Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 16

   The next day, the four of them set out for Zora's Domain. Link had been talking to Zalie all morning—she was quite nice and funny. Elyza and Elijah were conversing quietly behind them.
    They were going to walk to Zora's Domain. A passing traveler had warned them that most of the trail there was too rough for horses and winding, and also danger ridden. They were prepared and had walked back to a nearby stable—the Woodland Stable—to drop off the horses.
    "Hey, Link? What do ya think we'll find in Zora's Domain? Obviously a Divine Beast, I mean, that's why we're going there, but, like, what's even there? What does a Zora look like? Do they talk like us Hylians?" Zalie said. Link smiled. She was really talkative. She didn't seem to breathe much when she spoke.
    "Who knows?" Link replied.
    "I've never seen a Zora. They don't come down to the ocean where I live. I'm excited to see one. It's kinda weird to think that there's other intelligent races other than us out there. I know that kinda sounds mean—didn't mean it like that—but it's interesting to think that not everything looks like us. Animals are different of course. Wow. I'm so glad I was able to travel with you. This is a great experience!" Zalie rambled. Link blinked at the continued torrent of words. How did she have so much to say?
    "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it," Link said. "I don't mean to burst your excited bubble, Zalie, but this is kinda serious. We have to free the Divine Beasts, you know, so that we can save Hyrule. It's not all fun and games."
    Zalie paused. "Well...I know. But... traveling like this is very new to me. I've really only traveled more coastal areas. Majority of the time, we don't go inland. I know that it's serious and Hyrule is in danger and everything, but—"
    "I get it," Link interrupted. "I get it." Zalie smiled. She stopped talking for a bit, looking at the scenery.
    "Hey Link!" a voice called from behind him. He turned. It was Elyza. "I'm gonna borrow my cousin for a while. I've barely seen her in years. Hope you don't mind!" Elyza grabbed her cousin's arm and pulled her back to talk with her. Elijah continued to walk with them.
   Link walked alone in the front. He turned away and kept walking, making steady but slow progress. They were walking along a sandy beach path, near the water.  Link could see a lot of structures on the water—probably on stilts—that we're shaped like fish bones. Or perhaps they were bones. It was probably full of monsters. He could also see one of those big area towers in front of him on a steep hill with rib-like bones around it. They might have to go up there before heading into Zora's Domain. Link turned around to face the other three, walking backwards.
   "Hey, do you think we should get that tower before we go on the path to Zora's Domain? It might be helpful to have a map," Link asked.
    "Yeah, probably. But we don't want to waste much time. If we take too long, we won't make it to the Zora. We will probably have to camp on the path," Elijah responded.
    "But didn't that traveler we talked to say that the path was full of monsters?" Zalie asked.
    "Yeah, but we don't have much choice. We can't stay the night on the path without getting attacked. It would be more dangerous to do that," Elyza added.
    "It won't be easy any way you look at it, Link. Getting the tower will probably help, though," Elijah suggested.
    "Alright. We'll go get the tower map and head on. It's still early in the day. It won't take too long into the day and we should make it to the Domain by tonight," Link decided. The three others nodded. "But, let's try to avoid fighting too much to get to the tower because it will take too long." They nodded again. Link turned back to walk forward again. He stopped as he came near the wooden walkway that led onto the lizalfos structure. "Hey guys? Unless we wanna swim over to where the tower is, we are gonna have to cross this."
   The other three nodded, looking resigned. The four of them quietly snuck on the bridge and platforms. They all noticed a lone lizalfos not to far, and an octorok in the water next to them. They stepped more quietly, walking down a branch off to avoid the lizalfos. Link held up a hand so that the others would stop. He went to the edge and leaped from the platform onto a...skull in the water. He motioned for the others to follow in suit and he leaped again, falling just barely on the land then rolling. The others followed, maybe less quietly, and they crouched down in the grass. It started to rain.
    There was another bridge just ahead, but it was guarded by a bokoblin holding a club. Link glanced around for any other monster, but saw none. He motioned for the girls and Elijah to stay there and he snuck off to deal with the bokoblin.
