The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Mini Boss 19 - Gale of the Maelstrom Vahanna

Fortunately, Link was making a habit of reading these monsters, a skill that was becoming more and more tuned the longer he was on his quest. Link drew out the Sage's Rod, slipping in the Forest Medallion as he kited another heavy attack from the monster hovering over the arena. Link turned the hook of the staff towards the beast, and let out a burst of wind. The gust was stronger than Link expected, pushing the monster's wings back until the wings buckled under the force of the attack.

However, Link forgot to aim. While the monster hit the ground, it went barreling towards Link's three companions. Zelda rolled out of the way, but Taka and Sagi had to spring back into the air for a minute to avoid from being thrown back by the monster Link sent tumbling their way. It was a hard jump, considering their wings were still heavy, but they managed it.

Link skidded to a halt near the edge of the platform as the monster rolled off the side. Zelda bounced over beside him, commenting, "Maybe next time don't send it right at us."

"Sorry," Link answered, looking down towards the arch the monster continued to fall down. "You think she's going to come back up?" Ten more seconds of free falling plunge, the monster finally managed to recover from its careening downward fall and pushed itself back up into the air. This wasn't his one hit kill.

"I don't know that the gust did much, but good try," Taka called as the two Rito found their footing again. Link wondered how the talon footed avians could walk so easily over the mesh. He had seen chickens struggling to climb over chicken wire, yet the Rito had little issue with this. He didn't think the answer was all that important, but it was still curious to him.

"Right," Link answered, his palm hanging over the hook in the Sage's Rod. He fished out the Forest Medallion and debated on which other he wanted to select. He almost wanted go with the Water Medallion, but with the chill already in the air, he didn't think that it would be terribly effective. Instead, Link pulled out the Fire Medallion and hooked it into the Sage's Rod.

Moments later, the monster burst back over the edge of its wind wall, only to be met by a roaring cone of flames. What Link didn't expect though was the flame getting caught up into the wall of wind, until the fire was merged so completely with the wind that there was now a full fire tornado racing around the perimeter of the arena.

"Maybe put away the magic rods, Link!" Sagi shouted, both Rito hopping back a few steps from the flames. The monster crashed down onto the center of the platform, now half silhouetted by fire, giving her already intimidating experience a shaded edge to here. Link quickly returned the Sage's Rod to his pack, realizing he might have the wrong idea about this fight.

Letting out a massive roar, the monster flexed her two spears, lining up one for a charge. The four adventurers all jumped to dodge the attack, though the speed behind the assault gave them a very small window to dodge. Link could feel the air parting around the incoming charge behind him as he jumped out of the way. Safe, but only by a few inches.

Link didn't know why, but he decided to pull out his warhammer as the monster charged behind him. In the same breath that he was rolling out of the way, the Stone Hammer freed itself from Link's pouch, snapping out at an almost comedic bend, before slapping into the monster.

This hit had a much better impact than the wind gust. Whether it was because of the flame wheel racing around them or the weight of the hit, stone appearing from nowhere to smack the monster at all angles, Link didn't know, but it was effectively. Lethally effective. The beast roasted and vanished for he could determine the cause of death.

All that was left was a whirl of smoke, which promptly whisked itself off to the center of the platform and concentrated into a solid chest, like Link had seen so many times before. The winds died down and the rain came down in full force. Before the storm could spot them again though, the mist edged back over the platform, once more engulfing the building.

"That was...amazing!" Taka stated, shouting the last portion of his statement. He raced over to Link, looking at the massive warhammer the Hero now sported. "I would never think of using a heavy weapon like that up here. Such a dangerous but decisive battle maneuver."

"Uh, thanks," Link answered, not wanting to tell the Rito it had been a spur of the moment choice.

"We do have a minute's cover, but that storm will find us again if we stay out here," Sagi pointed out. "Good work though. We can fly you over to one of the ledges, the fire helped dry out our wings again."

"Just a moment," Link replied, stowing the hammer. As he was reminded of the plunge beneath him, he found the heavy weapon a little more unsettling. Why had he decided to snap it out? Effective, yes, but extremely dangerous. The weight of one wide swing could send him tumbling over the side of one of these platforms. Even if he had a safety net with Shade, he didn't like the idea of that fall. With the weapon stowed, he cracked open the newly formed chest.

You got the Roc's Feather. This feather is imbued with the magic of a zephyr, giving its wielder a strong gust when they use it, either to be pushed the user in a direction, or to be sent out to push away foes. Holding onto it will allow the user to glide.

Taka, Sagi, and Zelda leaned over and around Link's shoulders as he pulled out the treasure. Taka said, "If you wanted a feather, I could have given you one."

"Maybe it's magical?" Zelda offered, leaning a little closer. "These treasures tend to be a little more special."

Link held his arm out to its full extent. "Only one way to find out." He took a running step forward, jumping before snapping the feather lightly. Immediately, he felt a gust of wind beneath his feet, launching him up into the air. As his jump began to careening down, Link grabbed at the feather, before feeling it bulge out into a makeshift parachute, letting him float gently down to the ground. Holding the feather firm, Link glanced back towards his companions. "Magic feather."

"Well I've seen just about everything," Sagi muttered under his breath as Link walked back towards them. "Your vertical leap is faster than even a Rito's takeoff. You could probably out pace a lightning bolt if you wanted."

"I don't really, but that's good to know," Link answered, carefully tucking the feather into his pack. He didn't want to accidentally snap it and unintentionally launch himself sideways. Gauging the distance from where they stood to the nearest platform, Link said, "I could probably carry Zelda and I back up there."

"I'm ok not testing that one," Zelda replied, inching a step away from Link as he continued to study the platform above them. "Once you can land there on your own, I'll let you try carrying me."

"Ok." Link wasn't exactly paying attention to her response now. He was more interested in seeing if he could make that jump, mostly because he wanted to see if he could figure out more practical used for this feature than lining up jump attack. Without really thinking anymore about the princess's comment, he tried the leap...