"What is it you need me for?" Link asked.
"Well, I've been watching you as you made your way here. The way you work is quite impressive for someone of your age and stature. From how you carry yourself, you certainly are no ordinary person." Sidon responded, "Link, you must be a great warrior amongst the Hylians, correct?"
Link shook his head.
"No no no! Don't be so humble! I can tell just by looking at you, I am the Zora prince after all. I have an eye for talent that is unparalleled! I have searched for a long while for someone like you Link." Sidon commented, "At the moment, Zora's Domain is in grave danger because of the massive rainfall coming from Divine Beast Vah Ruta! I ask that you help us, we need your strength, warrior."
"I came here for just that. I have travelled here to appease the Divine Beast."
"Really? That's great! Then we share a common goal then! Excellent! Thank you Link, you truly are the person we need! Well then, first things first, we'll have to get back to Zora's domain."
"Before we do that, I want to say that one of your men is trapped up on that tower over there." Link interrupted.
"Oh, well then, I'll send a rescue party for him as soon as we get to the domain. We can't worry about that now, we must make haste! I must warn you though, the rain has made these cliffs impossible to climb. You'll have to use the path up ahead, but, it is filled with monsters that specialize in electric attacks. I will be unable to assist you, as we Zora are vulnerable to the element." Sidon instructed, "But don't give up, I believe in you!"
"Understood."
"I shall swim up ahead, scout around to see if there's anything really bad in store for you. Before we part ways, take this. It's a small trinket to show my faith in you."
He handed to him a bottle of some yellow colored elixir.
"This drink shall increase your resistance to electricity! It will not do any good for me, as it only seems to work for you Hylians. I am not sure why though... Anyways, this will make things a lot easier for you!" the Zora prince told him.
"Thank you." Link said.
"Good luck, I'm counting on you!"
He then did a backflip and jumped into the river. Link put the vial into his pocket and continued forward, through a small rocky canyon.
After a long, treacherous voyage through the path guarded by monsters, Link finally made it to the domain. Breathing a sigh of relief, he entered the place. It was built from the same smooth blue stone that was used for the bridges he had crossed. It proudly stood towering over the water, an artificial island in a great lake. He saw Sidon waiting by the entrance.
"Whoa! I've been waiting for you, Link!" Sidon said as he smiled, "Welcome! Behold the pride of my people, Zora's Domain! Now I shall introduce you to the king. Come along!"
Link nodded as he followed Sidon. They walked passed the statue of a female Zora warrior, holding a trident. Link looked at her for a moment before averting his attention back to walking. As they passed through, several Zora turned to the young Hylian following their prince. A few gazed in disbelief.
"Could it be?" one whispered.
"Impossible, he'd be long dead by now..." another murmured.
The two entered the throne room.
"Father, I have returned with someone who can help with our situation." Sidon announced.
Link's eyes widened. Before him stood a huge Zora, practically ten times bigger than Sidon. He was an older fish-man, the scars on his dark blue scale being proof that he had seen many battles in his day. Beside him stood a shorter, elderly, green scaled Zora. Link quickly kneeled before the monarch.
"Ah. So you must be the Hylian that Sidon brought here, correct?" the monarch asked.
Link nodded.
"You did well to come all the way up here! I am King Dorephan, ruler of the Zora. Now then, take your hood off, so that I may see your face."
Link removed his hood. The king's face lit up as he saw it.
"That face... I have seen it before... And that object on your waist, it is Sheikah Slate, isn't it?" he asked.
Link nodded once again. Dorephan smiled.
"Then... It is you, Link, the Hylian champion!"
"The Hylian Champion? You can't mean THE Link? THAT Champion?!" Sidon said in shock, "So that's why your name was so familiar, what a fateful coincidence that we should cross paths!"
"I cannot believe it. That I'd live to see my daughter's closest friend once again. We have met many times before you know. Ah... So many memories, my mind is flowing with nostalgia, my friend. We had heard rumors that you had fallen in combat, but thank the goddess they were untrue."
Link cocked his head in confusion. "We have met before?" he asked.
"... Come again?" the king said confusedly, "You do not recognize me at all? But surely you must remember my precious daughter Mipha, yes?"
"Who is Mipha?"
Dorephan stared him, completely in shock: "I cannot believe it... Have you truly forgotten my dear Mipha as well? You were both so close, yet you do not remember her? Look at this place. These walls, the statue outside. Does gazing upon it all not jog any memory of her?"
