Chapter Text
It was fifty years before the Great Calamity. Blood moons did not yet know to rise, and monsters were sparse within Hyrule’s slowly expanding borders. Peace was imperfect, as all peace on the mortal plane is, but for most there was little to fear and a colorful world to enjoy.
But on this particular day, among the towering waterfalls and purple cliffs, Zora’s Domain was draped in black. The normally jovial zora were quiet and solemn, the elders shaking their heads in pity and sorrow. No one dared disturb the throne room where the royals were grieving.
Mipha held her newborn brother close, softly bouncing him with misty eyes. Young Sidon was all that was left of their mother, the final gift the gentle queen had been able to give the world. He smiled at her, babbling, little fingers grabbing at the dangling black gems that hung from her neck. He had a blinding grin.
Mipha allowed herself a little chuckle, offering her finger for the little one to play with instead.
“Now, now, little brother.” She cooed softly. “We must be patient. Father will be done with the final rights soon.”
Sidon gurgled, grabbing her finger with a vice grip and attempting to stick it into his mouth. Mipha sighed, a pained smile playing across her lips for a moment before her expression softened again.
“Dear little Sidon.” She sighed. “Grow strong.”
They waited a while longer, standing before the empty throne as the day stretched long. The shadows lengthened across the room, Sidon falling to a quiet slumber in Mipha’s arms. And still the domain was silent.
At long last King Dorephan returned, flipping up from behind the throne and settling down. He let a long breath leave him, one so deep it seemed as if he would never breath back in. His dark eyes landed on his children, the corners crinkling with sorrowful affection.
“Daughter.” He said, voice low and rippling. “You have done well while I preformed your mothers last rights.”
Mipha took half a step forward, glistening eyes meeting her fathers. “Is she-?”
“She is entombed.” King Dorephan confirmed. “In the sacred place. I will show you its location when I step down, be sure to remember it well.”
Mipha nodded, looking back down at her brother. He let out a tiny snore and a small smile she couldn’t quite help graced her face once more.
“It is a strange time, Daughter. Is it not?”
Mipha looked up at her father in question.
He gave her a smile as complicated as her own. “A time of great sorrow, and a time of great joy. They have come as one.”
Mipha nodded, grip on her brother tightening a little. “It is… hard to know what to feel. Tell me, father, how can I be joyful when mother is gone? And yet, how can I be sorrowful with little Sidon here in my arms? Just… what am I supposed to feel? I almost wish- never mind.”
King Dorephan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, considering her words.
“You are still young, Mipha. Barely seventy. You are allowed to be confused and ruled by your emotions, as complex as they are. But when it is time for you to take the throne, you must know how to rule them instead. Take this time as an opportunity to grow. Learn, daughter, about what you really feel, about who you want to be.”
A single tear fell from one of Miphas eyes, her mouth partly open as she wrapped her head around her fathers words.
“I don’t… father please, I don’t understand.” She finally said, voice strained. “Learn from something as terrible as this? While I hardly know up from down?”
The king only sighed, gaze heavy and eyes wet. He reached out his arms while gesturing to her to come forward.
“Give me Little Sidon, Mipha.”
“Yes, father.” Mipha murmured, handing her brother over.
The little prince clashed greatly with his fathers scales, a dot of red amidst midnight blue. The babe shifted but did not wake, content in loving arms as he sucked his thumb.
“Go let Muzu know that the rights are complete and that others may enter once more. Then, daughter, go take your time to grieve. Your brother will still be here to celebrate and love when you are done.”
Mipha bit her lip but did as she was told, managing a mumble to the distraught Muzu before wandering off in numbing thought.
She had lost a loved one and gained a loved one, but neither could replace the other. Her sorrow would not outmatch her joy, nor would her joy outmatch her sorrow. But it felt wrong. Wrong enough that she was almost mad at her father for asking her to learn how to manage her emotions… essentially. She had always been taught that emotions, as troublesome as they could be, were gifts. To feel was important. Sorrow must not be wallowed in, neither should joy reject one’s empathy, neither should love be allowed to distort ones morals. But feeling alone was not bad.
This, on the other hand, was foreign to the Zora princess. She was split loving in two entirely different and opposing ways. She loved in her grief and she loved in celebration and she could not settle in one or the other. It was a painful extreme with no answer that satisfied. She could not feel one without feeling that she was rejecting the other, and it hurt. It hurt.
It hurt.
Mipha walked as her thoughts spiraled, diving from the domain after awhile to avoid those who tried to approach her. In her foggy daze she swam a waterfall, and then another, and so on until she found herself walking again in a blissful spot of solitude. Her feet and head paid no mind to where she was going exactly, hands fiddling with her bracelets black gems as she wandered.
When she processed that she had stopped walking she realized that she was on the edge of a cliff, far above the domain and looking out over the reservoir. She had gone farther than she had realized then.
She sighed and sat down, glassy eyes taking in the view. Black banners swayed from the domain’s balcony’s, a strange contrast from the cities usual blue shine. From this perch she could just barely make out Sheika researchers floating on small rafts out in the reservoir, measuring and making plans for some large scale excavation project they had talked to her father about. Something about a drowned historical artifact. There were, unsurprisingly, no zora currently among them.
