After escaping Lurelin Village, Rhiannon led the group into the jungle. She instructed them to lay low until sunrise, camping in the middle of the Zonai Ruins. The entire night, Rhiannon couldn't stick an eye. She spent it looking at the stars, wondering if her parents were fine. "I bet they're scared," she thought, "they've been trapped there for 25 years. I'm more worried about my mother–she was trapped there for a hundred years, and now she has to spend another 25 years... If only I could tell her how sorry I am..."
She tried to contain her tears but it was hard for her to do so. She sat up, pulling her knees to her chest, sighing to avoid waking her friends up with her sobbing. "It's blatantly obvious I'm never going to be the person I used to be 25 years ago," she thought as she stroked her hair, "I have to detach from my past self and become someone new."
She looked down at her long blonde hair, then looked up at the Master Sword resting against a rock. After briefly hesitating, she got up silently and took the sword in her hands. She walked further into the ruins as the sun began to rise in the sky. Once she was far away enough, she took off her tunic and placed it on the floor, kneeling next to it. She rapidly braided her hair and held the end tightly. With her free hand, she held the sword and placed the blade under the braid. She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. "One... two... three..." Rhiannon drove the sword across the braid, cutting off a large chunk of hair and leaving the rest just above her shoulders. The princess stared at her reflection in the blade–with a brand new haircut, she felt reborn. In her hand was still the braid that she had cut off, so she let it fall to the floor into a small pile of blonde hair. "It's a brand new day," she whispered, "and it's a brand new me. I finally detached from the past. I am a brand new person now."
Using her fingers, she moved her bangs to the sides of her head. She took the braid and her tunic, walking back to the camp. The campfire that had been set up the night before was still ablaze, so Rhiannon tossed the braid into the flames and watched as it burned into ashes. Zya then opened her eyes, noticing the burning smell in the air. She looked up to see a figure she did not recognize. Rhiannon looked over her shoulder when she felt Zya's stare in the back of her neck. However, before she could explain anything, Zya pounced over her. "Ow!" Rhiannon exclaimed, "Hey!"
The tussle then woke up the others. "Who are you?!" Zya asked, "What have you done with Princess Rhiannon?!"
"I am Princess Rhiannon, Zya!" Rhiannon answered, "I just cut my hair!"
"You what?!" Dori gasped. "If you truly are Rhiannon, prove it!" Koli said, "What's Rhiannon's favorite color?"
"Turquoise," Rhiannon said. "Yep, that's Rhia," Dori said, "so, you just decided to cut your hair out of nowhere?"
"I feel like I had to detach from my old self," Rhiannon explained, "so I gave myself a little trim."
"Little?!" Dori inquired, "What did you do with the rest of your hair?!"
Rhiannon then pointed at the campfire. The others gasped as they saw a pile of ashes as the flames slowly died. "You burned your hair?!" Aya asked. "That explains the smell..." Zya said. "No!" Dori cried, taking the ashes in her hands, "Not your hair! It was the money-maker!"
"I'm a brand new person now," Rhiannon said, "I feel like I was reborn, like a butterfly leaving its cocoon. Also, I should probably say–while I do not mind being addressed as a woman, sometimes I just don't feel like a woman at all, so please address me as they or them."
"I thought you had forgotten about that whole androgynous thing," Dori said, "glad to see you back at it!"
"It's a new day, and I'm a brand new person," Rhiannon sighed, "well, we're not that far from the Spring of Courage, we should just follow that river."
Rhiannon pointed at a river that crossed the Zonai Ruins. "The Dracozu River," Dori said, "if we get going now, we should get there before sunset."
"Tulin, mind being our eyes in the sky?" Rhiannon asked. "Not at all," Tulin nodded, "count on me, princess."
He then took flight, soaring above the jungle. "Also, can you put on your tunic?" Dori said, "Nobody wants to see... that..."
Rhiannon looked down at her torso. "Hey, you know I worked hard for these," she giggled, "you think a six-pack is grown in one day."
