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More beta-ing
Some bits of this may not make as much sense as it should, so it's up to you guys to call them out or they will never get fixed. EVER.
-----
"This way," Darunia had said, as he slid aside a blocky statue to reveal the entrance to somewhere HOT. Zelda buried her face into Impa's bosom as the Sheikah woman carried her swiftly through the cavern, but the heat seemed nearly solid as it pressed in all around her and Zelda feared her ears might singe. And then suddenly the heat left her as if she'd kicked off a thick duvet and Zelda looked up to see the sky, crystal blue and filled with wind that flung itself over the mountaintop and made her eyes water.
"This way," Impa had said, motioning her toward an opening in the rocky mountain wall that looked very wide and very dark. "It will be up to you alone to call forth the Great Fairy. Be confident, and remember the designations to your royal birthright. They will open your path."
Zelda did not feel very confident now as she picked her way over the slippery floor towards the only source of light in the cave, a shallow, cleanly-tiled pool that shimmered with cool torch light. A golden Triforce plaque before the basin of water seemed an obviously designated place for her, and so she stepped onto the emblem and scrunched up her eyes.
Nothing happened. Zelda opened her eyes and cast around for something she had missed, but nothing else in the narrow cave called attention to itself as pronouncedly as the golden square she already occupied. She stooped down and pressed her right hand to the plaque, but though the matching mark on her hand gave a small glint in response, she felt no particular indication that she had triggered anything.
She curtsied and announced her royal title, all thirty-two words of it, out loud to the fountain and received only a sense of uncomfortable self-importance for it. She plucked the signet ring from her finger and tossed it into the pool, then had to climb in halfway to fetch it again. She tried to wrest a torch from the wall to look for other clues in the cavern, but it did not budge and seemed like it had not for a good few centuries. With hands dusted in soot and the hems of her skirts dripping, Zelda was starting to feel rather as if the so-called royal birthright she was supposed to possess was crumbling away like so much dried-out biscuit.
So much for Wisdom. Zelda glanced back towards the entrance of the cavern, which looked quite dark and far away. More intimidating, however, was to harbor the thought of facing Impa in defeat over such an important, ceremonial thing. Lack of preparation and forethought is the way of fools and failures, no doubt her stern nursemaid would say. Zelda tried to pretend she had already asked for help, and imagined Impa's pre-formed advice.
There was a song to solve every occasion, the Sheikah woman was fond of answering when presented with Zelda's troubles, and half the time proved it as well. But Zelda had not been taught any Sheikah songs to summon a Fairy, nor one that--
Well, there *was* one, perhaps - her mind suddenly flashed upon a memory of one golden morning where, in apparent defiance of her explaining to him the Hylian saying about playing music to dead Gossip Stones, Link whistled a tune to one and drew out a pink fairy that danced appreciatively around them before fading like a dandelion on the wind. She had been delighted to find that her lullaby, a mostly-childish thing in her eyes until then, could carry such magic--and just a little tickled at the idea that Link had kept hold of the song that she had previously thought of as intimately hers.
It was better than anything else she had to go on. Keeping the bright thought of him in her mind, Zelda hummed the royal lullaby once, her voice sounding very small in the echoing cavern.
She was prepared to expect more of nothing in the way of response, but before she could find a place for disappointment to settle Zelda noticed the pool of water rippling, as if someone had set one of the courtyard fountains into motion. Then suddenly the cavern exploded into life - a giant woman burst from the pool high into the air with a shriek of laughter, spraying droplets of sparkling water everywhere. Her voice was much too loud, Zelda decided with a wince, and her hair was much too pink. If this was the Great Fairy, then she must have been deemed Great in flamboyant attire.
"Welcome, little Princess Zelda!" said the pink-haired visage.
"You--You know my name?" She was wearing not clothing nor tattoos but a lot of... living ivy, Zelda realized. The effect was... unsettling.
"I am the Great Fairy of Power! Of course I know your name!" The pink ivy woman let out another peal of laughter before settling down into a more comfortable-looking position in the air, chin propped over two enormous folded hands. "Everyone knows your name, don't they sugar?"
Zelda wasn't sure she wanted such a strange woman knowing her name. "W-well, I just thought that, you must have so many people visiting you that, um, you might not know *my* name, offhand. Per se."
"Oh, not a chance, love." The Great Fairy shook her head, making the tendrils of her hair bounce in a disconcerting way. "Only a few even make it up here to look for me. And frankly, I don't feel like 'bestowing my favors' on just anybody. They've got to be worth my time. Like that forest kid who dropped by a while back. A messenger of yours, wasn't he?"
"Link? You know him?"
"'Course I did! Bright kid, but always looked a bit pouty. Not that you can blame him, considering what he went through last time around."
"Last time?"
