Chapter Text
A wooden sword lands in the grass at Link's boots.
He looks up from his lunch to see Urbosa staring down at him. She's loosely holding a matching sword, her other hand on her hip. "Zelda believes you are coming with us to the remains Hyrule Castle. I think it best that I allow you to prove your skill in combat first. Find your shield and meet me when you are ready."
She turns and strides away. Divine Beast Naboris, stationed on the other side of the clearing around Outskirt Stable, slowly turns its immense head to watch her go, rumbling the earth from the motion.
Link's first thought is that this is a threat, but as he picks up the given sword, he decides that if Urbosa's intention is intimidation, she would be all-too happy to stick to her legendary scimitar. Using wooden training weapons is a gesture of good faith, though someone like Urbosa is never actually unarmed.
"Good luck," Purah says, pushing the vegetables on her plate around with her fork. "You'll need it."
Link straps the bronze shield that Zelda had given him to his arm and follows Urbosa.
Urbosa stops at a patch of grass, seemingly completely arbitrary other than a small smattering of wilting wildflowers, and raises her sword. "If you wish to join us in the heart of danger," she announces, "You must prove you are no liability to yourself or to others. Someone with no sense for battle is a burden only; if you fail this trial, you shall join the Sheikah on their journey to Hateno. Understood?"
Link nods. He adjusts his grip on the handle of the wooden sword, getting an understanding of its weight and balance. He raises his shield. He has no love for tests, but this one is just simple combat. He can handle this.
Daruk wanders over and sits down to watch. Mipha, already only a few metres away cleaning the last of the cookware, shuffles closer to the Goron, dragging the soapy bucket of water with her.
"I believe in you, Link," Daruk cheers. "Show us what you're made of!"
"The winner will be the first to strike the other thrice," Urbosa says. "Let us begin."
She lunges forward immediately, and Link sidesteps, raising his shield to protect his core. She follows up with a twirl aimed for his head, blocked by his sword.
They part, circling each other. Urbosa holds her sword low, Link lifts his above his head. Both guarding, watching for their opponent's next move.
"Not bad," Urbosa comments, "Reacting quickly and without panic is one of the most necessary skills. A good warrior is ready for anything and remains aware of her surroundings at all times."
Link is the first to act, quickly stepping closer and swinging his sword down diagonally, aiming for her abdomen. Urbosa easily deflects the strike with her shield and taps him on the head with her sword.
"A point to me," she says, stepping away again. "That was a foolish risk."
The others have all wandered closer to spectate. Zelda stands next to Mipha, and the three Sheikah are grouped together, Paya flashing Link an awkward smile when he glances to her. Revali stands further back, wings crossed and looking unimpressed.
Link shakes his head and raises his sword and shield once more. Urbosa, being much taller than him, has a strong reach advantage. He has to be wary of how much closer he needs to be in order to actually connect.
But he has a whole life of experience in fighting people who are much larger. Move quickly, and remain on the defensive until you are ready to strike.
Shield raised high, sword low to cover his lower body, he steps closer. Urbosa promptly swings and he ducks, sending the point of his sword up. She slams her shield against the blade to divert it, swinging her sword back around. Link catches the blow with his own sword and they separate again.
They continue to circle. Purah yawns, leaning against Symin.
Urbosa jerks her sword above her head, and Link flinches away, sword swinging up to meet empty air. She lowers her weapon with a smirk.
A moment later, she charges forward, sword held high once again. Link blocks with his shield above his head, pushing upwards as he performs a quick spin to strike his blade against her hip. She slams him with her shield a moment later, but the point is made.
Daruk applauds loudly.
"Good work," Urbosa says, "One point each."
Link rubs at his shoulder where her shield had connected, rolling the joint. That is going to make quite a bruise.
It takes a while for either of them to do anything. They take a step forward, back, make a feint, but no real attempts are made to strike. A pair of birds dart past, chasing insects in the warm afternoon.
Finally, Urbosa steps forward, swinging for his head. He raises his shield high to block, but rather than knocking against her sword, it connects with her gleaming, outstretched shield. She rams her weight against his, forcing him back, and her sword is suddenly against his neck.
