Rise of the Goddess

Chapter Thirteen - Corvus

The other thing that made her uncomfortable was his pity. She didn't need his pity, she didn't want it. Then, when he talked about watching her in awe, a part of her wanted to remind him that she was gay, the last thing she needed was some kind of boy drooling over her. She was 34 years old, he was the leader of their village, they weren't kids anymore, the last thing she wanted to talk about was stupid crushes.

So instead of acknowledging anything he said, she shut him down.

"Is there any kind of reason why you came here?" she asked,

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him fall back a little, "Actually, yeah. I got word today of Princess Zariah's coronation. It's a few days from now,"

"I don't see the purpose of it, she became Queen as soon as her mother died,"

"Yes, well, I'm still planning to attend,"

Corvus took a long pause, "I will too,"

They sat in silence.

Evek got to his feet, "I'm going to be leading a group of us to fly there in two days. If you want to come, meet us at Revali's landing,"

He started back in the direction of the village, leaving her alone.

Corvus still had no idea how to feel about Zariah and all the others. Everyone had changed, Zariah had gone from being a cute little kid to becoming the Queen. She wasn't a kid anymore, she was fully grown, strong, powerful, beautiful.

All the others had changed too. Miko seemed much more solemn, he wasn't as outgoing as he had been before. Jira had become a wife and a mother, she actually settled down, had a normal life. Aadil was still as reckless as always — given the fact he had literally lost an arm — but he seemed more sure of himself, more confident in his abilities and in what he stood for. Darmar was the only one she couldn't come up with any kind of change.

They all had the chance to grow up, to change, to become themselves. She got a prison cell, enough regret and guilt to last a hundred lifetimes, and depression as she slowly rotted away.

She turned her head back towards the village, she could see a green shape flying over towards it. She sighed, got to her feet, rolled her shoulders back, and then crouched. Was this really a good idea?

The problem was that she had been dying to get control back over Revali's Gale. If she could get it back, she could do anything.

She took a deep breath, flexed her fingers and felt wind gather around her.

She leapt up, letting the updraft carry her into the sky. She fought to stay in the eye of the updraft, spinning around in some kind of mini cyclone, climbing higher and higher and higher.

She reached the top of it.

A broad grin spread wide over her face.

She did it.

She flew around in her victory, gliding in loops, continuing in circular paths, going crazy with her flight. All because She. Did. It.

Once she had gotten over her initial glee, she flew back to Rito Village, circling around the rock until she found a small wooden house built near the top. She landed on the wooden platform and laughed.

She got Revali's Gale back. Everything else would be effortless in comparison. This was the beginning of her recovery, of her growth. She would be able to buy back the time lost, she would be the greatest of the Rito, and maybe, maybe, it would be enough for herself and for the world.

She jumped into her hammock, closed her eyes, and let the breeze rock her back and forth.