Life in Zora's Domain

Chapter 169 - Digging for Clues - Part 1

Summary: Purah and her colleagues continue to analyze the Sheikah Slate recovered from Eventide Island. Hyrule Castle security reports several thefts, which remind Link of something he can't yet put his finger on.

It was a sunny early afternoon at the Royal Ancient Tech Lab, and Purah, Robbie, Lapha, and Midon were just sitting down for a meeting together. They had spent another solid week analyzing the Sheikah Slate found on Eventide Island, and Robbie had suggested they meet to review all they had learned so far. Purah had been reluctant to meet at first, feeling every minute of their time was better spent furthering their research. But Robbie finally prevailed.

"You know, even you can't think of everything, Dr. Purah, and you sometimes forget things," Robbie had said, citing some examples from prior times they had worked together. That finally convinced her the meeting was worthwhile.

After everyone was seated, Robbie began.

"Let's discuss what we've learned so far," said Robbie. "Since I called the meeting, I'll begin. We have solid evidence to show that the Sheikah Slate originally belonged to a Sheikah scientist named Salena, who was responsible for keeping Divine Beast Vah Naboris in working order. We can't be sure, but it seems likely that Salena perished somewhere in the Gerudo Desert area, trying to escape the Hylian purge of Sheikah technology ten thousand years ago. I believe that the rebel Sheikah, who eventually became known as the Yiga Clan, found her or her body and recovered her Sheikah Slate. We already have some anecdotal evidence that may be the case. You may recall we found the building plans for Divine Beast Vah Naboris among the documents the Gerudo recovered from the Yiga Clan Hideout, and we wondered how the Yiga came to possess them. It's likely those plans were taken from Salena as well, as it would be logical for her to have them since we know Salena handled the maintenance of Vah Naboris."

"All that seems plausible," said Purah, nodding her head.

"Now, let me turn to Princess Lapha and Prince Midon," said Robbie, after taking a sip of water. "What have you learned about the internal coding of the device?"

"Other than some code that corrupted shrines into creating monsters, code no doubt crafted by the Yiga, I have found nothing else suspicious so far," said Midon.

"I concur," said Lapha. "And I am a bit surprised at that. I would have expected more malicious alterations to the internal coding of the device."

"I suspect the best Sheikah scientists did not join the Yiga but either perished, fled to North Hyrule, or gave up technology altogether and settled at Kakariko Village," said Purah. "So, the Yiga rebels may not have been able to recruit members with sufficient coding expertise. We know the Yiga moved away from science and turned instead to become practitioners of dark magic. My sister's husband, Palan, and her son, Kalan, said there was no evidence of advanced technology when they infiltrated their organization. And you may recall the Yiga Clan needed to dupe a scientist from North Hyrule named Grendon to assist them in obtaining advanced technology. They couldn't do it on their own."

"Yes, those are all good points, and I agree with you," said Robbie. "I know you both plan to continue reviewing the code, but let's continue. That brings us to the pictures and text we've discovered and translated. Perhaps you could speak about that, Dr. Purah, as I know you've spent the most time analyzing it."

"Yes, very well," said Purah. "The pictures of ancient times are extraordinary! They will no doubt prove beneficial to both historians and scientists like us. Some pictures reveal locations and structures in pristine condition ten thousand years ago that lay in complete ruins today. And the information from Salena's notes sheds some light on events of long ago that we knew only in general terms. One example is her account of the Hylian attack."