Link stood in confused silence, not knowing how to answer.
Sidon suddenly interrupted: "Father... I do not believe discussing my sister is helping matters at the moment. Link seems confused.."
"Oh?" the king remarked, "Yes, of course. But first, it is worth noting how remarkable it is that Sidon brought a Champion here without realizing it! Link, I doubt not you have endured a great many trials. Still, I must ask you to hear my plea."
"Very well." Link answered.
"Now then. Hero... I must inform you that Zora' Domain is in danger of vanishing because of Divine Beast Vah Ruta. I shall do you the courtesy of speaking bluntly. We are powerless to stop it. Will you lend us your strength?"
"What?!" the green scaled Zora called out. "King Dorephan! My liege! Please do not speak so! To ask a Hylian for help... The very thought of it curls my fins!"
"Muzu, I expected more of you. How can you protest now?"
"Muzu!" Sidon reprimanded, "It is rude to speak that way to your king and his guest. Link is here because I invited him! With such unprecedented rain, we have no choice but to rely on the aid of a trustworthy Hylian. We have discussed this many times before. In times like this, our survival must come before our personal biases."
"Indeed!" the king added in, "Link is a Champion through and through. As things now stand, Zora's Domain... Nay! Perhaps all of Hyrule is doomed to be swallowed by the sea. This is bigger than all of us my friend. Zoras and Hylians must put aside their differences and band together."
"Have you forgotten already, my king?!" Muzu retorted, "We cannot trust these lowly Hylians! A hundred years ago, they abused the power of an ancient civilization and turned Hyrule into what it is now! And that is not the least of it!"
He sighed, before saying in a sad tone: "It is their fault that Lady Mipha was lost to us...
Link lowered his head a bit, understanding where he was coming from. Part of the blame did fall on him for what had transpired a century before. Though he did not know who this Mipha girl was, he felt as though he was to blame for what happened.
"Link..." Dorephan called out, ignoring what Muzu had said, "Divine Beast Vah Ruta has great power. It has the unique ability to create and endless supply of water. Of late, it has been mercilessly spouting it into the air. As such, this area has been plagued with heavy rains. For us Zora, water and air are as one, so you would think it would not be a problem for us. However, the rains have filled the eastern reservoir to the point of flooding. If the reservoir bursts, as it soon will, I fear that it will not only cause great damage for us Zora, but for the Hylians who live in the area downstream from us."
Suddenly, they heard rumbling outside as a great trumpeting sound was heard.
"What is that?" Link asked.
"Divine Beast Vah Ruta," answered the king, "it is calling out once again. Your princess, Zelda, often studied the Divine Beasts. That is, before the Great Calamity. According to her research, the orbs located on Ruta's shoulders are mechanisms that control the water it generates. However, they require electricity to work. Those orbs are clearly out of control now because there is no electricity coursing through to stop them."
"One of our warriors, Seggin, who is quite resistant to electricity, managed to hit one with a shock arrow. Sure enough, it slowed the water for a moment. But, as I have stated before, we are very vulnerable to electricity. That is why I went searching for a Hylian like you." Sidon said.
"So that's the plan? I will shoot Vah Ruta's shoulders with shock arrows till it stops generating water?" Link asked.
"Precisely!" Sidon commented. "I will aid you in whatever way I can, but please, I beg you, help me stop Ruta's destruction."
"... That is why I have come here. Her highness personally instructed me to seek out the Divine Beasts and free them."
"What?!" Dorephan leaned forward: "She is alive as well?"
"Yes, within Hyrule Castle."
"... Even though we cannot change the past, we can certainly change our future. Appeasing the Divine Beast will be the first step in ending Calamity Ganon once and for all, and perhaps bringing peace to the land."
"I did not know you were so ambitious Link..." Sidon said, "Very well then, I shall fight alongside you! Once we stop Ruta's rampage, I shall help you get inside so that you can take back control of it! Let us do this together."
"I'm in." Link said bluntly.
"Thank you Link, we are truly in your debt. Our meeting must truly be the work of fate. By the way... There is something I should give you." Dorephan told him.
He reached into a secret compartment in his throne and opened it. Pulling out from it was a set of blue and silver armour.
