Silent Hero: a tribute to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda

by Christine E. Schulze

Chapter 6

  The Promise of the Zorita’s Eyes

  As the winged lady lighted before them, as gently and noiselessly as a butterfly kissing the snow, and as the others walked up behind her, Link stared with a new sort of awe, respect, and even a bit of the childish curiosity that Sarita so often possessed when studying some new corner of the wood.

  When their wings folded, it looked as though long, shallow turtle shells rested upon their backs. Moonlit water glistened like thousands of miniature aquamarines upon their blue-green skin. Their faces, noses, and ears were long, angular, bearing an elven sort of elegance, as did their long arms, legs, and the graceful fins arching from both wrists and ankles. Silver hair spilled down the backs of the ladies, while the silver locks of the men were woven in a singular, tight braid down their backs. Their eyes gleamed like inquisitive sapphires.

  “Welcome,” said the front-most lady, “heroes and friends. I trust by the green garb you bear—” her eyes darted swiftly to Link—“that you are indeed the Hero from my dreams—and thus a descendant of the Hero of old. And you, my lady. Who might you be?”

  Her calm, wondering gaze turned to Midna, who bowed her head. “I am Midna of Twilight, my lady. I too have been visited with dreams and now aid the Hero on his quest.”

  Link felt himself blushing vividly at such high praise from such lovely ladies; he hoped the moonlight wasn’t bright enough to reveal too much of his reddening cheeks.

  “I am Ava, princess of the Zorita. My people and I have patiently yet anxiously awaited your arrival. Come. There is one of ours, in our valley, who can tell you more about finding the song you seek....”

  The Zorita turned and drifted up the sandy slopes towards the cliff-side. As Midna and Link followed, they exchanged glances between each other and the silvery shell-like domes upon the Zorita’s back.

  “If I may,” Midna ventured, “about your wings...I would think they’d get wet, and you couldn’t fly, but...”

  She paused, as if uncertain how to continue. Ava smiled sweetly, eyes twinkling. “Aye, it is indeed of no hindrance, for we were ingeniously crafted by the goddesses. When we fold our wings, the feathers fold nicely inside. On the outside, a thin but sturdy film of lightweight, waterproof leather keeps everything snug and dry. So, if we are swimming and an emergency arises which needs flight, we can leap from the water, burst our wings wide, and take to the sky the next instant.”

  “Ingenious indeed,” breathed Midna, gazing almost jealously at the silvery, folded wings.

  “Certainly a great gift from the goddesses,” agreed Ava. “Certainly a very great gift....”

  All fell silent then as they wandered up to the cliffs. Ava ran her fingertips casually along their rough surface, as if searching for some very familiar clue. Then, she turned and seemed to disappear straight into the wall.

  Link stopped short, stunned at first. Midna paused too, brow furrowed as a confused little frown graced her lips.

  Then, Midna felt the wall, and her arm seemed to go right through. She too disappeared. Link found himself stepping up to the wall and feeling for it—only to find open air, a narrow gap between the cliffs so carefully hidden that the naked eye would have great difficulty in detecting it by day, let alone by the dead of night. Slipping between the folds of the cliff, Link found himself making a sharp left and sloping downward towards the gaping mouth of a cave which Ava and Midna had just disappeared into.

  The caves led them to a series of winding chambers lit by soft, sleepy torchlight. Ava paused before two rooms long enough to announce that these were two of the empty guest rooms they were welcome to sleep in for the night. Midna thanked her quietly, and Ava led them forward once more, declaring they’d nearly “reached the end”.

  Upon emerging from the network of caves, a valley of brilliant green hills stretched before them. The hills were surrounded by high cliffs, except for a gap on the far side where the ground plunged straight down to the ocean. Crystalline waterfalls spilled from the high cliff-tops and into deep lakes.

  As they walked forward, the grass greeted their feet like old friends. How plush the grass felt, like a soothing balm. Link wasn’t used to such soft footfalls in the forest, where brush and bramble and old leaves were ever underfoot. His feet were toughened, but even they had grown weary in all the walking he and Midna accomplished in so short a time, and the grass was a definite relief.

  Even as he enjoyed the grass’ subtle comfort, another pleasantry drifted to his ears. The music of a guitar, a cheery tune which made him think of magical dreams.

  As their trek turned upward, Link saw they scaled one of the hills, at the top of which sat a male Zorita, tall and straight, though as he strummed the guitar, he could not look more relaxed, reveling in his craft.

  They waited until he’d finished his song, and then Ava gently cleared her throat.

  His round, intelligent eyes snapped up. With a smile, he rose to his feet.

  “The Hero and his Lady. Forgive me, sister. I did not see you approach.”

  “Nor hear us, I trust,” she added with a smirk. “Though for good cause. Your work is always well worth it....

