with knowledge comes great responsibility

[anythingforyou]

[What an absolute ordeal all of that was.

Today was certainly one hell of a day, that's for sure; they've managed to take care of another Guardian and gain it's trust (or at the very least, something resembling it), they managed to find Candice and manage to...well, maybe not get her back in a state that's altogether wanted, but ensure they managed to get her at least into a place where she could possibly regain herself. It will likely be a process, as such things are, but they've done their best, and they should have no regrets.

The center is definitely going to be a welcome reprieve for all of their suffering, at the very least. The Kompot is certainly more than enough to likely get everyone warmed back up and in a stable condition, along with the copious amount of blankets the locals have provided. They've got the time to rest and get ready for their next adventure.

Rest well, ye merry band of travelers. You've earned it.]

Comments

[fatalstrikes]

[Yuri tips his head a bit as he considers that.]

...I don't think there's anything I can say that'll change your mind, but I doubt anyone's really mad at you for it.

[It's not exactly okay because she's still obviously upset, but things aren't as bad as they could've been.]

Do you want to talk about it?

[hyruglyphics]

[ Honestly, she doesn't think so either. Still... She hums and, ]

... I am not opposed.

[ She kinda. Doesn't wanna per se, but she's not... opposed, not really. ]

[fatalstrikes]

[Yuri nods at that, but it takes him a moment to figure out where to start.]

So that... situation you were telling Uxie about, what happened there?

[hyruglyphics]

[ Well that's right into it. She hums and leans forward a little more. Brushing back her hair somewhat, she bites her lip a moment, before she... ]

... In the end, we were not prepared for Calamity Ganon's return. Both for how he had out-thought our plan and that I was not- I had not reached a point I could fulfill my role.

[fatalstrikes]

Tell me about Calamity Ganon. Who was he and what did he do?

[Zelda's role... He'll ask about that in a bit.]

[hyruglyphics]

[ Had she not explained that yet... it felt like she had told everyone - but no, either way, it was worth explaining how it had managed to overtake them. She looks up at the ceiling as she does, ]

Calamity Ganon... is an ancient evil endemic to Hyrule. A fiendish creature of sorcery and Malice, whose power and influence is felt over all monsters and evil and the land. Throughout time, through all of our recorded history and before, it has risen again and again, defeated and sealed so as to protect the lands of Hyrule. [ . . . ] His return was foretold when I was very young. My whole life was dominated by the preparations for its coming. But in the end...

... Much of our preparation involved excavating and empowering autonomous weapons that the ancient Sheikah has created - called guardians. And then also titanic weapons powered and piloted by Champions, called the Divine Beasts. But when it awoke, it somehow rapidly took control of the guardians, and flooded the castle and the surrounding lands with many more, buried beneath the soil. It sent infectious agents to seal the Champions within their divine beasts and claim them as its own. Very quickly, the forces of Hyrule were routed.

[fatalstrikes]

...Wow, that sounds rough.

[To put it lightly...]

I'm guessing Calamity Ganon can't be permanently defeated? Just sealed, locked away until someone else has to deal with it?

[...Locked away and forgotten about, until the day comes when it's unleashed again...

He doesn't want to think about it.]

What was your role in all this?

[hyruglyphics]

If it can, no method has ever been found.

[ She... sighs, resting her hands on her lap. ]

I am a princess the royal family. I was named Zelda, as by tradition. And as a princess of the royal family, I was told I had inherited the power to seal the darkness and connection to the gods and spirits of Hyrule, as an incarnation of the goddess Hylia. My role was to awaken and harness that power.

[fatalstrikes]

[Yuri's quiet for a moment, just taking that in.]

...So you were prepared for this role your whole life? That sounds...

[Awful, actually.]

It sounds difficult. Is it ever something you've resented?

[hyruglyphics]

[ It is. It truly, completely, was. ]

I ever wanted to protect Hyrule. But my frustrations grew from failure. The spirits and gods seemed deaf to my devotion. No matter how much I prayed or practiced, I never heard anything. Felt anything.

[fatalstrikes]

...I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard that must've been.

[Having that much placed on her shoulders, and then feeling unable to complete her duties... all while never getting to experience life in the way most people get to... It really is terrible.]

You told me that things worked out back home, that your world isn't in danger. Did you hear the spirits and gods?

[hyruglyphics]

You- truly need not say that to me so much.

[ She nods, gently. ]

... In the end, yes. As I said, the royal guard, the soldiers... the palace as a whole. It was routed, but Link and I escaped. My powers awoke after that. With them, I was able to hold the Calamity at pay time enough for Link to recover and rise as the Hero of Hyrule, to save us all.

[fatalstrikes]

You did a great job, then. It's a shame your powers didn't wake any earlier than that, but you guys managed to fight it off. That's pretty damn impressive.

[It really does sound like they overcame tremendous odds...]

[hyruglyphics]

He did. [ . . . Well, no. ] We did, yes. The people... well, Hyrule has the ability to rebuilt now, and time to mourn the fallen.

[fatalstrikes]

I'm glad. It'll probably be a long road until things really feel like they're better, but you guys did something incredible.

[hyruglyphics]

... I know.

[ She nods again. ] ... I know. Honestly, much of these things, the sentiment of rebirth, the awareness of the memories that Link and I and the ... others who survive must live with. I've said as much to him too. We had set out to make the first steps. Rather it is more...

... It had been two months now. I suppose that has begun to weigh on me.

[fatalstrikes]

...Yeah. I think about that a lot too. About how the others are doing, about how the world's doing...

[He trails off there, then shakes his head.]

It's not like the world's going to stop without me there, everything will keep moving. I guess some part of me is worried about what it'll look like when we do finally get back home.

[How long will that take? It's been two months and are they really much closer to saving this world and finding a way home? And what about his world? What about the Adephagos?

He doesn't like thinking about it.]

[hyruglyphics]

I am certain that Hyruke shall be fine in my absence. Link is there, if nothing else. But... [ ... But Robbie and Purah and Impa are all so old now. What if they pass? And what of the descendants and successors of her friends. The others Link met along his journey? She was looking forward to meeting them. To seeing Sidon all grown up. A century lost, and she had only jut begun to go back to it. ] ... I do worry about worrying them.

[fatalstrikes]

I understand. I know at least one of my friends is gonna punch me when I get back.

[He really couldn't have vanished at a worse possible time either?? Like damn. They're all gonna think he's dead... That's really unsettling to think about, actually.]

[hyruglyphics]

Oh no, really...?

[ That's... not good... ]

[fatalstrikes]

Yeah, definitely. I've made him worry for two months, he's not gonna take it well.

[Yuri laughs, though.]

They'll be fine without me, I'm not worried about that. I've been lucky enough to run into some incredibly strong people.

[hyruglyphics]

At least two months.

[ She ... I mean, this might well be a long journey yet. Who knows what'll happen even once they make it to Mesprit? She thus corrects that softly. This might be a much longer journey, honestly. ]

[fatalstrikes]

...Yeah. There's no telling how long we'll be here.

[It doesn't sit right with him.]

[hyruglyphics]

No, not really. It might well be a lot longer than that, in order to accomplish what we've set out to do.

[fatalstrikes]

Saving this world's important. Even if we had the option of returning home early, I couldn't leave. It'd feel wrong leaving this world in this state.