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Pair of Parellas

Besides the giant, gaping holes left in Hyrule after pieces of the land broke off and rose into the sky, it also left the rest of the land shattered and unstable. All it took was one wrong footstep, and Link was falling down, 

                                         down, 

                                                 down a cavern alongside dirt and boulders that sealed up the opening behind him. In the pitch darkness, only the eerie, green glow of his new arm was left to guide him, which didn’t help much.

That was how Link had found himself here, feeling along the cold, damp walls of the cave, slick with precipitation. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been wandering down there or even how far he’d gone before he saw it—a faint, shimmering glow that marked his salvation.

Link broke off from the wall, boots echoing across the empty cave as he ran towards the light, but his hopes of escape were quickly dashed as he realized what it was. The light wasn’t coming from above but below, from an iridescent pool of water. It was impossible to tell how far down it went, the deepest parts quickly sinking down into a cold, maw of darkness. But here near the surface it was full of lights and life, even this far below Hyrule. Aquatic creatures Link had never seen before darted around, their frilly tendrils and capes billowing out behind them, and their bioluminescence lighting up the water in a dazzling display of color. They weren’t quite Zoras, but something about them seemed familiar… He reached a hand out to them, but as soon as his fingertips broke the surface of the water, they suddenly scattered, and the lake went dark like a torch being snuffed out.

Link sighed. So much for that. And now he still needed to find a way out of here. He shook his hand dry and stood up, but as soon as he turned to leave he heard a splash and a voice coming from behind him.

“Hey!”

It was one of the creatures from before. The deep blues of her body billowed out around her like ink spilled into the water, dotted with red tendrils as vibrant as the blood moon. All the others were still nowhere to be seen, but she floated by the shore curiously.

“You’re from the wall!” When Link just looked confused, she swam to the edge of the lake, bioluminescence revealing etchings of the same person he had seen before, depicting a man with a green arm.

“Oh! Uhhh–” Kinda? It was complicated. Even he wasn’t sure what happened to himself. Link shrugged and held out his green hand. “On the one hand, yes. Buuuut… not exactly? I’m still trying to figure that part out.”

“Yeah. Right.“ Somehow she didn’t sound convinced.

“It’s true. I don’t actually know what– Wait... “Link blinked. “The people in the murals. You know about them? You know who they are?” He crouched by the lake, bubbling up with questions he wanted to ask.

“And finally one of you shows up again. It’s been ages!”

“Uhh—“

“Well, that’s what they say. I’ve never seen anyone down here. You know, it gets boring down here sometimes! Lucky you who can go wherever you want. Did you ever think to maybe send someone down here to visit?”

“‘They’?”

“Yeah, you know… the other Parellas?” She said it like it was obvious. ”Don’t mind the rest of them. It’s been a while since we’ve seen one of you.”

“Hold on, hold– what do you mean ‘one of me’?”

“Hey! So you can go up to those sky islands, can’tcha?”

Link heaved a sigh. It was like she only heard half of the words coming out his mouth— “Not... really.”

“Ugh, yes you CAN. You have the arm stop lying. Look, I just need one teensy favor from you.” And with that she dove under the surface, leaving Link alone by the shore with only his reflection, mouth half-open, as company.

A minute passed, and the surface of the water was still dark and undisturbed. No sign of her, wherever she went down there. Another few minutes went by, and by now he was actually starting to get worried. Climbing to the edge of the lake, he peered down after her, only to get a face full of water as she resurfaced.

“Here!”

Link was wringing out his now dripping wet hair when she tossed a bottle towards him, glass tinkling over the stone floor, stopping as it hit the toe of his shoe.

“I found this note in the room over. It must have fallen in when that hole in the ceiling opened up. It’s from another Parella! I’ve never met one that didn’t live in this cave. I wanted to send my response but–” she swam around in a small circle, flapping her fins. “Obviously. All you have to do is go to one of those islands in the sky and deliver it to someone named Fezz. Tell them Cora sent it. Easy, right? Right!”

****

Link frowned, glaring up at those floating rocks in the sky. He was able to find his way out of that ravine thanks to Cora, but even now the islands still seemed so impossibly far away. There was no mountain, tower, or updraft that could even get him close. No matter what he tried, he had come up short every time. His last plan involved tying six octoroks to a log and praying to Hylia, but that just earned him a dip in Lake Floria as the octoroks gave out. Revali’s Gale sure would be useful right about now, but even that wouldn’t cut it anymore.

He huffed, flopping down on a rock near the cliff’s edge, holding his chin in his hand— his new, unnaturally green hand.

Huh… wait. What was that Cora said again? Of course he could reach the sky islands because he had this hand? He wiggled his fingers then looked up into the sky.

Well, it was worth a shot.

