Zonai Descendant : A Zelda BotW Story

Chapter Six

It was midnight in the Eldin Region, and the bright orange lava of Death Mountain lit the rocky landscape with a warm glow. The air was still and quiet here, and extremely hot.

"Take this," Link and I sat in a small cave that had formed in the tan rocks surrounding Death Mountain. We had decided to set up camp here for the night and continue toward Goron City tomorrow. Link handed me a glass bottle full of purplish-red liquid. "It's a Fireproof Elixir. When the heat becomes unbearable, drink it."

"Thanks," I took the bottle and immediately gulped it down. "How long do these things last?"

"That one lasts about 15 hours." Link replied. "We'll have made it to Goron City by then. When we get there, we'll buy fireproof armor."

I leaned against a large boulder next to me. It had been a long day of travelling, and my feet were sore and callaced. I closed my eyes and let the fireproof elixir cool me down. Before I knew it, I was drifting off into a deep sleep.

Suddenly, I was awoken by a distant noise. I looked up to see Link fast asleep on the ground next to me. I heard the noise again, but closer this time. It sounded like a creepily evil snicker. Fear flooded my mind, and I reached down to wake up Link.

"Link," The Hylain opened his eyes and looked up at me.

"What do you want?" He answered angrily. "I was just in the middle of a dream about defeating a Lynel."

"Something's wrong," I pointed out of the cave and saw an orange glowing orb appear on top of a huge boulder. The sight made me freeze in fear as Link stood up and drew his sword.

"Yiga." Link said, the color draining from his face. "Stay in the cave." He rushed out into the darkness, and I watched in horror as the orb appeared again just in front of him. A strange looking man in a red suit and a mask adorned with an eye covering his face formed from the orb. The warrior held a silver, curved blade in his hand, and he immediately slashed at Link's chest. A bright red stain formed on Link's tunic where the Yiga had attacked.

"No!" I cried, and quickly regretted it. The Yiga turned to face me, and then disappeared, strange red tickets fluttering to the ground where he stood. I stared in horror as the orb formed inside of the cave, directly in front of me. The Yiga appeared and chuckled, shoving me to the ground. I panicked and grabbed Link's bag, holding it up in front of me as a shield.

"Well, well, well," The Yiga finally spoke. "I haven't seen a Zonai in years! Thought you would have died out by now."

Shock pierced me like a knife. How did he know about our tribe? I thought nobody did!

"One more step towards her and you die." Link stood behind the Yiga warrior, blood dripping from his wound. He held the flat of his blade up to the warrior's neck.

The Yiga laughed and spun around, holding his palm out to Link. An orange bolt shot out from his palm and hit Link, covering him in an orange energy that pinned him to the wall of the cave.

"Let him go!" I yelled, reaching over to grab Link's bow, which lay on the ground, equipped with a quiver of shock arrows. The Yiga reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me up to my feet and shoving me against the wall.

"Stay there or else," He growled, reaching down to pick up Link's bag, which I had dropped on the ground. "What've you got in here?" He dug around and pulled out a bottle of fireproof elixir and smashed it on the ground, then a jar with a glowing fairy in it. He threw that to the ground too, then stepped on the fairy.

"Nothing worth taking," He smirked. "Except for this precious treasure." I shuddered as he placed his hand on my shoulder and held his blade up to my throat. "You're coming with me, little girl."

We started to walk out of the cave, horror clouding my mind. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of the large, round luminous stone Link and I had found when we killed the Talus. An idea formed in my mind.

"Wait!" I stopped walking. "We do have something worth taking. It's over there, in the corner. See it glowing?"

The Yiga turned to look and then growled. "Are you fooling with me, little girl? I know that's just a luminous stone."

"But it's a special luminous stone!" I said. "It's huge, and round!"

The Yiga sighed, and pushed me to the ground. "You move one inch, and I'll kill your little friend." He pointed to Link, who was still pinned to the wall with orange energy. He walked to the corner, and I reached out to Link, grabbing the sword dangling from his hand. I rushed up to the Yiga, who had picked up the stone and was holding it silently.

"So," He said. "They're back at it again."

I held the sword up in front of him, trying to stop my hands from shaking. "What are you talking about?"

"The Sheikah tribe," He looked down at the stone. "They're taking control of monsters, and using them against you."

I scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Drop the stone and get out, or I'll kill you."

"It's true." The Yiga said. "You don't know the history of your own tribe? Well, I'll lay it out for you. Ten thousand years ago, your tribe figured out how to defeat Ganon. They made the blueprints for the Divine Beasts, Guardians, and shrines. But the Sheikah weren't so happy that the Zonai were going to get all the glory. So they stole the blueprints and pretended they were theirs. Then, when you all had your festival in Thyphlo, they put a darkness spell over you and your dragon-god, then killed you off. But, some of you survived. That's why you're still here today. Now they're trying to get the rest of you, by taking over all the monsters. In no time, your home will be flooded with beasts that won't give up til all of you are dead."

Shock froze me in my place. I stood gaping, my eyes wide. The sword slipped out of my hands and fell with a clang to the cave floor. He's lying, Maya. He's lying. I told myself. But what if he's not? It all made sense. The disappearance of Farosh. Of my tribe. Our temples and homes fell to ruin because there was nobody there to save them. Did I just figure out the mystery of the disappearance of the Zonai?

"Maya!" Link coughed. "Don't listen to him. He's lying!"

"Link," I replied. "He's telling the truth."

"And if they're coming after your tribe, they'll be coming after you." The Yiga added.

"Link," I turned to the Hylian. "We need to hide somewhere. Now."

"I've got a place where nobody will ever find you." The Yiga snickered and grabbed my arm, and I screamed as he and I disappeared into a bright orange, glowing orb.