"This armour will help you swim faster, as well as up waterfalls like the rest of us. The other two pieces of the armour have been entrusted to-"
"Your majesty!" Muzu protested, "This is preposterous! That armour was made by your daughter for her future husband! You cannot simply gift it to this... this... Shady Hylian! He may have been a Champion, but he had no such relationship with Mipha! I would have taught her better. This is too much my liege, I refuse to aid him!"
He walked off.
"Muzu!" Sidon called out, "Pardon him, ever since my sister's death, he has been bitter towards your kind... Curses... Only he knows where we can get enough shock arrows for this mission, not to mention the fact Mipha trusted him with a piece of that armour... I shall speak to him. In the meantime, I suggest you rest up Link, you did fight your way to here."
"Thank you."
He walked off. Link went over to the Shrine in the domain, completing it with ease, before heading on over to the nearby in. He rested on what the Zora called: a water bed, a bed which the mattress had been filled with water. Link found it surprisingly fun to bounce around a bit on it, but soon drifted off to sleep.
The next day, after eating a breakfast of simmered fruit and changing into his new Zora armour, Link stepped out of the inn to see Sidon and Muzu arguing by the statue.
"Muzu, you must think of our people first!"
"I am! And I say that I refuse to help if it means I must work alongside a Hylian."
Link walked up to the two. Muzu turned to him.
"You came here in vain. No matter what you wish to say, I will not be swayed."
"Muzu," Sidon said, "I think it is time you know... You did not know my sister as well as you think." My father had kept it a secret for a long time, and only told me when I had become old enough to understand." He sighed, before declaring: "Link was Mipha's true love."
Link's eyes suddenly widened. What?! She was in love with him?!
"Ha! You cannot fool me with such a ridiculous lie! Just look at his face, he has no idea what you're even talking about! The fact remains, he does not remember her, even gazing upon her immortalized visage says nothing!"
Link looked up to the statue. Its gaze seemed familiar... It was gentle, calm and kind.... As if he had felt that gaze before... A long time ago. Link gasped as he began to remember.
Flashback
Link sat atop Vah Ruta's trunk. A young, red scaled female Zora sat beside him, holding his arm as she channelled some form of energy into him.
"I was thinking..." she said, in a calm, gentle voice, "this reminds me of the time when we first met. You were just a reckless child... always getting yourself hurt at every turn. And every time, I would heal you, just as I am doing now."
Link simply watched, listening to her every word with attentiveness.
"I thought it was funny how, being a Hylian, you looked grown up so much faster than I did. I was... I was always willing to heal your wounds. Even back then.
She finished healing the cuts in his arms.
"Thank you. For all of those times, as well as now." Link said monotonously.
She smiled: "So if this Calamity Ganon does, in fact, return, what can we really do? We just don't seem to know much of what we are up against."
"All we can do is focus. Even if it means putting our own feelings aside." Link responded.
"Perhaps... But know this, that no matter how difficult this battle might get... if you- if anyone tries to do you harm... Then I will heal you. I hope you know that I will always protect you."
Link gave a small nod.
"Once this whole thing is over, maybe things can go back the way they used to be when we were young. You know... Perhaps we could spend some time together?"
Link sat in silence, unsure of exactly what to say.
End of the flashback
Link was standing there, panting.
"Link, are you alright?" Sidon asked.
"I-I remember her... I remember Mipha..."
"What?! Impossible! There is no way you could just remember her right here and there, it is far too convenient! Without any solid proof, I cannot-"
"MUZU!" Sidon yelled, "Perhaps at least take a moment to see what he is wearing at the moment."
"What? You think a change of clothes is going to sway me? You are wro-" He suddenly paused, scanning Link up and down: "That armor It was specially made by the hand of lady Mipha for her future husband, yet it fits your perfectly! How can... No... It cannot be true! She would've told me! She was like a daughter to me! I would have known!"
"Because of your dislike of Hylians, Mipha felt it necessary to keep her affection for him hidden from the rest of our people, including you. Now then, help us, Muzu. Help us avenge my sister."
Muzu remained silent for a moment, before saying: "Very well, I shall help you find the shock arrows, as well as the rest of the armor Mipha made. But be warned, it will be a difficult task. Are you ready to take responsibility for what is to come, hero?"
Link spoke out immediately: "Whatever task is at hand, I will complete it."
Sidon jumped in: "And I shall stand by your side for what is to come!"
Muzu sighed.
"Very well then. Let us begin."
(Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you later, bye!)