Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 3

A little while after the twins adventure, Elyza was bothered by something. Why do I feel like I know why these things are here? Why they glow and why they appeared now? These questions itched at her. When she went to bed that night, she found she couldn't sleep they bothered her so much.
      Irritated, Elyza got up. If she couldn't sleep, she might as well do something.
       Elyza walked outside and strolled down the street. She walked past the East Wind and up the hill, looking down in thought. She kept walking in a random direction, and then found herself on smooth, polished stone. She looked up. Right smack in front of her was a smooth stone structure. It had the weird eye symbol on it and a little pedestal that looked very similar to the one up on the tower. There was a wall right next to the pedestal. The whole structure glowed orange. Why do we keep finding these things? Now that she thought about it, she had seen more of these things up from the tower. They looked like a...shrine. That's it! That's what I remember these from! Mom and Dad's stories!
  Elyza ran back to her house. She thought they still had the book that her parents had used to tell the stories. Or was it lost to the fire?
      Elijah stirred over on his bed, then sat up. "What are you doing?"
      "Do you know what happened to Mom and Dad's storybook? The one about the Hero?" Elyza asked.
      Elijah frowned, "Didn't she give it to a kid in the village?"
      "Yeah...Reede's daughter right? Karin?"
      "I think so. Why do you want it?"
      "Because I think it explains why these towers and shrines are showing up," Elyza explained.
      "Oh, ok. Also, it's like 1 am. Go to sleep," Elijah said, then went back to sleep. Elyza shook her head. She wouldn't be able to now. She turned around and snuck out of her house again.
       She set out for the town stable where they kept their horse. He was a lovely, brown stallion named Ellis. He was an energetic horse when awake and he slept a lot, but he was awake right now. Seemed nocturnal half the time. Elyza saddled him and led him by the reins out of the small stable. She got on him and started him trotting out of town. She then galloped into the forest.
   She went for a little while, but she soon found herself riding away from Hateno towards Dueling Peaks. She had always wondered what it looked like out there. Logically, she knew it really wouldn't look all that different, but there were deserts and jungles, icy mountains, and volcanoes. She would love to see it. Necluda seemed so small to her now. She found herself riding hard towards Dueling Peaks. She'd never even been to Kakariko even though it was in Necluda. The only town other than Hateno that she had seen was Lurelin Village. They had gone for a family trip and had taken a short cut to get there so they hadn't taken the actual road.
      Soon Elyza had passed the Cliffs of Quince and was entering an area she had never really been to. She kept following the road until she came to a crossroads. To her left was a bridge leading off into some hilly mountains. To her right was a stable and the exit of Necluda through Dueling Peaks.
      What am I doing? Leaving my brother and life behind in the middle of the night? Without any supplies and common sense? It was just...she'd gotten out of her two year funk. She wasn't quite happy, but she had motivation is seemed again. Energy. She wanted to use it. To explore all of Hyrule. To the far away Tabantha region to Eldin to the Gerudo Desert. But to leave completely? Her home? She shook her head. No. Not yet. She wouldn't leave Necluda yet. She could travel in Necluda for now. She turned her horse to the right onto the bridge. She galloped down the winding path until she reached an arch leading into what she assumed was Kakariko. She'd always been told this was where it was.
      Elyza trotted into the town. She'd never would've expected it to be so peaceful. Fireflies flew silently throughout the village, with elegant willowy trees. It was quiet, but it was also like 4am. There were waterfalls and little ponds. She turned her horse to a little stable and set him there. She turned to walk around the town. There was a small little copse of plum trees and a pond with a statue of the goddess Hylia. It was very serene. She wandered past a big house towards a path off to the side. It went for a bit then ended in a drop off a cliff and a tree with a pile of rocks near it. Elyza walked toward the fence that prevented falling and looked out.
       Hyrule was so big. She could see so much. To her right she saw an enormous volcano and a big forest. Then she saw Hyrule Castle, the ancestral home of the ruler of Hyrule.
    It was covered in swirling darkness.
    Big structures outside it glowing red seemed to have a bubble of twirling darkness inside it. What was that? Calamity...Ganon? But I thought those were just stories. Wasn't it defeated? I need to go back and read those stories. Now. She'd be back. She turned and ran to her horse who had been snacking on some carrots that were still in the ground that someone had grown. Elyza frowned disapprovingly but grabbed the reins and hopped on Ellis and rode away into the night back to Hateno.

