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alicewritingstories · 8 days ago

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Actual footage of my expession when he found the master sword!

Finale (part 2)

THIS IS THE BIG ONE Y’ALL thanks for all the swamp link support, these have been so fun to write :) there will be a little third part, sort of an epilogue to all the cult stuff.

Warnings: uh. Blood, injury, violence, some creepiness, some body horror... I think that’s all. Stop looking at me like that.

Previous | masterlist

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Link was marched back up through the hallways, up too many stairs and past too many rooms. The hallways were strangely empty now that he thought about it, and Link swallowed, dearly hoping things would go well. He felt more hopeful with the possible support from the consorts, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried everything could still go wrong.

And on top of it all, he suddenly felt extremely homesick.

Link closed his eyes and thought of home. It felt like ages since he’d last floated around in the cool water around his house, dappled sunlight reflecting off the pond, the soft hum of insects and laughter of his siblings in his ears.

He really hoped he’d get to do that again someday.

...He hoped Rilla would get to do it at all.

A door opening pulled him from his thoughts, and his guards brought him into the room that he’d been in for the first ceremony. Faye was waiting for him once again, wearing fancier clothes then when he’d last seen her, pale green with a few gems here and there. Simple, but elegant, just enough to show she was in charge. Link didn’t care in the slightest and glared daggers at her as he entered, but he didn’t otherwise fight, and Faye looked at him consideringly.

“Has the Hero finally accepted his role?” she asked, and Link stiffened, then gave her a single nod.

Just not in the way you think, witch.

She smiled. “Excellent.” Coming forward, she took his upper arm, her fingernails stinging where they pressed into his skin. “We shall proceed with the public half. All you have to do is stay still,” she said in a reassuring voice that wasn’t reassuring at all.

Then the curtain opened and Link was brought out for the last time.

He tried not to shake as nerves took hold of him again, not helped by the crowd below. He nearly had to be dragged forward by the guards and Faye, and then was pushed to his knees, his outfit rippling around him. Faye’s hand landed on his shoulder to keep him there, and she began blabbing about how glorious this was and how pleased Farore would be and other stupid stuff like that.

Link didn’t waste energy listening to her spiel, and focused on the crowd, even though it was terrifying. He tried to find Rilla, or the few faces she had described as definitely being on their side, but the lighting made everything more difficult.

All he saw were endless green robes that looked like blood in the light from the sunset.

A cold hand suddenly took his chin, and Link snapped back to attention, unable to stop himself from flinching. Faye had been the one to turn his head, and she dipped her fingers in a small bowl that an assistant offered to her. Link tried not to recoil when he realize it was the woman who’d grabbed and kissed him mere days ago, but fortunately she stayed back from him. He couldn’t help his flinch when her eyes flicked to his though.

He thought she might’ve smiled.

Green coated Faye’s fingertips when she withdrew them from the bowl, and she grinned as she leaned closer to Link and traced her fingers around one of his eyes, cold paint marking what felt like three circles around it.

“And now the Beginning,” she said with barely-contained glee, facing the crowd again as the sun finally set, the room going dim apart from the light from the torches on the wall. “We will return with the Hero’s glorious courage!”

The crowd roared, and despite his shaky legs, Link was turned around and escorted away again.

It’s up to you now, Rilla.

Link did his best to put on a brave face as they went out into the hallway, and then up several flights of stairs, to what he guessed was the very top of the temple. They entered a small room with delicate designs on the walls, leaves and wisps of wind that turned into vines and back to wind again in an effortless pattern.

Several more women were already inside as they entered, but apart from them, the room itself was oddly empty. Link craned his neck in order to look around, then saw a stone in the center of everything. Faye walked forward and pressing her hand to it, and sang a short song with no words, her voice surprisingly melodic.

The rock slid backwards as she finished, and a spiraling staircase was revealed underneath, Faye turning with a smile.

“After you, Hero.”

Fear lodged in his chest like an arrow, and Link made sure to roll his eyes as exaggeratedly as possible to hide it. He wasn’t supposed to be taken somewhere else, Rilla had planned to come find him in this room the moment she could.

How was she going to help him now?

Before Link could even try and think of a plan, he was pushed forward, and the group began to descend the stairs. His guards remained at the top, and they slid the rock back over the entrance, bathing them all in darkness. Lanterns were lit with greenish flames, and they started to walk.

The steps curved around in a spiral just tight enough that Link couldn’t see what was up ahead, and the walls echoed with the sound of their footsteps on the stone. Link looked at the walls, surprised to see green rocks veined in them, softly glowing and lending an eerie light to everything. It maybe would’ve been beautiful under different circumstances.

It felt like they went down those stairs for hours, and Link tried not to shiver as the air grew colder, goosebumps forming on his skin. He had the urge to shiver for a different reason as well though, and he swallowed, wondering how he was going to get out of this.

All he had was the dagger Rilla had given him, and his own wits.

And courage, he thought sarcastically.

His feet finally reached the last step, and he saw a cavern stretched out in front of them, more green stones providing a faint light apart from the lanterns the women carried. Link saw several branching paths that they could’ve taken, but he was marched towards the biggest one, and then taken through so many turns he could barely keep track of them.

He dragged his feet when he could, but the women’s grip on his upper arms was so tight it was painful. Even if he went completely limp, he was still dragged along just as quickly as before.

Man, what do they feed these people?

Finally they turned a corner, and came to a wide cave, a thin hole in the ceiling where moonlight was just starting to shine through. It lit up the small underground river beside it, the water more clear than any Link had ever seen.

And in the middle of the cave, a stone platform that looked just big enough for Link to lie down on.

Link dug his feet in, refusing to go another step, but he was dragged forward anyway. Changing tactics, he began to thrash wildly, jutting out his elbows and kicking anyone within reach of him. He wasn’t going down without a fight, he wasn’t.

“Hm. Perhaps you haven’t accepted your fate as much as we thought,” Faye said, and merely watched as Link was dragged up to the rock, kicking and letting out muffled yells through the cloth. “Maybe someday you’ll learn.”

Link snatched for his dagger, but before he could grab it, he was pushed down, and then ropes were tied around him, wrists, ankles, waist, keeping him still. Link thrashed against them anyway, his breath coming in quick pants, and then suddenly Faye’s cold fingers were on his chin again.

