Rise of the Goddess

Chapter One - Zariah

It was a lonely road she traveled, the last sign of society she saw was that of the stables of the dueling peaks. She rode alone, just her and her horse, a mare with light brown hair and a dark mane whom she'd named Sappho. They rode together through the dueling peaks, and through the mountains deep in West Necluda. The road led through the mountains and towards a forest, a forest that burned long, long ago. As Zariah came across the remains of Kakariko Village, she stopped and dismounted Sappho, stopping to look around.

She knew she wouldn't find anything here, it had been over 30 years since these woods burned, but still it felt like something she needed to stop and commemorate. Before her was a stone plaque, serving as a monument of sorts. She didn't really need to read it, she already knew everything that had happened. 35 years ago, Ganondorf rose to the height of his power and in a single move, he burned Kakariko Village to the ground, killing all of the Sheikah and burning all that they had accomplished to ash. He killed them all, all except one.

As Zariah breathed in the air, she could still smell hints of smoke.

She mounted Sappho again and took off further through the woods and passed by a strange pod looking thing that had burnt to a crisp and died. She turned away and continued, afterall, she still had to reach her destination.

Once Zariah had gotten out of the woods, the rest of the trip became so much more daunting. Mount Lanayru had finally come into view. She paused, stopping Sappho as soon as she saw the Mountain Peak.

For centuries, there was a tradition in the Hylian Royal Family that once they came of age, the Hylian Princess was to climb Mount Lanayru and pray at the Spring of Wisdom. It was — in Zariah opinion — a stupid tradition, and relatively recent. It was supposed to bring the Princess the wisdom and ability to rule when the time came, and bring them into the Goddess's favor. There was a long running legend that the Hylian Royal Family continued the Goddess's bloodline, and that it especially showed in its Princesses.

Again, Zariah could only think of how stupid it was. In her mind, it was the equivalent of stereotyping. Yes, she was the Princess of Hyrule, but no, she didn't particularly show the blood of a Goddess and she did not reflect wisdom, in any way, at all.

But still she rode on. It was tradition to climb Mount Lanayru on the Princess's 17th birthday, but Zariah was about 6 years late to that, her 23rd birthday passed a few months ago. Her mother had been bothering her about it ever since.

She and Sappho rode on, at last finding the river path, and following it down. A long time ago Hylians found the old ruins that followed along the river towards the mountain and created a small village out of it, adding onto the structures, providing a place to stay for travelers, helping them prepare. It was a beautiful sight, one of her favorite villages in all of Hyrule.

She rode past the cliffside homes and watched as the sun began to set over Mount Lanayru. The image of it was absolutely beautiful, the way the sun seemed to eclipse around the mountain peak, the reflection of the warm glow upon the water. Zariah stopped again just to watch it. Then she sighed. If the sun was already setting, it would be a smart idea to stop here and rest before climbing it.

She rode down the path towards the inn, dismounted Sappho and left her to wait for her, giving her an apple as they parted. She walked into the inn and was met with a smile.

"Hello, welcome to our humble inn," The innkeeper said, "Would you like a bed for tonight?"

Zariah had to smile, thank god she didn't recognize her.

"Yes, if you could spare one,"

"We always have a bed open for travelers. There's a spare one upstairs you would like that one," Zariah nodded, "So are you here to climb Mount Lanayru?"