Before the Calamity

Chapter 3: The Scholar

CRESS
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       My eyes seemed to be glued to the book I was reading. I lightly turned the page as some bread crumbs fell onto the slightly torn paper. My breakfast was being rushed this morning since I was already late. I was supposed to be meeting my teacher at the town gate of Hyrule Castle Town, but I got too distracted with my studies and lost track of the time.
       Books, parchment, and study materials were scattered all over my house. It was like a paper tornado had ravaged through the place. My parent didn't like the messes I always left, but they tolerated it because I was always working so hard on my studies.
       My parents were still asleep upstairs, being that it was still fairly early in the morning. I had finished eating the bread, which was my breakfast.  My eyes glared around the home, looking around for my supplies I needed for the day. I noticed my pack next to the front door and smiled as I realized my mother had already prepared it for me.
       I opened the pack and realized all the books and research materials I needed were present and accounted for. I was studying various things ranging from Sheikah technology, weather patterns, and the effects certain elixirs had on the body. The study of ancient ruins found in Hyrule also fascinated me, but that wasn't the main focus of my studies.
       I threw my pack over my shoulder and looked out the window of my house. It was only beginning to become light outside, but from the noise I was hearing the town seemed to be as lively as ever. I closed my eyes for a moment and thought about my tasks for the day. Today seemed to look a bit monotonous considering I was to spend most of the day in the schoolhouse studying, but first I was to meet my teacher at the Hyrule Castle Town front gate.
       I opened the front door and stumbled a bit into the crisp morning air. I lived close to the Central Plaza of Castle Town, so there was always so many people out and about. A few people were walking together carrying water buckets. They were most likely heading to the Water Reservoir on the west side of town. There was numerous wells in town, but the Water Reservoir was the main area for everyone's water needs.
       I noticed a girl sitting down on a bench under the shade of a large tree that was located in the middle of all our houses. There were certain areas in Castle Town that weren't located in the busy parts of town. Everyone usually had to walk through small alleyways to get to the main roads of town.
       The girl seemed to be lost in a book and my curiosity was intrigued to know what she was reading.  However, I didn't have the time for that. I ran through a small alleyway and arrived on the main road of Hyrule Castle Town. There were already tons of people walking around the busy streets. Multiple shops were lined up on each side of the street, and their colorful overlays looked pleasing next to the multiple blue-roofed houses.
       I began rushing my way south towards the main gate of Castle Town and noticed many things. Owners of the shops were desperately trying to sell their wares to travelers completing their errands in the town. The shops sold many differenting things. I noticed many fruit, elixirs, and one shop seemed to be selling different types of arrows.
       I finally approached the main gate and noticed my teacher Malcolm waiting for me. He was talk and wore glasses like me, but he was well built and had a face all the ladies swooned over. A slight breeze blew through my dark hair and I noticed the red and gold flags next to me were slightly flapping in the wind. They had the insignia of the triforce on them and it made me think about all the legends surrounding it.
       "Cress!" My teacher yelled at me as I finally stopped next to him. I took a deep breath and adjusted my glasses which had become slightly tilted from running around.
       "You're late." Malcolm said as he folded his arms. I scratched my head anxiously and averted my eyes from his.
       "Sorry Teacher." I chuckled softly.  "I got caught up reading about the Zonai Ruins located in the Faron Region and lost track of the time." Malcolm rolled his eyes but slightly smiled at my comment.
       "Why were you reading this early in the morning?" Malcolm asked. I began to open my mouth but he put his hand up to stop me.
       "Nevermind." He said apathetically.
       "You're lucky the messenger we're waiting for is running late. Today is a very crucial day and you shouldn't be acting all carefree." I stared at Malcolm for a bit in confusion.
       "Crucial?" I asked in a baffled manner. Malcolm's eyes widened as he realized I had forgotten something important. I seemed to lose focus on Malcolm as I tried my best to recall why today was such a critical one.
       "The inauguration Cress!" Malcolm slightly yelled at me. My eyes widened slowly as I remembered. There were five individuals from across Hyrule who were supposed to be appointed champions today. They were all from different races, so it was a big deal! The champions were to attend to the Divine Beasts that were discovered years back. It was heavily rumored Calamity Ganon was going to return, but I never believed in such fairytales.
       "Oh my gosh." I mumbled softly.
       "Yeah! Now you remember," Malcolm chuckled annoyingly.
       "Anyways, there's a soldier from Hyrule Garrison coming to deliver information about the Champions and when they're supposed to be arriving." Malcolm said.
       "Apparently the King himself wants the champions to be welcomed with the utmost care and wants their experience here in Castle Town to be one to remember."
       The thought of one becoming a champion was fascinating, but honestly I could care less for the reason why they were becoming appointed. It was all nonsense to me.
       We waited for another few minutes before the messenger soldier finally arrived. He informed us the champions were to begin arriving around noon. With his duty fulfilled the soldier made off in a hurry back towards Hyrule Field. I had to wonder what sort of busy schedules some of the soldiers in Hyrule had.