“Peace, Hero. As soon as I have your Courage and spirit, it will all be over,” she soothed. “I doubt the process will kill you, so there’s nothing to worry about. You’ll barely be aware of anything once it’s done. You’ll be able to rest.”

I don’t want any of that! Link tried to scream, but all that made it out was a muffled cry.

Faye patted his cheek that she’d slashed the very first day he’d come here. “Your spirit will sustain us much longer than a normal Hylian’s. Finally we will be able to serve Farore forever.”

Link stared at her in horror, and she smiled.

“Let us begin.”

She stepped back and raised a hand, and the other women who’d come with her began to softly sing, gathered in a loose circle around Link. Faye stayed in the center with him as a layer of harmony joined, and the hair on Link’s neck rose at the eerie song.

The moonlight kept inching along the floor, already lighting up his feet and legs. The singing continued, a repetitive, discordant thing, and Link watched the moonlight continue to creep up his body.

Faye raised her hands once it reached his waist, and smiled.

“Farore, greatest of the three, we thank you for your provision. You’ve gifted us many courageous spirits, but this one is by far your greatest boon. Thank you for sending us your life-giving Hero,” Faye grinned, a manic look entering her eyes.

She leaned over Link as the tempo of the song quickened, and Link froze as their eyes met, hers shining with something ancient and terrifying.

“The Hero is ours. His Courage is ours. We now take it for ourselves,” she nearly hissed, and pressed her palm to Link’s chest.

A feeling so cold that it burned hit Link’s middle where her hand was pressed, and he let out a muffled cry, jerking where he was tied up. The triangles on his hand lit up, and the burning ice crept deeper into his body, burrowing straight into his soul like a worm in an apple.

Link thrashed with everything he had, and desperately wiggled his arm, trying to get the dagger to loosen where he’d stashed it. If he could just get it to slide down where he could grab it—

A tugging feeling hit his chest, and Link let out another muffled cry, sweat beading at his brow.

Somebody, please—

The song grew louder, and Faye’s hand lit up in green, her expression intense as she worked. Her hand flexed, Link’s arm spasmed, and with a burst of pain, something felt like it was ripped out of him.

Link let out a cry, the mark on his hand flashing before it abruptly went dull.

The song went silent as Faye leaned back, her eyes wild, and when she lifted her hand, there was a golden triangle floating quietly above it.

“Finally,” she breathed, an ecstatic laugh bubbling out of her. “Finally!”

Link had fallen limp, faintly trembling with pain as she laughed, feeling drained and sick. Something about his shaking shifted his sleeve though, and Link felt the dagger brush down his arm.

His heart skipped a beat, and he weakly twisted his hand, managing to grab the knife before it clattered to the floor.

“His courage is ours!” Faye laughed in triumph, and the circle of women around her cheered wildly as Link began to saw. The angle was terrible, and already his wrist hurt where he nicked himself, but he had to get loose somehow.

Faye said something else, but Link was focused intently on getting himself free and had stopped listening. It didn’t matter to him, and he didn’t care.

But it was impossible not to notice when she put her hands around the triangle, and golden light poured through her fingertips, nearly blinding Link.

She continued to laugh, her eyes glowing, and a terrible sound went through the cave, thrumming and tearing and reshaping flesh. Faye cackled with glee, and Link watched, horrified as her body twisted and cracked, the magic changing her form. There was a shine of sickly green, and all he could do was stare at the abomination Faye had become.

His first thought was a snake, due to the sharp green scales that now covered most of her body, but she still had her arms and legs, and a huge tail, with spikes and fur. When she turned her head to look at him, her face was more like a twisted version of a wolf or a monkey or something Link couldn’t even describe.

The only thing that was the same were her eyes, the same deadly green as before, but twice as big now with slits for pupils, almost hypnotic as they stared at Link.

The other women who’d joined her fell to their knees as she stepped forward, faces a mix of awed and horrified. Link sawed as fast as he could, and held back a frantic noise as her face moved mere inches from his own, fangs glinting in the light.

Faye stared at him, and something deeply hungry lit in her eyes, something there more terrifying than anything Link had gone through here so far.

“Now for his courageous spirit,” she hissed.

She raised one of her clawed hands, but that was right when Link finally snapped the rope around his wrist. He surged forward, slashing the dagger at her nose, and Faye howled, reeling back as Link quickly sawed at the other ropes holding himself down.

“Link!” Faye roared, and Link snapped the last of the ropes and ran.

His legs nearly fell out from under him on the first step, but somehow he managed to recover enough not to completely fall. Faye surged after him, and it was only due to her size that she didn’t manage to grab him as he scrambled around a corner.

Green magic grazed his head, shot by one of the other women, and Link ducked as more followed it. He ripped off the cloth over his mouth as he ran, panting as he tore off the most constricting pieces of jewelry as well. He had no clue which direction he’d come from, and no idea how to get back up to the temple.

Right now, his only goal was to survive.

Faye howled angrily behind him, and Link sprinted through the caves. His hand ached sharply along with his chest, but he couldn’t stop moving, not now. Maybe if he could get to the river again, he could follow it out of here? It was better than nothing.

The caves were dark without a lantern, only the green stones lighting his path. Link tripped several times, nearly falling on his face, but when he heard Faye roar, that always managed to get him back on his feet.

Suddenly there was a wall in front of him, and Link scrambled to a stop, staring in horror at the dead end. He whirled around, but Faye had already caught up to him, and she swung a massive claw, catching his bare shoulder.

Link was knocked backwards with a cry, pain tearing up his back, and he barely managed to twist himself around so he didn’t land on his injured side. Something swung at his face, and Link scurried out of the way as Faye’s tail slammed into the wall beside him.

Pieces of rock fell on his head, and Link hurriedly slashed the dagger he still had across her foot.

Faye made an angry noise, coiling her tail up, and Link pounced, jabbing his weapon near her side. She snarled and threw him off, and Link lost his grip on the dagger, the weapon clattering off into a tiny place between two large rocks.

He was now weaponless.

Link flung himself behind a pointy rock that was sticking up from the ground, pressing himself back into the corner it made. Faye grabbed for him, but she couldn’t quite reach in where he’d wedged himself.

He kicked a foot out at her claws as she grabbed for him, and she drew back with an angry hiss.

“Link... come on out,” she crooned, reaching for him again before pulling back, and pacing around in front of his hiding place. “It’ll all be over so quickly... you’ll be at peace. No more worries, no more fear...”

