A great, winding white road leads between two mountains. For years, since the Calamity, it has been unused. The main reason for this comes in the form of the centaur beast that patrols the white stones and broken arches. A Lynel, a fearsome beast with black spots upon green fur, an immense mane of blue hair cresting its shoulders and a sword the size of a man in its hand.

It walks, hoofs clapping against stone, and all keep their distance from it.

But then.

But then it hears the whirring. The familiar whirring of the walking machines, and it looks up, over the mountains surrounding it. The first of the not-beasts rises, the creatures on long metal tentacles and with the singular eye. Another, and another. More rising around the mountains, surrounding the pass.

Until another, its stone freshly brushed, its blue lines glowing gold, approaches. This one is different. Instead of the simple, flat head, this one bears a seat, upon which sits a hylian with long blonde hair, clad in a tunic of blue and white and black trousers, and with her hands upon the blue spheres at the ends of her armrests.

The eyes of the many guardians glow, and red lights paint the Lynel from head to hoof.

The hylian smiles. Green eyes seem to sparkle in the light given off by the control orbs.

"Get off my road."

The Lynel roars, rearing up. A blast of blue light from the guardian in front of it slams into its shield. Which blows the shield out of its hands. It glances at the flaming mess of the shield, then back at the mobile throne-guardian.

The Lynel rears up and bellows its challenge. Louder than the roar of the beast is the roar of fourteen Guardians firing at once, followed by twenty flying Guardians firing from above. When the flame and light clear, its weapons lay on the ground, atop a pile of burnt meat and ash.

"Oh that's good," she purrs, leaning back in the chair, "Very well! That was a success! Onward!"

The Guardians obey their master, their eyes shifting back to blue, and they continue their march towards the ruined castle.

Several steps behind and on the horse with the cream colored mane, a young man whistles. The sword on his back glows, and a voice only he can hear speaks.

Master, your heart rate spiked.

Yes, Fi. It did.

I am unsure if this is related to fear or excitement, however.

Yes, Fi. Me too.

He urges the horse on, shaking his head.

Breath of the Wild

Rise of the Zeldan Technocratic Union

In the years following the defeat of the Calamity, new research began in Sheikah Magitechnology and how it could better serve the remaining nation states in Hyrule. Details remain obscured by the passage of time, including who lead this wave of innovation, what technology was new and what was repurposed from Sheikah remnants, but there remains a constant idea that one reason for the fall of the Old Kingdom was a lack of understanding of Sheikah Magitechnology.

The other reason for the fall was credited to the Yiga Clan, and thus was laid the foundation for the Purge.

-History of the Zeldan Technocratic Union, Vol. 1.

Chapter 1:

And So This is how Technophobia Dies

Some Time Before:

The sky clears, for the first time in an age. In an era. The black clouds clear and the pillars go silent. The sun shines down on the field outside the old, broken castle. At long last, there is peace. A peace.

Beneath the clear skies and sun, they stand. Facing each other, for the first time in a century.

"I must ask," she says, hands clasped, smile shaking, "Do you really remember me?"

Across from her, the young man- her savior, her companion- lays down the bow she gifted him. He smiles, and nods. "Of course I do."

She exhales, a long held in breath. "Good."

And then she collapses like a sack of bricks. He runs over, skidding to a stop and dropping to his knees. A sound like gears grinding, like saws on wood, comes from her. He reaches out, touching fingers to her neck, and slumps his shoulders.

"So she was awake for a hundred years."

The horse trots over, neighing. Possibly out of curiosity. Possibly out of wanting a carrot.

"Yeah, yeah," the Champion says with a sigh, hefting up the princess, "I'll be back in a bit."

He picks her up in a bridal carry. Then grunts, trying to dislodge the slate from his belt, before hefting her over his shoulder. Pulling out the magitech tablet, he taps the screen and they vanish in a gentle blue light.

The laugh is ethereal, faint. Not due to lack of lung capacity, or slightness of build, but because the source of the laughter is dead. Has been dead for a hundred years. In life, his laughter was booming, like rocks falling or erupting volcanoes. So the immense rock man laughs, hands on his stomach, watching them vanish.

"Well, it's finally over," the bird man says, arms folded, "The Calamity is gone. Only took a hundred years."

Next to him, the slight zora woman holds herself back from glaring. Towering over them and nearly as tall as the laughing Goron, the dark skinned woman gives an approving smirk.

"I had faith they'd pull it off," the former Gerudo chief states, "Although, this does raise a question."

The other three former Champions turn to her. "Why are we still here?" she asks.

The four turn to the other member of their spiritual troupe. The elderly hylian in a black, hooded cloak. He shifts between that and his rainments. He may just be more comfortable in his adopted identity.