"I never imagined you would be this muscular, my dearest," Zya said dreamily, "may I?"
Rhiannon then flexed her arm, letting Zya touch her bicep. "I'm built like a Lynel," she said, "Aya, you wanna feel the other one?"
They then flexed their free arm. "You are such a show-off!" Aya giggled. "Okay, the smoke show is over, ladies!" Dori said, "Don't make me charge you two for it! Now, let's move."
"Huh? Where am I?"
Daron opened his eyes to see he was in a dark room. "Don't worry," said a voice across the room, "it's me, your friend, Joji."
"Never heard of ya, pal," Daron said, "now where did you bring me?"
"Akkala," Joji answered, "my tech lab."
"And for what reason, exactly?" Daron inquired. "I want to talk to you about Princess Rhiannon," Joji replied. "Back off! She's mine!" Daron hissed. "Whoa, whoa!" Joji chuckled, "Hold your horses, big guy! I'm not trying to steal her from you!"
"Then, what is it?!" Daron snapped, "Speak up!"
"You truly are down bad for a woman that doesn't even like you back, are you?" Joji smirked, "That's quite adorable. Anyway, taking into consideration your devotion to the princess, I imagine you know everything about her, am I right or am I right?"
"You just answered your question," Daron said, "I do know everything about Princess Rhiannon. She usually wakes up at 7 am, her favorite fruit is wild berries, she's allergic to bananas, her favorite tea is Oolong, and she eats large portions of meat and carbs due to her fast metabolism."
Joji took two steps back. "I don't know if to be impressed or creeped out," he said, "so I'm just going to jump straight to the point: what is Rhiannon's weakness?"
"Weaknesses?" Daron said, "as in, physical weaknesses?"
"Whatever you want to call them," Joji said, "but what are they?"
"She has a few," Daron answered, "for example, she has a bad time with her aim. Another one is that she's near-sighted. Now, if you're talking about soft spots, she has a soft spot for those two harlots that hang with her all the time, Zya and Aya. And then there's her dear old father that she never shuts up about."
Joji then lifted his head as an epiphany hit him. "Yes, of course, Champion Link," he nodded, "of course, the princess has a soft spot for her father, I heard that they were very close. Much closer than she was to her mother, Princess Zelda."
"General Link was always close to his precious little offspring," Daron rolled his eyes, "he would never let any of the boys get near her. He was so protective of her that he threatened to put me in a dungeon if I even breathed her way."
Joji's smirk grew wider. "Interesting," he said, "and I imagine Princess Rhiannon was also protective of her father, yes?"
"Wherever the old man went, she trailed behind," Daron nodded, "Rhiannon would put her life at risk for her father and Link would do the same. I heard that he was this way because he was afraid of ending up like his father."
"This is just interesting," Joji chuckled, "the princess must be so desperate to reunite with him."
"Yeah," Daron said, "she's even carrying around his sword."
"The sword that seals the darkness," Joji said, "I would give anything to have that blade in my hands."
"Yeah? Well, good luck with that," Daron said, "Rhiannon never stays away from it. Daddy's sword means a lot to her."
"I would offer you a deal," Joji sighed, "you bring me the sword and the girl, I'll give you something in return, but you said you don't want any more deals."
"Whoa, whoa!" Daron bellowed, "I thought you said you weren't interested in my Rhiannon! She's mine, buckaroo!"
"I don't want to romance her," Joji answered, "I'm just going to help her reunite with her family."
"And the sword?" Daron asked. "I'm keeping it to myself, of course," Joji answered, "when I said I want to help the princess reunite with her family, I meant that I'm trapping her with them inside Hyrule Castle!"
"...Okay..." Daron said, a little disconcerted, "if we're done here, can I leave?"
"Sure," Joji said as he guided him to the door, "but Daron..."
"Yeah?" he turned towards him. "Let's keep in touch, shall we?" Joji smirked before closing the door.
"Are we there yet?" Koli asked, "It's humid and I'm tired."
"And the mosquitos in this area are huge," Aya said as she swatted away a few bugs, "they're eating me alive."
