. . .

Revali

Only a sliver of the moon gleamed against the pitch-black night sky amidst the sea of glistening stars. An icy chill lingered in the dead air and snow caked the ground as far as the eye could see, decorated with three-toed footprints from the claws of the Rito who had passed along over it. The wind howled and screeched in the far distance. By the looks of it, it should have been your typical midnight in the wintry area surrounding Rito Village known as the general Hebra summits. After being proved otherwise for more days than he had kept a number of, twenty-eight-year-old Revali knew better.

The arrow perched in its rest on the bow in Revali's unmoved grip as he ventured over the snow, as slow and silent as the shadows that swallowed the night, in patrol of the land. Thick braids flicked his shoulders as his head swiveled to scan the dark horizon, tumbling down his back. In the concealment of nightfall, the dark shade of his navy-blue feathers served an indistinguishable disguise. If anything dared cross his path, he surely wouldn't have been the first to have been noticed—His skill and strategy combined were far too immense to let something like that slip.

Revali's Rito soldier peers were out somewhere in the darkness, but not a single sound of footsteps crunching over the snow other than his faint own touched the air. Was he alone? He couldn't have been alone. At least somebody would have thought to find him and let him know to return to the village, and even then, it had become a habit of the past several nights for that to occur long past one or two. Snowflakes danced upon the snow in the soft breeze of the night, an atmosphere so thin it could have been sliced with a knife. It was too quiet.

Revali's claws sunk into the snow with every soundless step he made. His vigilance was as sharp as the flick of his striking green eyes to scan his surroundings, movements tense and controlled. A sweep of wind like pure, frigid ice ruffled his feathers as it came and went. It was the first night of countless that the snow, now fresh, was not trampled by pests—Monsters like Lizalfos, Bokoblins, and even the gaunt, long-nosed Moblins. And yet, it was just as unusual. A prickle of suspicion found its way to Revali's subconscious like a tickle on the back of his neck: Something lingered in the darkness, he could tell. It was just a matter of time before whatever it was stumbled upon the mistake of revealing itself.

Only after a lifetime of empty snow under dim skies did the first significant sound strike the air, and quite abruptly at that, sending a start through Revali as his attention was ripped from his search. It was the blast of a distant horn, the bassy tone of an incoming ambush, the same that had struck his ears for several nights before tonight. Not only was something or someone on its way, but it had means of attack. Not again. Revali spat out a grumble of exasperation into the broken silence and wrenched the arrow from his bow, firmly slipping it back into the cloth quiver hanging from his back. It would have been irresponsible to dawdle in the middle of nowhere when battle was near; he would need to make his way back to the gathering point along the outskirts of the village and command a rebound. A throb already lashed at his head at the thought of fending off bloodthirsty monsters until the sun crept over the horizon. Could anyone get any sleep around here anymore?

Revali ducked to hang the bow with the quiver over his shoulder, launching himself into the air with a vigorous beating of his wings. The imprints of his trailing claw prints in the snow shrunk below him the further he propelled himself into the air, gaining distance by the second and waiting for the right moment to take off. A gust of biting wind shot through the air, catching in the feathers of his outstretched wings, and he rode the wave of air to take flight, soaring in perfect unison with the screeching wind over the endless snow.

Trees came and went along the snow beneath Revali as he swooped over the land, flicking out of his peripheral vision. The howling wind streaked past his face and slicked back the tuft of feathers on the top of his head. His eyes pried the dim horizon, anticipating hordes of creatures filling up the area. Nothing. Not a soul claimed its place along the snow as Revali skimmed above. How odd, Revali thought to himself. The Rito were not ones to make false claims for the fun of it, especially by means of alerting of an ambush. Perhaps this was simply a precaution. But why was a precaution needed after several nights of action?

In the distance towered an overbearing and knobby rock reaching up towards the star-studded sky with a canyon of rolling waters around it. It was the dwelling of Rito Village, a close-knit place of dark wooden surfaces that ascended up and around the rock. Even from where he sailed through the sky to reach the edge of the canyon, Revali caught the movement shuffling to descend the wood—The Rito were evacuating. Revali pivoted his wings at just the right angle to catch the wind once more, slowing into a halt and dropping down smoothly onto the snow. The piercing chill of which instantly spread to the tips of his claws again as he lowered his wings to his sides, adjusting the bow hanging from his shoulder as he stepped on the snow to witness the process of evacuation.