  “Asher, these here are Link and Midna. And this, my new friends, is my brother, Asher.”

  “An honor,” he said, bowing low, and Link and Midna returned the gesture. His voice flowed like a serene, soothing wave, and Link felt instantly more at ease.

  “Please, sit.” He motioned with his arm, and together, the four of them sat upon the velvety hill.

  “You come seeking the path to a certain Song,” Asher began. “Our people have treasured its secrets for a long time now. We treasured it during the time we were Zora—when we were first created and entirely fish-people, dwellers of the water. We treasured it in the time we evolved into Rito—winged beings who dwelt on land yet stayed close to and loved the seas. And we treasure it now, when we are Zorita, a combination of our ancestors, the Rito and Zora. All this time, through all these generations, have we honored the Hero, hailed him, remembered him, and wished for a time when we might aid and bring honor to his name.

  “They say that, a long time ago, that Hero—the first Link—dwelt in Termina for many years, until his death. They say he lived right along these shores, though perhaps they looked different in that age....

  “You see, when Link, as the Hero of Time, traveled back in time after completing his first quest to save Hyrule, two Links were created—a child in the past, and an adult in the future. The child or past Link journeyed onto Termina and ended up completing a great quest to save this land.

  “Along the way, he helped heal troubled spirits who, in turn, granted him masks which allowed him to transform into their race. One such mask allowed him to morph into a Zora. With the transformation, Link looked almost exactly like Mikau, a young Zora who had been in love with the beautiful Zora singer, Lulu; only, Mikau died trying to save Lulu’s eggs, and as Link granted his souls peace through song, Mikau gave him the Zora mask in turn. Lulu, of course, thought Link was Mikau, and he never told her the truth. His child’s heart didn’t wish to disappoint her so....

  “After saving Termina, and upon returning to Hyrule...it is said he no longer felt ‘part’ of that world. Though a child, when inside Mikau’s body, he began to feel things for Lulu he never had felt for anyone before. He felt a strong bond, a need to be near her. And that was one thing he could understand as a child, for he’d ventured to Termina in the first place in search of a dear, long-lost friend....

  “So, Link returned to Termina to live out his days with Lulu. He never took the mask off. She never knew. No one ever knew until he was very old and revealed his tale to a few who would keep the tale sacred and safe for generations to come.

  “We Zorita honor the Hero of Time for his love and devotion to one of our own. Truly, he had a Hero’s heart.”

  “The spirit of that first Link,” said Ava, “is said to still wander about Termina—and it is he who holds a part of the Song you seek. S
ome have claimed to see him amongst the forests, while others claim to have heard him playing a merry tune there upon his ocarina. It is said too that he took the masks with him to the Spirit Realm, so it is hard to say what form one might catch him in....”

  “So, we should turn next to the forest?” Midna turned to Link with bright eyes. “We might have passed near to him without knowing. Then again, figures if Tingle just up and scared him off....”

  “Oh dear,” Ava shook her head. “Sorry am I you had to endure the likes of one such as Tingle on your first visit to Termina. He means well, of course, he has a good and faithful heart. But he is an oddity, to be sure.”

  “Indeed,” muttered Asher before Midna could get to it; instead, she granted an agreeing smirk.

  “Well, then,” Asher said. “If you all might excuse me, I shall be getting to bed this evening. Plan on rising extra early and working on a new song of mine. Good night, my friends. Again, it has truly been an honor....”

  After exchanging nods of respect and farewell, Asher took up his guitar and drifted down the hill.

  “Mm...” Ava sighed long and deep. “Well, shall you two head off to bed as well?”

  Midna’s eyes glistened brightly. “I don’t think I could sleep. It’s so beautiful here, the perfect place to rest, yet it’s such an exciting place. It’s calm but so breathtaking. I think I shall sit here a spell and enjoy the beauty of the night.”

  “Good,” Ava nodded. “I should be glad of the company.”

  Her eyes scrolled then to Link. With a shrug, he rose and pointed casually down the hill.

  “Going exploring?” Midna asked with a gentle grin.

  He nodded, returning the grin as he remembered Sarita and all their explorations which he’d shared with Midna that night. Already, that conversation seemed a lifetime ago; they had just learned so much again, and so much new lay before them to accomplish....

  But for the present, his one goal was to enjoy the short reprieve in the Zorita’s Domain as fully as possible.

  Link truly did set out to explore every nook and cranny possible. He roamed around the rolling hills, peeking behind the waterfalls, and wound through many of the caves’ passages. A few Zorita milled quietly about, seeming also to stroll aimlessly yet not without purpose.

  Only when his feet began to ache, noticing days of past weariness, did he return to the hills and their star-cast sky. He started towards the hill Midna and Ava still sat upon, but they seemed very involved in their conversation. So, choosing a hill a little ways off, he settled gratefully onto its velvety folds.