"And another point to me."
One more mistake and Link loses. He can't afford to lose. This test seems stupid and contrived, what Guardian even has a sword? They certainly don't move with the fluidity of a trained Gerudo warrior. Being sent away from the group over a fight with sticks just seems unfair.
He takes a deep breath, brushing his hair from his face.
Link is not used to fighting with a shield on one arm, but he's been picking up on Urbosa's stances by watching. Her defence is usually quite loose, ready to shift to block rather than relying on covering all her vitals at all times. He knows he's not using his own shield properly. His single point was scored when he did manage to use both sword and shield in tandem, but that was more by instinct than strategy.
Certainly not repeatable, against a warrior as learned as the Gerudo Champion.
Urbosa watches him carefully. She lunges forward, swinging her sword low for his legs. He twists and blocks with his own, dodging away when she makes an uppercut with her shield. She follows with a swift swipe to his wrist, narrowly missing.
He sees a flash of blue in the corner of his vision and reflexively reels back, narrowly dodging a jet of water blasting past where he had just been standing.
He whips around to see Mipha, standing with expression focused and hands still raised.
What? Why had she-- did she think…?
"Impressive," Urbosa says, lowering her water-soaked shield. "…Consider me convinced."
Link's shock fades into pure confusion, heartbeat still hammering. Urbosa's pleased smile offers no explanation, so he turns to the other Champions.
Mipha shrugs. "It was a cheap shot, but it wasn't my idea. Urbosa asked me to."
"And the real test. A water shot from Mipha is pretty comparable to a Guardian's blast, though far less lethal. I wanted to know if they would be able to catch you while you're distracted. I think this was proof enough you can handle yourself."
"Good job, Link!" Zelda praises.
Daruk picks Link up, holding him above his head and spinning, "I knew you had it in you, little buddy!"
He sets him down again, holding him steady with one hand so that Link doesn't fall over from disorientation. "Oh, sorry. Got a bit excited there."
Link laughs, signing, 'no problem.'. When he looks up, he makes direct eye contact with Revali.
The strange expression on the Rito's face is immediately covered by a scowl at being acknowledged. Revali says nothing and walks away.
"…I think I'm just going to go with Purah," Paya decides, fiddling with her hair. "I am not doing that."
"Aww," Purah says, "I wanted to throw a surprise apple at you. Next time, I suppose. I'll save it for when you least expect it."
The group decide to remain at Outskirt Stable for the night. They split up to fulfil their own interests. Zelda sits and talks with the other travellers. Daruk rolls off to look for a specific type of rock. Link won't be missed for a short while.
He writes a quick note about going foraging, leaving it on one of the seats of the carriage, and slinks away.
Now seems like a great time to check on how the Stable Association has been going. He put years of his life into getting the Association running, he can't stand the idea of whoever has been put in charge of the project neglecting it and letting it run into the ground.
He circles around a rock outcropping, disappearing into a copse of trees to quickly change. There's little point in struggling into a whole uniform, so all he bothers with is a mask and the necessary cards.
An invocation, and then Marin replaces Link.
They roll their shoulders and do a couple stretches to re-acclimate to the subtly different proportions and clothes. Marin is slightly taller, with arms just the tiniest bit longer and barely smaller hands. The kind of small differences that are easy to forget until they come back to bite. (Mostly by Link hitting their head on low branches.)
Link doesn't know nor care how the disguise magic works, but they sure are grateful that it's quick to use. They walk leisurely back to the faded road, hoping that no one pays any mind to the fact that Marin is travelling without a bag.
They turn the bend and immediately see that one of the travellers that Zelda is conversing with is a Yiga. Link should probably know by now that anyone assertive enough to approach the Princess is probably a spy. The other Yiga completely ignores Link as they walk up to the counter. Someone's set targets up, out in the field where Link and Urbosa had duelled.
"Oh, hello miss Marin!" The Stablemaster says. "Welcome back to Outskirt Stable. Are you here to take Cloud out again? She's a very strong horse, but I think you've been pushing her a bit hard recently."
