Of Royal Blood - The Legend Of Zelda

[X] Take on the Stalnox.

You throw on your gear and quickly make your way out of the mansion and towards the edge of the village. Sure enough, Impa was there with an owl sitting on her outstretched arm. The moment she spots you sends it off, the owl silently taking flight towards the village, and you only manage to catch a glimpse of a piece of paper tied around its leg before the owl is swallowed up by the darkness.

"Letting the other guards know we're heading out?" You ask as you draw to near to her.

"Something like that," Was all Impa said as she turned and started walking briskly into the woods. You fall into line behind her, keeping pace despite the darkness and increasing difficulty of the terrain. You're keenly aware the only reason you're keeping up with Impa was your years spent in the woods. Zelda may be able to perform feats of superhuman agility but she'd never have been able to wander through the woods in total darkness like this. Mipha could, her years fighting in Lanayru's swamps had honed her skills in making the most of any terrain. Paya definitely could not, and the sharp difference between the two Sheikah girls to both Mipha and yourself plagues your thoughts as your lead towards the Stalnox.

Impa was by all accounts one of the most powerful warriors you had ever met, yet her own niece and charge were well... not. Zelda was the best archer you had ever met, yet it seemed large sections of her training seemed to be missing. You knew before coming here she had issues and preferred to ease her mind with scholarly pursuits than fighting ones, taking up archery and the superhuman skills more for convenience and as a hobby than for combat. Sure she drifted off from topics, but you never expected her to be actively bad at teaching. The more you learn about her life here, the more you worry for Zelda and bitterly you wonder if you've been ignoring the signs to not risk harming her, even as she'd stay up late next to you mesmerized by the slate writing how she learned something new about friendship. It was... disquieting to realize how much you had chosen to ignore, even when you wanted to help Zelda overcome her problems.

Then there was Paya; why was someone so brilliant, so captivating to Zelda kept so isolated? Impa was imposing, you could understand why she kept her distance from her shy niece but where were Paya's parents? Why was Zelda the only person she felt at ease near, despite their first violent meeting? You realize then you know so little about Paya, despite the girl seemingly willing to be friends with you despite her own shyness. You should spend a day with her, try to get to know who Paya really is. Zelda would undoubtedly approve, and it'll help you begin to understand them and their problems which seemed so inextricably linked. Paya also seemed like she'd be fun to hang out with, even if it'd take awhile for her to come out of her shell.

Finally, there was Mipha, the Princess who had given up any hope of getting her kingdom back. She never said it out loud, but it wasn't particularly difficult to see it. The Mipha you had met had devoted herself for years avenging not just her people and ravaged land, but the friend who had been violently taken from her. No wonder when Zelda had appeared out of the blue was Mipha so keen to stay by Zelda's side no matter what. You have no doubt that she knew how without her the Zora rebels would have starved and had only threatened it to get them to leave with the three of you. The fact she had seen a need to do so despite how easily they had agreed must be eating away at her. With Mipha revealed as a sage she probably feels guilty about her pessimism even with the impossible task before you all, and worries about the danger the friend she had just got back is rushing into. You wonder if you'll be able to get Mipha to open up about it, or if it's something you should let her come to terms with on her own.

With all that in mind, you only hope that-

"You're overthinking why you are doing this," Impa suddenly states, making your head jerk upwards, "Do not try to justify in your head the action you're taking now, there was only one reason why you agreed to this."

"How did you...?" You ask, and you just barely see in the darkness Impa look over her shoulder giving you a small smirk.

"You don't pay attention where you're going when you're lost in thought, I heard your footsteps change," She tells you, looking forward again.

Ah, yeah you did kinda slow down a bit, but then what did she mean by...

"Only the most loyal of knights took on this trial to become a royal guard, but only one other in all my time in the guard viewed it as simple training to be stronger. So that they could one day help shoulder the burdens placed on the sages and the royal family..." She trailed off and picked up the pace. But you didn't need her to state it outright to figure out who Impa was referring to.

Though was it that strange that you shared that in common with her?

Impa stops, and you realize the two of you had stepped into a clearing, a rather suspicious mound of jagged rocks telling you that you had arrived at the arena.

"It'll animate as you get near, if you need to make any last preparations I suggest you do so now," Impa tells you, but you only shake your head as you draw your Tetsubo and a throwing knife before stepping into the clearing.

The effect was immediate as you crossed that invisible threshold, the jagged stones ripping themselves free from the earth in a shower of dirt and plant matter to reveal that they were indeed the bones of a truly massive humanoid.

Even long without its covering of flesh the Stalnox's bones were more like tree trunks than bone, the creature itself only dwarfed by the largest trees, every step sending tremors through the ground simply due to the bones weight alone. It was strangely squat, with short legs and long arms yet it did little to really alter the impression that you were against a true giant, something that could crush you underfoot like a bug. A single cyclopean eye lit up with an unholy blue light, a green gash swiveling to look down upon you with evil intent.

So you threw your dagger directly into it, before charging with your Tetsubo raised. A roar, still deafening despite the beasts lack of lungs cut through the forest sending the sleeping woods into a panic as the Stalnox scratched at its eye, giving you an opening to close the distance and put all your strength into sending your Tetsubo into the solid bone of its shin. Bone shifted, and whatever demonic magic that was animating the Stalnox faltered, and you just barely managed to backflip away as it tried to take a step before its leg gave way, sending the bones crashing to the ground in a jumbled heap. Its eye tumbled out, rolling for a few feet before stopping, swiveling around in a panic.

You again run forward, this time leaping up onto the bones as they began to shake and twitch. You just begin to get some height before they start to raise, the eye rolling back towards its owner.

It never makes it, as you leap from the Stalnox's bones and send your Tetsubo crashing down into it, shattering it like glass before it dissolved into black smoke. The Stalnox follows suit a moment later, its bones crumbling before your very eyes, vanishing into black smoke.

You shoulder your Tetsubo, a cocky grin splitting your face as you look over to Impa. Impa actually looks surprised, her eyes wide, "That was... faster than I expected."

"You thought I'd win?" You ask as you pick up the dagger you threw.

"Of course, it's just a Stalnox. Someone who so readily dives into the belly of a Big Octo would have no trouble with it," But then she frowns, brow furrowed as something seems to concern her.

"Something wrong?" You ask, putting away your Tetsubo and walking over to her.

"No... No nothing is wrong..." She trails off for a moment before suddenly saying, "I must return to the village, you will have to make your own way back."

"Wait... what?!" You exclaim, but it's too late as the Sheikah warrior vanished into the darkness of the woods.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have gotten lost in thought earlier...


You close your eyes, giving a small shake of your head before opening them. What was that? For a moment you saw Zelda... differently. Not in any way you'd have expected. How she was dressed, how she was carrying herself shouldn't bring up such mysterious feelings that made it feel like your chest was tightening and your throat torturously dry. That painful nostalgia, the subtle feeling of vertigo and the intensely bitter taste of regret that almost made you choke when you tried to swallow it.