Prologue - A Small Beacon
Nori stared off to the north, watching through the growing rain as the raging beast swirled around the now smoldering Hyrule Castle. Scout's Hill lay in a devastated, abandoned heap around her as she stood – surveying, waiting.
The Princess should have descended Mount Lanayru today.
Link and the other Champions had gone with her.
Nori kept reminding herself of this as she found her mind often wandering away from her task at hand.
She needed to remain here. On guard. Ready to fight. Ready to run.
“At the rate things are going with the Princess,” Lady Impa had murmured in confidence one evening when Nori had cornered her with questions regarding her assignment. “I feel that we failed Her Highness – and, by extent, the kingdom – by not...” The head of the proud Sheikah tribe waved away her statement with a flippant had. “It matters not what we could have done differently – only what we do now. Nori, you are take take your station on Scout's Hill – do not let the Calamity reach the peak of the plateau.”
Pearl white hair shoved out of the way and under her amigasa hat. A Thunderspear held steady in her right hand, the head quietly hissing at every drop of rain that touched its elementally charged metal.
Guarding a massive plateau that, given how bleak the castle was beginning to look, could easily be swallowed by whatever beast this Calamity decided to take as its form.
Nothing was stirring nearby. No sounds to cut through the deafening downpour.
Nori didn't dare strain her ears to hear beyond her usual range. The distant glow of ravaging flames in the distant north made it clear what she would hear just on the fringes.
Her mind was starting to wander again.
Nori mentally reprimanded herself and then repeated the facts that she already knew.
Princess Zelda was in the same place as the other five Champions.
Princess Mipha was a skilled spear-woman and an even more talented healer.
Revali had no equal as an archer and no one could out maneuver him.
Lady Urbosa could not be touched on the battlefield and would electrocute anyone who dared to try.
Chief Daruk was the strongest person Nori had met and could create an impenetrable shield.
Link was at the base of the hill. In a makeshift gurney, being whisked away by two Sheikah agents who were scurrying off toward the Great Plateau.
“What in the name of Hylia -?” Nori asked through grit teeth, sheathing her spear before launching herself down the hill.
Out of all the days that some bullshit like this had to happen.
“HALT!” Nori commanded, landing halfway down the hill only to leap again. Once in the air, she grabbed her spear and launched it into the ground in front of the agents.
The two Sheikah agents skid to a halt, carefully maneuvering the gurney so that its passenger didn't fall. After a tight midair flip, Nori landed neatly atop her spear.
“What the hell Nori!?” the agent in the rear called out. He was a deep-voiced Sheikah who Nori recognized as Min-Su.
“That's my question, Min-Su,” Nori said flatly. She glanced at Link.
The Hylian Champion and Appointed Knight to the Princess looked like a battered, bruised, and broken doll.
Nori felt her stomach pitch even lower than it had been all evening, her heart twisting like a rag being rung dry.
“We're under direct orders,” Min-Su quickly explained, snapping Nori back into focus. “Link needs the Shrine of Resurrection.”
“Understood,” Nori said after a short moment, nodding.
Direct orders could only come from two places – the head of the Sheikah or the Hylian crown. Given what Nori already knew...
“Apologies,” Nori stated, hopping off of her spear. Min-Su and his counterpart immediately resumed their rush to the plateau with Nori following closely.
“You should apologize to your lover if he dies because you stopped us,” Min-Su griped.
“Again, apologies,” Nori said, sheathing her spear into its place on her back.
“Why are you here, anyway?” Min-Su asked as the trio skid to a halt at the eastern base of the Great Plateau. His partner began scanning the wall of the plateau.
“Lady Impa wanted to be prepared for as many worst case scenarios, it seems,” Nori said dismissively. She quickly removed her spear from her back, placed it into her inventory, and removed a small vial of silvery liquid. “Where is Purah?”
“She and a couple others are in Hateno – why?”
“Goddess, this just isn't our day,” Nori complained, uncorking the vial to empty its contents down her throat.
“The fuck is that gonna-?” Min-Su started to question, cutting himself off when Nori's eyes began to glow the same silver color as the liquid she just downed.
Suddenly, a strong wind began circling violently around the trio's feet. The two agents started to shift about, eyes wide as they looked down at their feet. With a quick glance to make sure their grips were still true on the gurney, Nori's lips split into a wide and wicked grin.