Ah. Link might have been a little irresponsible with their quick journeys across the kingdom since finding the horse. But Cloud never really seemed all that tired. "No, uh -- thank you. I'm planning on going right back to-- Lake Hylia." A fairly remote but not distant, horse-unfriendly (thanks to the steep slopes around it) location off the top of their head. That'll where Marin's imaginary family lives, from now on. "If you could send Cloud on to Riverside, that would be great. I'm actually here for a review."
The Stablemaster suddenly looks nervous, but Link keeps talking. "The Stable Association appointed a new representative, and I wanted to know if they've visited recently."
The worry on the Stablemaster's face clears away (which really makes Link curious, but there's probably no way to dig for information without making Marin unpopular). "Ah yes, Todd. He came by a couple of days ago. Seemed nice."
Link has no idea who Todd could be, but if he's good at his job, it won't ever matter. "No complaints or pointers?"
"None at all. He checked the Pony Points and ordered some more saddles for us. Oh, I forgot to tell him, I was thinking the place could use some art to liven things up a bit. There's not too many flowers around anymore, so a bright painting would be wonderful over winter."
"…I'll look into it." Link turns away from the counter, waving goodbye. "I'll be on my way now, please contact me if anything changes."
"Will do! Thanks for stopping by."
With that done, Link's worries are mostly alleviated. They can stop thinking about the Association for a few weeks and things probably won't go horribly wrong without them.
There's not much reason to stick --
"Marin!" The sound of Revali's raised voice almost has Link sprinting away, but they catch themself before their reflexes do something so blatantly stupid.
Revali likes Marin. He is not going to shoot them with arrows. They turn around with a smile. "Revali! Hi!"
The Rito Warrior walks up, expression bright. Link had already gotten used to his grouch, it's weird to see it gone. His eyes look so much bigger when he's not grimacing at their mere presence. "Are you doing anything?"
"Just work stuff, but I'm done for now-"
Revali grabs their hand. "Come with me," he says, and starts dragging them away from the Stable's buildings. "This is perfect timing."
"W-what are we doing?" Link asks, trying desperately to keep any hint of nervousness out of their voice. Their hand is completely enveloped within Revali's wingtips, which are right up against the invisible card around their wrist. Just one wrong move and Revali will touch it. And then have questions.
"I am going to show you something," Revali announces. He releases Link's hand and takes a few steps further away, spreading his wings with quite a bit of flair.
The wind picks up around them, rustling the grass, lifting fallen leaves into the air. Revali crouches, raising his wings. The swirling gale turns, pushing upwards with sudden immense force.
Link's hair gets in their eyes, and then Revali is gone. Faster than Link's ever seen something move, he's a mere dot in the sky, circling around overhead.
"Well, it seems like someone's happy," Urbosa laughs. She turns her gaze to look down at Link. "I take it that you're the Marin that he's been talking about."
"Uh, Yes! Revali has been… talking about me?" Link feels a bit flustered. What could Revali possibly be saying about them to Urbosa? Hopefully nothing embarrassing. Has Link, as Marin, done anything embarrassing in front of Revali yet?
Urbosa smiles knowingly and says nothing. She turns her attention back to the sky and Link follows her gaze.
Revali is swooping down at an incredible speed, bow clasped in his talons. In an instant, the tool is transferred to his wingtips, and arrows drawn. Three arrows thud perfectly into three of the targets across the field. Then the bow is back in his talons.
He soars around, and a second later, the targets jolt as they are struck again, from the opposite side.
"He's feeling very showy," Urbosa mutters.
After a minute or so, Revali runs out of arrows and plummets back to the ground, snapping his wings out to halt his momentum at the last moment. He touches down gently, folding his wings behind him.
"That was incredible!" Link says, bouncing onto their toes to get closer to Revali's eye level. "That was your legendary Gale, right? That you used to take off?"
"Indeed it was," Revali puffs his chest out proudly. "I've been waiting far too long to use it."
"It was even more impressive than last time."
The Rito Champion deflates somewhat. "I forgot you saw that," he says under his breath. Louder, "I'm back to top form now. And didn't miss a shot. I did tell you my aerial archery is superior to anything I can do from the ground."