  He just prepared to lay back, maybe even fall asleep in that spot, when the mention of his name caught his attention. He tried to ignore what he was certain must be a private conversation, yet years of self-training made him unable to block out such clear words:

  “Link. What do you think of him?”

  “What do you mean ‘what do I think of him’?” Midna tried to snap, but the last words came off as weaker, breathy.

  “I have little seen you and certainly do not know you, yet...Zorita can sense many things. A special connection exists between the two of you.”

  A painful pause. Then, with gentle curiosity, “What do you mean?”

  “Well, for starters...he reminds you of another.”

  A long pause in which Link held his breath, at least until he realized he began to grow light-headed. Exhaling slowly, he began gulping long, quiet breaths which did not at all match the erratic rhythm of his heart.

  At last,

  “He shares the soul of one I once loved. Or at least, I think he does, or else I want him to. But...we could not be together either way. Darkness and Light only create Shadow, don’t they?”

  His heart calmed, not with soothing, but with sadness. Surely, she was his superior, an ancient princess of the Twilight Realm and far advanced in wisdom and magic. How could she doubt her worth, never mind she was from a Shadow realm, when measured against an immature, inexperienced, and defective forest rogue as he?

  “Perhaps...” said Ava with careful slowness. “Or perhaps, as Dawn proves every morning, Darkness can only be overcome by Light.”

  Link’s Kokiri-trained ears were far more steadfast than his Hylian eyes which longed to wander. He wished to know her thoughts, her feelings, everything that Midna was at this exact moment. He could not know without glimpsing the crimson windows into her soul or at least glancing at the stance of her body—if she revealed any emotion at all. He supposed so many years made her good at hiding such things. Then again, she sounded so much more open with another who understood her....

  Two stars suddenly streaked past, spiraling about each other in a magical sort of dance, releasing brilliant white sparkles as they waltzed out of sight. Then, birds sang gently in the trees not far from where he sat, and two Luna moths circled about his head, one landing softly on his folded hands.

  “We Zorita...we believe that Nature, as the foundation for the world the goddesses created for us, contains some of the deepest wisdoms.

  “Take all these signs, especially the song of the moon blossom birds. Mates for eternity; the only creatures who can consummate their love within a nest made of moon blossom petals which they eat afterwards. In doing so, they are granted the eternal life of the moon blossoms, and for so long lasts their love....

  “I do not know what these things may mean for you. But do not close your heart. Better to love and find out that he is not the one, than to never search and find who that one is. And if the love is true, even if it turns out it is not what the goddesses deem best, while there will be sorrow, there will be no regrets of the time you spend together.”

  His heart culminated again into such a swift dance he thought it might explode if he didn’t spare just the smallest glance at her again....

  She sat with hands folded about knees drawn close. Her eyes scanned the heavens as if imploring the voices of the goddesses to grant the answer. On one of her long, delicate fingers rested the other Luna moth.

  Link glanced away, head reeling. Could such be possible? Could she feel for her what he thought he began to, and could the gods deem it a good thing? Even so, how could he ever express his love for her? Drawing a picture for that seemed far too insufficient.

  This sole trouble he pondered as he sat for long hours still upon the hill. Midna and Ava spoke little afterwards, and when they did, it was in tones too hushed for even his sensitive ears to make out the words.

  Occasionally, he would glance up at Midna, and yet more rarely, study her for several minutes. Her eyes and mind seemed so entwined with the starry heavens that, if she felt his eyes watching, she made no sign of it. In fact, she made little sign of anything. Her face was placid and pensive like a guardian goddess’ might be. What thoughts might stir beyond that sweet mask, he could not tell.

  It was late when she and Ava rose at last and began drifting down the hill towards the caves. Only when some time had passed did Link rise and saunter down the hill as well, wandering into the cool caves and finding the guest room Ava had shown them earlier.

  As he prepared to slip inside, the softest footsteps perked his ears. Looking up, he saw Ava floating down the hall. Quietly passing him, she did not pause—but her eyes paused upon him. A subtle nod mingled with that lingering look granted him some sort of promise and hope. His heart leapt within him, though he couldn’t tell why.

  Then, she was gone.

  He was left to stand in a strange sort of daze until he realized this, ducked inside his room, and snuggled beneath the cloud-soft sheets of the bed.

  The more he thought about everything—the strange, sudden flood of new emotions, the way he’d seen Midna act and possibly react tonight, and the way he’d reacted in turn—the less sense it made, to the point of coming full circle and making sense once again:

  He was in love. Or thought he was. At any rate, he’d never felt such strong passion, protectiveness, and a desire for nearness and companionship from anyone else
before. And perhaps, just perhaps—if the promise of the Zorita’s eyes spoke truth—perhaps Midna felt a small glimmer of something for him too. Wishing this dream inside his sleepy mind, he drifted into a deep and contented sleep.