"I believe," the former king says, "That our bonds to the Princess and Link are spiritual, as well as through duty. With the Calamity sealed, now they must dismiss us."

Urbosa purses her lips. Mipha's face turns ashen, eyes wide with existential horror. Revali covers his eyes with both hands.

"What?" the former King asks.

"It took Link two months to remember to get the Master Sword," Revali moans.

Daruk only laughs more. "Yeah, we're gonna be here a while." Ever practical, the former Champion of the Gorons asks the important question. "So what do ghosts eat?"

The cloud of evil was gone and the imposing pillars which were easy to make out if you lived closer to the castle have stopped glowing. He can see as much, at least. It took him a while to make sure everything was good- a quick visit to Purah's workshop and she and her assistant assured him that yes, they knew what they were doing and yes, the Princess was in good hands with them. Then they gave him orders.

Which is why he is now leaning out from behind a piece of wrecked wall, staring at the tipped over clay pot. Some ancestor of his must have done something terrible to pottery in ancient times, because that's the only explanation he has for his life now.

He taps the slate, watching the world take on a yellow hue. Mostly faded, distilled, save for the pot which glows brightly. It's still active. Good. Good? Maybe.

It's taken quite a few shots at him in the past. The metal brace fits over his arm, tiles of blue light forming a circle around it, forming into a shield. He steps out, and the pot whirls around. The blue eye fixates on him. But there is no pointer, no laser.

"Alright." On the other hand, the Guardian is tipped over and half buried in the dirt. So it's probably broken. He could just go back to Purah and tell her this, but she'd then insist on a full, working guardian, because he could have just gone to the one outside her workshop. And gods help him if the Princess was up then, because then it would be two of them.

Link keeps the shield up, walking around the Guardian. The eye follows him, no laser, no red. "Alright."

Then the red comes. The eye glows. It sweeps, but not onto him. Past him, towards the walls of the ancient, broken abbey, and towards the shambling rock monster. A Talus. Because of course.

He swears to himself, ears perked, and brings up the shield to his side to deflect the arrow. Small, snarling, red. Bokoblins flanking him. He reaches for the sword.

Then his nostrils fill with ozone. The beam lances out, but not to him. He turns in time to see the white hot light blast through the Talus, shattering its body and sending rock, gems, dust flying. The bokoblins- two reds and blue, the ones who lured the Talus to the abbey- lower their bows. The Guardian swivels its head to the blue one, who drops his weapons and runs, followed by the reds.

Link takes a step back, looking through the holes burnt through the stone walls and the smoking remains of the Talus. He takes out the slate, tapping through tasks, notes he's taken over the weeks. "Right. Molduga guts."

He taps the slate, and vanishes in a gentle blue light.

With each telling, bits of fact are carried away on well-meaning little legs until what is left is more story than truth. Historians refer to these things as 'Lost to the mists of time.' Like many facts about the historical rise of the Zeldan Technocratic Union, the identity of the Majesty's Consort has been lost to the mists of time. It was known that the Majesty's Consort married the Majesty shortly after Hyrule ended its isolation with the rest of the world. As for everything else, stories vary.

Some say that he was a warrior who was the last person standing against the Calamity Ganon- often exaggerated to state he was the sole warrior who stood against it, as that is ridiculous to mythic proportions. Others say he was the Wandering Chef, who brought cuisine to every corner of Hyrule through his love for food. Some stories say that both were the same person, but that is considered improbable.

-History of the Zeldan Technocratic Union, Vol. 1.

It takes time for news to travel. Not everyone has an ancient artifact that allows them to teleport like he does. So, it will take time for the people of Hyrule to realize the Calamity is no more. Right now, he has more immediate matters to deal with.

This is why he holds up the glowing blue shield, walking slowly, steadily towards the immense walking pot. The sun is beating down in the wasteland, on the plateau outside of the Gerudo city. Sweat beads on his forehead and he tightly grips the hilt, drawing the blade along the sand.

He could have gone after one of the ones nearer to home. But he's already taken care of those, and assuming there is a Blood Moon, that's still two days away. He'd go after the ones near Hateno, but the explosions tend to be loud. Besides which, he has an idea. He's not knowledgeable about the technology or the magic behind these things.

He knows these things. He knows how they act. He knows their patterns.

He has been set on fire by them. Trampled by them. Blasted by them. Blasted by them off a cliff. So he respects their power.

Still, priorities are priorities. Link, Champion of Hyrule, chosen of the Master Sword, and destiny's dart board, approaches the unmoving Guardian.

