it in my bed last night!”

Devon glanced at Syre with an unsure expression and replied, “Are we going to be expecting her in our bed then?”

Kikia swatted him on shoulder with a glare and said, “Syre! Get this stuff off my bed! I don’t want my blankets smelling like rotting cheese!”

“You sure you don’t want any?” Syre asked with a sad face.

“Absolutely.” Kikia growled. Syre sighed, drew forth the jewel and after it glowed, the cheese disappeared instantly. Kikia heard a shout of surprise from one of the guards outside. She could only guess that’s where the cheese had ended up; all over one of the Neejar. Kikia rubbed her face in exasperation.

Syre’s attention turned back to them and she grinned widely and pointed at Ishamel. “Is that your newest?”

Devon answered before Kikia could. “He is. He’s almost a year.”

“Can I hold him?” Syre asked.

Devon took Ishamel out of the hammock and handed him to Syre before Kikia could object. Syre smiled down at him with her big grin. Ishamel smiled back around his pacifier, and then reached up and grasped for some of Syre’s long red hair. Kikia felt a twinge of pride. But she pushed it down and said, “I’m going for a bath. I probably smell like cheese.”

Syre whispered, “Sorry.”

Kikia looked to Devon and he said, “We’ll be here.”

Once her bath was finished and she was properly dressed, Kikia came out of her wash room to see Syre swinging the spear that Keven had brought in an attractive and practiced flourish. Kikia could see the woman had some skill in fighting. Keven and Haria were watching her with interest, Keven more so than her daughter. Her adopted son had begged Devon to teach him to fight properly, though her husband was reluctant until Keven had pointed out that he would need to know so that next time, he could protect his family if danger came. She knew losing his biological family had left a deep scar in her adopted son. Kikia wondered if he had brought along Rasha, the girl he had placed his young eyes on. He was fierce about her protection. Haria, she knew, had never been willing to learn to fight. Her first kill had been so traumatic for her, Haria refused to again except in self-defense. And her daughter had inherited Kikia’s power as it was. She didn’t need the training.

Once Syre had finished the display, Keven asked, “Can you teach me?”

Syre grinned and said, “If your parents say it’s okay.”

Keven grumbled a bit in response. Devon said from a chair across the room, “If you take it outside. That spear is making me nervous in here. Too many things to break.”

Her husband was feeding Ishamel with a bottle. Kikia sometimes missed feeding him herself. Since most of her time was spent here, she was away from her family. Keven was staring at her after he noticed she was there, waiting on her approval. She nodded and motioned to the door, “Get going.”

Keven grinned and hurried out. Syre shot her a smile and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt him.”

“I would appreciate it.” She said. Syre went out after him. Kikia then sat down by Devon and said, “I would like to feed him.”

Devon smiled at her and he handed Ishamel to her. Once the baby was settled, Kikia quietly explained to Devon what had happened the night before. Haria listened, interested as well. After she was finished, Devon shook his head and said, “Looks like you have a new friend.”

“I would hardly call her that.”

“Acquaintance then.”

“Maybe.”

Once Ishamel was fed and sleeping. The three headed down to the courtyard where Keven was trying to do one of the complicated flourishes that Syre had done but was clearly unable to wield the heavy and over-sized spear. He dropped the weapon with a loud clank. He frowned. Syre gave him a grin and said, “Try again.”

Keven had just picked up the spear when a warning bell started ringing in the palace. Kikia was on edge in an instant and she quickly removed her crystal ring. The Neejar in the courtyard said, “There is an intruder in the palace.”

Syre’s eyes got wide and she took the spear from Keven and said, “We should get rid of it.”

Kikia turned to her surprised. She said, “This isn’t your concern.”

“I’ve got magic poofing powers. I think I’ll be able to help.” Syre stated, looking serious for the first time since she had arrived. Kikia hesitated, but then motioned to her to follow. Kikia started to order,

“Devon”-

“No worries. I’ll protect the children.” Devon replied confidently. He produced a spike of ice in his hand, ready for anything that would attack. Kikia knew he could handle it.

Syre and Kikia hurried through the palace with a couple of Neejar escorts. One said, “They are on the top level. I’m afraid we are unable to engage. This one is brandishing fire, and we don’t want to risk the keep going up in flame.”

“Understood.” Kikia said, letting the shadows wrap around her legs and weak arm. She saw Syre eyeing them from the corner of her eye. The group went up a flight of stairs and at the end of the hall leading to them, Kikia saw a cluster of guards. She transitioned to a run with Syre right behind her. The two rounded the corner, Syre brandishing the spear in a threatening manner, and Kikia with claws formed on her hands and shadows ready to do her bidding.

The intruder, surrounded by Neejar, was a short, semi-dark-skinned man. His dark hair was shaved on both sides of his head, he had a goatee and blue, vibrant eyes. Tattoos scrawled out from below his clothes across his skin. He had a pair of goggles around his neck, and some sturdy boots. He was wearing a long brown coat, with brown clothes beneath. A necklace with a red jewel hung from his neck. Kikia almost took him for a Barkal but the blue fire flickering in his palm told her otherwise.

Then Syre exclaimed next to her, “Tyberius!!”

She dropped the spear and ran up to him and pulled him into a bear hug. After she had nearly squeezed the life from him, he said, “Syre! I’ve been looking for you! I figured out you stole one of Inari’s chaos beads and”- He paused and looked around at the guards with suspicion. Kikia let the shadows fall away from her as she asked,

“Another of Lyria?”

“Yes! This is my husband! Tyberius, meet Lady Kajalar!”

“Call me Kanala.” Kikia replied. She motioned to her guards to lower their spears. “Are your people all going to pop up in the palace?”

“Doubtful.” Tyberius replied. “I’m only here to fetch my wife.”

“You stole one of Inari’s chaos beads too?” Syre asked excitedly.

“She gave one to me.” Tyberius replied. “To use to come get you.”

Syre only grinned in reply. He said, “We should be going.”

Syre’s grin fell, and she said, “Can’t we stay a bit longer? I have to show you all the cool stuff that’s here! Have you seen the cave ceiling yet? And my cheese strainer! I have to show you that! It changes one type of cheese to another! Isn’t that cool!?”

Tyberius looked like he wanted to go along with Syre’s requests. Kikia was starting to lose the need to get Syre out of her hair…almost. She groaned internally and offered, “You should at least stay until tomorrow. We are having a festival and a parade out in front of the palace. I’m sure your wife would love to see it.”

Syre’s big grin came back and she glanced at Tyberius. He sighed a little and then said, “Okay, okay. But you are taking the brunt of Inari’s wrath when we get back. She’s unhappy that one of her beads fell into a foreign world.”

“I’ve kept it safe!” Syre protested. Kikia added,

“By annoying the breath out of me. Come. We’ll meet up with the King in the dining hall. I’m sure he wants to know what is happening in his palace now.”

The three went back downstairs, Kikia fetched her family and the group sat down in the mirrored dining room, waiting for the King to get there. Syre asked while they waited, “Is there really a festival going on tomorrow?”

“That’s why they are here.” Kikia replied and motioned to her family. “You popped up just in time. I’m sure the King will be happy to have you.”

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Kikia liked Tyberius. He was serious and down to earth while his wife was a bubbly mess. They complimented each other well. The next day, the group went to the palace gates for the parade and after, Syre and Tyberius left, disappearing for good, back to whatever world they had come from. Kikia secretly hoped they would pop back someday, and it was likely to happen.

#OC short story #short story #Shades of the Black Rose #kikia #devon #syre #starteller794 #stream of distracted thought #the-lady-saron

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