"Never you mind, sugar." The Great Fairy waved her hand dismissively, sending a shower of pink sparkles flying. "So what are you here for? Gonna do that magic awakening thing?"
"How did you know?" Though it didn't really come as a surprise to Zelda by now.
"Please, darling, that's what everyone's here for. Asking the Great Fairy to bequeath them a bit of magic power, year in year out. As if that's what's going to make a difference in what they make of themselves. And you royals are right on schedule, a new one pops in here every few dozen years. At least you're a lot brighter than the last batch, aren't you?" She chuckled, a sound that reminded Zelda of slippery silk.
"Umm... so, what should I do?"
"Ready to receive your power, are you? Just hold still now." The Great Fairy spread her palms and a stream of tiny glittering lights poured out, dancing like sun through crystal chandeliers and sweeping up Zelda in the gentlest of maelstroms. A thousand fragmented sensations blossomed throughout every inch of her, sublime like touching faith and tasting light, and each burst with tiny whispers of overlapping voices that were strange or fiery or comfortable.
(may the blessing of the forest--)
(--feels like tickling, haha! perhaps it was--)
(i await the light of thy--)
(--why, reminds me of when i last saw--)
(would that the burden of her power--)
(--could have sworn, by the sand goddess--)
(--? Is that you?)
Zelda opened her eyes. "I don't understand," she said.
"Of course you don't, sweetheart. That was only a glimpse into your potential. It's one of those things you're not supposed to figure out for years and years, eh?"
"Potential seems awfully noisy," Zelda muttered, wondering if the words were something she should memorize or write down. It seemed moot since the memory was fading already despite her best efforts, like a vivid but insignificant dream.
"Well, you're done. Hope you can handle the responsibility better than the last schmuck." The Great Fairy blew a kiss as she shrunk down in size rapidly into nothing but a spray of water and pink glitter. "Come visit me anytime!" her voice echoed off the walls, as the torches flared up one last time before dying down into the same sleepy, centuries-old embers.
The sun was so bright at the exit of the cavern that she could see nothing at first, but even as Zelda coaxed her eyes open in degrees, she thought that perhaps the world had gone awry in her absence, because she thought she could see shimmers of patterns intricate and powerful in every object, every surface. The rocks of Death Mountain were abuzz with hinted lines, and the sky was even more densely laden with designs, and Impa danced with trailing colors most of all.
At the sight of Zelda gazing about with eyes full of wonder, Impa nodded approvingly. "Now, you are ready."
-----
"This way," Darunia had said, as he slid aside a blocky statue to reveal the entrance to somewhere HOT. Zelda buried her face into Impa's bosom as the Sheikah woman carried her swiftly through the cavern, but the heat seemed nearly solid as it pressed in all around her and Zelda feared her ears might singe. And then suddenly the heat left her as if she'd kicked off a thick duvet and Zelda looked up to see the sky, crystal blue and filled with wind that flung itself over the mountaintop and made her eyes water.
"This way," Impa had said, motioning her toward an opening in the rocky mountain wall that looked very wide and very dark. "It will be up to you alone to call forth the Great Fairy. Be confident, and remember the designations to your royal birthright. They will open your path."
Zelda did not feel very confident now as she picked her way over the slippery floor towards the only source of light in the cave, a shallow, cleanly-tiled pool that shimmered with cool torch light. A golden Triforce plaque before the basin of water seemed an obviously designated place for her, and so she stepped onto the emblem and scrunched up her eyes.
Nothing happened. Zelda opened her eyes and cast around for something she had missed, but nothing else in the narrow cave called attention to itself as pronouncedly as the golden square she already occupied. She stooped down and pressed her right hand to the plaque, but though the matching mark on her hand gave a small glint in response, she felt no particular indication that she had triggered anything.
She curtsied and announced her royal title, all thirty-two words of it, out loud to the fountain and received only a sense of uncomfortable self-importance for it. She plucked the signet ring from her finger and tossed it into the pool, then had to climb in halfway to fetch it again. She tried to wrest a torch from the wall to look for other clues in the cavern, but it did not budge and seemed like it had not for a good few centuries. With hands dusted in soot and the hems of her skirts dripping, Zelda was starting to feel rather as if the so-called royal birthright she was supposed to possess was crumbling away like so much dried-out biscuit.
So much for Wisdom. Zelda glanced back towards the entrance of the cavern, which looked quite dark and far away. More intimidating, however, was to harbor the thought of facing Impa in defeat over such an important, ceremonial thing. Lack of preparation and forethought is the way of fools and failures, no doubt her stern nursemaid would say. Zelda tried to pretend she had already asked for help, and imagined Impa's pre-formed advice.