       A few hours later, Elyza got home. It was nearly 8:00am. Soon all the little children of the village would get up and she could get the storybook. She went and put Ellis in the stable and went and sat on her porch to wait.
      A few minutes later, little Karin came out of Reede's house, the town leader. She was 6 or 7ish. Elyza got up to intercept her before she ran off to play or whatever.
      "Hey Karin! How are you?" Elyza asked.
      She looked up shyly. "I'm good. Did you need something?"
      "I do. Do you have a storybook about the Hero of Hyrule?"
      "Yeah...why?"
      "I need to borrow it for a bit. Can I?"
      "I guess but I want it back before nighttime because I read it before bed," Karin said.
      "Great!" Elyza exclaimed. Karin started towards her house and Elyza followed. She walked into her house and pointed towards a book on a night stand. Elyza nodded and went and grabbed it.     
    "Thanks!" Elyza ran back out of the house and ran to get Ellis and hopped on on galloped to the tower. She arrived quickly and climbed up to the top of the tower.
     She sat down on the ledge and opened up the book. She had a specific chapter she wanted. The book had a combination of stories about the Hero and Princess. Hero of Time, Twilight Princess, etc. The one she wanted was the last chapter, chronologically the last one to happen if the legends were true. And based off of what she had discovered so far, she was gonna go with yes.
     There! Elyza thought, stopping on a page. The fight against Calamity Ganon was never completed, it read, and has yet to resolve. The Hero slumbers but will awaken to save his Princess and save Hyrule from Calamity Ganon. He will prove himself worthy once again of the legendary Master Sword and will be tested in the Shrines of the Hero with towers to guide him on his way. Then, Hyrule will be safe once more from the terror of Calamity Ganon who vexes this land. That was the end of it.
     Elyza frowned. So, was that swirling backness that she saw surrounding Hyrule castle Ganon?  She turned back a few pages in the book. The last Princess to be was unable to access her power through her prayer to the Goddess and Ganon was close to escaping. The guardians and divine beasts that fought for Hyrule were turned against the land by Ganon once he escaped. The Hero and the Princess fought against them but, in the process, the Hero was gravely wounded but protected from death by the Princess who finally accessed her power. The Hero was taken to the Shrine of Resurrection to sleep and heal so that he may return one day to save Hyrule. The Princess continues to trap Calamity Ganon inside Hyrule Castle until the Hero comes. Elyza smirked. This was more like a book on lore. Her parents had probably just told her in story form.
      So, it appeared that these towers and shrines are here for the Hero. But...they only just appeared, so does that mean the Hero has awakened? Has he come to stop Ganon once more?
      Elyza shook her head and went to climb down the tower. She got on Ellis once at the bottom and rode home to tell Elijah what she had learned and to return the book.

      Elyza laid down for bed that night, thinking. She had told Elijah what she had learned and he had seemed interested but didn't really seem as invested as Elyza. He had been worried when she left last night, and didn't want her to go off exploring some legend. Maybe he can come with me? It's not like there's much here for us to take care of, she thought. She turned over to face Elijah's bed. He wasn't there currently; it was still relatively early in the evening. 8:00. She hadn't slept last night, so she was tired. Elyza sighed, and turned again. If the Hero comes again, will he be able to defeat Ganon on his own? I can't imagine that Ganon will stay trapped in that castle forever.
      Elijah walked in then and went to grab a snack it looked like. Elyza turned to him and asked, "Elijah?" He turned. "Would you go with me if I left Necluda?"
      He turned away. "I don't know. I'd rather stay here. If that Ganon guy hasn't escaped after however long, why would he now? It just doesn't affect me."
      "Yeah it does! If the Hero is back, then the Princess trapping Ganon must be barely holding him back. What if he needs help?"
      "He's the Hero. Why would he need our help? He has the Master Sword and everything to deal Ganon away."
      "No he doesn't. The book says that he will have to go get it again to prove himself once more."
      Elijah looked annoyed. "Your basing this off of a book. Rumors. A fairytale. It's not true."
       Elyza stiffened, then stood up. "Yeah? So, that darkness around Hyrule Castle is fake? Not really there? An illusion? A figment of my imagination?" She practically yelled that last one.
      "All I have to base this assumption on is a book and your words. I just don't see why it matters. Maybe when I see proof of this Hero I'll believe. But until then, it's nothing more than a fairytale," Elijah turned and walked out. Elyza was stunned. Can't he see? Why the change? He had seemed supportive yesterday. What's wrong with him?