He walks around it, ancient shield ready, blade ready. He glances at it and confirms the blade is still simple metal. He walks into its field of view, in front of the single blue eye, and waits for the beeping that he will hear in his nightmares until the day he dies. Which, considering he is approaching a Guardian, could be today. Not a Guardian that's half buried and with no legs.

No, he's walking towards a mobile, fully functional Guardian. Willingly.

But the blue lines on the Guardian stay blue. The red dot does not appear on him. There is only silence. Blessed silence.

He looks down and sees the blade is still simple metal, without the luminescent glow it carries when the Corruption is present. Exhaling, Link twirls the blade and sheathes it with a single motion.

"Okay, so that's good," he says.

He raises a finger. Moving it side to side, he watches the Guardian's eye follow it. Interesting, very interesting. "So you don't want to kill me, good. Should have the Princess take a look at you when she wakes up."

He keeps his finger up and walks back, towards the edge of the plateau. The Guardian follows, eye intent on him. Or at least his finger. Or maybe the slate. He can't discount that. "I wonder where you came from," he mutters, "You weren't here last time I was-"

The Guardian rises up, legs flexing. Link pulls out his sword, stepping back. Then he feels the rumble. From beneath his feet. Sees the sand shifting, rising.

"Yep," he says.

Before an immense fish-quadroped-thing bursts through the sands, throwing him off his feet and into the air. Yelling, screaming, cursing, he whirls about, grabbing at the collapsed glider on his back and turning to stare down the gullet of a Molduga.

Beep beep beep beep beep

He looks down, grabbing at his shield. Looking for the red laser, and finds it on the side of the Molduga.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep

Which then goes flying in a familiar blast of blue light. Also, set on fire. The blast itself sends him spinning, falling. He grabs at the nearest things to arrest his fall, and ends up grabbing one of the fins on top of the now-moving Guardian's head as it closes the distance with the flailing sand fish.

The fish struggles, smoldering wound on its side, and Link leaps off the machine to bring his blade down.

The sword cuts through flesh, loosening a rusted spear from its side before the Molduga vanishes beneath the sands. Grinding teeth, Link picks up the spear, hurls it, and watches the roaming mound follow the impact of the old weapon. He sheathes the sword, pulling out the bow, and aims true at the rising beast.

At least, until the Guardian charges the rising beast, slamming into it before blasting its face off. He can smell the ozone, and the cooked Molduga meat. Link stares, watching. He's conflicted, he admits. A part of him is screaming to take out the ancient arrows and put this thing down.

Then the Guardian turns, sweeping the red laser towards him. But when the light comes over him, it vanishes, and reappears as the eye sweeps past him before firing and filling the air with the sounds of lizalfos screams. Link watches the Guardian charge into the pack of lizards, and finally stows his bow and walks over to the smoldering Molduga corpse.

Past ruins, past the wreckage of great battles, past a fort that serves as a monument to a disaster, there sits a village untouched by the Calamity. Spread out, pastoral, the village runs along the hillsides. On the outskirts, past the blocky houses and signs for a construction company, a house sits. Renovated, repaired, an apple tree hangs over it to provide shade during the long summer days, and apples as well for the bottomless stomach of its owner.

Inside the house, on the second level, the individual responsible for the unbleshed state of Hateno Village sleeps. Her face mashed up against the pillow, snoring, she protests the beam of sunlight stabbing her in the eyes via the window by pulling the covers over her head.

Still, it is enough to rouse her. And so she rises, sitting still in a mess of covers with her hair plastered against the left side of her face. Smacking her lips, she swings bare feet off the side of the bed, sliding off of it.

She looks down. She confirms she's still wearing that damnable dress, and resolves to burn it later.

Walking with the gait more reanimated corpse than hylian, she stumbles towards the stairs, eyes closed and leaning forward. Her arms swing back and forth and she makes to the ground floor more through luck than skill, drawn towards the metal stove with the teapot on it.

Taking a proffered cup from the white haired child standing next to it, she drinks deeply. Liquid, caffeine, wakefulness fill her. She opens her eyes. Then looks around and comes to a realization.

"Where am I?!"

She whirls around, looking for something familiar. Sees three shields on mounts next to the stairs, bows on mounts on the opposite wall, and a very familiar trident mounted on the single filled weapon rack opposite the door.

Then to the smiling child in the white dress, with the very colorful glasses that seem to have eyelashes, and the goggles that decorate her hair bun.

"Who are you?!"

The child smiles. She bows with practiced grace. "Princess," she says, "Welcome back. It's wonderful to see you again after so long."

Zelda blinks. Realizing she is still holding the teacup, she drains the rest of it and places it on the table next to her. "I-" Does she know any children? Would any children remain children for one hundred years? Obviously, this child is a Sheikah, for she recognizes the symbols on her glasses, and the dress she wears is an obvious Sheikah design.

