"Are you sure you're ok?" Link asked me again as we headed towards Rito Village, a soft wind blowing past us.
"For the fourth time this morning, I'm fine Link." I replied, growing slightly annoyed at his pestering, although a part of me deep down actually enjoyed how much he cared.
Last night once we got back to camp, not much had happened. Link had cleaned and bandaged my wounds as well as taped up my ankle. After I fell asleep. In the morning, I worked on cleaning the blood out of my jacket and glove while Link made breakfast. Once my outfit was clean, Link and I set out for Rito Village, birdsong filling the air.
Link hadn't asked me what happened, patiently waiting until we joined up with Falnor and Revali. Although he had insisted on checking my arm and rebandaging it, asking me several times if it hurt or if I was feeling ok. Honestly the wrist didn't bother me much. My ankle also felt better, the tape offering it support as I put weight on it. My shoulders were sore and the left side of my torso hurt from where the leviathan's bone hit me. I had a giant bruise there, but nothing was broken. However I decided to not tell Link about that. Instead I rubbed some healing ointment on it that I had made. It instantly soothed the dull sting, the healing effects already working.
Reaching Rito Village, we climbed up the stairs and made our way to Falnor's cottage. Both Rito's were already present: Falnor was carving a bow while Revali was sorting arrows. I walked inside, both Rito shifting their heads up to look at me.
I put my hands on my hips and said, "I guess it's time for me to explain."
I felt everyone's eyes on me and then Falnor replied, "Go on, Zelda. Revali told me a little about what happened. He mentioned the Hinox. Had Azo send out some warriors to take care of it this morning."
"Hinox?" Link repeated. I felt his eyes boring into the back of my skull. I bit my lip and gave a nervous laugh.
Quickly I explained to Link that Revali and I had been training at Warbler's Nest and while there we had been attacked by a band of bokoblins led by a moblin. "I ended up falling down the back of Warbler's Nest and stumbled upon a Hinox… who was not pleased to see me at all."
"You fought it?" Link asked, his eyes intently focused on me.
"She blinded it." Revali answered. "And in the process was thrown off the platform and into the Great Rift."
There was a moment of silence after this, both Link and Falnor stared at me with wide, stunned eyes. "You fell into the Rift?" Master Falnor suddenly exclaimed, "How… How are you here?"
I pointed to Revali. "He caught me."
Falnor turned to Revali. "Quick thinking on your part. You must have caught her before she fell too far into the pit."
Revali shook his head. "No. Zelda and I should never have made it out of that place. I still don't know how we did. All I know is that… Zelda… she gave me some kind of power to control the wind."
Now all eyes were back on me. I looked at Revali. "I gave you the Power of Air." I expounded. "You see, the Goddess herself has tasked me with finding four champions and once the right champions has been found, I must give them each a power. You are the champion that was swift like the wind, hence you received the Power of Air. Urbosa, she was the champion that was bold like thunder. I gave her the Power of Lightning. You have this power now because you are the champion Hylia chose to combat Calamity Ganon."
Everyone mulled this over for several long minutes. Finally, "Well I guess I never had any choice then if Hylia herself decided." Revali said in an undertone. He rose and walked over to me, his head held high. Our eyes met, his amber against my green. "But I am honored to be Rito Champion."
He placed a feathered hand on my bicep and gave a soft smile. I smiled back. "Thank you Revali."
From here, Revali's demeanor changed. He took his hand off me and placed it to his chest, his smile turning to a grin. "But of course. Who else would be worthy to bear the title 'Rito Champion' besides me? It makes perfect sense why Hylia chose me."
I sighed, but a smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "I'm glad that this is settled." Came Falnor's voice. "And I see why you were asking for someone swift like the wind. Because that is the description Hylia gave." Falnor shook his head, and then his eyes fell upon me, sympathy in them. "So young to have such a heavy burden. All of you." His eyes flitted from me, to Link, to Revali. "Although I am old, I will do whatever I can to assist."
I beamed at Falnor, appreciative of his words. Walking over to him, I stretched my arms out, his wings wrapping around me. We gave each other a big hug, his wings digging into my side. I winced in pain, letting out a little wheeze.
"You alright Zelda?" Falnor asked as we hugged.
"Just a little banged up from yesterday." I whispered back. "I should be fine after a day or two. I used my healing ointment."
"Ah yes." Falnor pulled back, grinning, "That stuff does work wonders. I may need to get some more from you."
"Of course." I nodded, happy to help. It appeared when I returned to the castle, I would be concocting lots of salves, potions, and ointments for the coming war.