Link panted as he tried to feel how bad his shoulder was, scrabbling further back into his corner. A small, terrified part of him wondered if giving up really would be better, less painful, but then he looked at his hand, at the faint triangles still marked there.

Zelda’s face appeared suddenly in his memory, her warm smile, intelligent eyes. The warmth he felt when their hands touched, the fear when they’re been separated, and Link clenched his hand into a fist as he remembered she needed him.

Just like Rilla. Just like the swamp. Just like Hyrule.

He wouldn’t give up.

Not now, not ever.

“Link... come here dear boy, it’s not so bad...” Faye continued to urge, voice silky-smooth.

Link fought back the urge to reply with something snarky, and took his hand off his shoulder, wincing at the blood staining it. He wiped it on his clothes and crept forward in the shadows, trying to figure out exactly where Faye was looking. Then he yanked a particularly shiny bracelet from his wrist, and tossed it as far as he could.

It clattered loudly, and Faye’s head snapped back to look at it. Link was already running, and he bolted out from his hiding spot and back out into the cave system.

Faye howled, enraged when she noticed his trickery, and Link allowed himself a grin as he ran. Sure he was in bad pain and honestly pretty terrified, but she hadn’t gotten her hands on him yet.

Faye suddenly gained on him, and he began taking random turns, trying to find the river again. It had to be here somewhere.

This place was truly a maze, nearly impossible to navigate. Despite how fast Link went, taking random turns and weird routes, Faye continued to gain on him, her eyes malicious.

Link stumbled suddenly as pain stung through his injured shoulder, and though it was only a moment, Faye closed in on him. Her tail swung out, and Link knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge.

It smacked into him, hitting Link like a tree trunk, and sent him flying into an entirely different cave. His stomach slammed into a rock, and he fell with a gasp, pain shooting up his middle as well as his shoulder as he rolled to a stop.

Laughter distantly rang in his ears, and Link painfully dragged himself to his knees, coughing as he tried to regain his breath. His chest ached like mad, his shoulder stung, and he had to blink several times to clear his vision.

And once he did, he stared.

The cave before him wasn’t green like all the others had been, but rather, a gentle blue. A soft gurgle of water revealed the start of the underground river he’d seen earlier, a spring in the corner bubbling, but what caught Link’s attention was where the blue light was coming from.

A small, raised platform of rock stood in the center of the cave, and plunged into it was a softly glowing sword.

Link stood on shaking legs, oddly transfixed by the sight, but then he heard a bellowing roar behind him and broke into a hurried limp. Maybe he should’ve been a little more wary, but he didn’t care what the deal was with the fancy glowing sword.

It was a weapon, and he really needed one of those.

Faye crashed around the corner into the cave he was in, and Link gave her only a single glance as he reached the dais, her catlike eyes fixed on him. She howled, and Link scrambled up to the dais, ignoring every part of him that hurt, and put a hand on the hilt.

“NO!” Faye shrieked, and Link yanked the sword out with all the strength he had left, light shining around him.

Then turned and blocked a blow that would have taken off his arm.

A strange sense of rightness shot through Link as he swung the sword, his heart pounding as something sang in his chest. Suddenly his whole body felt lighter, his injuries brushed to the back of his mind, and Link pushed against Faye’s claws, forcing her to step back.

“You fool, how dare you?!” she screeched, and Link ignored her and ran forward, prepared to do what he had to.

Faye recoiled from the sword as he raised it, nostrils flaring with rage, and Link managed a cut on her leg. That seemed to make her regain her senses, and she turned around to snap at him with her fangs.

“I don’t need you in one piece to take your spirit,” she snarled, eyes blazing as she narrowly missed his leg.

“Well I don’t care how many pieces you end up in,” Link shot back, glad he managed to avoid a tremble in his voice. He leapt backwards from her teeth, and swung the fancy sword at her claws. “Unless you wanna just give up now and let me go?”

“Never,” she spat.

Link shrugged as he secured his new sword to his belt, even though the movement hurt. “Have it your way.”

And he leapt into the river.

He couldn’t hear Faye’s screech as he plunged into the frigid water, and the current pushed him forward with a sudden surge, Link tumbling this way and that.

He was much more fond of soft currents and still ponds, if he was being perfectly honest. Rivers weren’t really his thing, especially with the way the cold of this one was already leeching the energy from his bones. But he swam on, trying to direct himself at least a little.

He had the beginnings of an idea. He only hoped it would work.

On the bright side of things, the water was so clear that wherever moonlight happened to be shining on it he could see exactly where he was going. Link popped his head up once to suck in a breath, and heard Faye screech somewhere way too close.

He ducked back under and kept swimming.

He wasn’t sure how far he should go, but he kept floating along, the river pushing him at a quick pace. The current kept increasing, and Link suddenly bumped a rock, gasping as he injured side was scraped.

Water entered his lungs with his gasp, and Link quickly pushed out of the water, hitting the ground with a jarring thump. His limbs were so cold he had to fight to move them, and he coughed out the water he’d inhaled, damp hair falling in his face.

Link sucked in a ragged breath, then struggled to stand. He was sure Faye was right behind him, and he needed to move, even if it hurt.

But... he was exhausted.

Link fell limp for a moment, and coughed again, feeling his injuries rather intensely. The sword he’d tucked in his belt seemed to warm a little at the thought, and Link brushed a trembling hand over it, taking some deep, steady breaths. Then he managed to find the strength to stand.

He looked around where he’d ended up, and blinked, the walls actual walls and not just cave any more. The part of river he’d just crawled out of had stones set on its edge, and Link realized he must be somewhere in the bottom of the actual temple again. There were jars and buckets by the wall... maybe this was where they got their water?

Suddenly the monster that Faye had become exploded out of the cave where the river flowed from, and Link scrambled backwards as she stared at him with blazing eyes.

“You think you can escape me?” she growled, stepping closer to him and blocking him from the stairs he’d seen. Link’s back hit the wall. “I’ve taken courageous spirits for longer than you’ve been alive, Link. I will not be denied my prize. The Hero is mine.”

“Am not,” Link said, then ran forward and slashed at her chest.

Faye snarled, swinging at him with her claws and tail, but Link ducked under them, only getting a little nicked. He ran around her and jabbed at her side, and while she screeched in pain, he turned and bolted up the stairs as quickly as he could with his freezing limbs.

Faye crashed up the stairs behind him, enraged noises following her, and Link gasped past his injuries, pushing himself as fast as he could go.

