Fortune Favors the Courageous

Chapter 30: Discovery!

discovery
n. the act of obtaining sight or knowledge for the first time
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Zelda felt grateful she didn't have to insist on hurrying, because the Zora couple sensed her urgency to reach the Forgotten Temple without her saying anything. They descended into Tanagar Canyon as soon as they could to avoid the Tabantha Tundra's chill and walked through the night.

Everytime Mikau and Lulu leaned into each other, Zelda felt a pang of longing to lean into Link.

Was she a terrible person for going on without him? She had no doubt he could handle himself when it came to monsters, food, or shelter, but... still. Maybe she should have at least checked Rito Village and invited Kaneli to Zora's Domain, herself.

No, Link could handle that too. She'd set the rendezvous time for ten days from now, which meant she had eight or nine days before she had to explain herself to King Dorephan prior to the other's arrival. Before that, she needed all the time for prayer she could get. And the princess knew from experience that even two-week-long pilgrimages at the feet of the other Goddess statues didn't tend to yield good results.

But she held her chin high, letting Link's voice replay in her head and buffer her resolve. She remembered what he'd said before they'd climbed Mount Lanayru; maybe her voice can finally reach you this time.

Before they knew it, they were beneath a stone archway as tall as the canyon itself—the entrance to the Forgotten Temple. And it truly was just the top of the doorway; Zelda could tell by the way the columns and patterns disappeared beneath the floor of the canyon. The giddy princess drank in the sight, reveling in the adrenaline rush.

What a — Discovery! —

Zelda let out an involuntary squeal. It was amazing it hadn't been discovered sooner!

"I can't tell you how excited I am!" she gushed, bouncing on her toes as if the bubbles inside could physically lift her off the ground. "I do find myself wondering... how did this area come to be so forgotten? Why was our history left hidden here?"

No one had an answer, but the Zora showed her where to climb in order to reach the opening of the arch.

The drop from the top confirmed what she originally guessed—the temple was half-buried underground. Untouched by mortal hands, wild winds and rains for centuries at the least, but destroyed by time's unforgiving march and the ever-shifting pressure of the earth anyway.

Everything was in shambles, but that didn't erase the clues from the cracks, the emotions in the ornamentation, the history from the rubble. The pilasters were the memoirs of those who'd come and gone centuries before. The depictions of ancient peoples spoke of customs long forgotten.

It took them half an hour to move through the first antechamber, with Zelda stopping to investigate each nook and cranny, dramatic gasps and featherlight fingers tracing gently over the rustications.

By the third room, Lulu and Mikau announced that they would be stopping for the night, but encouraged Zelda to continue on if she liked.

So the princess continued forward—progress slow, if not thorough—till she came to a walkway of cylindrical colonnades before another massive archway. A chill came at the thought of what lay beyond, and Zelda felt called to stay put.

So she stayed and studied the antechamber she was in, eyes and hands roving over the carvings on the pillars. Her brain fought her tired body till she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore, and she fell asleep with a smile on her lips.