"Not to mention we've been ambushed twice already," added Tulin, "where did those Lizalfos get so many shock arrows?"
"Dori, are we close?" Rhiannon asked. "Almost there," she replied, "heads up, we don't want to be ambushed a third time."
"Hey, may I suggest something?" Aya said, "Maybe we wouldn't get ambushed so many times if Tulin didn't give away our position while he's up in the air!"
"Well, it's not my fault they have great vision or something!" Tulin exclaimed. "Both of you! Voices down!" Rhiannon commanded, "Lizalfos not only have good sight, but they also have good hearing for what I've heard."
"This would be easier if I weren't hungry," Koli sighed. "We'll have breakfast soon," Rhiannon said, "and...there it is!"
The group looked up to a large stone structure with the shape of a large snake. "The Spring of Courage," Rhiannon said, "it's been a while since I've been here."
They then approached the mouth of the snake. Rhiannon looked at the Goddess statue in the center of the spring. "Courage is my father's Triforce," they sighed, "I'm glad I'm starting here."
"Let's leave them alone," Dori said, "this is a private moment for them, so let's wait outside."
Rhiannon kneeled in front of the Goddess statue, putting her hands together and preparing for prayer. "Goddess Hylia," they whispered, "I come to you seeking help. I need to wake up my mother's sealing power."
She then opened her eyes and saw a golden light coming from above her. "To get what you are seeking," a voice said, "bring to me the scale of the Golden Spirit."
"What?!" Rhiannon gasped, "I mean, y-yes, of course..."
They rose to their feet and headed back to the exit. "Wow, that was fast," Dori said. "The Goddess has spoken to me," Rhiannon said, "she wants me to bring her the scale of the Golden Spirit."
"Golden Spirit?" Zya asked. "Oh, I think I know what she means," Dori said, "she's talking about the Guardian of the Spring of Courage, the dragon Farosh."
"Oh, yeah, I remember you mentioned that," Rhiannon said. "Wait," Koli said, "is it big, long, and yellow?"
"According to Master Link's account, yeah," Dori nodded. "Please," Rhiannon sighed, "stop calling my father 'Master'!"
"Anyway," Dori said, "that's Farosh, for ya. Guardian of the Spring of Courage, works with Faron the God of Courage, all that business."
"Where the heck are we going to find that dragon?!" Zya asked. "I saw it!" Koli said, "I saw it by Floria Falls!"
"Let's go back to Floria Falls, by all means!" Rhiannon said. "Are you serious?!" Dori asked.
The team returned to Floria Falls, standing on opposite sides of the suspension bridge. Hours passed by and there was no sight of the dragon. "It's been five hours," Aya sighed as the group reunited in the middle of the bridge, "we've had no luck so far."
"I swear I saw it here!" Koli said, "When we were escorting those people to Lurelin! I'm not making this up! It was big and yellow! Or was it green?"
"Koli!" the group exclaimed in unison. "Was it yellow or was it green?" Tulin asked. "It has to be yellow," Dori said, "Goddess Hylia called it the Golden Spirit, no? Golden is just shiny yellow!"
"We cannot stop looking just now," Zya said, "Rhiannon needs the dragon's scale!"
"Is there a way to summon those dragons or something?" Aya asked. Rhiannon then flashbacked to the day she first saw the dragon Dinraal. Coincidentally or not, Rhiannon remembered that the dragon appeared after asking her grandfather's spirit for help. "Rhia?" Dori called, "Everything okay?"
"I just remembered when we first saw the dragon Dinraal," Rhiannon said, "we were in the Flank of Eldin behind Death Mountain, the Eldin Mafia had us hanging over a ditch full of corrupted Moblins. I prayed to my grandfather for help, and suddenly Dinraal appeared."
"...Who is Dinraal?" Aya asked. "The Red Spirit, Guardian of the Spring of Power," Dori answered, "named after the god Eldin if it isn't obvious enough."