    It didn't notice his approach and so Link went up—as sneakily as he could—and stabbed it in the back. The bokoblin crumpled and fell to the floor of the bridge. Link waved for his friends and went across the bridge. They followed and together they walked to the end of the bridge. Suddenly, they were spotted by two bokoblins who immediately attacked them.
    Zalie reacted first, whipping out her fishing spear and lunged for one. Elyza pulled out her bow and shot the other in the head. They both fell to the ground, dead.
   "Um. Yikes," Link said after a moment. Zalie and Elyza grinned. Link walked past them and glanced down the way. There was a small waterfall, and another bokoblin that looked to be patrolling up a hill. The cliff was beside them. They all walked forward, nearing the cliff. Elijah went to the cliff and climbed up the side. Link watched as he snuck down the winding path and attack the bokoblin with his Flameblade (did you forget he had that?). The bokoblin caught fire and hopped around as it died. Elijah motioned them up. Link and the girls went up the path to meet Elijah.
   They didn't go all the way up the cliff—they spotted monsters on platforms attached to the cliff side and a boulder waiting to come down. The rain also got worse and made the climbing difficult. Link whispered for everyone to climb up the cliff beside them so that they didn't have to fight those. They all did so and reached the top. Zalie nearly fell into a gaping hole—luckily it wasn't deep—but Link had grabbed her hand. In front of them were little shallow caves. They all climbed them, up yet another cliff. They pulled off to the side when they saw 3 lizalfos near. Link motioned up the cliff once more and they all climbed to the top again, but that rain made it take a lot of energy. They weren't too far from the tower now. There was a thick pole here with a ladder to a platform on top.
   "Hey, guys, lets climb up this. We'll be able to see from up there and maybe get to the tower," Link suggested. They all shrugged and nodded. Link led the way up the ladder and they all crammed up onto the top. It was a little precarious. Link looked around. The tower was maybe 6-7 feet away from the platform. I can make that, Link thought critically. Link walked to the back of the platform, ran a few steps and leaped to the cliff, which caused Elyza to yelp in surprise. He had to open his paraglider to get far enough but he made it. He turned around to face the others.
   "Link, that was a little crazy," Zalie noted. Elijah was grinning a bit. Elyza was shaking her head, a slight smile on her face.
    "Maybe. Now it's your turn. C'mon!" Link said, smiling. Zalie looked opposed to the idea. Elijah looked wary, whereas Elyza shrugged.
   "Ok, I'll go. I probably won't make it so...you know, be prepared to help me up," Elyza said. She walked to the back of the platform, ran, and leapt across. She nearly made it the whole way but didn't quite. Link grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto land. Elyza grinned, blushing a bit. Link motioned for Zalie and Elijah to do the same. Elijah leapt across without needing any assistance and Zalie only needed a hand to keep from stumbling off.  She brushed herself off and they all walked to the tower and climbed, slower now, to the top.
   The first thing that Link saw was a...fish guy—Link could think of no other description. He was blue and he was looking anxiously over the tower at a bridge and he turned as they climbed up.
   "Why, you're a Hylian! You're all Hylians! This is perfect!" the fish guy exclaimed. "I got stuck up here while looking for Hylians. My name is Gruve. Our Prince Sidon—meaning the Zora— is looking for help to stop this unending rain! The Divine Beast has been causing this and we need help. If you could go down to that bridge down there—Inogo Bridge—and meet him that would be awesome. I...uh...can't get down with you I'm afraid. It's a long way to dive and I'm not sure I have the courage."
   Link just stared at him, then shook himself and nodded. "The Divine Beast?"
    "Yes," Gruve said, nodding. "Divine Beast Vah Ruta."
   Link's whole group seemed surprised that they were actually near a Divine Beast now. They all nodded though. The Zora turned away, looking down at that bridge again.
   Link went and got the map for the area while the rest of them checked out the view. Link looked at the map of his Sheikah Slate. It looked like the road to the Domain was winding and complicated.