"I'm a bit confused," she continues.

"Apologies." The child stands up straight. "But it's me! Purah!"

"So Purah was your grandmother, or..."

The child shakes her head, hands on her hips. "No, no. I figured out how to reverse my aging with a rune system." She sighs, shrugging. "Originally it was designed to reinvigorate any surviving veterans if a large scaled operation was necessary, but it seemed to have done a generalized reversal of my aging process."

She is fully aware that this is ridiculous. On the other hand, this child is far more articulate and her explanation makes a modicum of sense. Ah, but she has talked with Purah in the past, so she has passed on information she wouldn't air publicly.

"Did I leave my favorite dress with you and Robbie?"

The child snorts, studiously examining her fingernails. "You left your trousers with me. Symin's on his way back from my lab with a change of clothes so you can finally burn your ceremonial clothes."

Zelda's hand darts out like an attacking snake, grabbing a chair and pulling it over. She sits down, hands clasped and eyes wide. "So you've used Sheikah technology to reverse the aging process? How did this start? What were the first principles?"

Purah smirks, climbing up onto another chair. "Also," Zelda continues, "Where am I?"

"We're in Hateno Village. This is Link's house."

House. He has a house? She glances around. It's a nice house. "And...where is he?"

Purah hops off the chair and skips towards a tall wooden cabinet. "He was going to wear a hole through the floor waiting for you to wake up, so I sent him off on some errands." She swings open the door. Cool air flows out and she begins rummaging through the icebox. "On the other hand, you just woke up. So let's get you something to eat."

She screams, running across the grassland. Eyes wide, scream a wordless shriek of terror, she runs as fast as she can. When she trips, she simply runs on all fours, carrying herself into the distance as fast as she can.

"Come back! I thought-"

If she can hear him, she shows no sign. Just more screaming.

"But I thought you wanted to see a Guardian!"

He waves his hands above his head, jumping up and down. More screaming. Muttering in frustration, he cups his hands over his mouth and shouts.

"What'd you think I'd do, paint you a picture?!"

There. That gets the snark out of his system. The woman, Loone- an appropriate enough name if there ever was one- continues running. Link sighs, and looks down. The Guardian he stands on cannot actually look up, but it's the thought that counts.

"Well now I feel bad."

He hops off, pulling out the collapsed glider and lazily floating to the ground. The Guardian ambles off, continuing its trek. Apparently, freed from the Corruption, the Guardians are moving independently. Most likely patrols, he thinks.

He'll ask Purah about that later. He walks over to the overhang where Loone was doing her creepy, creepy thing, and picks up the sphere that was the object of her affection.

"Right. I'll come back here later, but first..."

He walks over to the stone and brass platform next to the overhand, and drops the ball- Roscoe, the object of Loone's perverse affections- into the depression.

A few minutes later, after he finishes picking bits of soil and grass out of his hair, he waves the slate over the console of the newly revealed Shrine. "I'll get to you later," he says, "I need to check up on someone first..."

And tapping the map and the icon nearest to his house, he vanishes in gentle blue light.

The dress will be burnt later. If she ever entertains the idea of becoming a monarch, she will make the incineration of the ceremonial gown into a national holiday. There will be celebrations. Feasts. Effigies. Perhaps she will rethink this idea, when she gets more sleep. But more importantly, she is dressed again. The black trousers, the blue and white tunic, and her boots, preserved for years. Or, at least, extremely faithful reproductions.

She finishes lacing up her boots, and stretches her arms up before falling back into the chair. Two plates of food polished off between her and Purah, and more tea steeping, and it has been a good day. Least of all because there is no longer a sword hanging over everyone's head.

"If the corruption was controlling the Guardians, then with Ganon sealed the Guardians should be returning to normal." Hands steepled, tapping her fingers, Zelda muses on the subject of high technology. "Which brings the question of, what controls them?"

Purah sips her tea. "We still haven't figured that out. They respond to hand gestures, signs, and movements. But you're talking something more fundamental, mm?"

She nods. "We didn't do enough to control them. So when the Calamity took control of them, we couldn't get them back under control."

Purah nods. "We're need to take one apart. The corrupted ones did keep re-forming during the Blood Moon, though, while the wrecked ones stayed wrecked. At least, the ones wrecked before you went to the Castle."

The door swings open. "Okay, so the Guardians aren't hunting me anymore-"

Link stops in mid sentence. Zelda turns in her seat, a faint smile on her face, and Purah hops up to stand on her chair. "Linkie! Where've you been?"

Link falls to one knee, head bowed, hood on his cloak pulled back. "Princess. You're awake."