Of course not, it was a day of mourning. Even if it weren’t, the zora still would have had the day off in celebration for Prince Sidon’s birth. It was a strange dichotomy to be sure.
Before Mipha could spiral back into her thoughts, a rumbling roar sounded out behind her. The sound was quickly followed by shouting and the clash of metal.
Mipha jumped up, spinning around. For the first time she took in the scenery around her, not just below her. Shatterback Point. She had somehow bypassed the Lynel without it noticing. Pure luck.
Whoever was making that racket was evidently not as lucky.
She slid stealthily down the side of the cliffs rise, avoiding the obvious path just in case, and situated herself behind a boulder. Her fists clenched, empty. She had left her spear back at the domain in her daze, chances of her being able to help were low.
She peaked around her hiding spot, gauging the situation.
Seven, no… nine, Hylian men were facing the beast head on. Some seemed well enough equipped, at least two wearing gleaming armor, but some of the others were very obviously less so. A boy who couldn’t be older than twelve, young even by Hylian standards, was brandishing a short sword. He wasn’t the only young one either.
Eight of the group had formed a semi-circle around the Lynel, keeping its attention while the ninth – a hooded Hylian – snuck up from behind.
Mipha pressed her lips together, watching. She’d only be a hinderance if she tried to help now, even if she had her spear on her. They were trying to surprise it from behind, she couldn’t ruin their plan. Even so, her heart leapt into her mouth as she watched the hooded Hylian meander closer and closer to the Lynel.
He froze as the Lynal reared up with a roar, spouting fireballs a moment later as it landed. The eight other Hylians scattered, dodging about as best they could.
“Hyrule!” One with a cap yelled, reaching out towards one of the younger men as a fireball curved directly towards him.
He was… yelling the name of the kingdom?
The younger one seemed to react to it though, attempting to leap up out of the way. He was a moment too late, ragdolling dangerously close to the cliff a moment later, though it seemed as if he had somehow managed to protect himself from the flames.
Mipha’s breath caught, brow creasing in concern. He was too far away for her to get to him without being spotted for now.
One of the others, the smallest in the group locked eyes with Mipha, spotting her place behind the rock. He glanced around the field for a moment, making sure the Lynel’s attention wasn’t on him, and darted her way.
“You’re breaking formation, Smithy!” One of the ones in armor called after him. The Lynel started targeting the loud mouth instead.
The little one tucked and rolled, skidding to a stop behind the boulder and crouching next to Mipha.
“Are you alright?” He asked, keeping his voice low.
She nodded, worried eyes scanning him for injuries. “I should be asking you that, little one. What on earth possessed you all to fight that Lynel? Everyone knows not to come up to Shatterback Point.”
The young smith narrowed his eyes. “And yet, you’re here.”
Mipha flushed. “Yes.. well…”
And explosion sounded from the battel field, followed by a number of yells.
The boy winced, glancing back out at the flaming field. “We can talk this out later. I was just checking to make sure you were okay. Stay here and don’t move till everything’s over.”
“Wait, but-”
He was already gone, darting back into the fray. Mipha’s eyes followed him, gaze cutting across the chaos. She landed once more on the hooded Hylian. It looked like he was getting ready to-
He jumped, flipping into the air and landing onto the Lynel’s back. In a moment he was holding a large sword that certainly hadn’t been there a moment before, railing onto the beasts back over and over again.
The Lynel reared, letting out a screaming roar, and bucked the unfortunate Hylian off. This did not seem to phase the hooded man, however, as he simply pulled out a bow and fired from the air in his fall. Three arrows in quick succession, explosions landing directly onto the Lynel’s face.
With a final squeal, the Lynel fell to the ground. Dead.
The hooded man glided gracefully down with a strange cloth contraption, landing next to the beasts corpse, and knelt as if checking something.
“Black!” He yelled out, as if confirming something. “We’re lucky it wasn’t more.”
The others relaxed, the little smith running back towards Mipha’s hiding place. Across the field the one with the hat was gently checking the one who had been hit by the fireball.
“Roolie needs a red potion!” The Hylian with a hat yelled. “He’s knocked out and I think he might have a slight concussion. Maybe bruised ribs as well.”
Mipha stood, heart fluttering as she listened. She ran out, past the smith who stopped in surprise, and crossed over to the injured one.
“I can help!” She called, catching the others attention. In a moment she was by the twos side, kneeling with already glowing hands. “I have been blessed with the gift of healing. Please, save your resources.”
The eyes of the one who was awake glinted suspiciously, but his worry quickly won out and he backed off enough to let Mipha work.
Mipha ignored his stare, placing her hands on the injured ‘Roolie’ instead. The wave of magic rippled through her, flowing through her hands and into the boys body with the cool clarity of a healthy spring. His ribs were more than bruised, hairline fractures in more than one place. The concussion was, blissfully, light. It was more likely that he had passed out from the wind being knocked out of him.
A few minutes later his eyes fluttered open and Mipha let her magic go, declaring him officially healed. She stood up and brushed herself off, realizing with slight embarrassment that the others had gathered around them. Well, all but the hooded one, who was still by the Lynel’s corpse gathering things.
