Chapter Text
One hundred years.
It had been an entire century, if not longer, since Revali’s agonizing failure caused him to lose his life by the hand of the Windblight Ganon who took over his very own Divine Beast.
It was pathetic.
One hundred years had his spirit been trapped on Van Medoh, an ancient machine that he had once piloted before it turned on him.
One hundred years had he been stuck there all alone without anything to do except wait and watch the sun and moon rise and fall over the mountains.
One hundred years ago had the Calamity struck, not only possessing the Divine Beasts who meant to protect and fight for all of Hyrule, but also all of the Guardians who were meant to be on their side.
No one could’ve seen that coming.
The destruction.
The devastation.
Villages and towns alike had been torn apart, with countless people dying painful, terrifying and excruciating deaths.
There was nothing they could have done to stop it and that was the most painful thing about it. It was unbelievably cruel how Revali was forced to watch monsters and corrupted machines tear apart his home and kill his people after he was defeated and sealed in Van Medoh.
He would never forget the screams.
Sometimes if he wasn’t careful, the screams of those souls he had failed to save echoed in his mind.
It was too cruel.
Being able to watch his people rebuild Rito Village wasn’t cruel though. He took pride in watching his fellow Rito doing their damnedest to bring back their home to what it once was. It was a painfully slow process at first, but soon there was a gradual growth.
The village definitely wasn’t quite the large, bustling place that it once was after a hundred years of rebuilding and restoring, but that was fair. Nearly everything had been burned to the ground after all.
Revali also took pride in watching his people live their lives happily despite the past. He watched hatchlings run and play, he watched teens and adults go through their ups and downs, and he watched the soldiers train and fight for their people. He loved watching them all hatch and grow into fine Rito. It brought him such a prideful, wonderful joy he couldn’t possibly describe.
That didn’t keep the tormenting loneliness and solitude at bay, however. It was only him there stuck up in the air, and really there wasn’t much to do aside from waiting, watching, thinking, and remembering. At times he would find himself reliving moments of his life, thinking back to all sorts of events that he had lived through.
He would think about his childhood, about being a hatchling full of hope, full to the brim with the determination to become the best soldier he could be.
He was a hatched prodigy, blessed with natural archery skills that eventually were to be honed into an unbeatable talent. Hylia had also graced him with wings that could cut through the air and send him soaring even at a very young age.
He would recall his teenage years, where his stubborn and rude attitude began to take root. It was then that his innocent determination became dangerous and cold, leading him to fight monsters too far up from his skill level just so he could prove himself, even though he would only be rewarded with severe injuries that became small scars.
The strive, the need, the hunger for being the best there ever was became a crippling obsession and he would destroy his body if it meant that he would be a hero….a legend.
He remembered all the days and nights he broke his body to perfect his incredible ability to create his own updraft.
He was the first, and probably the last, of his kind to achieve such a feat, and yet that hadn’t been good enough for him. He had been so foolish, his own dark insecurities blinding him from taking better care of himself and even from being thoughtful of his treatment of others.
And After a hundred years of being left alone with his thoughts, it was hard not to look back at those moments with utter distaste.
He had told himself the world didn’t deserve an embodiment of perfection like him. But no matter how many times he would try to brainwash himself, the belief of the world not deserving someone as useless and hopeless as him would seep up through his counterfeit confidence.
He would relive the moments he had with the other Champions and the princess...his companions. He would think about how at first he hated the fact that he was not in the spotlight and was rather a mere supporting role and it had affected his attitude for a long time.
Although, much to his dismay, he found himself eventually enjoying his time with them, and becoming close to them. The times they’d spend together had created some of his favorite memories to look back on.
And he would think about Link.
He would think about Link a lot.
~~~
He remembered the day that Princess Zelda had come to the village with a Hylian warrior following close behind her.
The warrior in question’s face was in a constant smile as he looked around the village curiously, politely waving or nodding to Rito as they walked past.
Truthfully, Revali had noticed him and mistook him for some brain-dead puppy hired to follow the princess on her travels for “protection”, and what a poor excuse for a bodyguard he was. How was he supposed to protect royalty with that small body and those tiny little arms?
However, when the Elder called Revali over to his hut to meet the two Hylians so they could explain to him why they came all that way, Revali was hit by the realization that this tiny, little man was given such a major role in this operation that they had spoken of; one planned by the king himself with the goal to defeat Ganon.
This snot-nosed pretty-boy with a dopey smile was going to be in charge of a sword with the ability to seal darkness, while the most skilled archer of all the Rito was left to be just a sidekick?
It was…It was absolutely ludicrous.
He almost declined because of the absurdity before Zelda had said with desperation in her voice, “We must protect the precious life of the land from the Calamity’s grasp at all costs. Hyrule needs you, Revali.”
Wow.
He knew he was going to accept, there was no way he wouldn’t. There was no better way to prove oneself to the world than by saving it, of course. Although, he decided against accepting the offer immediately and told her to wait for his final answer to avoid looking desperate and to get a bit of extra time perfecting his updraft.
Soon, he was to become the Rito champion and pilot to a beast made from ancient Sheikah technology to aid in the defeat of Calamity Ganon.
He would have preferred to be the main hero, of course. Truthfully, he never did stop feeling wronged by that, but in the end, it truly was an honor to at least be a part of the fight.
~~~
After Zelda was successful in convincing a Champion from the different races of Hyrule to gain the cause, she assembled a meetup with them all, considering that they would all be working with each other for a long while. She had set a meeting at an inn in a Central Hyrule town where they would travel to the castle from the next morning together.
After everyone had finally arrived, they went to sit at one of the inn’s tables to eat, drink, and get to know one another before the trek the next day.