I pulled back, clutching my side as I did so. Noticing, Revali said, "That's where the dragon's bone hit you, isn't it? Bet you have a nasty bruise."
I closed my eyes at this and let out a long sigh. Then, right on cue, "Dragon bone?"
I turned to Link, giving him my biggest smile, "Nothing to worry about, Link. You know, now that I think of it, Azo said he wanted me to talk to some of the Rito scholars. Revali, why don't you show me where they are."
Revali gave me a quick leer, but then he rolled his eyes and beckoned me to follow him. I quickly followed before Link could interrogate me further. "Why don't you hang out here with Falnor? Or even your friends? I'll be back in a little bit and I promise I won't leave the village."
Then I turned away and quickly followed Revali down the staircase.
"Are you sure we can be up here?" I asked Revali as we sat along the pier at the top of Rito Village, the Elder's hut across from us.
"Elder Kallo doesn't mind. As long as we're not too loud." Revali assured, taking a bite of his sandwich. I continued to eat mine as well, content filling my stomach as my hunger was staved off. After we had finished with the scholars, who were fascinated and impressed by my arrows, we decided to get something to eat. Revali had gotten us both sandwiches from the local market and then flown us up to the top of Rito Village to eat them.
I stared out at Hyrule, enjoying the view. It was so beautiful up here, all of Hyrule displayed before me. There was a slight breeze, making my cheeks and nose red from the chill. I wondered what Link was doing right now, curious if he was with his Rito friends. We would likely spend a day or two in Rito Village so I could heal up, but then I wanted to head into the Hebra region.
Revali and I finished our food and then we sat in silence. I had to wonder how Revali was feeling after receiving these strange powers. Urbosa had seemed to take it in stride, but not everyone had the same disposition as her. He appeared unphased but perhaps below the surface there was something more.
"Are you ok… with everything?" I asked, glancing at Revali.
Revali contemplated my question for a moment, then "Being the Rito Champion never bothered me. Just another title and another position is all that was. Then you gave me this power and I do not know much about it." Revali turned to look at me, his eyes intent. "But I will master this power just as I have mastered flight and archery. And honestly, when I used this power back in the Rift, it felt like I was destined to have it."
I nodded as Revali spoke, finding that this was the first time since we met that his statements were completely sincere and devoid of his normal condescending and superior tone. "I will do whatever I can to help." I offered.
Revali gave me a look, "I think you have enough to deal with on your own. Besides, this should be nothing for me."
And there it was again. I smirked. "You'll have plenty of time to master it. I still have a long way to go on my journey."
"You're off to see the Gorons next?"
"Correct. But before Link and I leave, I think we'll head up into the Hebra region for awhile; take a small break before the next excursion."
"Makes sense. Hebra is beautiful. You'll find pockets of air currents throughout, so it's actually a decent place to train. Quiet too."
"Link said he'd teach me how to shield surf." I grinned.
Revali rolled his eyes, "Hylians… I will never understand them."
I laughed and then stood up, gazing out at Hyrule.
He shrugged, "It takes you Hylians forever to get anywhere."
"Compared with flying, yeah it does." Once Revali and I had finished gazing out at the land, he flew me down to the base of Rito Village. It was getting later in the day, and I was feeling my injuries now more than ever. So I decided to head back to camp early.
Reaching camp, I found it was empty. Link was probably training or with his friends, perhaps both. I smiled, happy he was able to enjoy his time here. I'm sure while he was in Gerudo Town, he was quite bored.
Seeing as I had some spare time for once, I sat down next to our tent, grabbing my bags before I did so. From here I shuffled around inside them, pulling out some items I'd been tinkering with. I grabbed the Sheikah Slate as well, opening up a new entry to take notes. Reaching inside my bag again to pull more items out, my hand closed around something hard and oblong. I frowned, not recalling what it was. As I pulled it out, I found I was holding a yellow and orange pod with a rough surface and several grooves that converged at the ends. I stared at it a moment before realization hit.
It was from the weird tree I had found in the Faron region. I had forgotten about it until now, but now that it was before me, curiosity consumed me. I spun the pod in my hands several times, trying to figure out how I wanted to open it. I knew Link had some knives with him, but I wasn't about to go digging through his belongings. Placing it on the ground, I slid my fingers through my brass knuckles and then slammed my fist into the strange pod. It snapped open, revealing slimy, white fruits all clumped together.
I quickly cleaned my brass knuckles off and began to jot notes into the Slate. Once more I scanned the pod and it's fruits using the Sheikah Slate just to verify it really was safe for consumption. As the Slate focused on the creamy white fruits, to my delight, more information popped up. Greedily I read it.