That’s it... follow me...

Finally he reached the top, and he ran down the hallway, Faye right behind him. Her claws pulled at the carpet below him, but Link managed to stay on his feet, trying to figure out where he was. If he was where he thought he was, he just needed to go to the hallway up ahead and take a left.

If he wasn’t caught first.

Faye howled, right on his heels, and Link skidded around a corner, nearly wiping out. He regained his balance and kept going, but suddenly Faye was right beside him, her powerful tail raised.

It swung forward and Link ducked, but he was too slow with his injuries, and her tail clipped him as it slammed into the wall—

(...)

Earlier

Rilla watched, silent in the crowd as Mistress finished with her speech, and Link was prodded to his feet and promptly escorted out of the presentation room. His face was remarkably calm, thought she could see the worry hidden in his eyes.

She’d tried to catch his eye during the ceremony, but hadn’t managed to do it, the light too uncertain, tall people in her way.

She was... really worried for him. The idea of Link becoming like the other men who’d had their courage taken from them terrified her. Whether they were related or not, he was her friend, and she felt responsible for him being here at all, even if she hadn’t specifically been the one to kidnap him. And she had so many questions to ask him still, and things she wanted to know, and to truly figure out if they were siblings or if she was just imagining things.

She had to help him. She had to help everyone.

The pressure threatened to get to her again, but Rilla shook it off, swallowing as the door closed behind Link. She couldn’t lose her focus. Even if it was her brother in danger.

Link only had until moonrise, which meant she needed to act fast.

Rilla looked around as they all began to sing, an old tune she actually enjoyed under normal circumstances. She met eyes with the handful of people near her who knew what was going on, and swallowed.

Now or never.

Rilla slipped her way through the crowd, until she was at the base of the platform where Mistress and Link had stood. Before anyone could realize and stop her, Rilla began scrambling up the vines that grew thick on the stone, ignoring a shout when someone noticed her.

The song faltered as she climbed, more people noticing her and calling out in confusion, but most of them kept singing. Rilla finally pulled herself over the edge, and looked out at the sea of green, her heart hammering in her chest.

“Sisters!” she shouted right at a pause in the music, and the song stopped, the heads that hadn’t already been looking at her doing so now. “Please listen to me!”

“Sister Linkle, get down from there immediately!” a guard demanded, and Rilla shook her head.

“Linkle, what are you doing?” someone else called.

“Come down!”

Rilla straightened and ignored the shouts, taking a deep breath.

“My name isn’t Linkle. It’s Rilla,” she said, and several gasps went up. “And I’m standing up here to tell you that everything we’ve been doing here... it’s wrong.”

An uproar went up before she’d even fully finished speaking, and Rilla swallowed as she saw multiple guards start to move towards her.

“Please hear me out!” she begged, and the ruckus died a little. Rilla quickly thanked Farore that she’d always been fairly popular among the group. “The Hero, Link, he opened my eyes. He helped me see that our leader cares nothing for us, that her teachings only serve to give her more power. Power over us. We—”

“Linkle, you’ve gone crazy!” someone shouted, and she was joined by several others.

“How could we be doing wrong? Mistress always guides us right!”

“But remember when the Hero said that stuff the other day? Maybe—”

“How could Mistress do something like that? We’re her faithful!”

“Please, search your hearts!” Rilla shouted over the clamor. “Think of all the things that Mistress has done to us! Sons you’ve lost, husbands torn away from you, punishment for even the smallest of mistakes! She’s done nothing but oppress us, just so that she can have power, and the Hero, all to herself!”

A sharp murmur ran through the crowd, and someone hesitantly shouted. “But Mistress says she’ll share the Hero’s courage!”

Rilla shook her head. “She won’t. Maybe with her inner circle, but not us. And Link is my friend,” she said firmly, a hand over her heart. My brother. “He’s trying to save Hyrule, and stop Din’s Chosen from overwhelming us all. If we truly believe in Farore, and Link, then we’ll let him do his duty, and support him as he does it. Not steal him away like cowards, hoarding him just for our own.”

The crowd had quieted, and even the guards had paused in their mission to silence her.

“Wouldn’t you believe the Hero himself over Mistress?” Rilla added after a moment of quiet. “If we take his courage, then how will we use it? As Link would have done, protecting all the life that Farore created? Or in squandering, selfish ways? Who do we follow? Mistress, or Farore and her champion?”

The room went deathly quiet as they considered her question, and Rilla looked out at the people she’d grown up with, that she’d known all her life, family, in various ways.

“I follow Farore,” a voice suddenly spoke up, and Rilla turned to see one of Link’s earlier guards step forward. “If she wills it to have Mistress over us then that’s none of my business, but I agree that Mistress’s choices aren’t always... agreeable.”

She swallowed as she spoke, but there were considering nods around her.

“The hero spoke to me as well. I follow my goddess above all else,” she continued. “But if our leader goes against that, then maybe... maybe she shouldn’t be our leader.”

“But Mistress was placed above us by the goddess,” someone else spoke up, a girl Linkle knew fairly well. “Would she really make such a mistake?”

“Not if Mistress was lying about being chosen,” Rilla declared.

Several faces below her looked considering, but then a woman with golden hair shoved her way forward, brows drawn.

“You all are crazy! How can you believe Linkle, we all know she’s made dozens of grievances! Most of us saw her punishment a moon ago, you’re going to listen to her? She’s always been a disobedient fool, how should this be any different?” she shouted, and a murmur of agreement went through the area where she was standing.

“She’s only trying to take Mistress’s place,” another added. “Grabbing power!”

“I’ll bet she did something wrong and just wants to avoid punishment!”

“What proof do we have that Mistress is doing wrong anyways?”

“But what she’s saying makes sense! What if—”

“How can we—”

“I think she’s right—”

“But the Hero—!”

The murmurs grew to roars, and Rilla stepped back, unsure of what to do. Half of the room was glaring at her, the other half looking uncertainly in her direction, and only a few scattered people in the crowd seemed to be giving her considering or agreeable looks.

“Please, Link needs us, this isn’t about me!” she begged, but the crowd had been lost to their arguing, and Rilla looked around in helplessness. Several guards resumed their journey towards her, and Rilla bit her lip, setting a hand on the dagger in her pocket.

Some of the girls she’d convinced moved to block the path to the balcony, but Rilla knew it wouldn’t work for long. What could she do? What should she do?