Revali perhaps should have made the effort to give a good first impression and acted politely to his future colleagues, but he, of course, didn’t. Instead, he made snide remarks whenever possible and closely observed and judged the other Champions at the table.
Mipha was a shorter Zora girl with electric pink scales who happened to be the princess of the Zora; the eldest child of King Dorephan, no less. She was soft spoken, nearly whispering every time that she spoke. Clearly, she was a soft and gentle soul, yet could take care of herself, as she wielded a trident confidently.
Mipha also had a painfully noticeable, innocent crush on Link, who supposedly was an old friend of hers. She had a bad taste in men then, obviously.
Urbosa was a tall and powerful Gerudo woman who was the chief of Gerudo Town. She carried herself with a strong sense of confidence that was nearly blinding. Apparently, she and Princess Zelda were already close; something about Urbosa being close friends with her mother, and Revali could feel the intense motherly love she had for Zelda radiating off of her.
And Daruk was your typical Goron; large, hearty, and loud. He never refrained from cracking a joke when there was an opening and erupting in a burst of earth-quaking laughter. This annoyed Revali to no end, yet it was apparent that everyone else found this endearing.
There was a certain respect that Revali couldn’t help but have for him, though. King Rhoam had hand-picked Daruk, as he was the most powerful and prized warrior of the Goron. So thus, Revali, also being the most prized warrior of his race, had something in common with the massive halfwit. If that had been the case, he must have been pretty good at fighting.
Still, his repulsion towards Link lingered and it felt like it had grown substantially since he last crossed paths with him. The annoyance with the fact that Revali should have been the one to be the Hero stayed and festered.
What made that Hylian better than him? From what he could tell, nothing. He was just some doofus with a sword that happened to be at the right place at the right time.
What a joke.
Revali had been a bit surprised, however. The Link he had first met was different than the one who was there in front of him then. The one before looked happy and joyful, but now his face was mostly blank with a sort of somberness hiding behind it. Sometimes the corners of his lips would curve up slightly into a small smile, but really that was the only glimmer of emotion he had shown.
The Rito was curious about this. Was Rito Village really that great that it could spark happiness in the bleakest of people?
Whatever. Not like it mattered to him.
It was irritating enough that Link seemed incapable of holding conversations, too. Whenever Revali tried to throw some remark at him, or anyone else really, Link wouldn’t reply or retort, and instead would just nod or shrug or something along those lines.
How utterly rude.
It wasn’t until Revali brought it up that Zelda put her hand to her head and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I should’ve mentioned this sooner.”
Mipha also looked alarmed. “Oh dear, I was planning on explaining that to everyone else, too. I can’t believe I forgot.”
Revali, Urbosa, and Daruk exchanged confused glances as they waited for one of the two girls to explain. Link, however, was looking down at his hands and looked to be ashamed of something.
Finally, Zelda spoke up. “You see, Link is selectively mute.”
Oh. Well, that made sense.
Urbosa and Daruk responded with some “oh”s while Revali rudely asked, “Ugh, couldn’t he be selectively not mute?”
After he grumbled that, from the corner of his eye he noticed Link awkwardly shuffle in his chair.
“No, it doesn’t quite work like that.” Mipha sweetly replied, despite the question being blunt and uncalled for.
Zelda’s face scrunched up at Revali. “Despite the name, he can’t exactly pick and choose when and when not he can talk. It’s not a choice.” She leaned over to Link, who was sitting across from her to grab his hand that was resting on the table. She smiled at him before she added, mostly directing it at Link, “And it isn’t a hindrance to anybody . We just wanted to tell you three so you would know he wasn’t being rude or antisocial or anything of the sort.”
Urbosa looked over to Link, a small, comforting smile on her lips. “That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for telling us.”
Daruk grunted in agreement.
“Link usually uses sign language to talk. Mipha and I are mostly fluent in it,” Zelda said. “And I apologize for asking this of you three, but do you think you could learn just a smidge of sign language? I know we all already have a lot on our plates, but it would just make everything a bit easier.”
Link looked down at his lap while one of his hands went up to rub his chest in a circle. Due to his sorrowful expression, the sign clearly meant sorry .
Daruk reached around the corner of the table to smack Link on the back, who jumped out of his seat and yipped out of surprise.
“Don’t worry, little buddy. I don’t mind learning some signs for you. We’re companions now after all! Besides, it might even come in handy.”
Link looked up at him and smiled the biggest smile he had that night, and nodded.
“It really isn’t any trouble at all.” Urbosa beamed. “And Daruk is right. It could be helpful in the future.”
Everyone turned to Revali to wait for his response and judging by their faces, they all probably expected him to say something else incredibly rude.
In spite of their expectations, he surprised them all by saying, “I already know some sign language anyway. We use it as a form of communication during our hunts to keep quiet.”
This was true, but his vocabulary on sign language wasn’t as extensive as he made it sound. He basically only knew a handful of commands and names of animals from his training.
Revali crossed his wings and shrugged before he continued. “What’s learning a few more signs anyway?”
The Hylian Champion’s face lit up and his lips curled open to show an even bigger, brighter, toothy smile. He and Revali made eye contact and Link directed the grin towards the Rito Champion.
Revali jolted.
Ugh.
After a moment, Link turned to look at Mipha sitting next to him, and they exchanged smiles while Zelda chirped, “Oh, good! I’m so glad you don’t mind. Mipha, Link and I will teach you some signs here and there then.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Daruk bellowed happily.
“How unbelievably irritating,” Revali had thought to himself. “ Now I have to go out of my way for this idiot? Ridiculous.”