Offspring

Chapter 1: Confrontation

Link reached for his face and brushed the water from his eyes for the umpteenth time in the last half an hour. He was completely soaked, his blue tunic and old Hylian pants clinging to his flesh like cold glue. His hair drooped stubbornly over his forehead, channeling the moisture on his head down onto his face even further. He did not shiver however, for he was quite used to being stuck in conditions like this. Rain was a normal feature of the weather in eastern Hyrule.

However, Link had surely not expected the rain to be this relentless. As soon as he had approached the Soh Kofi shrine at the mouth of the Zora River, a brutal, pounding rain had rapidly appeared to drown out the warm sun. It had taken him by surprise, he had to admit, and now he was trudging along the scarcely-marked pathway of the Zodobon Highlands on his way to Zora's Domain, covered in his own weight's worth of water. It had been like this for the last hour or two, and it still showed no signs of letting up. Would it ever?

Just earlier on Inogo Bridge, Link had been greeted by a mysterious Zora with a shark for a head, bearing a toned figure and a very straight smile. He went by the name of "Prince Sidon," and he stood to be about twice Link's height. Upon meeting this friendly figure, Link had been asked to travel to Zora's Domain and provide assistance to the natives. Apparently, their ailment had something to do with all the rain, but Link was not given the specifics. All he knew was that the situation was dire, and that it might have something to do with a Divine Beast. After all, the Divine Beasts were his main goal, at least from what he had heard from Impa.

Link remembered a few minor things about the Zora people after leaving the Shrine of Resurrection, but much of his memory of them was still missing. He knew enough, at least, to be able to recognize Sidon as a Zora upon seeing him for the first time, and also that he thrived in water with the rest of his people. Beyond that, he was clueless. It made his adventure exciting, but it also kept him constantly on edge.

The mute hero's boots were squishing like sponges by the time he reached what appeared to be a long, straight bridge. The bridge looked almost exactly like Inogo Bridge from a while earlier, but it was much longer, and it traversed a massive drop with a running river below. It almost seemed to glow with its smooth, eye-popping turquoise stone. According to the sheikah slate, it was called "Luto's Crossing."

The bridge, however, paled in comparison to the majesty of the rest of the Zoras' architecture. As Link jogged ever onward across the bridge, Zora's Domain became visible on the horizon to his left, through a gap in the surrounding cliffs, eclipsing a mighty waterfall of at least a hundred stories. The grand city, complete with only one large structure standing proudly above the water below, acted as a perfect compliment to its surroundings, with a matching turquoise color that seemed to shine life into the current, dead state of Hyrule. It appeared to Link as a warm, rejuvenating beacon to stand against the bitter rain and wind that soaked the landscape and tugged at his clothes. The wonders that awaited him there would surely make his trek through the soggy riverbanks worth the while.

"Hey, Link! Down here!" A voice called.

Link's mind returned to the present as he heard the familiar voice call from far below in the waters of the river. He promptly stopped walking and turned toward the bridge's side railing so he could address his visitor. Treading water in the river at the bottom of the chasm, in confirmation of Link's suspicion, was Prince Sidon.