As the others began discussing, Rhiannon stared at the falls ahead of her. She closed her eyes tightly, concentrating. "Grandfather," she thought, "if you can somehow hear me, please send me a sign. Send me the dragon Farosh so I can access the Spring of Courage. Please, if you're out there listening, grandfather... show me a sign..."
She looked up at the blue skies. The sun would make the waterfalls shimmer. Rhiannon looked around but there was no sign of the dragon. "We have to find that dragon somehow!" Aya said, "Rhiannon needs that scale, as Zya said! Without it, they won't have access to the Spring of Courage!"
"How are we going to find a dragon in broad daylight?" Tulin asked, "Do dragons even appear during the day?"
"Well, we can't just stand around, can we?" added Dori, "New Deya Village isn't far from here, someone probably saw something there!"
The overlapping chatter of their friends made Rhiannon grow weary and annoyed. She was about to tell them to stop when a red-headed, dark-skinned Hylian woman approached them. "Pardon me," she said, "I could not help but hear that you are all looking for a dragon."
Rhiannon gasped softly. "He heard me..." they thought, "...thank you so much, grandfather!"
"Perfect timing," Rhiannon said out loud, "I'm Princess Rhiannon. My friends and I are looking for the golden dragon Farosh."
"My name is Dua," the woman said, "I've been studying the Three Dragons for a while now."
"Say," Aya said, "for a Hylian, your features are very similar to those of a Gerudo woman."
"That is because I am half Gerudo!" Dua answered, making the group gasp in awe. "Anyway, enough about me," Dua giggled, "if you want to find the dragon Farosh, I have seen it a few times by Lake Hylia, just above the Bridge of Hylia."
"You've seen it?" Dori gasped. "Yes!" Dua replied, "Before the Calamity, I once visited the Hyrule Castle library. It was there when I found Champion Link's encounter with the dragons and I instantly became fascinated! I've been studying them ever since!"
"Is there a specific time of the day Farosh appears?" Rhiannon asked. "That's the thing about dragons," Dua answered, "They appear after the sun has set, meaning it could be anywhere between dusk and dawn. Although, Farosh could be at the lake already for all I know."
"We have no time to waste," Rhiannon said, hastily mounting their horse, "we have to catch Farosh and return to the Spring of Courage!"
"Can I tag along?" Dua asked, "I want to see that majestic beast up close!"
They crossed the Faron Region that afternoon and reached the Bridge of Hylia just as the sun was starting to set. Rhiannon noticed that the skies became cloudy, which indicated to them that it would rain soon. Two hours passed and there was no sign of the dragon. "Maybe we should get closer to the lake," Rhiannon suggested. "How much closer do you want us to get?!" Aya asked, "We're as close as we can get and there's no sign of Farosh!"
"We must be patient," Zya said, "we cannot leave without that scale!"
"Aya's right!" Dori exclaimed, "So far it's been futile!"
"Are you sure you brought us to the right spot, Dua?" Tulin asked, but when the group turned around to face her, she was already across the bridge. "Come quickly! I have an idea!" she exclaimed, "We have no time to waste!"
"Not gonna lie, she had me for a second," Koli sighed in relief. "Move!" Rhiannon commanded, heading across the bridge as they followed Dua.
Due to the cloudy skies, it was hard to tell if it was already past sunset. Dua had taken the group to a stable on the shores of the Hylia River, making them board a raft in the back of the stable. "This is ridiculous," Dori scolded, "are we seriously going to find Farosh this way?"
"We must do what we must," Rhiannon said, "I need that scale."
Zya jumped into the water, pushing the raft along the river. Tulin used the Great Eagle Bow to snipe out Octoroks along the way. "Hey, queen?" Dori said, "Can't you hurry up?"
"I am doing the best I can!" Zya said. "Am I too heavy?" Koli asked. "Not at all!" Zya replied. Aya eyed the river ahead–something about it did not seem correct. "Hey, Rhiannon?" she called, "can I see the map?"
