Life in Zora's Domain

Chapter 59 - Underwaterblight Ganon - Part 4

Summary: Ganon's malice begins to contaminate Lake Hylia, prompting increased urgency for Link to complete his training and tackle their enemy. Mipha remains firm with Zelda that Link cannot be pressured into a premature confrontation. Link works his hardest to develop Zora combat skills, and Mipha finally feels he's ready. Mipha and Link rejoin Ruta at Lake Hylia and prepare for their long-awaited battle.

It had been three months since Ganon's creation had taken residence at the deepest part of Lake Hylia. So far, it had been content to stay there and hadn't moved since its battle with Ruta that ended in a standoff. But fishermen began to notice dead fish floating on the water, and the probe stationed near Ganon's creation showed blobs of purple malice were starting to spread. That was undoubtedly the cause of the poisoned fish. When the news reached Zelda, she asked Dr. Purah for a scientific assessment.

"How bad is it?" said Zelda when she met with Dr. Purah, her lead scientist. "How quickly is the malice spreading? We clearly cannot afford to lose a whole body of water the size of Lake Hylia to Ganon's malice."

"It has not spread too far yet, Your Majesty," said Purah. "But I am afraid its spread will increase more rapidly the larger it gets. The rate of contamination is proportional to the surface area of the malice's outer membrane, and that grows each day."

"So, how long do we have? How long before Lake Hylia is too poisoned to recover?" said Zelda.

"I would say about three months," said Purah. "After that, the lake will be too poisoned. Defeating the enemy after that would destroy all the existing malice, but by then, too much life in the lake would have perished for the ecosystem to sustain itself. Lake Hylia would become a dead body of water and might affect other water as well. Is there no news on Link's progress?"

"Mipha tells me he is doing better but is still not ready," said Zelda. "My concern is Mipha being overly cautious, swayed by her personal feelings for Link. I need to stress the urgency of our situation. Let me call her now. King Dorephan told me he left Mipha in charge of Link's training, so she is the only person worth speaking to."

Zelda called Mipha's Tab, and Mipha answered promptly.

"Zelda, hello," said Mipha.

"Mipha, this is somewhat of an urgent call," said Zelda. "Ganon's malice is beginning to contaminate Lake Hylia, and Dr. Purah fears we have only three months to stop it before it goes too far and destroys the lake. I am wondering where Link's training stands and whether he will be ready before then."

"Link's training is going well, Zelda," said Mipha. "And I am hopeful in three months he will be ready. But that may be optimistic. He still needs to hone many of the skills he will need in deep water."

"Mipha, I hate to be blunt, but are you putting your own feelings ahead of our needs?" said Zelda. "Are you certain Link is working as hard as he can on this and cannot be ready any sooner than that?"

"I am being as objective as I can, Zelda," said Mipha. "Of course, I don't want my husband hurt, so I would like him to be as prepared as possible. And I would like to think you feel the same way. What use is it to send Link into battle insufficiently prepared? If he is defeated, what do we gain? I have been working him as hard as possible, and I understand the urgency. If I increase the pace of his training, we risk exhausting him to the point he will be useless in battle."

"Alright," said Zelda. "Just do your best. Of course, I don't want Link hurt. I just want to make sure you understand the urgency. I'm sorry if I sound ill-tempered or impatient but the situation is growing dire. I will check with you again."

Mipha clicked off her Tab. Zelda was starting to get on her nerves. From the very start, she predicted Zelda would be hounding Link to be ready sooner than he safely could. Putting her own feelings ahead of their needs? How dare she say that! Aside from a few afternoons off, she had made Link train all day every day and often into the night. And Mipha knew he was trying as hard as he could. He needed rest now and then, or he would have a breakdown. The strain was already showing on him. Most nights, he came to their pool exhausted, falling asleep the moment his fins hit the water.