Link nods along, mind returning against their will to the events of that night.
Whoops, I missed.
Scum of the earth, I think.
"I'll-- get the arrows," they say.
Revali says something in response, but they're not looking or listening, already crossing the field to the array of targets.
The nearest one has two arrows driven pretty deeply into it. Deeper than the arrow into their thigh. Link grabs one by the shaft and yank it out. It comes free cleanly. The shining arrowhead is still attached, even though the target offers far more resistance than flesh.
It's very finely crafted. This thing is not breaking apart anytime soon.
Link pulls out the other arrow, and it doesn't break either. They're both very similar to the one that had shot Link, but -- the fletching is different.
These have green feathers. The ones on that arrow had been red, and it wasn't just because of the blood. Revali has colour coded arrows, for ease of tormenting his enemies. He makes good ones for training and probably hunting… and specially-made terrible arrows in order to be as terrible as possible to remove.
It's… very petty.
But, Link has to begrudgingly accept that it's also pretty clever. Is that Revali's own idea, or was every archer like this a century ago? Back when everyone's main concern was other people, rather than monsters?
They collect less than a third of the arrows; in the time that they had been thinking, Revali had picked up the rest.
"…Are you alright?" Revali asks, cautiously and clearly uncomfortable about it. Like he'd rather be doing anything else, but feels obligated to say something.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Link waves him off and remembers to smile. "Just thinking about work. I should probably be going, it was great seeing you."
"Wait," Revali says, grabbing their shoulder to stop them from speedwalking away. "We're going to the castle."
Link turns back around. "…Okay?"
"It… it'll be dangerous, but I know you're a good fighter. Would you like to accompany us? If money's a--"
"Ah. I can't. Sorry." Link cannot be two people at once, and they already showed their other identity's commitment to the journey. "I'm going to Necluda. If you end up going that way I'd love to do some more archery practice."
Revali straightens some feathers in his wing absently. After a moment he says, "Do you know someone named Link?"
Ah. "Yeah? He's a stable guard. Why?"
"He said he knew you-" (no, Link did not! The Champions decided that on their own!) "-and I just wanted to hear your side."
"I don't see why he would lie about that, Revali," Link says flatly.
Revali shrugs. "I just prefer to approach things with a bit of caution. I don't like his attitude."
What attitude? "…Well, anyone who signs up to guard stables at night is going to be… uh, different? The pay's not that good for how dangerous it can get." (What is Link saying?) "But he's good at it and that's all I care about! Haha. Not his social skills. It's not like we talk that much!" Is Link saying too much? They're not thinking this through properly.
The Rito Champion gives them a long look. "…If you say so. Travel safely."
"Ok thanks! Bye!" Link practically runs away, not stopping until they're around the bend and out of sight. They lean their forehead against a tree and groan quietly. They have so much trouble reading Revali. Why is it getting harder to say the right things?
Link dispels the disguise, stopping to watch the used cards crumble into embers. He removes his mask. Foraging had just been an excuse, but a wander through the woods sounds like a great way to clear his head.
The next morning, the three Sheikah gather their belongings from where they had been strewn around the Stable and carriage.
Purah shrugs the strange box she carries from her shoulders, letting it hit the grass with a gentle thud.
"Zelda!" she calls. This Princess joins her, crouching far more elegantly than the researcher's squat. Purah smacks her hand against the top of the box.
"This is a data box. If you lose or break it you will feel my wrath, Your Highness." Purah taps one of the glowing dots, causing a little door to pop open. She reaches in and yanks out a sphere on the end of a cable. "You can plug this in to most terminals, but it's more of a backdoor thing and doesn't have the kind of authorisation you're used to… Just connect it to my measuring instruments and it will transfer everything they've got. And then bring it back."
"I understand," Zelda says. "Thank you, Purah. For everything."
"…eh, don't worry about it." Purah stands, gazing off into the distance, scratching her upper lip. "I need to get back to Hateno. Gotta make sure Reede doesn't break into my house."
Symin staggers over, weighed down by an enormous backpack. "Let's… let's go," he gasps. "…Paya?"