How could she ever explain her change of mind? How could she help them see, like Link had helped her see?

“Hey! The girl’s right!”

Rilla’s head snapped up at the strangely deep voice, and to her shock she saw, standing in the doorway at the back of the room, several men.

Someone shrieked, and Rilla looked on in astonishment as nearly all the consorts came into the room, faces determined.

How..?

“Listen, we’re not here to hurt anyone!” the man in front shouted as the crowd either recoiled or drew weapons and magic. “We just want to leave, that’s all. And the girl there is right. What you’re doing here is messed up, she’s only trying to make you see your crazy practices for what they are— crazy.”

The room was stunned into silence, and the man continued.

“Look. Link doesn’t deserve all your insanity over him, he’s just a kid. A special one maybe, but does that mean you need to rip what makes him him out of him?” he asked, and Rilla couldn’t help her smile at Link’s name. Somehow he must have reached them. “It’s terrible. I’ve seen the aftermath. And if you really care about your Hero so much, you’d save him from this!”

“Liam?” someone asked quietly, and a woman pushed her way through the crowd. Rilla didn’t remember her name, but she recalled her appearance, light hair and soft brown eyes.

The man’s face brightened. “Liana!”

They moved hurriedly towards each other, but a group of women blocked them, weapons and magic held at the ready.

“You’re going to listen to men?” Frida exclaimed in disgust as she stepped forward, and the women who’d previously been nodding along looked suddenly nervous.

“This is too far!” someone else shouted, and to Rilla’s great distaste, Felene shoved her way to the front, face furious. “Linkle wants to wreck everything Mistress has built for us! She wants men to run rampant through our home!”

“I only want us to be free!” Rilla shouted back. “I want us to be able to choose to leave here if we want! And that includes the consorts!”

“They belong to Farore, and therefore us,” Frida replied sharply.

“We don’t belong to anyone!” one man shouted, looking furious, and threw a rock at Frida.

It hit her arm, and while it was a small rock and probably didn’t do more than sting a little, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The tension erupted and a wave of women surged towards the consorts, most of whom had nothing to defend themselves with. Some of the women went to their defense, others began fighting their way towards where Rilla stood, and the room soon dissolved into pure chaos, weapons clashing, shouts and cries, sparks of magic bursting into the air.

Rilla looked around in dismay, a small part of her knowing this would happen, but still not sure what to do. The curtain at her back moved, and Rilla whirled around to see Frida and two others step towards her, faces grim. Somehow they must have gotten up and around to the other door.

“Linkle, this is a grave offense,” Frida snapped, thin blade drawn. “You’ll be lucky if the only thing Mistress orders is lashes for you after this, how dare you betray us in such a way?”

“I’m trying to free us all,” Rilla replied, stepping back. “I don’t want to fight, but if you leave me no choice I won’t hesitate.”

“Tell those who listened to you to back down,” Frida demanded, and Rilla shook her head.

“I couldn’t stop them. This has been a long time coming, Frida. You’ve just been too busy taking to realize that those you’re taking from have had enough.”

Frida’s face turned enraged, and Rilla quickly leapt off the balcony, grabbing the vines on the edge. She really didn’t want to fight anyone she didn’t have to. Yes there was anger in her heart, anger that had been building for a long time with every scar and punishment and pressure that had been heaped on her, but Rilla knew it wouldn’t help. She wouldn’t gain any peace from it.

That was one true thing she’d learned here at least. Vengeance wasn’t the way.

Rilla clambered down the vines and leapt straight into the chaos, trying to reach the edge of the room. She didn’t want to leave everyone fighting like this, but she had to get to Link. She would try and gather a few others to go help him, and desperately ignore the part of her that was already thinking she was taking too long, that it might already be too late for him—

“Linkle,” someone said, and she looked to see Felene running for her, her face a scowl. “I always knew you were a troublemaker.

“At least I don’t assault people,” Rilla said coldly, and Felene paused, twirling her weapon.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Mistress said whatever’s left of the Hero after the ceremony could be mine,” Felene smiled with a smug look. “He’s to be my Match. Therefore I can do whatever I want to him.”

“He’s not anyone’s to possess,” Rilla snapped, rage surging over her. “No less you.”

Felene scoffed. “He’s Farore’s gift, and mine to own. You’ll never understand, Linkle. You don’t deserve your name.”

“That’s all as well since it isn’t really mine,” Rilla said, and Felene rolled her eyes, then paused, her scowl turning into a sudden grin.

“Oh look at that. Moonrise,” she laughed, and Rilla looked up in horror at the moonlight spilling in through the ceiling. If the moon was already high enough to reach in here, then Link...

“It’s already done,” Felene grinned, then charged forward.

Rilla jumped back, avoiding the swipe from her sword, mind whirling. It couldn’t be too late for Link, it couldn’t. She wouldn’t believe it until she’d seen it with her own eyes.

Felene nearly took off her arm, and Rilla bit back a curse. She really wished she’d grabbed her own blade, but since she wasn’t on guard duty for the night she wasn’t supposed to carry it. And she’d been trying to stay low profile.

Great plan, Rilla, she thought as the sword came dangerously close to slicing off her nose. Very clever.

She ducked under another swipe, then pulled her dagger out, blocking Felene’s blade from taking off her head. Felene wasn’t much of a swordswoman, but she had the advantage of a much better weapon. Not to mention much more reach.

Rilla yelped as her arm got cut, and she pressed a hand to it as blood welled, glaring at Felene. Felene only smirked and pressed her attack, and Rilla blocked another strike, glaring at her.

They fought right in the middle of everything, arguing and shouts ringing around them. Rilla could see in her peripheral several women trying to stop the worst of the fighting, but it didn’t look like they were getting anywhere.

Just like she wasn’t getting anywhere.

Rilla growled as Felene blocked yet another strike, unable make any headway. Link was counting on her, and she was wasting too much time on this useless fight!

Felene was clever though, and blocked every attempt for Rilla to just run past her, keeping her on her toes and unable to get away. It was infuriating, and Rilla seriously considered just taking a sword from someone else standing around her.

At least she’d managed a few hits on Felene. They were fighting faster now, both trying to gain the upper hand, and Rilla gritted her teeth and ignored the pain in her arm as she blocked and struck and swiped her dagger.

“Get out of my way!” she snapped, and Felene only laughed, swinging at her head.