She cocks an eyebrow, folding her arms. "You-" She glances at the amused Purah. "You don't have to do that. Or act like that."

She directs her gaze back at Link. "Don't kneel."

Link nods, standing up, hands on his belt. "Sorry," he says, "It's a habit, Princess."

"And-" She pinches the bridge of her nose. "You don't have to call me Princess." Least of all because the rest of the royal family is dead but that's better left unsaid. "But yes, I'm awake. You said that the Guardians aren't hunting you?"

"Figure of speech." He rubs the back of his neck. "I found that when I'd get in line-of-sight they were persistent."

She nods. Purah refills her tea, and she sips it, long and deliberate. "So. Not to sound like I'm ungrateful, or..." She shifts in her seat, chewing her lip. "What took you so long?"

Link blinks. He shrugs. "I-" He tilts his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Really? How fast did you think I'd be after waking up from a coma?"

She sips her tea and shrugs. "I don't know, a day or two?" She nods. "Yes. A little under two days."

"I am impressed with the faith you have in me, but did you seriously expect me to fight the Calamity in my underwear with a stick?"

Purah giggles. Zelda's cheeks flush red, partially from the mental image of such a battle, but she recovers with a quick, "There were swords all over the castle!"

He rubs the bridge of his nose. "Yes, in the hands of the legions of monsters that've been living there for the last century! I've had to free the Divine Beasts, get the Master Sword- which is still not working, by the way, and for some reason Hestu convinced me to find every single Korok in Hyrule-"

Zelda blinks. "...why?"

"Because he can only help me if I get him the Korok seeds and he needs Koroks for that and-" He rubs his temples. "You just ate. I'm not going into the details."

"And I don't want to know," Purah says, hopping off the chair, "I'll be up at the worldshop. Princess, Linkie."

The child-scientist walks out, leaving the two alone. "So," Zelda says, turning back to him, "What's this about the Master Sword being broken?"

Whatever the romanticized relationship between the Consort and the Majesty, it is acknowledged by historians that they were professional and mature about their union. The history of their first meetings, agreements, and formalization of their alliance is, like many things, exaggerated by those who take a less clinical view of history, but it is agreed upon by both romantics and scholars that the Majesty was the one who unlocked the secrets of the Ancient Sheikah.

-History of the Zeldan Technocratic Union, Vol. 2.

"So, the Shrines?"

He has brewed new tea. She was surprised to find out that he was a natural at cooking. Albeit, even back before the Calamity, in those rosy days, he had a love for food. Finding out that the stocked icebox and larder were all his, that the food they shared were all made by him, gives her a slightly different view.

It did take him two and half months to end the Calamity. He did have to survive on his own in the meantime. Apparently, he thrived, including that little tidbit about opening the Shrines.

Sitting across from her at the wooden table, Link nods. "Yes. I've been to-" He quickly counts off his fingers. "Sixty so far. I think there's twice that. They're pretty widely scattered, but there's many more I haven't been to."

Zelda nods, sipping her tea. "I-" She takes a deep breath. "I had tried everything to open them. How did you manage to activate them? Was there something I missed?"

"Turns out there was a power source that needed to be activated first. There's these towers all around Hyrule, and turning them on..." He shrugs. "Pretty much."

Towers. She gets up, walking up the stairs, and looks out the window. In the distance, she can see the glowing blue structure, thrusting up from behind hills, crowned with the distinctive pottery style of the Sheikah.

"Where did those come from?"

"There were...not exactly hidden?" He bites his lip, walking up the stairs. Taking his life into his own hands. "One was underneath a fort? I activated the one by the Temple of Time and they just all came up?"

He walks up next to her. Turns to her, watching her eye twitch. "Are you okay?"

"I'm. Fine."

He nods, and takes a step back. Or, tries to before she grabs his wrist.

"Is there a shrine near here?"

He nods. Adds a hesitant, "Yes."

She hums an affirmative. A smile, her lips curling upwards. "Take me there."

"Are you sure you're up for-"

"Now."

"Yes, Princess."

They walk out. He walks ahead, her hand clamped around his wrist. He clenches and unclenches his fingers in a vain attempt to keep blood flowing through her vice grip. It's a good thing the Shrine is across a bridge, right by his house, or he would probably lose use of that hand.

But minutes afterwards, Link watches as Her Royal Highness walks into the open cavern of the Myahm Agana Shrine. She looks up, examining the blue glow with wonder, fascination. Absently, she steps onto the glowing blue platform.

She looks down and taps her foot on the platform. Nothing happens.

She bends over, going down onto her hands and knees, crawling around the platform. Link glances to the sides, looks around. It's one thing if people somehow recognize her as the supposedly-dead princess from a hundred years ago, but it's another thing if someone does recognize her and sees her being...well, herself around Sheikah technology.