“Steady, boys,” Nori teased. She placed a hand on a shoulder of the two others, holding onto them with a light but solid grip. “Keep yourselves calm and steady and I'll transport us up and over to the shrine.”
The two agents straightened their posture and turn to give Nori a nod.
“Alright, up we go,” Nori announced.
The wind at their feet grew and pushed up, growing into a stocky twister. The twister rose up, lifting the trio as if they were all on an even platform.
Around them, the rain was starting to die down. The sky was still dark, heavy with clouds.
No one dared to look at or even mention the fiery haze surrounding Hyrule Castle.
It was a quiet, solemn flight to the Resurrection Shrine. Neither of the agents carrying the gurney dared to speak, not wanting to break the mystic's concentration. And the thoughts in Nori's head were so clouded and jumbled that she couldn't focus on what to say.
Soon enough they passed the Temple of Time and quickly landed at the shrine's entrance a few moments later.
“Alright, let's get him in!” Min-Su declared. His partner nodded and the two started for the the inside of the cave.
“Careful,” Nori cautioned, slowly blinking away the silver glow from her eyes before moving to follow. “There's a bit of a drop just after the entrance.”
“Great Goddess Hylia!” Min-Su swore.
“As I was saying...” Nori muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. She came up to her compatriots, who looked as if the first one had already slipped and Min-Su was using overly exaggerated movements to keep both Link and himself steady.
“You look like someone's pet Bokoblin that they're trying to teach to use a wheelbarrow,” Nori stated blankly.
“Shut the fuck up, goddess-dammit!” Min-Su exclaimed while his partner shot Nori a rude gesture. Nori just shrugged while her compatriots quickly righted themselves.
With everyone in a corrected position, the three of them moved on to the inner most chamber. The two manning the gurney carefully lowered Link into the squat basin. Nori manned what controls there were atop the pedestal across the room.
“I need you to carefully remove his clothes,” Nori instructed, not turning away from the pedestal. “He needs to soak in as much of this contraption's healing energies as possible.”
“Got it,” Min-Su confirmed. His partner raised his hand aloft in a thumb's up.
“Did either of you happen to get Her Highness's Sheikah Slate?” Nori asked, fingers pausing over the controls as she turned to shoot the question over her shoulder. Min-Su just gave a short grunt and tossed it over. “Great. Thank you and the Goddess for small blessings. Let me know once you two are done.”
“All set,” Min-Su announced after a few minutes.
“Ace,” Nori declared and inserted the slate, pressed a couple buttons, and stepped back and let the shrine start up.
“Alright,” Nori addressed her compatriots. “We need to leave because this room is going to seal itself in order to work.”
With a tight nod from the other two, Nori led them out as the door to the shrine's inner chamber closed. The two other agents then handed Nori the articles taken off of Link and then immediately turned around and ran out of the tunnel. Nori rushed to follow them when she saw that a second door that was starting to close off the entirety of the Shrine's inner chambers.
Once she reached the mouth of the entryway, Nori paused – slumping down against the wall to the right. She stared outside blankly, clutching Link's garments close to her chest as she tried to process what had just happened.
If Link was here – under the orders of either Lady Impa or someone of the Hylian Crown . . .
Where were the other Champions?
All of these thoughts swirled around in Nori's head. It all weighed down on her entire being – nothing in her body felt light enough to move anymore.
Just then, a sudden glimmer in the distance, caught Nori's attention.
Something was flickering off in the distant north. Something small, but bright and golden.
Nori gathered what strength she could and pushed herself away from the stone wall. Whatever it was – its shine was strong and steady. Nori walked to the cliff that jutted out and away from the Shrine's entrance.
The light was coming from Hyrule Castle. It was shining like a beacon. Just witnessing it, Nori felt a sense of calm and hope come over her.
Loosening her grip on the clothes still held to her chest, Nori inhaled deeply – loosening her anxiety's choke-hold as she breathed out. With a clearer mind, she could see from here that the majority of the Calamity's presence seemed to remain close to the Castle.
Yes, there were some movement headed south, southeast, and eastward – and Nori felt certain that these were most likely a part of the enemy, somehow – but, with her newfound hope, Nori felt that they could at least persevere any attack that these enemies made.
There was hope. A small spark, but hope nonetheless. And Nori reached out to grab on with both hands.
We will get through this, was the new statement Nori began to repeat to herself.