Then a strange noise suddenly echoed through the hall, loud enough to be heard over the clamor.

The battle seemed to freeze, confusion appearing on several faces. Rilla stopped and looked around, as did Felene, trying to figure out where the noise had come from. It had almost sounded like a wolf, but... strange. And why would there be any animals in here? It didn’t make sense.

The sound rang out again, louder, and the crowd shifted uneasily, exchanging glances and fearful looks.

There was a rather heavy pause.

And suddenly a tremendous crash sounded out, and the wall on the balcony seemed to explode.

The rich green curtain tore as rock from part of the wall went flying outwards, and screams went up. The crowd fled back, and Rilla gasped as a figure clothed in green went flying through the wall as well, before landing on the balcony in a heap.

Link lay on the ground, blooded and dirty and struggling to stand.

Rilla bolted, leaving Felene standing in shock behind her. Her heart pounded as she clutched her dagger, but before she could reach Link, two glowing eyes appeared from the broken wall.

Someone else screamed, and a huge creature stalked its way onto the balcony, one Rilla wasn’t even sure she could describe. It was like a wolf had been mixed with a monkey and some sort of reptile, huge arms and legs and a thick-looking tail, and she pushed herself even faster as it stalked towards Link.

She didn’t know what on earth had just happened, but she wasn’t going to stand here and let her brother get eaten.

“Fine... let them watch,” the beast suddenly growled, and Rilla did a double take at the familiar voice. Mistress?! “They deserve to see my power. To know I rule over them. To see your spirit placed where it belongs.”

“Link!” Rilla shouted, and he struggled his way to his knees.

Rilla reached the base of the balcony and once again began to climb, nearly missing handholds in her haste. She couldn’t see what was happening from here, but she could hear it.

“Watch now!” Mistress’s voice laughed, but suddenly it turned to an enraged cry.

The sound of a sword hitting something rang out, and Rilla dragged herself to the edge, just in time to see Link bracing a sword against Mistress’s huge claws, sweat dripping down his face.

He grunted as he was pushed back, and Rilla ran forward, bracing her dagger against it as well. Link gave her a relieved glance, and they both pushed, Mistress glaring as she jumped away from Link’s sword.

“Linkle,” she growled, and Rilla flinched at her sharp gaze. But she didn’t back off, and tightened her grip on her weapon. “Of course you’re a part of this. Stop this foolishness at once, you know what the penalty is for such disobedience!”

“I’m done listening to you,” Rilla said, a tremble running through her. “You don’t rule me anymore.”

“I am your leader!”

“No,” Rilla said with a swallow, and felt greatly comforted as Link stood beside her. “And my name isn’t Linkle.”

Mistress let out a furious howl and lunged for them both, but Rilla and Link dodged. Link’s movements were remarkably smooth despite how banged-up he looked, and he quickly moved in close again, striking with an aggressiveness that matched the determination in his eyes.

Rilla had to pull back when Mistress’s tail nearly slammed her into a wall, and she moved around to her blind spot, trying to get hits in while Link distracted the monster.

She was relieved he was okay— well, not dead, anyway. He was in terrible shape, but he fought as well as anything she’d seen before, and only occasionally faltered.

He really is the Hero.

Link and Mistress whirled around each other while Rilla did her best to help, Mistress swiping her claws only for Link to duck, Link swinging his sword and just barely missing Mistress.

After several small attacks that hadn’t done much, Rilla finally noticed an opening, and she jumped, digging her weapon into Mistress’s huge tail. Mistress roared, and smacked her backwards with a claw before Rilla could dodge.

Pain hit her side, and Rilla hit the ground with a gasp, Link shouting something. She couldn't move for a second, stunned as she distantly heard Mistress laugh, then wrapped an arm over her side, relieved she didn’t seem to be bleeding too badly.

It still hurt though, and she dragged herself to her feet, clutching her dagger. Somehow she’d kept hold of it.

The hit had distracted Link, and he was mostly on the defensive now, casting panicked glances at Rilla. She met his eyes, then took a deep breath.

They had to end this.

Mistress was totally focused on Link, a fanged smile on her face, and Rilla wound her arm back before throwing her dagger with as much force as she could.

It slammed with a satisfying thunk into Mistress’s shoulder, and she snarled with rage, temporarily distracted from Link.

And he took his chance.

“Enough,” Link gasped, and drew back his sword, then plunged it into her chest.

Mistress screeched, the sound so loud that Rilla covered her ears. The monster reared back, blood dripping from her chest and mouth, and she fixed her eyes on Link and Rilla as her body began to glow.

Her face held pure fury, and Rilla stepped back as the glow began to brighten.

“Curse you— curse you Link! Curse you both! May Farore bar you from peace the rest of your days!” she screamed, and then a blinding light shone from her. The sound of roaring wind accompanied it, and they covered their eyes.

Then it was silent.

Rilla cautiously looked back up, and blinked, the beast that Mistress had become completely gone. Nothing but blood and a few scales and tufts of fur were the only proof she’d ever been there.

Apart from a small, golden triangle floating where she had stood.

Link breathed out before stepping towards it. He held out his hand, almost gently, and the triangle drifted over to him, before disappearing into his palm with a soft glimmer of light. The mark on his hand shone for a moment before dimming again, and Link looked at Rilla, his face dirtied and exhausted, but calm.

“Hey,” he said in a bit of a croaky voice, and Rilla blinked back a sudden sting in her eyes.

“Hey,” she greeted back shakily, and somehow they ended up in a hug.

Both of them were shaking, and injured and bleeding, and Rilla's nose was running because she was crying for some reason, but she didn’t care, and neither did Link, apparently. They’d done it.

Mistress was gone.

...Rilla wasn't sure if she should be excited, or terrified.

She wiped her face, and Link smiled as they pulled back a little, but it was then that Rilla remembered the room full of people below, who had only half been able to see what had happened. She turned towards them, and Link took a deep breath before releasing her, and stepping out onto the balcony proper again.

The crowd gasped at the sight of him, bedraggled and covered in blood and dirt, using his sword as a makeshift support. Rilla moved to help him, but he waved her off, coughing once before shakily straightening, and looking at them all.

“He drew the holy blade,” someone murmured reverently, and a whisper rushed through the crowd as more people noticed. Link glanced at his sword, and Rilla startled, not having realized just what he’d been holding before now.

When had Link picked up the Master Sword?!

Link waved a hand for silence, his face pleading, and the whispers stilled.