He turns back to the shrine, just in time for Zelda to grab his wrist and drag him to the platform with her. It's like the frog all over again, he muses.

Her eyes meet his, and there is an understanding. He stands next to her on the platform, hands her the Sheikah Slate, and taps the screen. The platform jostles, shakes, and begins its descent, and louder than the gentle hum of the shrine's mechanism is Zelda's squeal of delight.

The Myahm Agana Apparatus was simple. At least, it was simple for him. It presented him with a simple problem and he solved it, simply.

So it is with a mixture of disbelief and amusement that he watches Zelda try to work the clay and bronze gyroscope. Try being the operative word, as she turns knobs, pushes depressions, and spins wheels over its surface to no effect.

"I can just-"

"No. No, I need to figure this out."

Link nods. It is not the first time that he offered his help, and not the first time she has shot him down. He understands. She wishes to understand the technology, wishes to know not just how to solve it but how it works.

Then she kicks the base of the device, huffing.

"You need to-"

"No. I think I figured this out." She turns a knob and the device glows orange along its grooves. Nodding, she seizes the wheels on either side, spinning the floating maze and almost instantly dropping the sphere into the abyss.

She swears, softly. Something in another language, perhaps.

"You have to get the ball into the-"

"Thank you, yes."

She moves the wheels, tilting the immense maze, and makes it a big further before the sphere drops into the abyss. She hums, though not a pleasant tune. He sits down, reaches into his pack, and takes out a baked apple.

He is onto his third apple when she makes it halfway through the maze before the sphere plummets into the yawning chasm.

"Do you want-"

"No."

He shrugs, and proceeds to eat the offered apple. More for him.

Several tries later, she gets the ball to the very end of the maze. Which then fails to jump the space between the end of the maze and drops into the bottomless pit. Which is when she begins laughing. Slow, steady, devoid of humor.

"Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha." Which turns into a wordless scream that makes Link freeze midway through biting into an apple. He simply watches, mouth hidden by the fruit he holds in front of his face. She slowly, deliberately, navigates the maze.

As the ball reaches the end, she tips the maze up and launches the ball into the bowl.

"Yes! Yes!" She throws her arms up, breathing heavily. Eyes wide. He keeps his expression neutral, very very neutral. Which comes to naught when she whirls and points, pinning him in place with her gaze alone.

"Right! So! That didn't take too long, did it?"

He shrugs, slowly. Very slowly, as if attempting to hide his face in his torso if such a thing were possible, but she sees through his deception with ease.

"How fast did you solve it?"

He rolls the half eaten apple in his hand, then finally speaks.

"I wouldn't say I-"

He looks up and she is in his face, eyes narrowed.

"And in how many tries?"

He glances to the left, to the right. Can he escape? No. No he can't.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Her eyes open wide. Her mouth becomes a narrow line. She understands. She knows that if she says 'Yes,' then there is the good chance that her pride will take a beating. But more than pride there is curiosity.

"Show me," she says, in a low whisper that would be considered seductive if it was from anyone else.

He nods, and stands up. He walks to the device, places his hands on the wheels, and she watches. She watches the maze flip upside down, the ball roll across the flat, not-maze, and lazily tip back to launch the ball into the bowl.

Zelda bites her lip. "Ffffffff." She clenches her fists and takes a deep breath. "That. That was-"

"If it's stupid but it works it's not stupid," he replies.

She takes another deep breath. Then another. He is sure she sees a vein on her neck. "Are you-"

"I'm. Fine." Another deep breath and she stops shaking. "Still, that was...did you cheat on every puzzle?"

"Weren't you asking me why it took me two and a half months?"

"A fair point and complaint retracted," she says with a sigh, "So now what?"

He shrugs. "Well, after that I'd go through the doors at the end-" He points to the doors and the empty platform, "And Myahm Agana would congratulate me and gave me my prize. But he disintegrated, what with being a ten thousand year old Sheikah Monk and all."

She turns on her heel to face him, then grabs him by the front of the tunic and turns him to her. Violently. Maybe it was the excitement of being here, but he would presume she would do this regardless when confronted with the concept of a ten thousand year old Sheikah Monk.

"Do all the Shrines have a Monk?"

He nods.

"Did you solve all of them?"

He shakes his head.

"So we can go to one then," he says, "Found and activated as many as I could. Makes travel easier. Shall we?"

She nods. Then nods again, calming down. "Of course. But perhaps I can solve the puzzles next time? We have time."

He nods, bows and gestures to blue pillar and platform to the surface. "Of course. This way, Princess."

"After you, Champion of Cheaters."