"I'm coming!" Paya shouts, tumbling out of the carriage. "Just need to- my horse-"
"Oh," Zelda says, picking up the data box as she stands. "Paya's horse is the only one comfortable towing the carriage."
Paya lingers there, hands clasped.
"…You can take your horse. I do not intend to steal it. We will make do without."
Paya nods and darts away.
"The carriage is a liability, anyway," Urbosa says. "We have little need for it in the field, especially when we have Vah Naboris with us."
A few minutes later, Paya returns leading her horse. Purah makes a beeline towards it and climbs onto its back with great effort. She sits up and waves as they leave.
And with that, a group of nine became six.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Zelda asks, watching as they disappear over a hill.
"Yes." Mipha says softly. "They've lived in this world far longer than we have."
Zelda closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Alright," she says after a minute, "We should keep going."
As Daruk and Zelda determinedly puzzle through dismantling the carriage to fit aboard Vah Naboris, Urbosa makes a demonstration.
A small Guardian, described as a Scout, crawls out from somewhere within the Divine Beast. It scuttles down from Vah Naboris' lowered body and onto the grass.
"Let's ensure we have the same understanding of Guardians." Urbosa makes a small gesture with one hand, and the Scout does a little spin, stepping from side to side as it does so.
"Guardians are fairly agile beings. This model has a sword and shield," the Scout waggles two sticks, manifesting shimmering weapons, "…But our main concern is their beam attacks. Familiarise yourself with its tells."
She walks away to join Daruk and Zelda.
The Scout folds its tools back into its body and swivels its head, focusing its eye away from Link. A red dot appears on a large rock. Steadily, the Scout's eye grows brighter, accompanied by a strange noise.
beeeeeeeep beeeep beeep beep bip tik!
The rock explodes.
Link flinches back, guarding his face with his elbow, but the split second afterimage of the solid line of light feels burned into his eyeballs.
He grimaces and rubs at his eyes. Pieces of hot gravel rain down around where the rock once was.
"You'll need to be a bit less sensitive than that," Revali says.
'Yes I understand.' Link signs, hoping that conveys the agitation he intends, but he can hear Revali quickly walking away, so he's probably not even looking.
The Guardian Scout focuses on another rock, repeating the same windup and shot.
"Do you want to practice blocking?" Mipha offers, "I can do some more water beams. I'm pretty familiar with the way they time their shots. It won't be quite the same, since Guardian lasers have unique properties, but the more practice, the better."
Link can agree with that logic.
By the time that the others have managed to load the pieces of the carriage into Vah Naboris and they're ready to leave, Link is soaking wet, but Mipha is pretty confident about his survival chances.
"Link," Zelda says, gently easing her horse to stop beside him. "Want a ride?"
Oh, right. Vah Naboris won't tolerate him following Urbosa and Mipha onboad. His only option is by horseback or walking.
He jumps up, settling onto the horse's back behind her, with both legs to one side. "Are you sure you can balance like that?" Zelda asks skeptically. "I've found that manner of riding takes a lot of practice."
He nods. If he has trouble he can just hop off. Sitting any closer seems weird.
Zelda clicks her tongue, and the horse starts at a walk. "Vah Naboris and her passengers will go ahead," she explains, "and Daruk will watch our backs. We likely won't encounter anything ourselves today."
Revali is already airborne, circling above at a leisurely pace, nearly matching the giant form of his own Divine Beast above the castle. The morning birdsong is the only thing that Link can hear past the gentle beat of the horse's hooves on the faded path. All is quiet. It's hard to imagine the nest of Malice-infected Guardians that awaits them on such a clear, warm morning.
Daruk rolls up alongside them.
Vah Naboris lets out a low roar and rises to its feet behind them. In only a few massive, thudding strides, it overtakes their small group. Panicked birds erupt from a tree and swarm away, disturbed by the quakes of its movement.
Zelda guides the horse up a gentle slope, and just as they crest over it, Naboris makes a strange noise, and a floating ball of light builds between its two humps.
Link nearly falls off when a massive bolt of lightning strikes in the distance, forking into vivid bursts of electricity and flame.