I arched an eyebrow as I read it. It didn't provide much new information, but I did discover people from long ago would roast the dark bean inside the creamy fruits. Taking my gloves off, I rolled up my sleeves, happy to get to work.
"I should probably be heading back." Link said to his friends as he sheathed his blade. After Zelda had left him this morning at Falnor's cottage, he had gone to the Flight Range to meet up with Tath and Nisi.
They had spent the afternoon training, going between, swords, bows, axes, and spears. Link was pleased to see his axe and spear skills were still up to par, even if it had been a year since he had used either. His archery was probably his weakest skill of the four, yet he managed to keep up with Tath and Nisi, hitting most of his targets after he had gotten used to the updrafts in the Flight Range.
The more he worked with a bow, the more appreciation he had for those who had mastered the skill, such as Falnor and Zelda. He supposed he even respected Revali's skill… just not his attitude. Although it appeared Zelda and Revali were becoming rather chummy. A part of him had seen them hitting off, so he wasn't upset about it. In fact he was happy Zelda had another friend.
"You sure?" Tath asked, sheathing his sword as well. "Hyss said he'd try to stop by around dusk. If he's coming, he should be here soon."
Link looked up at the darkening sky. Although he had really enjoyed seeing his friends again and spending time with them, he was still here on duty. He couldn't leave Zelda alone for along, although she probably was still with Revali… yet after the events that had transpired yesterday he didn't really find much comfort in that thought.
Zelda had a knack for finding danger.
Link shook his head. "I should find Zelda."
"Don't worry about her so much, Link." Nisi interjected. "She seems like a capable girl."
Link sighed, "She is. But her confidence can get her into trouble sometimes."
"Sounds like Revali." Tath added. "I remember one time he got himself in quite the predicament. Nisi and I had to save his feathery hide. To this day he demands he had things under control."
"Yep, that birdbrain." Nisi shook her head.
"Zelda's not like that though." Link explained. "She feels confident in her abilities, so she does at times dive into things headfirst without realizing all the consequences. But if things go badly, she feels terrible about it after."
"Wish she could teach Revali a thing or two about that." Nisi replied. The pretty blue-feathered Rito shook her head upon thinking about her fellow comrade. "His heart is in the right place though."
"He could still tone it down a bit." Tath said.
"All we can hope is the Princess rubs off on him. They have been hanging out a bit recently." Nisi replied.
"Let's hope she rubs off on him and not the other way around." Link mumbled, not wanting Zelda to go back to hating him.
Nisi and Tath laughed, knowing full well the long rivalry that existed between Revali and Link. Although Link had always been more reserved, Revali was not. Any chance he got, Revali would challenge Link, the two competing with everything they had.
"Speaking of the Princess…" Nisis started, her dark eyes falling on Link, "What's going on between the two of you?"
Link arched an eyebrow, confused by the question. "I'm her knight." He replied.
Nisis sighed, but it was Tath who spoke next. "Yes, but is there anything more between the two of you?" Link widened his eyes, understanding what they were getting at. "It's just, Nisi and I couldn't help but notice you seem very comfortable around her. And well, you talk very fondly of her."
Link blinked several times. He hadn't realized he was so open with his feelings. Then again, perhaps Nisi and Tath were able to pick on more subtle cues since they had known him since he was a kid. "Zelda and I are just friends." He replied, ignoring the feeling in his chest. Link then looked between the two Rito, "What about the two of you?"
The two Rito looked taken aback at his question. "The t-two of u-us?" Nisi stuttered.
"We're friends, Link." Tath added.
Link stared at the two Rito, not sure why they were so flustered all of a sudden. It was then he realized what he had said. A smirk grew on his face, "I meant if you two were seeing anyone, but I think you answered that question."
If Ritos could blush, Link was sure his two friends would be right now. "Right, we knew that." Nisi laughed nervously, casting a sideways glance at Tath. Link smiled, happy for his two friends. They complemented each other well.
"Anyways, we should probably get going." Tath said, trying to recover. "It looks like Hyss won't make it, we should probably head back to Rito Village."
Link nodded. "Sounds good. Not sure if I'll make it to training tomorrow, but I'll make sure to see you guys again before I leave."
Tath and Nisi smiled at Link. Then with a powerful flick of her wings, Nisi was off, high in the sky in only a few seconds. "Would you like a ride?" Tath offered.
Link shook his head. "Nah, I don't mind walking back. It will be a nice cooldown after today's training."