   "Hey Link! Come look at this view!" Zalie exclaimed. Link turned to see her sitting in the edge of the tower staring westward. Link walked over. He could see Hyrule Castle, ominous and foreboding, and much more. Some plateaued mountains, a snowy mountain in the distance, a great expanse of land. Link turned again and saw the volcano and another tower in the distance. It was a beautiful view really. Link walked to the opposite side of the tower to look out in the direction of Zora's Domain.
   "Alright, this way to the Domain. Who wants to come first?" Link asked.
    "Like, glide down to that bridge? How will the rest get down there?" Elijah asked.
    Link hesitated. "Well...I've been meaning to try this."
    "Try what?" Elyza asked.
    "Teleporting. I can teleport to shrines and towers that I've gotten. I don't know if I can take anyone else though. But I could go down, teleport back up and get the next person," Link explained quickly.
    They all seemed stunned. Elyza looked slightly mad. "And you didn't think to tell us when we went back to Kakariko?"
   "Like I said, I don't know if I can take other people."
    Elyza seemed satisfied with that answer and stepped up to go first. She held on as Link hopped off the tower and glided down near the bridge. He teleported back up and got Zalie and did the same for Elijah. Safely down, Link walked up to the bridge.
   Almost immediately, a voice called out from a top the elegant, blue, small, tower like structure. "Say, hey there! Young ones! Up top! Above you!"
    Link looked up and saw a much larger and more adorned, red Zora. He flipped off his perch and landed crouched in front of them. He had a feather on his head and shoulder pads. Link could only assume that this was the Zora prince, Sidon.
   "Pardon the entrance, but you're Hylians aren't you?" Prince Sidon asked. "I was hoping perhaps you'd have a moment to talk..." Link nodded. "Aha! Hylians! I knew it! Oh, pardon me...I am Sidon, the Zora Prince!" He made a fist and have them a wide, toothy smile. Link noticed that his teeth were rather sharp. He looked at Link. "And what is your name? Go on, please tell me!"
   "Link," Link replied. This Zora was a little strange. Not that I have much experience with this race to judge, Link thought.
   "Link? Your name is Link?! What a fantastic name!" Sidon exclaimed. He put a hand in his chin. "Hmm, though I cannot shake the feeling that I have heard it somewhere before... Well, in any case, it is a strong name! To be honest, I've been watching you." Link took a step back. That was a little creepy. "I've seen the way you work. I can tell by how you carry yourself that you are no ordinary person. Link!" Link jumped. "You must be a strong warrior among Hylians, correct?!"
   "Um, I dunno. Not particularly," Link replied hesitantly.
   "No, no, no! Do not be so humble! I can tell just by looking at you. I am a Zora Prince, after all. I have an eye for talent that is unparalleled!" Sidon exclaimed. "Yes! Exquisite! I have been searching for someone like you for a long while. A man like you, Link, who carries himself with power! Right now, Zora's Domain is in grave danger because of the massive rainfall coming from Divine Beast Vah Ruta! Please, promise you will help us! We need your strength warrior! Won't you please come to Zora's Domain with me?"
   "Uh, sure thing," Link said. He only said yes because this was the only way to save Hyrule: this guy was seriously very weird (jk, I love Sidon).
   "Wow! Really?!" Sidon exclaimed. "Thank you, Link! You are indeed the man I thought you were! Now Zora's Domain will be saved for certain! No time to waste! Hurry up and head over! Because of the rain, the cliffs are too wet to climb. To reach the Domain, you will need to go straight along this path. As a Hylian, I know you are unable to swim up the river. As such, the path to the Domain may be a bit treacherous. You likely have a tough flight in store—there are monsters up ahead that fight with electricity." He turned to him and gave Link another a his big toothy smiles. "Don't give up! I believe in you!...Oh! That's right! I have something that I would like to give to you! This is just a small trinket to show that I have faith in you." He grabbed a bottle from who knows where that had a greenish yellow liquid in it and handed it to Link. "It is a drink that will increase your resistance to electricity! I am not sure why but it's effects do not seem to work for Zora. Perhaps because it was made specifically for Hylians. It should work wonders for you though! I shall go on ahead and make sure there is not anything strange going on where you are headed. I'm counting on you!" With that, Sidon jumped backwards and flipped into a dive into the water and swam off incredibly quickly.
