Legend of Zelda, The Kingdom's Tears

The Riddle, Solved

"King Dorephan", both Link and Kate called out in unison, the three entering the throne room as he turned to look at them.

"Hello, Link, Kate, and Sheik, it has been some time since we last spoke", King Dorephan said, "I had received word that you two went missing along with Princess Zelda, why have you come here",

"Zelda's missing, and what we discovered under the castle is causing these phenomena's around the kingdom", Link explained, "we're here to fix everything and find Zelda",

"Well, well... to think that such a thing should transpire for the heroes of Hyrule and Princess Zelda...", King Dorephan said.

"You expect us to believe that Princess Zelda simply disappeared, just like that, do not sully oru ears with your lies", Muzu sneered, "I saw Princess Zelda with my own eyes right after the phenomenon at Hyrule Castle took place",

"Calm yourself, Muzu", King Dorephan reprimanded, "their eyes betray no hint of deception, they remain a trusted friend of the Zora, there must be an explanation; Link, Kate, I will now tell you what happened when we last saw Princess Zelda... we encountered her just after Hyrule Castle ascended into the sky, floating islands appeared as if from nowhere... sludge and fragments of ruins began raining down... Muzu and I had left the domain to investigate these strange occurrences, that is when it happened; Princess Zelda descended from the sky accompanied by a sludge monster, what happened next took us by surprise... she then unleashed the beast upon us",

"What", the three said in shock.

"King Dorephan valiantly vanquished the threat, however... he was gravely injured by the sludge during the battle", Muzu explained, "as for Princess Zelda, she vanished without a trace; if word got out that Princess Zelda lost her mind and harmed the Zora king... the resulting turmoil would be devastating",

"That doesn't even sound like Zelda at all", Kate said.

"According to your story, Princess Zelda disappeared suddenly in the depths beneath Hyrule Castle", King Dorephan stated, "on the other hand, she suddenly appeared near Zora's Domain and unleashed a monster upon us... the waters of truth have become murkier still, but from the Zora perspective, one thing is clear... it all leads back to the sky; this disaster, the sludge, the monster, and even Princess Zelda, it may well be the answer to these riddles can only be found skyward...",

"We've spoken with Jiahto, he mentioned a mark of the king on a stone slate", Sheik explained, "we think it could be a way forward",

"You say that the mark of the king was mentioned on the stone slate that was restored", King Dorephan said, "the mark of the king refers to a Zora king's scale, one of my scales in other words, I have heard it called by the name you mentioned in an ancient ritual, however, none remain who know how it was used; if this particular scale of mine may prove useful to you, by all means, take a few",

King Dorephan took off a few of his scales and handed them over.

"After all that has transpired, and after much reflection, I have come to a realization", King Dorephan stated, "I must be getting on in years to have allowed a mere monster to catch me off guard, perhaps the time is nearing to pass the title of king on to Sidon",

"King Dorephan...", Muzu mumbled.

"In any case, that is a matter for another day, after the chaos surrounding the sludge has quieted", King Dorephan reassured, "please inform Sidon about my situation and about the king's scale, tell him there is no need to worry about me, tell him that he must go forth and do what needs to be done",

"We will, thank you", Link said, the three taking their leave, heading back to where Sidon was at, "...I'm starting to think your theory might be true",