"There go some bokoblins," Zelda comments. "It almost feels cruel to take them out from so far away, but at the very least it is a quick end."
Naboris glows again, creating that same strange wobbling noise. Thunder strikes a second time. That distant camp of bokoblins has no chance at all.
There's no way that the Calamity would have ever had a chance, either, without seizing control of the Sheikah technology and turning it against the kingdom. No individual could ever be so powerful. How can the Clan possibly hope to destroy all of this? Will a resurrected Calamity be able to repeat the same corruption?
The Ancient Sheikah were such fools to create such power and then give it away.
Zelda, oblivious to his thoughts, pats her horse and praises it for not spooking at the continued bursts of lightning.
They make camp for the night near a set of ruins. From the way Zelda keeps glancing at them forlornly, they're not that old.
There had been one Guardian prowling the crumbled buildings, but Naboris had struck it down long before Link and Zelda had come anywhere close to it. Its body, cracked open from the sheer force of electricity, is still smouldering. The wind keeps shifting, but when it is upwind, the smell is very unpleasant.
Link distracts himself by volunteering for cooking duty. His idea was to go with something pungent enough to drown out the acrid smell of the charred Guardian, so he is working on a curry containing nearly every spice Urbosa has in the collection she keeps aboard Naboris. She had brought them over for him in a big crate, then turned around to disappear back into the Divine Beast.
Link quietly hums as he works. Mipha, who sitting across the fire sharpening her trident, starts tapping her fingers against the weapon to the beat. He looks up, song trailing off.
Mipha gives a small smile. "Don't stop on my account. Music is something to be shared." She must read the continued apprehension Link feels as she quickly amends, "But I'm not going to put pressure on you to do so."
He's quite relieved by that. Actually acknowledging that he was humming with an audience made him lose the tune entirely and he barely remembers what he was doing. What was he doing? He looks down at his hands. He's holding a spatula, a pan of onions in front of him. Right, he's stirring to stop them burning.
The onions brown, and Link quietly watches the others around the camp. Zelda keeps walking up and down Naboris' steps, book and quill in hand as she seems to puzzle over something. Mipha sets a teakettle over the fire then practices a complicated manoeuvre of spear jabs and water magic. Daruk sits contentedly watching the sunset. Revali still isn't back from wherever he'd flown off to.
Urbosa finally exits Vah Naboris, carrying some kind of stringed instrument. She sits by the fire and gently strums to a tune that almost feel familiar. By the time Link tosses the other vegetables into the pot, she has begun to sing. It's in the language of the Gerudo, so Link of course can barely understand a word. It's nice, though.
They make a firm plan of how they will approach the castle town, once Revali has returned from what was apparently an aerial survey. The Champions spend a long time discussing the minutiae of the details, down to the exact route they will take down the ruined streets.
"No, past the bookstore is a death trap," Mipha insists, cutting off Urbosa's analysis of the map Zelda had drawn for them from memory. "The alleyways off Telma street are very sheltered, see? There could be any manner of enemies in there, and neither Naboris nor Medoh would be able be able to detect them properly. We should take the next street over. There is more rubble, yes, but far fewer blind spots."
They debate and argue and strategise well past dusk, barely acknowledging Link when he hands them bowls of food.
"We could have the Divine Beasts attack the blind spots even if there's nothing there. Then there won't be anymore." Daruk suggests, dipping a rock into his serve of curry.
"That would surely knock these walls down," Urbosa comments, tapping her fingernail onto the paper. "All that rubble would be difficult to get past, and we can't be wasting your lifting strength on avoidable matters. Not when half the castle is collapsed and needs digging to get through."
"Well, how about approaching from the east?" Revali suggests. "The flooding didn't seem particularly deep, the path should still be traversable."
"It's a long detour," Mipha says doubtfully. "And it might not be useable for Daruk. I don't want to risk wasting our time."
And the planning continues.
With little else to do, Zelda drifts away from their makeshift table (a wide slab of wood atop some rocks, courtesy of Daruk) to sit next to Link by the fire. "They'll come to a consensus eventually," she promises. "And it'll end up being the best possible plan."
Link is pretty sure that they'll run out of lamp oil long before then.