Link stood, feet spread and bent at the knees as if he was about to wield a weapon. He closed his eyes, searching for something inside, some sort of ancient force to guide him; took a deep breath, down to his belly; and threw his arm skyward.

“UP!” His call echoed around the canyon, sending a flock of birds scattering.

. . .

Link fell with another huff back onto the rock. Okay, that was a stupid idea, wasn’t it? Maybe he really should take a break. It looked like the sun was rising already, and he could really use a full meal.

No… wait. That glittering light wasn’t the sun. And that realization planted another idea in Link’s head, curling his lips into a smile. He always wanted to try this.

****

“Woooohoo-hoo!” Link whooped, ground shrinking away. Farosh bucked under him, pulsating with the electricity that ran through veins and crackled through the air with every beat of their heart. But here on Farosh's mane, he could safely hold onto fistfuls of hair without getting thrown off.

Link peeked down, getting a full view of Hyrule. It would’ve been a beautiful sight if it wasn’t for the holes scarring the land. Even the castle itself was suspended, like the very heart of Hyrule was ripped right out of it. But that view was wiped away as his vision suddenly went white. Wetness clung to his clothes, and the wind sang as Farosh flew them higher and higher, right through the cloud cover that normally blocked his view. And when they emerged on the other side of it, Link couldn’t help but gasp. Hyrule was always full of surprises, but this was something else.

There was a whole town up here! Intricate buildings rose from the islands; animals he’d never seen before skittered around; and warm, autumn trees dotted the landscape, painting the whole sky yellow even though it wasn’t the season for it. And everything hung there, heavy and massive yet defying all laws of physics by not plummeting to the ground. 

Farosh rumbled, sending vibrations up Link’s spine, a warning they were about to land. On one island he could see a lake with a waterfall running over the edge, dispersing into a fine mist as it fell into the sky. That was where Farosh took them down, gracefully draping their body over the edge of the island and lying their head down until just the tip of their chin dipped into the lake.

Link would take that as his sign to disembark, sliding to the ground and giving Farosh’s mane a quick pet as thanks for taking him all the way up here. 

“Farosh!”

Excited chittering came from the lake as, one by one, the same creatures Link saw underground popped up from the water. These were duller in color, speckled with more earthy browns that let them blend into the rock around them. They zipped through the water, and Link watched with awe as they swam up to Farosh, murmuring and tending to the scales and claws that they dipped into the water. But there’d be time to ask about that later.

“Fezz?” Link called. Some of the Parellas turned his way, eyeing him curiously. Some took one look, swam a couple feet back, and went right back to fussing over Farosh.

“Is there anyone here named Fezz?” Link ventured again, and this time a splash sounded at his feet.

“Er…. me?” A feathery fin sat atop this one’s head with brown spots traveling down her neck. 

Link held out the bottle to her. “A delivery.” He paused a beat. “Oh, right. Sorry,” he said, placing the bottle into the lake, gently floating it over to her.

“Uhh–” Fezz tilted her head skeptically. “And what is this?”

“A reply. Another Parella found the note you left and ah—“ coerced— “asked me to deliver her reply. I’m supposed to tell you this is from Cora.”

“Oh!” Fezz’s yellow eyes lit up with recognition. “That note I tossed over the waterfall! Oh dear, that was years ago. I can’t believe someone actually found it. Would you mind waiting a moment while I—“ she gestured towards the bottle, and Link shook his head.

“Go on.”

“Oh, thank you!” she said, grabbing the bottle and diving below the surface.

Link took a seat while he waited, a few inches back this time— he had learned his lesson with Cora. And it wasn’t long until Fezz returned, popping her head back out of the water.

“Well, that was certainly interesting,” Fezz said with a laugh. “Cora is something.” And Link would emphatically agree. “It’s not much, but here—“ a shining, teal scale was tossed into Link’s lap.

“It’s a dragon’s scale,” Fezz explained. “It should let you swim even deeper and farther than before!”

Link held the scale up by the piece of twine tied around its end. Multicolored beads softly tapped around as the scale spun, brilliantly reflecting the light of the sun. It shimmered with a magic he recognized from the other dragon scales, but he’d never seen one like this before. Taking out a cloth, Link carefully wrapped the gift up, stowing it away in his bag for later. “Thank you!”

“Hehe, don’t worry about it! We don’t have much use for it up here, but maybe you do. You really came all this way to deliver my letter, and I appreciate it. I hear there’s a river somewhere over that way—“ she nodded her head— “that runs between the islands. Maybe you can try it there.”

Link thanked her again, getting to his feet. Now that he had finally made it up here, there was so much to do. This strange, scenic island, home to Farosh, was only the beginning. Hopefully, one of these islands had the answers he sought. But he had only just turned away when—

“Hey wait!”

Link turned back, a wet bottle landing at his feet.

“What about my response?”