"Sounds like something you'd say." Tath shook his head, looking up into the sky.
The black and yellow Rito seemed lost in thought, prompting Link to ask, "Is something on your mind?"
Tath sighed, his yellow eyes finding Link. He shuffled his feet awkwardly and then muttered, "It's about Nisi."
Link furrowed his eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"
Tath shook his head. "No… I just… I wish I had the courage to tell her how I feel."
"Oh." Link said, uncertainty rising in him. He wasn't entirely sure what to tell his friend. Especially since he couldn't even begin to express his feelings towards Zelda.
"Sorry." Tath said, giving a nervous laugh. "Shouldn't have thrown that on you."
Link shook his head, "It's alright. I guess I just don't really have any good advice for you. You and Nisi have been friends for a long time, but it always did seem like there was something more between the two of you."
"Yeah. Perhaps I just need to tell her." Tath sounded uncertain.
Link studied his friend. Tath was normally very composed, a well trained warrior. He was more expressive than Link, his emotions were just diluted down rather than being completely hidden. So it was odd seeing him so unsettled. But then he recalled Nisi's reaction to his question earlier. They both were awkward and flustered.
"Tath," Link started, hoping his words would offer some solace to his friend. "I think Nisi may feel similarly. Both of you are scared to take that next step. I can't tell you if you should do it or not, that's up to you. But maybe ask yourself if you don't do it, are you ok with never finding out?"
Tath contemplated Link's words for a moment. Then he looked at his friend with a fond look. "Sometimes you surprise me with your insightfulness, Link. I appreciate your words. They do help." Tath gave a brief nod of his head and then opened his wings, preparing to take off. Just before he did so, he said to Link, "Perhaps you should ask yourself that question."
Link walked across the bridge, his belly growling with hunger. All the way home he had been thinking about what he should cook for dinner, the thoughts tantalizing.
As he took several steps onto the island, he stopped dead in his tracks as the campsite came into view. He stared at the sight before him, not sure if he should feel dread or unease. There before him was Zelda knelt beside the fire, cooking something. He thought back to the one time she had cooked for them and he grimaced. Zelda was talented at many things, but cooking was not one of them.
Noticing his presence, Zelda lifted her head up and smiled at Link. "You're back! Were you training?"
Link nodded and walked over to the fire, his eyes falling on the frying pan. "You're cooking?" He asked hesitantly, frowning at the odd crumble black substance in the frying pan. She was either literally cooking dirt or had burnt something so bad it looked like charcoal.
"No." Zelda replied to his relief. "It's an experiment." Her eyes were fixed on the pan's content and there was a gleam to her eyes.
Link smiled; she was so passionate when it came to science. He liked seeing that glimmer in her eyes. "And what are you inventing now?" Link asked, curious.
Zelda looked up at him, a devious smile on her face. "It's a secret."
Link arched an eyebrow, a smirk coming to his face. "Is that so?"
Zelda nodded. "Yep." She then took the frying pan off the fire. "I should be done with the fire, if you want to use it."
Link nodded, grabbing his saddle bags to pull out ingredients for tonight's meal. While he did this, Zelda quickly emptied the frying pan and washed it off in the pound next to their campsite, the pan sizzling as it hit the water. Once this was finished, Zelda returned the pan to Link and began to chop several vegetables, which was the only task Link trusted her with when it came to cooking.
"How did training go? Were your friends there?" Zelda asked as the two prepped ingredients.
"Nisi and Tath where there." Link answered, "It was really nice to train with them again."
"I'm glad." Zelda smiled, her eyes focused on the task before her.
"How was your day?" Link asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "Are you feeling ok?" He knew the question annoyed her, but after the dragon bone comment from this morning, he had been worried. Zelda was good at putting on a tough face and gritting through whatever it was that plagued her.
"It was good." Zelda answered cordially. "I talked to several scholars today about how to make the coatings for the arrows. They were pretty impressed actually." A blush came to Zelda's face as well as a shy smile. "After that, I talked with Revali for awhile, but eventually headed back to camp…" She paused, on the verge of saying something. Link waited intently as the words escaped her mouth. "I am kind of sore from yesterday. So it was nice to have an afternoon to rest and experiment a little."
Link nodded, trying to keep his worry at bay, "If you're hurting, we can get some medicine." He offered.
Zelda stopped chopping her vegetables to look up at Link. Link paused, meeting Zelda's inquisitive eyes with a questioning look. "What?" He asked, bemused.
"Do you really think I didn't bring medicine with me to treat these kinds of injuries?" Zelda asked, sounding remotely offended.