   Link turned around to face his friends.
   Elyza started laughing. "You know, that might have been weirder than the fairy fountain!"
    Zalie started laughing too. "You didn't warn me that this was going to be so...interesting!"
   Link smiled grimly. "Yeah, if only the path ahead was like him. From what he said, the path will be a bit shocking."
   "That was a terrible pun. Now let's go get this over with," Elijah said, walking across the bridge. Link shrugged and they all followed. They all shared a drink of the elixir and headed out.
   The rain was heavy now and did not seem to lessen. They were all soaked through.
   They walked around the bend to meet a lizalfos. Link took this one. He lunged before it could draw its bow to shoot and slashed and stabbed. It fell to the ground dead. Elyza grabbed its arrows; they were electric. She pocketed them and they continued on.
   They met more lizalfos and got rid of them. Most held bows and were quick to fall as they weren't quick enough for the sword. They met a bunch of octoroks that shot rocks at them. Elyza got so annoyed with them she used a lightning arrow to kill multiple at once.
   They walked by a river and up the slippery trail. They walked under overhangs of rock and were attacked by yet another lizalfos. They killed it as easily as the rest. Then they walked up to a clearing.
   They were spotted by a lizalfos lookout. He blew a horn and 5 more lizalfos turned to them and they all were shooting electric arrows.
   The four of them threw themselves out of the way. Unfortunately, there were many puddles around and a couple arrows hit the puddles, creating a large area of shock and it caught Elijah. Link watched Elyza shoot the two closest lizalfos, dropping them, and then dashed over to her brother.
   Link waved for Zalie to follow him and the two of them dashed out and ran for the closest lizalfos. Link had to dodge an arrow and lunge out of the way. He rolled to his feet and dashed back and jumped to reach the lizalfos. He slashed its head off and fell to the ground. Breathing heavily, Link looked around for the next lizalfos. Zalie had gotten one and there were two more left. An arrow came from behind Link—narrowly missing him—and nailed one in the eye. Link sprinted for the last one, dodged its arrow, and stabbed it. It fell to the ground and died.
   Link looked around. Elyza was next to a still conscious Elijah and Zalie was jogging over to them. Link ran over.
   "Wow. That hurt a lot," Elijah gasped. He seemed mostly ok.
   "Are you ok, Elijah?" Zalie asked.
   "He's good. He just caught the outer shock of an arrow. That elixir helped though," Elyza answered.
   Link breathed out in relief. Link would have to thank Sidon for the elixir. "Can you walk, Elijah?"
   "Yeah, I think so," Elijah said, wincing as he got to his feet. Link nodded. They started off again.
    There were less monsters on this stretch it seemed for they didn't meet any lizalfos for a bit. They walked cautiously under another overhang. Elyza spotted them first.
   They looked like keese but were a yellowy green. Elyza took no chances and shot all of them down. They fell to the ground with little bubbles of electricity. Electric keese. Little devils, Link thought annoyedly.
   They kept walking. They met more of those keese but spotted them before they attacked and killed them. They met 4 lizalfos as they neared a bridge that looked like the Inogo Bridge. They all took one, though Elijah took a little longer to deal with his.
   They went to the bridge and a voice called out, "Hey! Link!!"
   Link looked over in the water to see Prince Sidon waving in the water.
   "You're almost halfway to Zora's Domain!" Sidon said. Elijah groaned at this. "Oh, by the way, there are a few spots up ahead with lots of enemies...but I'm sure you'll be fine! I believe in you, Link!" Sidon swam off with that.
   "If he's going so fast why doesn't he give us a ride," Elijah grumbled. Link smiled grimly.