“Your... your leader is dead,” he began, and a ripple of shock passed through the crowd. “You all saw that huge creature, heard her voice. That was your leader, Faye. And she was nothing more than a leech, sucking the life out of people, and using it for her own power. Which turned her into that.”

He took a moment to breathe in, and out.

“Faye was a fraud, a liar,” he continued. “Promising you peace and bringing only pain. Trapping you, murdering people, taking things she had no right to own. She was a monster, through and through. But you don’t have to follow her anymore.” Link gestured outwards. “You’re free to do whatever you want to, now. You can stay here, you can leave, you can join your families... all I’m asking is that you don’t follow in your old leader’s footsteps. Follow Farore if you want, but honor the life she made. Don’t abuse it.”

The crowd still stayed quiet, and Link looked at them, wiping a bit of blood off his lip.

“I’m not asking you this as the Hero,” he said more quietly. “But as someone who’s been just as hurt by this place as you have. Please. Do the right thing.”

A more uncertain silence followed his words, and Rilla moved to stand beside him, giving him a tired smile.

“That sounds good to me,” someone said suddenly, and Rilla saw Liana step forward. “We would honor the Hero by doing what he says.”

“I agree,” someone else spoke, and the guard of Link’s who'd spoken earlier stepped forward. Fallison, Rilla thought. “The Hero holds the holy blade. He was able to kill Faye with it. If that isn’t a sign of Farore’s displeasure with Mistress, I don’t know what is.”

She gave a small bow, and Rilla smiled, feeling relieved as many others followed her in doing the same. Several refused, and even more looked unsure, but Rilla felt like they would warm up to the change. Those who had been most loyal to Mistress drew back with angered faces, but they were greatly outnumbered now, and weren't enough of a threat to be worrying.

“We follow Farore. And I think we owe it to the Hero to make sure we’re truly following her, and not just Mistress,” a younger girl spoke up a little shyly.

“No more following that crazy crone’s teachings!” one of the men shouted in glee, and the cry was echoed by most of the men and a few women as well.

The consorts looked elated, even with some of them injured, and several women came forward and joined them, mingling without fear. Rilla looked around, feeling lighter than she had in a long time as she watched the crowd begin to hesitantly celebrate, and smiled over at Link.

“We did it,” she said, and he returned her smile.

“Think you did, mostly,” he said, then grunted, leaning more heavily on his sword.

Rilla startled, then realized just how pale he looked, blood coating his shoulder, sweat on his face.

“...And now, ‘think ‘m gonna pass out,” he mumbled, and before Rilla could do anything, he pitched forward onto the ground.

#swamp link #someone else's writing #cw: injury #skyward-floored #reblog

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alicewritingstories · 18 days ago

Text

I voted for the secret third option: ask Flora. She's probably the closest Wild has to a next of kin, really, and it was her Slate to begin with before the Calamity, it kind of feels like she should have some say and if nothing else it breaks this deadlock.

PART 3

parts 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

CW: animal preparation for consumption

“It’s lunchtime.”

Goddesses, it was only lunchtime. This morning there had been nine of them, this morning Wild had cooked them breakfast and laughed when Wind was told them all a stupid story about getting his butt stuck in a bucket, this morning there hadn’t been months of torture between him and them.

Right now (and from then on), there weren’t nine of them. There were eight heroes, two who were glaring at him for suggesting that they do something necessary like eat in front of the starved corpse of their brother.

To starve Wild— who loved to cook, who loved to eat, who loved to feed others —Warriors tamped down that rage, there was nothing he could do with it at this moment.

With Time and Twilight grieving, Warriors needed to be the practical one.

“How could you even suggest food right now?” Legend lashed out.

“I’m not eating anyone else’s cooking.” Wind crossed his arms.

“I don’t think I can stomach anything,” Sky said quietly.

“We have to try.” Warriors ignored Wind’s scowl. “Does anybody want to volunteer to cook?”

The members who had joined before Wild felt the callous déjà vu hit them square in the chest. A before and an after— which contained the same absence but permanently, painfully different. Asking the group who wants to try cooking, the silence as they all avoided eye contact, unenthusiastic about being the one to attempt the task only for the result to be bland or too salty or downright dangerous. How did they ever survive without Wild?

“I… I have a recipe of his written down.” Four had a small smile on his face as he dug in his pack for his journal. “He made this amazing pilaf, you know the rice dish with the carrots and chicken, once I had a taste I knew I couldn’t live without it again. I had to work really hard to earn the recipe for it.” He chuckled, opening the journal to the right page. “He managed to teach me most of the steps. I still never managed to make it taste exactly right but Wild said—”

Four drew in a shaky breath and bit down on his bottom lip, his eyes glistened like rubies. He sniffed, composing himself before continuing more quietly, “Wild said he was proud. He promised to teach me the secret next time we practice.”

Sky placed a hand on top of his shoulder. “We’d be more than happy to see the results of your training, Four.”

Four gave his brother a grateful look.

“I can help!” Wind said, his usual, bright grin returning in almost full force.

Four nodded, looking excited. He turned around to where Twilight and Time were, “Wild, we need the ingredients!”

The smith froze. As did the others, all of them caught looking in the direction of the trio. Some had smiles—ones that had been made for Wild—slipping off their faces slowly in realization. Others completely shrunk down from their expectant postures. And the rest, ones who had mostly turned on instinct but knew grief and death intimately enough by now looked back away, for there was nothing there for them. Twilight and Time hadn’t moved at all.

Tears sprang up in Four’s red eyes. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—”

“I’ll go hunt!” Hyrule’s voice jumped in a bit too loudly. “Cuccos right? Or any poultry?”

“Y-Yeah,” Four said, pulling up a shaky smile onto his face with great effort, “we also need some vegetables, a bird egg, Hylian rice, and… goat butter.”

Warriors held back a wince. Butter wasn’t something they could hunt or gather. All of their food supplies were in Wild’s slate. Legend was fiddling with it absentmindedly on his lap. It only ever turned on for Wild.

His insides iced over. This meant they had no food. At all. Other than what measly rations they had in their packs, stuck who knows how far away from stables or towns in the middle of Wild’s Hyrule without their expert guide.

“We should all go foraging,” Sky’s voice cut through Warriors’s growing dread as he stood up. “We need to get firewood as well.”