Link blinked several times, "Well no… I guess I'm just used to always having to go and buy these types of things."
Zelda shook her head. "You should at least carry medicine around with you! You're a knight!"
Link scratched the back of his head and gave a little chuckle. "That's true."
Zelda sighed, turning back to her vegetables. "I'll give you some of the ointment I made. It works better than most healing medicine's you'll find. But use it sparingly." She warned, "It's a hassle to make and the ingredients are a pain to get."
Link's eyes fell on the Princess once more, "Got it." He replied. "The vegetables should be chopped enough. Put them in the pot and I'll start cooking them."
"Sounds good." Zelda agreed.
Link quickly began to cook that evening's dinner, and after a short wait, Link and Zelda were sitting around the campfire, bowls of warm stew simmering in their hands.
"I was thinking we could head up to Mount Hebra tomorrow." Zelda said in between bites. "Now that we've found the Rito Champion and talked to the Elder, we're done here."
Link swallowed the bite he had been chewing. "Shouldn't you rest a little longer?"
"I should be fine." Zelda replied. "The ointment I use really does help heal injuries faster. Besides, I didn't have many injuries to begin with. A few bruises and some puncture wounds from Revali's talons."
Link stared at Zelda, inspecting her. She appeared to be fine, and the cuts on her wrist weren't that bad. They certainly wouldn't hinder her. "All right. We can head up to Mount Hebra tomorrow. There's a few good places for shield surfing. We'll start small and at the end we can surf down the mountain."
Zelda's eyes went wide. "The mountain?"
"Don't worry. It's not all the way down." Link reassured, although Zelda still looked skeptical.
The ate the rest of their dinner in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Once finished, Zelda continued to work on her experiment. Link occasionally glanced at her from his peripheral, intrigued as to what she was working on so intently. He kept himself busy by polishing his sword and sheath, only satisfied with they both were glistening in the firelight.
It wasn't much longer and Zelda began to put away her experiment. She had a satisfied look on her face. "I'm going to head in, Link." She said, her hands on her hips. "Goodnight."
Link gave a slight nod, "Goodnight, Zelda."
She disappeared inside the tent, leaving Link alone. It was a peaceful night, the wind had died down from early. There were splotches of clouds in the sky, revealing patches of stars here and there. Link sat back, craning his head to look up at the nighttime sky.
The had found the Rito Champion. He knew Zelda was relieved by this; Hylia's request to find these champions had put extra stress on Zelda, whether she realized it or not. Now there were two more to go. He hoped they would be as easy to find as Urbosa and Revali, even though Hylia hadn't given much information about the champions. From what he remembered, the Goron champion was strong like the mountain. Zelda had said she was going to ask her Sensei, Daruk, to be the Goron Champion, and from what he had heard about the renowned Goron, he was certainly strong. He feared the Zora Champion would pose more of a problem… Serene like water. That wasn't the best clue as the Zora clan was a serene race in general.
Link sighed; there was nothing to do about it at the moment. For now they should focus on getting to Goron City. The Woodland region was a nice area to travel through, so they likely wouldn't run into any issues. Once they reached Eldin however it would be slow going in the rocky terrain and extreme heat.
It was then that an idea came to Link. Since they would be passing through the Woodland region, there was a small path, rarely used, that led to the Lost Woods. If one could manage to navigate through the Lost Woods, they would enter Korok Forest and find the ancient and wise Deku Tree. Link had made his way through the Lost Woods once before, a strange voice leading him through it. Once inside Korok Forest he had spoken with the Deku Tree, who had instructed him to pull the Master Sword from its rocky tomb.
The Deku Tree had been kind to Link, but there was an overwhelming aura surrounding the Deku Tree that radiated knowledge and an ancientness beyond Hylain comprehension. Perhaps the Deku Tree would be able to give Zelda some advice. He knew she was still bothered by the fact her powers had not manifested yet. The Deku Tree may be able to help her. Additionally, the Deku Tree might have knowledge on Calamity Ganon and how to defeat it.
It would definitely be worth stopping there. And perhaps the Deku Tree could give him some more advice on the Master Sword. When he first awoke it from its slumber, the Sword had shown with a soft bluish light. The Deku Tree said the Master Sword would grow in power, however Link didn't really see any difference in the Sword's power. It was a sturdy and mighty blade, however beyond that Link hadn't seen how it was different from any other well crafted sword. If there really was more power within the Sword, he would need to figure out how to use it before Calamity Ganon returned.
Link sighed and ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. He decided that was enough to contemplate for one night. He turned towards the tent, ready to put his thoughts to rest.