Rhiannon detached the Sheikah Slate from their belt, handing it down to Aya. She analyzed the map of the surrounding regions, finding a blue strip labeled "Hylia River" in Hylian. She noticed that there was a weird gap between the Hylia River and Lake Hylia. She lifted her head from the map and looked ahead–the Hylia River seemed to end just above Lake Hylia. "Guys!" Aya exclaimed, "We have to turn around! We're heading towards a waterfall!"
"And you tell us just now?!" Dori gasped. Rhiannon noticed the same thing Aya did, spotting the fall as it drew closer. "Zya! Turn us around!" she commanded. "I cannot!" Zya groaned as she tried to pull the raft, hopping aboard when she ran out of strength, "The current is too strong!"
"Rhia! Do something!" Dori exclaimed. "What do you want me to do?!" Rhiannon asked. "Use a rune or something!" Dori answered, "Just get us out of here!"
"It's too late!" Dua exclaimed, "We're already at the drop!"
"Brace yourselves!" Rhiannon shouted. The group held on to the mast as the raft fell down the waterfall and into the lake. They all emerged from the water as the raft miraculously floated back to the surface. "Is everyone okay?" Rhiannon asked as they looked around. Everyone but Aya had risen to the surface. "Where's Aya?!" she asked, "Aya!"
Without hesitating, Zya swam into the lake as she reached for Aya. She had sunken to the bottom of the lake and had already lost consciousness. "I've got her!" Zya exclaimed as she returned to the surface with Aya in her arms.
"Aya..." Rhiannon's voice called, "Aya! Can you hear me?"
"Huh?" Aya opened her eyes, "W-What happened?"
"Thank Hylia," Rhiannon sighed. "You nearly drowned," Zya added, "luckily I managed to rescue you before you drowned."
"Are we at the lake already?" Aya asked. "Stranded in the middle of Lake Hylia," Dori sighed. "Are you sure we'll get to see Farosh here?" Tulin asked. "Positive!" Dua nodded. "This is useless!" Dori exclaimed, "We've looked everywhere in this area of Hyrule and we've gotten no luck!"
"We can't give up! I need Farosh's scale!" Rhiannon protested, "Without it, I won't have access to the Spring of Courage!"
As the group's arguments began to overlap, Koli noticed a strong gust of wind and a yellow glow on the water. He looked up to see the large snake-like creature he had seen in Floria Falls. "Um, guys?" he asked, but his friends would continue to argue, "Guys? Guys! Look!"
The group then gasped in unison when they saw the dragon heading down towards the lake. "Zya! Get us closer!" Rhiannon commanded. Zya obeyed, jumping into the water and pushing the raft towards Farosh. "Careful!" Dua said, "Farosh is the Lightning Spirit for a reason! There are lightning sparks surrounding him!"
Rhiannon noticed that small electric orbs would leave Farosh's body as the beast hovered above the lake. "Tulin! Shoot an arrow at it!" they commanded. "What?! Are you crazy?!" Tulin gasped, "What if it angers him?!"
"Dragons mean no harm to people," Dua said, "trust me, he will not mind!"
Tulin then flew from the raft and glided above Farosh, looking for the perfect spot to pierce its body with an arrow. "Please don't eat me for this," he sighed as he loaded an arrow into the Great Eagle Bow. The arrow hit Farosh's body, making a scale fly off its body and land in the water, near the raft. Rhiannon used the Master Sword to pull the scale closer. When she touched it, she could feel small electric shocks in her fingers. "We got it!" Rhiannon exclaimed, "Let's head to the Spring of Courage now!"
The group returned to the shore, separating with Dua in the middle of the Faron Woods. "Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need information about the dragons," Dua smiled, "thank you for the opportunity! Princess Rhiannon, I wish you the best of luck!"
"Thank you," Rhiannon smiled, "we hope to see you again, Dua."
She headed towards the Faron Grasslands as Rhiannon and the others headed into the jungle. Rhiannon and Dori left their horses by the Zonai ruins and led the group down the Dracozu River, back to the Spring of Courage. "It's time, Rhia," Dori said, "go in there."