    They continued walking and met a lone lizalfos that was dispatched quickly. They walked up a hill and had to jump out of the way as a boulder came tumbling down. Elyza muttered quietly to herself but said nothing. Link walked cautiously up under another overhang of the blue, jutting cliffs. They walked up and all jumped as a lizalfos with a spear attacked them from behind. Zalie responded with a fury of stabs and it fell. She threw her spear to the side—it was near to breaking—and grabbed one of the spare lizalfos spears. They walked around the corner and saw 4 lizalfos right there, a couple holding bows with electric arrows. Elyza hid behind a box and shot those ones and Link and Elijah took the other two.
   They walked on after they killed them. They neared yet another bridge and had walked halfway across it when they heard Sidon's voice again.
   "Hey! Link! Look below! Down here!" he called. The four of them looked over the edge to see him all the way down in the water. "You are still pretty far off, my friend! But I was sure you'd be passing over this bridge, so I have been waiting for you. You will be in Zora's Domain before you know it! In fact, I'm going to head that way too! I shall meet you there!" His voice was suddenly a little alarmed. "Whoa! Link!! Beware, warrior! A monster approaches from behind you!"
   Link whipped around to see a black moblin sneaking up behind them. It walked faster with its giant club as it saw that he was noticed. Elyza shot it but missed. Link dashed forward and ducked under its long swing. Zalie went around behind it, but it followed giving Elijah the chance to slash it from behind. It roared in pain and whirled to Link but that allowed Zalie to stab it repeatedly. It whirled yet again. It was very stupid. Link stabbed it in the back and it toppled.
   Breathing heavily, they started forward again. They walked around a mountain, surrounded by the blue cliffs. They walked up a little hill and at the top was something that Link had never seen before.
   It had a yellow and white robe thing on and had a dark face with an evil sharp grin. It was holding an electric rod and was prancing in the air.
   "Back, back," Link hissed. They backed off as to not be spotted.
   Zalie gasped softly. "It's a Wizzrobe! An electric one. They are all over Faron. They are really dangerous if allowed to do their dance. We either have to sneak past or kill it before it notices us," she whispered. They all nodded. "What do you want to do?"
   Link thought for a moment. "Well...I don't think that we could sneak pass without it noticing. We're going to have to fight it." The other three nodded reluctantly. "Elyza, since it's floating, you'll have to shoot it in the face to make it drop and then we'll handle the rest." They all nodded again.
   Elyza crouched and snuck forward. She strung an arrow and took aim. She loosed the arrow and nailed the wizzrobe in face. It went limp and fell to the ground where Link, Zalie and Elijah rushed it. It got up, hands on its knees as if catching its breath. They took that time to slash it but it disappeared with sparkles and reappeared next to them doing a dance.
   "Elyza! Shoot it!" Zalie yelled. A shot came and nailed it once more and it fell to the ground but did not move anymore. Dead.
   Elyza walked up to join them, nudging the corpse. "Wonder what it would have done if it completed its dance."
   "Better that we not know," Elijah said. Zalie nodded. Link waved for them to follow and they walked along the rough path. They rounded a bend and it front of them was water shooting up into the air.
   "What's that?" Elyza asked, frowning.
   "That's a lot of water," Zalie noted.
   "Where's it coming from?" Elijah asked, frowning as well.
   Link turned to them. "It's Vah Ruta. The Divine Beast." He knew it. He didn't know how. The rest of them nodded, not asking how he knew. That water shooting into the air was causing this rain. It was Link's job to stop that. He turned away and walked down the hill.
    They had to fight a couple more moblins but they reached the bottom of the clifffs and paths and got their first glimpse of Zora's Domain.
    It was flowing and arched, curved and beautiful. There were soft, crystal lights all along it all. There was an enormous fish on top and a long bridge with arches leading up to it. It was all different shades of blue. It went outward and you could tell that it was as much a work of art as the home of the Zora. Elyza gasped at the sight.
    Link led the way with his friends behind them, walking down the bridge to the Domain.