       Malcolm and I began walking towards the schoolhouse which was located pretty close to the Central Plaza. It looked like most of the other blue-roofed houses, so it was hard to tell it was actually a school. Malcolm taught the children of Castle Town, but today the school was off because of the inauguration. We still had some things to attend to there though.
       As we approached the schoolhouse I noticed a few things. Some kids with white dress shirts and overalls were laughing and running down the stone road as a dog chased them happily. I noticed a few women holding laundry baskets as they talked to each other gleefully about their perfect silky hair. And there were some knights in the distance walking in a straight line. Their armor shone brightly and they seemed to be heading towards Hyrule Castle.
       "As important as today is, the town hasn't really changed much." I said to Malcolm. He smiled faintly and nodded.
       "Yeah I know what you mean. Malcolm replied.
       "This town is the center of all Hyrule. Even when there's big events going on the town never seems to stop moving. I guess that's why Hyrule Castle Town is known as the center of commerce and scholarship."
       Malcolm and I finally arrived at the schoolhouse and walked inside. It was mostly empty today besides a few Sheikah who sometimes used the area to study. They seemed to be focusing deeply on their studies so Malcolm and I didn't bug them.
       I put down my pack and began taking some of my books down on the table. Malcolm glanced over at the books I had and laughed slightly.
       "There you go again." Malcolm said. "You just love your ruins, don't you?" I chuckled softly and nodded softly.
       "Of course." I replied.
       "It's so interesting to know that people inhabited this Kingdom for over 10,000 years. But what's most interesting is that some of the people seemed to have disappeared completely. All that's left is mysterious ruins. The Zonai Ruins in the Faron Region interest me the most."
       I adjusted my glasses again as I opened the same book I had been reading this morning. There was still even a few leftover bread crumbs from this morning's breakfast.
       "Feel free to study on your own today." Malcolm said as he began walking away.
       "I have to go deliver the message about the Champions to some of the Royal Guard near Central Plaza." I nodded my head but didn't avert my eyes from my book.
       Malcolm left and I continued studying about the Zonai Ruins in Hyrule. It wasn't just the Faron Region where some of the ruins were located. The mysterious labyrinths all across Hyrule and the Thyphlo Ruins were also theorized to belong to the Zonai. They seemingly disappeared thousands of years ago, and are usually only talked about in hushed whispers.
       The Zonai were thought to be a savage tribe, but it was also theorized that they were strong magic wielders. The Zonai also built tall bizarre pillars that dotted the land of Hyrule, and they were thought to have been used for magical purposes. The only other thing we knew about the Zonai was that they seemed to have worshiped a water dragon. That was concluded from the stone structures surrounding the Spring of Courage.
       I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but my stomach began growling. I sat up and closed the book I had been staring at for quite some time. I grabbed my pack again but left my books and notes laying out since I would be coming back.
       I walked out once again into the busy streets of Castle Town. The sun was glistening down from above and the air was refreshing. I started making my way towards Central Plaza because a majority of the shops there sold food and snacks.
       I arrived at Central Plaza and it was extremely crowded today. Maybe it was because of the inauguration of the Champions. I gazed over a few shops before deciding to buy some meaty rice balls. They were piping hot and my glasses fogged up a bit from the steam radiating off of them.
       I walked up to the large fountain and sat down on one of the stone benches that had been built into it. The fountain was a wonder of Castle Town, and people came from all over to see its natural beauty and crystal clear water.
       I noticed a lady was selling a variety of different colored flowers next to the fountain. She seemed to be carrying them in a large wooden cart that even had a blue roof. The flowers seemed identical to the ones in the flower beds that surrounded the fountain. There were red, yellow, and white flowers scattered everywhere. Central Square was honestly quite a colorful sight to see.
       As I was stuffing the last amount of meaty rice balls into my mouth I noticed someone running towards me. I glanced over and noticed it was Malcolm who was holding up a white envelope in his hand. He had a stupid grin on his face as he approached me.
       "C-Cress!" Malcolm said as he gasped for air. He seemed excited for something.
       "We've been invited to attend the inauguration of the Champions!" I choked a bit on my rice balls at the news Malcolm had just given me.
       "W-What!?" I asked in both confusion and excitement.
       "Yeah!" Malcolm yelled louder. A few people around us were looking but I didn't mind.
       "I informed the soldiers earlier about when the Champions were coming to Hyrule Castle, and the King had told them to give us this letter!" I immediately yanked the letter from his hand and began scanning it over. It was true. The King was rewarding us for how many errands we always did for his knights and the Royal Guard.
       To be honest I could really care less about the inauguration, but I was actually going to Hyrule Castle. I had always seen its grandeur form up close since I lived in Castle Town, but I had never actually been to it. Most people who lived here had never been able to go there.
       It had always been my dream to become a scholar and work directly under the king at Hyrule Castle. It was still a dream at this point, but it seemed to be slowly approaching.
       I gulped down the rest of my meaty rice balls and immediately stood up from the fountain. My eyes looked upwards at Hyrule Castle in excitement. The sun's rays were shining directly behind the castle, so all I could see was the mighty silhouette as I put my hand over my squinting eyes. It was finally time. I was finally going to Hyrule Castle.