"Hey!"

"So wonderful, Link cheats at puzzles." Revali sighs, shrugs, and ignores Mipha's glare. If he even notices it, that is.

"I wouldn't say that," the King says, idly stroking his beard, "He is practical. The unconventional path is still correct if it leads to the same goal. It reminds me of how he originally retrieved the Master Sword."

Revali shakes his head. He is about to make an argument about the spirit as well as rule of these challenges when Urbosa speaks up.

"So I can't help but think that the Princess is going to be occupied, what with a lack of Calamity and the activated Shrines. How do we let them know about us?"

The King purses his lips. "I am unsure-"

"Well, we're ghosts," Daruk states, "We can just haunt them, right?"

Another tower was in the distance, easily seen when they materialized in the mouth of the shrine. The Tena Ko'sah Shrine, in fact.

Southeast of the Rito village, shaded by mountains, its elevator lead down into an otherwise featureless room, though still with the stone floor and high, slick walls of the other Shrine. That this one was unsolved, untouched, makes it even more intriguing to her. More exciting.

"This is wonderful," she says, hands clasped, eyes alight with the joy of a child, "To think, it was all so simple to gain access to them. To think of the secrets and sciences we can see, and learn!"

The platform finishes its descent, and Link glances around, opening his mouth to say something.

At least, before Zelda suddenly grabs him by the head and kisses him on the lips. It is not romantic. There is no tongue. At least, the stories he's heard of kissing tells him there would be tongue if this was romantic. He recognizes on some level that this is what was going to happen when he took her into a Shrine.

It is excitement and freedom, and she's not exactly subtle. Still, she is also kissing him, and so he freezes up, not moving off the platform even as she runs off and through the open doorway leading to the large open room with the high stone pillars.

I am Tena Ko'sah, the ethereal voice declares, a voice heard less through his ears and more between them, In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial by combat.

And that snaps him out of his the Princess just kissed me daze. "Oh boy."

He runs off the platform, through the door. "Princess!"

He makes it through the open doorway and halfway to her before she stops in front of the immense pit at the center. Followed by the grinding stone of the platform rising, and both of them staring into the single eye of a small guardian.

"It's not corrupted," Zelda says, "So it's probably not aggressive."

The guardian, with its crowned head and four spider like legs, squats down. Then the arms come out. He's used to the sword and the shield. But this one pulls out a sword, a spear, and an axe, all of them bearing blades of blue light.

"Oh," she squeaks.

With one smooth motion, she pulls out the Sheikah Slate, aims it, and the guardian freezes in golden light. She turns and runs, ducking behind a pillar. Link just snaps out his left arm. The disc on his forearm shines and the honeycomb disc of blue light forms. He reaches up and in his right hand pulls out a hilt and short, blunt blade of red and orange metal. It shines and becomes a shortsword of blue.

The guardian skitters to the side, eye flashing. The ancient shield comes up and Link charges through the rapid, exploding eye blasts. He closes the distance, ducking underneath the thrusting spear and swinging the ancient sword. Light explodes off the stone skin of the guardian, and he leaps forward. With a yell he brings the sword down again.

The guardian skids back. Then it flashes, glowing gold with chains holding it in place. No words need to be said, no commands given, and Link swings his arm back. The sword vanishes, replaced with a staff. The end of it glows and the honeycomb light forms into an axe head, and he lets momentum do his work.

He swings, spinning, slashing the blade into the frozen guardian until the light vanishes and the guardian skids back. Furrows dug into the ground, the guardian rises up, extends its neck and its arms, and begins spinning.

Link backs away and sprints behind the nearest stone pillar. Then the guardian charges the tower across the arena from him, slamming into it and sending the Princess flying. So Link moves. He runs, but not towards the guardian. He runs up the pillar, kicking off of it and pulling out the bow. Time slows- a crawl as he knocks and pulls back, sending one, two, three, four arrows into the back of the guardians head.

It turns from the Princess and back to him, and he drives the ancient sword blade first into the construct. He kicks off, lands, and flips back. He can see it- the opening, the simple opportunity.

He moves.

Between the arms, between the swinging blades, and strikes. Stone armor shatters. Metal shreds. The guardian stumbles back, eye flashing. The guardian itself flashes and goes gold once more and Link turns, darting over and grabbing Zelda's hand, pulling her up and pulling them both behind a stone pillar.

"How many times did you do this?" she demands.

"Too many times!"

He anticipates the spinning, the whirring, or the sudden updraft. But that doesn't come. Instead, he hears the beeping becoming the long drone. He brings up the shield and pulls Zelda behind him a moment before the pillar shatters in light and flame. The blast wave and heat burns but he keeps standing, and braces his other arm against the shield arm when the second blast hits.