There was a song to solve every occasion, the Sheikah woman was fond of answering when presented with Zelda's troubles, and half the time proved it as well. But Zelda had not been taught any Sheikah songs to summon a Fairy, nor one that--
Well, there *was* one, perhaps - her mind suddenly flashed upon a memory of one golden morning where, in apparent defiance of her explaining to him the Hylian saying about playing music to dead Gossip Stones, Link whistled a tune to one and drew out a pink fairy that danced appreciatively around them before fading like a dandelion on the wind. She had been delighted to find that her lullaby, a mostly-childish thing in her eyes until then, could carry such magic--and just a little tickled at the idea that Link had kept hold of the song that she had previously thought of as intimately hers.
It was better than anything else she had to go on. Keeping the bright thought of him in her mind, Zelda hummed the royal lullaby once, her voice sounding very small in the echoing cavern.
She was prepared to expect more of nothing in the way of response, but before she could find a place for disappointment to settle Zelda noticed the pool of water rippling, as if someone had set one of the courtyard fountains into motion. Then suddenly the cavern exploded into life - a giant woman burst from the pool high into the air with a shriek of laughter, spraying droplets of sparkling water everywhere. Her voice was much too loud, Zelda decided with a wince, and her hair was much too pink. If this was the Great Fairy, then she must have been deemed Great in flamboyant attire.
"Welcome, little Princess Zelda!" said the pink-haired visage.
"You--You know my name?" She was wearing not clothing nor tattoos but a lot of... living ivy, Zelda realized. The effect was... unsettling.
"I am the Great Fairy of Power! Of course I know your name!" The pink ivy woman let out another peal of laughter before settling down into a more comfortable-looking position in the air, chin propped over two enormous folded hands. "Everyone knows your name, don't they sugar?"
Zelda wasn't sure she wanted such a strange woman knowing her name. "W-well, I just thought that, you must have so many people visiting you that, um, you might not know *my* name, offhand. Per se."
"Oh, not a chance, love." The Great Fairy shook her head, making the tendrils of her hair bounce in a disconcerting way. "Only a few even make it up here to look for me. And frankly, I don't feel like 'bestowing my favors' on just anybody. They've got to be worth my time. Like that forest kid who dropped by a while back. A messenger of yours, wasn't he?"
"Link? You know him?"
"'Course I did! Bright kid, but always looked a bit pouty. Not that you can blame him, considering what he went through last time around."
"Last time?"
"Never you mind, sugar." The Great Fairy waved her hand dismissively, sending a shower of pink sparkles flying. "So what are you here for? Gonna do that magic awakening thing?"
"How did you know?" Though it didn't really come as a surprise to Zelda by now.
"Please, darling, that's what everyone's here for. Asking the Great Fairy to bequeath them a bit of magic power, year in year out. As if that's what's going to make a difference in what they make of themselves. And you royals are right on schedule, a new one pops in here every few dozen years. At least you're a lot brighter than the last batch, aren't you?" She chuckled, a sound that reminded Zelda of slippery silk.
"Umm... so, what should I do?"
"Ready to receive your power, are you? Just hold still now." The Great Fairy spread her palms and a stream of tiny glittering lights poured out, dancing like sun through crystal chandeliers and sweeping up Zelda in the gentlest of maelstroms. A thousand fragmented sensations blossomed throughout every inch of her, sublime like touching faith and tasting light, and each burst with tiny whispers of overlapping voices that were strange or fiery or comfortable.
(may the blessing of the forest--)
(--feels like tickling, haha! perhaps it was--)
(i await the light of thy--)
(--why, reminds me of when i last saw--)
(would that the burden of her power--)
(--could have sworn, by the sand goddess--)
(--? Is that you?)
Zelda opened her eyes. "I don't understand," she said.
"Of course you don't, sweetheart. That was only a glimpse into your potential. It's one of those things you're not supposed to figure out for years and years, eh?"
"Potential seems awfully noisy," Zelda muttered, wondering if the words were something she should memorize or write down. It seemed moot since the memory was fading already despite her best efforts, like a vivid but insignificant dream.
"Well, you're done. Hope you can handle the responsibility better than the last schmuck." The Great Fairy blew a kiss as she shrunk down in size rapidly into nothing but a spray of water and pink glitter. "Come visit me anytime!" her voice echoed off the walls, as the torches flared up one last time before dying down into the same sleepy, centuries-old embers.
The sun was so bright at the exit of the cavern that she could see nothing at first, but even as Zelda coaxed her eyes open in degrees, she thought that perhaps the world had gone awry in her absence, because she thought she could see shimmers of patterns intricate and powerful in every object, every surface. The rocks of Death Mountain were abuzz with hinted lines, and the sky was even more densely laden with designs, and Impa danced with trailing colors most of all.
At the sight of Zelda gazing about with eyes full of wonder, Impa nodded approvingly. "Now, you are ready."