Of Royal Blood - The Legend Of Zelda

[X] It is important to get a plan, stay here with Zelda.

"We better get the plan sorted out rather then doing it last minute," You tell Zelda, and she nods.

So after eating your breakfast the both of you file into Zelda's room. She takes out the Sheikah Slate and taps at the screen a few times before setting it down, eye side up. The eye flashes for a minute before to your surprise a transparent, blue-tinged approximation of Hyrule materializes in front of you. Sheikah runes danced a mesmerizing blue in the air in front of you as the map bulged and twisted to conform to the very land of Hyrule until you were looking at a perfect 3D replication of it. Only one slight issue...

"Uh... your map is missing a bunch of towns," You point out to Zelda, who sighs as she takes a seat.

"I know, my map is horribly out of date by... well I'm not sure how many thousands of years," She tells you, crimson eyes looking over the map from behind her glasses, "The Sheikah Slate scans the local area as we travel and slowly processes it but its range is very small. We'd need to find Sheikah Towers and get them to scan the local topography and then manually try to apply scanned in map data to it. Not an easy task, but one that would make things much easier."

"Another thing on the to-do list then," You say, leaning against the wall and folding your arms over your chest.

Zelda makes a wordless sound of agreement and begins tapping and swatting at various Sheikah runes, making them swirl around in the air. Suddenly icons appeared on the map.

"Right, so starting off with what we're going to be doing in a few days," Zelda says as she leans back in her seat, "The blue icons you see appearing are Travel points. The only two we have are the one near your old home and that shrine where we met Mipha. The place we'll be going too is a Warp Gate, which will connect to this Nexus. Warp Gates should also have a travel point attached to it."

"What's the difference between a Warp Gate and a Travel Point, what do they do?" You ask.

"Well, a Warp Gate is a big well... Sheikah Gate. It creates a portal that connects to another Warp Gate. Step through the Portal and appear at your destination. The Sheikah used to use them to transport large amounts of people and supplies. A Travel Point can be activated with the Sheikah Slate, and it will immediately teleport the owner to that location. Sadly it only transports the owner. However, I've read passages speaking about groups, horses and carriages teleporting at once so maybe there are devices out there that'll let us do that," Zelda explains before she taps a rune and the map shrinks slightly.

"Now, of course, we'll have to reactivate this Nexus, a Nexus of what I'm not sure of. I'm also not sure where in Hebra Mountains the Kakariko Warp Gate will take us so I've already prepared a bunch of warm clothes for us," She tells you, readjusting in her seat, "What exactly will happen there I don't know, but I do know our next location after that."

She taps a few more runes and the map zooms in on a plateau surrounded on all sides by walls. On top were verdant forests and farmland and a mountain that reached to the heavens. The Great Plateau. Zelda points to a church complex of staggering size, its architecture in a style strikingly similar to that of the ancient Hyrule castle, "Here's the Temple of time. The monks who live there develop clairvoyant abilities along with others and all possess a deep loyalty to the royal bloodline. They could direct us to the other maidens, or some ancient magic to aid us or protect us from Yiga clan detection."

"How do you know they're loyal?" You ask.

Zelda goes quiet, looking towards the ground with half-lidded eyes, "I... My father's advisor was the head priest there. He and his students were always there for us. Akko said the temple had been untouched by the empire, so the empire might not have..."

You nod, "I understand. I'm sure they're safe."

Zelda gives you a small smile before going to swiping at runes, enlarging the map of Hyrule again, "Right so, the maidens. With you, Mipha and myself all having some spiritual significance we're operating off the theory that all of them are related to the Seven Sages in some way. If Medli turns out to be one of us than that basically confirms it. Therefore the best thing to do is find the remaining living Sages and test their closest relatives."

"With everything the Empire has done, is there still a chance..." You trail off, not willing to continue that dark thought.

Zelda shakes her head, "I... don't want to consider that possibility. Besides well... I know Grand- I mean Great Witch Maple wouldn't have let herself be caught by the Empire."

"Great Witch?"

"Witches are practitioners of old magic, communing with ancient spirits and creating powerful elixirs," Zelda helpfully elaborates, straightening up as she adjusted her glasses, "Maple was the greatest of them all and the Sage of the Forest, though I'm surprised you don't remember her Link. She used to constantly sneak us candies."

You wrack your brain, trying to remember your distant childhood. Hrmm, you do remember an old lady bent over from age, covered in wrinkles with a crumpled pointed hat perched on her head who would give you candy... and a lecture when you and Zelda got into mischief.

"Yeah... think I remember her lectures more. She has any relatives?"

Zelda nods, "Yes, I do remember her mentioning a daughter who was the same age as our mothers. But Maple... she stayed with me for a bit after our mothers passed until she vanished suddenly. Impa told me later she received a letter and then took off. I don't know where she could be..."

You frown, she could be anywhere in Hyrule by now. Still, keeping an ear out for a witch should be easy, "Who else is there?"