“Food is a priority,” Warriors agreed. “I’ll stay here with Time and Twilight. The rest of you bring back whatever you can and meet here before dark. Stay close. We don’t know if the yiga are still around.”

It took them the rest of the day to hunt and forage and everybody returned right on time, seemingly not wanting to be separated more than they needed to be.

Time and Twilight were right where they had left them hours ago. Eventually, Warriors will have to insist they take up their regular chores again, more for their benefit than anything else, but for now, they deserved the time.

A fire was started, and after another painful hiccup where they realized that Wild had been the one with the pot, Legend brought one out from his pack after some digging. Warriors and Hyrule worked on skinning the five birds and seven fish they had brought back while Four, Wind, and Sky worked on their meal.

The work was familiar and methodical. Warriors and Hyrule defeathered the birds and descaled the fish in companionable silence. A calm settled in his whirling mind, his attention narrowed in on the present task, and he couldn't have been more grateful for the moment’s reprieve, where there was nothing beyond here and now.

A small sense of pride warmed his chest at seeing Hyrule’s clean, confident cuts. Hyrule hadn’t been as skillful as he was back when they all first met. He hadn’t had enough animals to practice skinning, and he hadn’t been taught the correct way to do it in the first place during his era, so Warriors, Twilight, and Wild had taken turns teaching the traveler how to handle mammals and birds, while most of them took some lessons on how to skin a fish from a haughty Wind.

It was always rewarding and fun to trade skills and give tips within the group. There was always something to teach and something to learn. With a group like this, varied in experience, trades, and whole eras there was always something interesting to share.

Wind loved to boss them around teach them how to sail ships, Sky was always ecstatic to show them how to fly on a loftwing, Legend was eventually bullied into teaching some of them a new language, and Four would force them to learn proper weapon maintenance.

Wild had given up pretty early on to teach them to cook, and none of them were too worried about learning how when they were spoiled with his meals.

Four had been smart to ask Wild to teach him knowing they would all be separated one day… Though Warriors doubted this was the type of separation he was considering.

A nudge on his shoulder pulled Warriors out of his head to realize that he had stopped moving. Beside him, Hyrule was giving him an understanding look.

Warriors cleared his throat and shook off the rest of the rumination he’d fallen into, throwing his brother a signature grin. “Sorry about that. Got lost in thought. Let’s get back to it.”

He felt Hyrule stare long enough for Warriors to start working for a few seconds alone before rejoining him.

This time, the task truly gave Warriors a peaceful, blank mind and they were almost done when approaching footsteps entered their bubble.

“How are we going to store that?”

He looked up to see Legend standing over them, his sharp eyes going over the work they had already done. Wild’s slate was resting between his hands.

“We’ll have to cook it all. Maybe make some rice balls for something quick.” It was Legend who had had the foresight to find a field where he was able to cut and collect bushels of Hylian rice. There was already another fire going below a second simmering pot (another one of Legend’s, the hoarder), filling the area with the smell of cooking rice.

Legend nodded his approval. “It’ll be gone soon anyway with how many mouths we have. We should get used to hunting for every meal now. Gotta make some sort of rations for when we go to places where food is scarce like our deserts and winter mountains.”

“Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines,” Warriors said.

Legend tapped his fingers along the back of the slate. Warriors waited, knowing that look—where he looked slightly constipated and angry about it— meant his brother had more to say. More time passed with Legend doing nothing but tapping until Hyrule also stopped his work to watch his predecessor.

Finally, the tapping ceased and something like resolve shone frighteningly out of the vet’s gaze. “You know that crazy inventor girl Wild mentioned? Paya? Where does she live again?”

Warrior’s eyebrows flew up.

Hyrule openly gawked. “You want to try and open the slate?”

“Better.” The resolve had transfigured into a manic-like gleam. “I want to have it keyed to one of us. And I’m thinking it should be you, Hyrule.”

Hyrule’s face paled under the moonlight. “...What?”

“We already know it works in all of our Hyrules, everything except the map,” Legend continued. “After this journey, we’ll have to return to our homes. Your era is barren and if you had the slate you’d be able to keep food and water fresh forever. Not to mention the tricks it can pull off.”

“I can’t—” Disgust settled plainly over Hyrule. “That’s Wild’s. I can’t just steal Wild’s slate.”

“He can’t use it anymore. It’ll be more useful with you.”

“Vet—” Warriors tried.

“How could you even say that? How could you even suggest—” Hyrule’s hands started shaking.

Frustration tightened the edges of Legend’s eyes. “Would Wild want us to struggle or even suffer just because of some useless attempt to respect him?”

“Legend!”

Legend snapped his mouth shut and looked over at Warriors. The mania appeared to abate slightly with the realization of what he’d just said. Warriors relaxed his voice and gestured behind him with a tilt of his head. “Go help the others with dinner.”

Legend’s eyes flickered to Hyrule who was still shaking, then left without another word.

The calm of their task was entirely unsalvageable, it had been nice while it lasted.

Warriors turned to look at Hyrule. Anger was literally and visibly sparking and popping into existence like small fireworks around his brother as he tried to control his fae magic. Warriors watched as Hyrule’s face glittered with the sparks, putting into sharp relief the way his eyebrows were furrowed, and how his eyes glared at the space in front of him.

“Hyrule,” Warriors spoke up, “for what it’s worth, I think it’s a good idea.”

The embers flared and Hyrule turned his devastating, betrayed expression onto him, making Warriors’s heart twist. “Captain, you can’t mean that.”

“I know I’ve had a sleepless night or two wondering how we’re supposed to let you leave to your world alone after our first shift there,” Warriors pushed on, “I can only imagine how Legend must feel. Knowing you have the slate would definitely ease my worries.”

“I’ve handled myself just fine for years before meeting you guys,” Hyrule hissed. The embers sizzled and concentrated into small suns. “You can’t ask me to loot Wild’s body.”

“Wild would love knowing that something of his was helping you.”

Heat spiked, the little suns turned into a moon blue as Hyrule jumped to his feet to glare down at Warriors. The blood on his hands and the burning in the traveler’s eyes shimmered with the fire of his magic. “Well, there’s no way to know for sure what Wild would think, is there. If you want to have it keyed to someone it’s not going to be me. Ask Wind, I’m sure that’ll go over well.” He spun on his heel and started walking away. “I’m going to wash up.”

Warriors watched his brother go, disappearing into the dark of the woods towards the stream nearby. He sighed, and finished up skinning the last fish.

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