The shield glows and the blast flies back, piercing the guardian in the eye, consuming it in the explosion. Which they would see if the impact didn't send them off their feet, and as the smoke clears Link finds himself on top of the Princess.

Eyes meet, and she finds his hands braces on the floor, on either side of her head. She quickly compares this with some books she's read. Not books on technology or history or courtly romances, but the other types of romances. Especially the books Urbosa had.

Then he rolls off of her, sitting up.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

Her cheeks flush but she nods. She sits up, shaking her head, clearing the cobwebs. "So now what-"

On cue, the metal bars on the other end of the arena rise up, clearing the way to cube of blue light with the statue sitting at the center.

"Now we go meet Tena Ko'sah."

Within the enclosure, upon a raised pedestal of stone and surrounded by blue light, is a statue. Except, it isn't a statue. She can tell that. There is no breath, no sign of life, but she knows this one is alive. In a different state of life than her or Link, but still.

A Sheikah Monk, sitting in state, in meditation, for ten thousand years. Link walks up the steps and presses his hand against the sigil of the All-Seeing Eye. The enclosure ripples and shatters into countless blue flakes, falling like light snow.

The courage of the Hero[Champion] triumphs against all who oppose it. From the fall of Hyrule, the Legend rises.

She can hear it. A voice like a whisper on the wind. Less than words, more than thoughts, and not her own.

I greet you, Princess[Incarnate]. I am Tena Ko'sah. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, accept this gift.

Something emerges from the monk. A sphere, shimmering and vermillion, that passes to Link's open hand. It melts into his palm, and she feels the energy flowing over them both, tickling and soothing. Fatigue leaves her. The small cuts on Link's cheek from the debris vanish. Even the burns on their clothing disappear.

"I have questions," she says, walking up the stairs.

I will answer, if I can.

She nods. Eyes wander a bit. The monk's skin resembles leather more than flesh. "How are you alive?"

We Sheikah Monks have sworn service to the Goddess Hylia. There are many reasons for our existence. You may understand some of them, but you have much to learn.

She folds her arms. Cocks her brow and purses her lips. "I know quite a bit about the Sheikah already."

Wisdom is not knowledge, Princess[Incarnate]. Wisdom is the knowledge of what knowledge has yet to be obtained.

He's right, she thinks. Somehow, she knows he's right. But that is not what you wish to know, is it?

"Some things are broken." There's no way to put it more delicately than that. "I tried for years to...contact or somehow get-" She bites her lip. Bitterness boils up and she can't keep her eyes on the Monk. Link's hand finds her shoulder.

I cannot answer that question, Princess[Incarnate]. The wisdom of Hylia is beyond mine. Destiny is fragile, especially in the hands of those living.

Zelda nods, and turns, walking back towards the Shrine's entrance. Link watches her go, and finally turns back to the monk.

"She probably wanted to ask you about the Master Sword." He draws the blade, the simple metal of the magical sword unblemished and pristine. "There's something wrong. I remember it differently than it is now. Is it broken?"

He stares at the blade, then turns to the monk. "Or is it me?"

Yes.

Ah, the mathematicians answer. He should have figured. The light starts wafting off of the monk like emerald smoke. What was a man, old beyond measure, begins to evaporate.

My duty is over, Hero[Champion]. May Hylia's light guide you in days to come.

From the entrance of the shrine, there is a good view of Vah Medoh. The stone and magitech eagle with its wings outstretched, though the light no longer gathering at its beak. Standing at the foot of the Shrine, she watches it, arms folded, face contemplative.

She hears the lift carry Link to the surface and turns with a faint smile.

"Sorry," she says, "I probably shouldn't have asked about it."

He shakes his head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not sure." She exhales, turning back to the beast, to the village beneath it. "I don't need the power anymore. I'm not sure I want it. But I would like answers on why it eluded me for so long."

He nods. Chews his lip. If he were trying to be subtle or not showing that he had something to say, he was really bad at it. "Don't tell me," she says with a sigh, "You can talk with Hylia."

"Yep." Rather than get exasperated or angry, she simply walks over to him and takes out the Slate, bringing up the map. "So, where are we going?"

"Back to Hateno. Between the shrine, the monk, and everything else, I think I just want to hide under the covers." He goes notably silent. "Yes, I know it's your house, but my house is currently infested with monsters."

"I can buy a second bed." He shrugs, tapping the icon for the shrine near his house. "There's also a statue of Hylia there. You could try talking to that one. I have."

She nods. "Yes. I will. I'll to borrow a sledgehammer, though."

He gives her an alarmed look before they vanish in gentle blue light.

End Chapter 1