Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 13

  Link and Elyza set out late the next morning. Link had grabbed the tower map and the shrine which had taken a while, so it was about 1:30 in the afternoon even though they had gotten up early. They had separate horses now since Elijah was on foot. Link hoped he made it. Why had he wanted to go to Lurelin Village anyway? Link could do no more than guess.
   Truly, Link couldn't guess on anything. The prospect of getting his memory back was a happy one. He wanted to know what happened to him so long ago, as well as the Princess. He had no recollection of anything, so he hoped Impa would be able to help. It was good that Kakariko was kind of on the way to Zora's Domain, so they wouldn't waste too much time.
   Link glanced over at Elyza who looked deep in thought. She was probably worried about her brother. She'd been quiet all morning.
   "Hey, are you ok?" Link asked, breaking the silence.
   "Yeah. I was just thinking about my family that lives in Lurelin Village. I've got 3 cousins there, you know. It's been an awful long time since I've seen them. I wish I could. Probably won't be able to see any of them till after this whole thing is done. And who knows how long that will take," Elyza sighed.
   "You'll see them sooner or later."
   "Yes, but I was thinking about how old they would be now. We've missed so much of their lives and, well, they've missed ours," Elyza said. After a moment she added, "And I don't even know if my aunt, my mother's sister, even knows about what happened to my parents."
   "Well, if nothing else, Elijah can tell you how their doing," Link replied consolingly.
   "It's not the same. I have a cousin my age. We got along great last time I saw her. Of course, a lot of girls at 11 get along."
   "What was her name? Or their names?"
    "Well, the girl's name is Zalie, then there is Zuta and Kinov, my aunt Kiana and Uncle Sebasto," Elyza replied.
   "Maybe we'll end up going to Lurelin at some point."
   "It's not really on the way. None of the Divine Beasts are down there. It's a lot of jungles and beaches down there. Very hot. Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense, Link," Elyza said, shaking her head.
   Link shrugged. "Maybe not. But—"
   "No Link," Elyza interrupted. "It's really fine. You have a job and I'm going to help anyway I can. They don't really need me anyway."
   "If you say so," Link said.
   They continued on the now familiar trail, maybe more for Elyza, to Kakariko. Link was excited to know that he would soon have some of his memory back, or maybe a small piece. It wasn't much, but it would be better than nothing.
   Idly, Link wondered what they all looked like. He must have know the champions of the Divine Beasts right? After all, he had been Princess Zelda's knight right and she would have likely been around them. And what about Zelda herself? Link knew that he had heard Zelda's voice when he woke up in the Shrine of Resurrection. It had sounded kind. He could almost see the face that went with it.
   Link smiled and pulled out the book Elyza had given him. It had been quite interesting to read, especially the chapters on him and Zelda. It made him all the more eager to know what happened 100 years ago.
   Time seemed to crawl by for Link in his excitement but they finally arrived in Kakariko after a few hours of riding. Link and Elyza dismounted and led their horses by the reins into town. Elyza seemed to sense Link's mood, for she sped up and they simply left their horses in front of Impa's house. The two guards, Cado and Dorian, glanced at them but let them pass. Link and Elyza hurried past them up the steps into the house.
   It was the same inside and Impa looked as if she had not moved an inch. Link walked up to her, Elyza right behind him.
   "Huh...," Impa started. "I heard Purah was giving you the runaround but you seem just fine." She smiled, but got serious again. "Now then...let me see. Show me those pictures on your Slate."
   Link pulled out his Sheikah Slate and pulled up a picture that looked like it was taken in front of Hyrule Castle.
   "Aha!" Impa said. "This is, without a doubt, the camera Princess Zelda used 100 years ago." Link put the slate back at his hip. Impa narrowed her eyes at him, silent for a moment. "It could be that if you visit the locations within those pictures, you will be able to restore some of your lost memories. How about you come back to me when you have visited at least one of those locations. There is something I wish to give you."
   "But, how will I find these places?" Link asked.
   "Perhaps try someone who is very knowledgeable of the land. They might be able to tell you," Impa suggested.
   Link nodded and left back out the door with Elyza. They went down the stairs, both thinking. Then Link saw that painter, the one that had randomly spoken to them last time they were here. He was a traveler, he might know. Link waved for Elyza to follow him and rushed up to the man.
   "Excuse me. But could you possibly tell me where one of these places is located?" Link asked, showing him the twelve photos.
   The man looked at him and smiled. "Of course. Which one?"
   "Um, the one that looks closest?"
   "Hmm well, this one has Lanayru in the background, that's not far..." Pikango muttered. He tapped on a picture with a big gate. He peered closely at it. "Ah! Yes, I know where this is! Lanayru is east of this village... at the front of this mountain, there is a place on the west side called the Naydra Snowfield, and that's where this gate is. I'm almost certain of it. There even a little shortcut to it, even if it's a bit dangerous."
   "Where?" Link and Elyza said at the same time.
   "Oh, well, it supposed to be on a path up on that hill," Pikango responded, pointing up to where the fairy fountain was.
   "Thanks a bunch!" Elyza said.
   "Happy to help!" Pikango went back to his painting.
   Link grabbed Elyza's hand and towed her after him, sprinting up the winding hill. Link ran past the shrine and the fairy fountain quickly, out of the small forest onto a rough path.
   "Aah! Link! Slow down!" Elyza yelped as she stumbled. Link stopped and looked at her. She was hopping up and down on one foot, holding the other. She fell down.