“How you feeling, Roolie?” The one with the hat asked, carefully helping the other up.
The one called Roolie started feeling around his torso, blinking in surprise. “Well. Really well, actually. What happened with the Lynel?”
“Your friends finished it off.” Mipha answered, turning to the group surrounding them. “I must thank you, that Lynel has been terrorizing the domain for awhile now.”
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you.” One of the ones in armor, the eldest, said. “For healing our brother.”
“It is the least I can do.” Mipha said, soft smile turning rye. “I left my spear at home and could not help you during the battle.”
The child quirked an eyebrow. “Ya left your spear at home and came to a place with a known incredibly dangerous monster wreaking havoc?”
Mipha blushed, looking down. “Yes, well, I admit I was… distracted.”
“It doesn’t matter.” The one with the hat said. “You helped Hyrule out. That’s more than enough in my book.”
“Hyrule?” Mipha asked, turning back to her now standing patient. “The kingdom?”
The one called Roolie blushed. “It’s, ah, my nickname.”
Mipha blinked. “That is… quite the nickname. I am very pleased to meet you, Hyrule.”
“Ah!” The armored man with a blue scarf exclaimed, putting a hand to his head. “We haven’t introduced ourselves.”
The princess smiled warmly, folding her hands in front of her. “I would like to know the names of my benefactors, if you would be so kind.”
The eldest stepped forward, putting a hand to his chest and giving a small bow. “Time. The two over there are Hyrule – who you know – and Legend. The dramatic one-”
“Hey!”
“We call Warriors, and the young one next to him is Wind.”
They each gave a short bow or nod of the head as they were called out, except Wind who merely crossed his arms and stuck out his lip at being called young.
The smith raised his hand in greeting, stepping forward. “We met for a moment earlier. I’m Four. This one here is Sky and that’s-”
“I’m Twilight.” Interrupted the one in a pelt. “And the insane one gutting that Lynel is Wild.”
“What about me!” The hooded one, Wild, yelled from the corpse.
“I swear he has selective hearing.” Warriors mumbled.
“I said you’re insane!” Twilight yelled back.
Wild stood up and started jogging over. “I take offence to that.”
He slowed as he reached the group, hand half up in greeting when he spotted Mipha. And he froze.
“And you are?” Sky asked, pointedly ignoring Twilight waving a hand in front of Wild’s face. Actually, the way he moved, Mipha was fairly certain he was trying to block the scene from her view all together. He wasn’t entirely successful, but she decided to acknowledge the effort and pretend she hadn’t seen anything.
“I’m sorry,” She said, placing a delicate hand on her chest and mimicking their small bows, “I should have introduced myself first. My name is Mipha, Crown Princess of the Zora.”
When she looked back up she noticed that they had all gone silent, staring at her with varying degrees of realization and concern.
“There’s no way.” Wind murmured, turning to his hooded brother. “Right, Wild?”
Wild was still frozen where he stood, though his hand was wilting a little.
“Is… is something wrong?” Mipha asked hesitantly.
“You wouldn’t have…” Four cleared his throat, “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a calamity, would you? Or a Ganon?”
Mipha put a hand to her chin, thinking. “I- No, I don’t think so. The name Ganon rings a bell, but it is only ever mentioned in history class when we go over the events of the last catastrophic conflict. Not quite 10,000 years ago, from what I understand.”
“Not quite?” Warriors asked, brow furrowing.
Mipha nodded, looking between them confused. “Why, yes. Another century and a half must past before we hit 10,000 even. The anniversary is coming up in our lifetime, so it’s covered in school.”
“Our lifetime?” Wind said, disbelieving.
Realization struck and Mipha took a step back, hands up as she explained. “Oh dear, I forget about Hylian life cycles sometimes. My lifetime, I suppose, though by then I’ll be quite middle aged. I’m sorry-” She looked over Sky’s and Warrior’s shoulders, distracted, where Twilight was attempting to guide Wild through a breathing exercise in his frozen state. “- Is your brother quite alright?”
“Uh…” The group collectively looked back over at Wild, grimacing as his hand finally fell and he started taking half a step back. It looked as if the only thing keeping him from bolting was Twilight’s hand on his shoulder.
“He just had a small shock during the fight with the Lynel.” Time said, not sounding incredibly reassuring. “He just needs time to rest is all.”
“Oh dear!” Mipha brushed past the others, rushing up to Wild before anyone had the mind to stop her. She put a hand to his shoulder, attempting to look under the hood of his cloak to see his complexion. He shied back, breath suddenly quickening. “I forgot that this Lynel uses shock arrows.”
“Not that kind of…” Legend trailed off. “Never mind.”
Mipha forced Wild’s arm over her shoulder and she started dragging him down towards Zora’s Domain. “Come. You must all rest at the domain as my special guests. I’ll make sure Wild is well taken care of.”
“You really don’t have to.” Twilight protested quickly, attempting to take his brother back. “We would hate to intrude-”
“Nonsense.” Mipha stated, shooing his attempts off as Wild stumbled next to her. “It would be my pleasure.”