With the scale in their hands, Rhiannon took a deep sigh and headed into the spring. "Goddess Hylia," she said, "I offer you the scale of the Golden Spirit Farosh to you. Please, I need you to enlighten me. Help me awake my sealing power to seal Ganon away once and for all."
They closed their eyes tightly as a gentle golden light fell over them like a thin veil. Rhiannon opened their eyes again and noticed they were in a dark chamber, with the only light being a soft green glow. "Hey, champ..." she looked up to see her father's figure in front of her. "F-Father?" Rhiannon gasped. "I am so proud of how far you've come," Link smiled, "you have accomplished much more than I could only ever wish to accomplish."
Rhiannon tried to contain their tears. "F-Father..." they sobbed, "I promise I'll turn things around. It was my selfishness that got us here. If only I had listened to you and mother all those years ago... I could've stopped all of this... Maybe if I had tried harder..."
"Hey, look at me," Link said, kneeling next to them, "it takes a lot of courage to acknowledge that you've made a mistake. I know it's not easy, but at the end of the day, you will learn from this. I know in my heart that you will be able to overcome this sense of guilt and turn it into the strength you need to bring an end to the Calamity. I believe in you, and your mother does too."
Rhiannon could not contain her tears anymore, she threw herself over her father. Whether it was him or just a fragment of her imagination, the embrace felt real. "I miss you so much, old man," she said. "I miss you too, champ," Link answered, "we will meet again soon, I promise..."
Rhiannon then opened their eyes. They looked down to see a golden glow in their hand. The Triforce appeared on their hands with the top and right triangles darkened but the left triangle was glowing. "You have awakened the Triforce of Courage," the voice of the Goddess resonated in Rhiannon's head, "your power has grown, but it has not fully developed yet."
"The other two springs..." Rhiannon whispered. "For your power to appear, visit me in all springs," the Goddess commanded, "I will be waiting for you, Princess Rhiannon."
Rhiannon then walked out of the Spring of Courage as gentle moon rays leaked through the jungle ceiling. They noticed that their friends were deep asleep. "Hey!" they shouted, startling the group. "Oh, hey!" Dori said. "How did it go?" Aya asked. "I got to talk to my father," Rhiannon said, "he told me he is proud of me."
"That is so sweet!" Zya said. "Next stop, Spring of Wisdom," Rhiannon said, "I'm one step closer. Well, Mount Lanayru awaits us. Let's go, gang!"
"Pardon," Zya said shyly, "but I was thinking we should call ourselves the RhiGang."
The others nodded in agreement. "RhiGang," Rhiannon chuckled, "I like it. It has a rather good ring to it."
And so, the RhiGang set off for their next objective: the Spring of Courage atop Mount Lanayru. But little did they know that their journey to restore Hyrule would just get more difficult than they could ever imagine...
"The princess is making advancements," Ganon sighed, "I thought you swore to me you would take care of her."
"And I am, Lord Ganon!" Joji exclaimed, "Oh, just you wait! I promise you will not be disappointed, milord."
"Link's body is still rejecting me," Ganon sighed, "it seems like his fighting spirit just grew even stronger."
"The Yiga Clan spies have reported to me that she was recently spotted in the Faron Region," Joji said, "she visited the Spring of Courage–"
Ganon then growled. "The Spring of Courage..." he hissed, "Courage is Link's Triforce, it is no wonder why his fighting spirit has strengthened. He has reconnected with his precious daughter."
"I'm taking care of this, sir," Joji said, "I recently created armor for the princess. It has a new piece of technology I created, I call it a tracking device. With this new tech, I can see the princess's location at any given time as long as she is wearing that armor! It is foolproof!"
"I have high expectations for you, Joji," Ganon turned towards him, piercing his heart with his bloodshot red eyes, "you failed me once, and if you fail me again, it will be the last time you fail me."
"I can assure you that will not happen, Lord Ganon," Joji said, "Princess Rhiannon will not get to you."
"Good," Ganon smirked, "now, get out of my sight."