Hyrule Castle. Early evening. There is a great commotion in the castle courtyard. Military drills, crowds of nobility, the extended royal family. The promise of a royal ball and banquet later.
Roam arrived earlier in the day, unaware that there was any kind of celebration going on. Having been out on a self-scheduled scouting mission for months, he felt that he should return to the castle to record what he found, at least to keep up appearances that he was actually doing something. Upon arriving at the castle and seeing the preparation for the day’s events, he steered clear of the crowds. He’d grown up around the castle, so he knew of a few shortcuts and hidden passages.
For now, he sat, his elbows on his knees, on the roof of one of the castle buildings, watching the courtyard.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like crowds. For sure, he’d navigate Goron marketplaces and Zora concerts anyday. He simply wasn’t one for all this formality, especially so close to home and family.
A familiar voice called to him from his right, “I don’t remember having a new GARGOYLE commissioned.”
Roam strikes a pose, “The most HANDSOME of gargoyles, no less.”
“Humble as always, cousin.”
Scaling the balcony and bowing deeply, “Your Highness, I am humility incarnate.”
“You may rise.”
As he did, a middle-aged woman greeted him - Zelda’s nanny turned mentor turned closest ally. “Roam.”
Roam gestured with a respectful hand and head bow. “Lady Impa.”
“It’s been many moons since you’ve graced us with your presence. The life of a Royal Scout seems to suit you.”
“I can come and go as I please,” with all the royal formalities out of the way - necessary, despite being family - Roam now relaxed, folded his arms and leaned onto the balcony railing. “And I have plenty of excuses to skip out on the pageantry.” A slight roll of the eyes and pointing with his head down at the crowd.
“No interest in joining the court?”
“The day I stop moving and start attending the court banquets is the day I order a bigger belt. There may yet be a day where I resemble The Royal Uncle.” He gestured at the bearded, portly king below.
The trio paused for a moment on the balcony overlooking the festivities. Roam spotted a rather intense-looking man clad in red robes. He stood by the king with his hands in his sleeves.
“Seems that Agahnim has gotten quite buddy-buddy with His Royal Highness these days.”
“It worries me. The energy I feel from that man is frightening.”
“Have you talked with your father about it?”
“That also worries me, he’s been quite dismissive recently. He used to value my council dearly, but now he says I am merely a child. A girl child.”
Roam raised his brow. “That doesn’t sound like the king. What’s gotten into him?”
“I know not.” Zelda removed a hand from the railing hesitantly, then turned around and walked into the building, with Impa following closely.
Roam took a final look at the robed man and found his gaze matched. A shiver ran up Roam’s spine as he met Agahnim’s intense stare. He turned away to follow his cousin down the hall.
Zelda turned and sat on a cushioned bench in the ornate hallway, tucking her dress behind her legs as she sat.
“Enough about my recent troubles. I’d rather hear what you’ve been up to all this time. What sort of fantastic adventures have you been on?” Now she had a dreamy look in her eyes. No doubt she’d love to go on an adventure around Hyrule herself, if she didn’t have the masses to serve as the future queen.
“Oh, where to even begin…” Roam enjoyed fueling her dreams and imagination, knowing it might be the closest thing to experiencing it. He told her of his travels along the mountain range that marked the northeastern border of the land. A small range in the East which grew and grew in size as it ran further north, culminating in the tallest landmass in the area - Death Mountain.
He’d taken out his notebook and showed sketches of the wild beasts that roamed the mountains. Zelda appreciated every line, every detail. Impa leaned over to get a look as well.
“But I came upon the strangest thing. A clearing near the top of Death Mountain itself. No beasts seemed to dare enter the area, even the ones that’d undoubtedly been stalking me. In this clearing, a ring of boulders. A strange enough phenomenon on its own, that far from civilization. But it was what they were surrounding which fascinated me.”
His gloved hands turned a page in his notebook to a rare watercolor page, showing the scorched red and brown surface of the mountain, the clearing with the grey circle of rocks, which encircled a brilliantly glowing blue-green-purple daïs, elevated slightly out of the dirt, just big enough for one person to stand on.
“It made a sound, like a faint pulsating whistle. Not like wind. Almost like singing.”
He turned the page again and showed a sketch of the engraving on the daïs.
Impa’s eyes grew wide. “The Sacred Realm.”
Zelda and Roam both looked up at her, amazed. “What?”
“Roam, you’ve come across a portal to the Sacred Realm.”
“But…” Roam furrowed his brow and looked down at his gloved hands.
“Tell me you didn’t try to enter it.”
Roam looked up at Zelda and Impa. He removed his right glove. His arm appeared perfectly fine. He slowly removed his left glove, nearly wincing, and it was clear why. The arm was covered in sores and bruises, hints that it’d been malformed. “I went to put a hand into the light rising up from the platform. I was about to put my right hand in, but thought better to try with my left. As my arm was halfway in the light, it started burning, the pain was so intense that I ripped my arm away and stumbled backwards into the dirt.”
“It was judging you.” Impa said.
“What happened then?” Zelda implored.
“I looked at my hand, but now it was monstrous. A claw. Like a bird’s talons.”
He showed another page of his notebook, a hasty sketch of his left arm with a claw at the end of it, done from memory.
“It still burned, and now the pain of the bones being shifted around hit me too. I clutched my arm to my chest, trying to make it stop. For a moment I gathered myself and holding my own arm, I breathed. After a while the pain subsided. When I looked again, the monstrous claw was gone, but my arm was now covered in sores and forming bruises.”
“No doubt that was minor healing magick. You’re lucky your arm recovered at all.” Impa stated.
Roam asked the wise woman, “What did it mean? The claw?”
“Hm. It isn’t clear. But it doesn’t bode well that the sacred realm was able to twist a Hylian so.”
and then I dunno he says hi to the maidens (they’re like Zelda’s prophecy club) and they’re cool with him because he’s Zelda’s gay cousin that they rarely see
and then he takes off again to go check out that portal, just before shit starts hitting the fan
lighthearted silliness
“A nephew of mine told me that while out on his travels, he met a certain bird-headed knight.”
“Oh? Did he happen to mention how MAGICAL of a night it was?” <– is this wordplay?
“I don’t recall the word ‘magical’ in his summary, but I do remember the word ‘quick’ was used a lot.”
“My lady, you cut too deeply.”
“It sounded like he had a nice time though. Thank you for taking care of him.”
“Oh, well, if he enjoyed himself, feel free to pass on a note to him - I look forward to bumping into him at another fateful tavern on another magical night.”
“Pass on your own messages, Roam. I’m not the post office.”