"There's Seres, the Sage of Spirit. She was the youngest Sage, only twelve when I last saw her. Her parents had passed away during the plague, so my mother took her in," Zelda goes quiet for a minute, fond memories coming to the forefront, "She was so quiet and demure... I wish I got to know her more instead of always trying to show her bugs and frogs. After my mother passed she went to live with her grandfather, the great Scholar Sahasrahla in Rauru, studying to become a nun at her father's old church."

"It doesn't sound like she has any relatives," You observe, and Zelda gives a despondent nod.

"I know but maybe... maybe she's the maiden of spirit? There's no reason for her not to be and... I'd like to see her again."

You nod in understanding, before asking "So, who's the last Sage?"

Zelda looks at you confused, "You don't remember Lady Urbosa? She practically took Impa under her wing, and always kept an eye on all us."

Now that she mentions it, you did remember a tall dark-skinned young woman with long red hair laughing heartily as you and Zelda chased each other with sticks, clapping a mortified Impa on the back and telling her to join in on the fun. Goddess, actually comparing Impa to this Urbosa from your memories reminded you that Impa really is only a couple years older than you. Was she really that young when she was made Zelda's bodyguard? "Yeah... yeah I remember her...She was the Sage of Light right?"

Zelda doesn't seem to notice your realization, instead leaning in with a wide, mischievous grin splitting her face, "Did you remember her full name? Urbosa Dragmire?"

You feel your jaw drop, "Wait... what? Does that mean she's-"

Zelda nods excitedly, "Yep, she's Sir Ganondorf's sister. Well... half-sister but I didn't learn about that until I asked Impa recently. And get this, did you know Sir Ganondorf is married and has a daughter?"

Your brow furrows, "He never mentioned it..."

Zelda leans back, her good mood suddenly vanishing, "Yes... actually that's something Impa mentioned. Lady Urbosa never spoke of her brother or mentioned her last name. When he visited the castle, she and Sir Ganondorf never once interacted. She only knew from my mother. She also only knew Sir Ganondorf had a wife and child as my Father had asked how Queen Aveil and their daughter were doing. She recalled finding it strange that my father didn't know the name of Sir Ganondorf's daughter, but knew little else about it as Sir Ganondorf did not speak much about them."

You fold your arms over your chest, deep in thought, "Ganondorf abdicated shortly after our mothers passed away, right? If he had a wife and daughter... why did he go into exile?"

Zelda shakes her head, "I don't know, and I know very little about Gerudo customs. I do know Lady Urbosa returned home shortly after she heard, and that when she found out a lightning storm raged over the castle until she departed. But other than that... nothing. We will need to travel to the Gerudo's home though. If anyone is the Maiden of Light it must be that girl, whoever she is. Lady Urbosa will also surely be overjoyed to see we both survived."

You nod, the Gerudo have had nothing to do with the Empire from what little you know. They'd be excellent allies, and you see no complications other than the harsh realities of travelling through the desert. Which... actually might be a challenge for Mipha. You might need to visit the Temple of Time solely to find magic that won't result in the Zora Princess ending up frying on the hot sand. Still, there was one question lingering in your mind...

"So... if we got the others down then..." You begin to say, "Who's the Maiden of Shadow?"

Zelda sighs, "I... don't know. You ended up being the legendary hero and you have no relatives..."

You scratch the back of your neck, "Actually... I discovered that my mother might have family in Necluda. I was meaning to ask if we could..."

"Of course! Even if it wasn't for the legend I'd have agreed to go there, Link!" Zelda exclaims, "I'd love to help you find your family."

You feel the corners of your mouth tug upwards, "Thank you, Zelda. Is there anything else we'd need to do?"

She nods, "We need to see what's going on with Lon Lon ranch, They were always deeply loyal to my family and undoubtedly are suffering under the boot of the Empire. We must free them, and I remember from when I last visited their ranch there's a Warp Gate out in their field, so we may even be able to bring them here. I would also like to search for Auntie Purah and Professor Robbie. I worry about Auntie and Uncle and wish to see them return home, regardless of the fact their research into Sheikah magic can help us. Professor Robbie, however, is a genius in ancient Sheikah technology and could help create weapons or armour for us to use, or help us destroy anything the Yiga throw at us."

"And Lanayru..."

Zelda gives a dejected sigh, "I... I want to help save Mipha's father and free her people. Mipha and I... discussed it the other night, and she told me that we should not even think about it until we find the other Maidens."

"Yeah," You say with a nod, your tone sombre "Mipha and I talked about it yesterday."

Zelda makes a wordless sound of acknowledgement and you both go quiet, the issues of Lanayru and the potential consequences weighing heavily on your mind.

After a few moments you break the silence, "So well, I guess this covers everything then? We seem to have a pretty good idea of where to go."

"Y-yeah..." Zelda mutters, glancing towards her desk. On it, you could see several painted knights, standing at attention. They must be figures for that game you saw the book of. Zelda was biting her lip, clearly holding back from asking something as crimson eyes darted between them and you behind her glasses.

What do you do?
[] Ask if she has anything to test strategic thinking. (Play the game.)
[] Just hang out with her for a bit.
[] Ask if she wants to go into town.
[] Go spend time with someone else?
-[] Write in who.
[] Write in.