   "Oops. Are you ok?" Link said, sheepish.
   "Um, I think so?" Elyza stood, stepping gingerly on her left foot. She grimaced. "May have twisted my ankle a bit. Don't worry, I can walk," she added hastily. Link wasn't convinced. She was clearly trying not to limp.
   "Do you want me to go and get a horse so you don't hurt that more?" Link asked, concerned.
   "What? No, I'm fine," she said, standing defiantly, as if to prove her point. Link caught a flicker of a wince of pain.
   "I'll be back in a minute then with your horse," Link said with a small smile. Elyza tried to protest but Link was already jogging away. By the sound of it, she tried to catch him but Link heard a small "ouch" of pain and her uneven footsteps stopped. Link led the horses back past the fountain and shrine over to Elyza who had sat down but she got to her feet as Link reached her. She allowed him, petulantly, to help her onto Frihet. Link swing onto Ellis and started up again at a quick pace, his excitement rising again.
  They rounded a bend, passing a stationary traveler. Link had learned to ignore travelers like them. They were always Yiga Clan members that try to kill him. They had passed at least 2 on the way to Kakariko. The man called out to them but Link ignored him.
   They road on and Link saw a big gate that looked very similar to the one in the photo but it didn't look quite the same, so they road on. There were some bokoblins in the way on the path through what Elyza remembered was called the Lanayru Promenade. In Link's excitement, they galloped past them quickly, eager to recover his memories.
   As they galloped by, Link saw a big waterfall and a lake with ruins of old bridge structures all around. He heard his sensor for shrines go off but he simply marked the area and rode on. They rode under a bridge with bokoblins on it and galloped past a single moblin. They continued on until they got onto a dirt path again and Link saw the gate ahead. When they reached a near enough distance, Link hopped off Ellis and Elyza did the same with Frihet.
   Link walked up in front of the gate and pulled out his slate to make sure this was the place. He squinted at it, not feeling any memory... Link gasped and fell to his knees as memory blossomed back into his mind and he remembered.
   They were walking out of the gate back towards a group of...people. They weren't Hylians except for the girl he was walking with. Link felt like he was having an out of body experience. He could see himself, the girl, and the other races, he guessed.
   Link could only assume that the girl he was walking with was the Princess. Zelda. She was wearing a white dress with golden jewelry. She had golden blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was beautiful. The big guy, Link wasn't sure his race but he best guess was that he was a goron, spoke first. He looked like a big rock with arms and legs with a massive white beard. They all walked up to Zelda, and Link.
   "Well? Don't keep us in suspense. How'd everything go up there on the mountain?" The goron asked. Link didn't remember his name.
   Princess Zelda shook her head sadly, looking at the ground. There was silence in the group for a moment.
   The bird man spoke next, "So you didn't feel anything? No power at all?"
   Zelda clasped her hands together and looked at the ground while replying, "I'm sorry, no."
   "Then let's move on," the tall woman said. She was far too tall to be Hylian. She wore a lot of sparkling jewels and had a lot of red hair, and was well muscled. Link was not sure of her race.  "You've done all you could. Feeling sorry for yourself won't be of any help." She seemed quite stern but she clearly was being encouraging. "After all, it's not like your last shot was up there on Mt. Lanayru." The goron looked at her and nodded his head, looking very worried. The bird guy did not speak. "Anything could finally spark the power to seal Ganon away. We just have to keep looking for that...thing."
   Zelda responded quietly, "That's kind of you. Thank you."
   The fish girl, Link could think of no other description with her webbed feet and tail like thing on her head like hair, spoke for the first time. "If I may..." Zelda looked up hopefully at her. "I thought you...well, I'm not sure how to put this into words...I'm actually quite embarrassed to say it. But I was thinking about what I do when I'm healing. You know...what usually goes through my mind... It helps when I think—when I think about—"
   The ground suddenly started shaking violently, cutting off the fish girl's response. Everyone stumbled and looked towards the mountain on their right. The bird guy crouched a moment then flew up through the air to look at the commotion. Link could see him gasp and he knew what had come. Calamity Ganon. He could hear the bone chilling roar shake the ground.
   "It's here," Zelda said, loooking scared. "This is it, then..."
   "Are you sure?" the goron asked.
   "Positive. It's awake. Ganon!" Her voice got more and more terrified.
   Overhead they could see dark purple and black traveling across the sky. It radiated destruction. Zelda stumbled backwards.
   "Let's stop wasting time," The goron said gruffly. "We're gonna need everything we got to take that thing down! Now Champions! To your Divine Beasts! Show that swirling swine who's boss! Link will need to meet Ganon head on when we attack! This needs to be a unified assault!" He turned to Link. "Little guy! You get to Hyrule Castle." The bird guy sniffed and turned away at this. He seemed resentful for some reason. "You can count on us for support. But it's up to you to pound Ganon into oblivion!"
  The tall woman walked over to Zelda, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Come. We should go. We need to get you someplace safe."
   Zelda stood a moment before turning out of the woman's grasp. "No! I am not a child anymore! I may not be much use on the battlefield...but there must...There must be something I can do to help!" The darkness traveled further across the sky...
   Link gasped, coming out of the memory. Elyza was on her knees in front of him, looking very worried, shaking him. "Link? Link?! Are you ok?!"
   "I remember them. I remember," Link gasped.