Blighted Memories

Chapter 33. Light of Hope

   Link and Zelda were walking back through the gates of Hyrule Castle, returning after a short expedition to Death Mountain. The reason for going was that Zelda realized that after all this time, no one had been able to identify the specific metal that had been used to build the formidable and nigh invincible Guardians, nor the material used in their wiring and batteries that allowed them to store so much energy within their cores without exploding or overheating. She and Link set out to investigate and study the types of metals that could be found in the mines to see if they could come up with anything. The ancient Sheikah had to have gotten their materials from somewhere, after all.

   They'd returned with a total of five potential samples that could've been used in the making of the Guardians. Zelda was absolutely giddy over their finds and couldn't wait to analyze them. She had no equipment to do that in her room—nor could get any equipment due to her lack of space and how the guards near her room would just rat her out to her father again if they found any more research tools or Sheikah technology laying around. But thankfully, Purah was assisting the Sheikah researchers on the castle grounds today. Unlike most of the people in the castle, she encouraged her fixation on research, didn't mind breaking a few rules, and even taught Zelda a lot of what she knew currently. Purah already knew about what Zelda's plan was, and said they'd meet at midnight later in the lab to do a quick analysis of the metals. Zelda could hardly sit still!

   She secretly hoped this would be a major breakthrough. If one of these samples were used for manufacturing Guardians, they could potentially use the material to better outfit the Hylian army and maybe even create newer and better Guardians that didn't have the glitches or flaws present in the current ones. Of course, they would need to rediscover the ancient Sheikah's methods and secrets on how they were able to program such sophisticated machinery, but simply knowing the material would be a substantial step in the right direction, particularly if it helped benefit them in other ways.

   Then maybe people wouldn't see her as useless or lazy anymore. Maybe she would no longer be a disappointment to her father. Maybe people would actually like her for once. Maybe she would like herself for once. All if she accomplished this one thing.

   She would love that so much.

   "...and that, Link, are the Five Laws of the Conservation of Magic," Zelda said. "They're very important for understanding how arcane forces work. I'm hoping further study and application could potentially show me a viable option to unlock my abilities later in the future. Isn't that wonderful?"

   Link nodded. "It is."

   Link was still wrapping his head around everything she just said. He was mainly concerned about when the laws she was talking about would go into effect, and if he'd been accidentally breaking them this entire time. He had been arrested last month for illegal fishing in the castle moat after Revali had told him it was the perfect spot, and was only spared the punishment thanks to Zelda. Link had been careful not to accidentally break the law again since then. He also let Revali know that he should find a different spot for his fishing so as to not repeat Link's careless mistake. The Rito only laughed at him, and Link still wasn't sure why he did that.

   The two began heading up to the upper levels, where their quarters were located. For the most part, every soldier employed at the castle had some sort of residence nearby. The upper levels were typically reserved for guests and the royalty themselves, but had since become the residence of the Champions due to how far away their own homes were. Link and his father were both from Hateno Village, but they rarely could return home since they had integral roles to play in the defense of the realm from Ganon. This was preferable to both of them—should Ganon arise unexpectedly, they didn't want the rest of their family caught up in the chaos, especially in the event neither of them came back.