Several yards away, Revali was too far to notice the expressions or recognize the faces of the Rito as they hustled down the wooden descent like a subtle sea of color, but he could tell without it how fed up they must have been. Even Revali himself had been exposed to the notion that the new year would prove to be a bright new age of thriving success for the Rito, but the monster ambushes began sometime in January and rapidly increased in population and frequency. Since the middle of April, monster ambushes had become apparent nearly every night. Revali had resorted to taking naps under shaded trees in the morning and patrolling the areas by nightfall, given his skill in battle showing far above the rest. The village's continuous safety was likely a great deal due to his efforts, and so it was the least of times for him and the remaining soldiers to quit. Therefore, this was what his life was now. Annoyance pumped through him as he stood watching the movement at the idea of having his freedom so quickly ripped from him.

The flapping of wings nearing from behind Revali snatched his attention from the evacuating Rito. Revali shifted to turn back around to find a duo of Rito soldiers sweeping in to join him, one in a complete auburn coloration and the other jet black with tips of vivid yellow at the edges of his feathers.

"Mr. Revali, sir," the auburn Rito urged as the two descended onto the snow. Another blast from the warning horn shot through the night. "Intruders arriving at the perimeter from the North. We need your help to defend the outpost."

"What is it this time?" Revali griped. "It better not be those filthy pests again. How long is it going to take to get it into their brainless heads that they're not going to get to us? Isn't a hundred failed ambushes enough?"

"It's not the monsters this time, no," the auburn Rito corrected him and his ally nodded firmly in agreement. Revali's attention was instantly pricked up, snapping him out of his complaint. "It's two trespassers trying to sneak into the village by foot. Intention is unknown but presumably violent. They've even got themselves a robotic bodyguard."

For once, it wasn't the monsters. At least the night had brought something interesting instead. However, the downfall of having someone arrive with an actual working brain in their head resembled an intentional attempt. An enemy had sent foot soldiers to perform harm on the village. This was no ordinary attack.

"Sounds like a strategized scheme," Revali theorized. "We've got a bigger situation on our wings than I thought. I need the soldiers to line up along the perimeter and every other crevice they could get in from. If they do, in fact, try to get past, show them no mercy. Nobody is infiltrating Rito Village tonight if I can stop it. And since I can, I'll be tracking down the intruders myself."

"Yes, sir." The auburn Rito gave a short nod of acknowledgment and the two thrashed their wings once again, taking off into the night to transmit the message. With another jolting beat of his wings, Revali had taken flight as well, soaring off across the snow to his left to locate the mentioned attempted entry in the North.

The bow hanging from Revali's back shuddered by the wind pressure as he glided over the snow. Rito soldiers soared to the ground from below him to circle around the canyon in defense of the village. Revali allowed the wind to carry him, shooting across the land under the aim of engaged battle. He detached himself from the rim of the village just as the angle turning North was reached, barreling over the pure whiteness below him. A swift throb of his wings here and there drove him through the air at rapid speeds, wind shrieking in his ears and a sting scraping at the corners of his eyes. On the trail of locating the trio of intruders, he'd be intercepting them soon enough. With an eye of precision and an arrow that never missed, he'd slaughter them before they would have even reached the soldiers standing at the rim.

The cracks of explosions rang in the distance before Revali had even reached the conflict. Flaming bursts lit up the snow sixty, seventy yards ahead. The trespassers had made it into the range of attack. All that was left to do was linger on their trail and Revali would finish them off.

"Gotcha," Revali muttered to himself, though his voice was nearly fully suppressed by the approaching earth-shaking blasts.

Snagging the patterns of the winds, Revali circled the area where the collision had begun. Snow and ash flung through the air with every plummeting eruption and the air above boiled despite the frigid temperatures around it. Skimming the area, Revali hunted down any sign that the trespassers had been defeated—Screams of agony, squirting blood, or flinging corpses—But what he could locate was the sight of two people and a tiny mechanical critter emerging from the blasts on a breakneck sprint. By the looks of their attire, a Hylian boy and a Sheikah girl. It wasn't common for people like them to come around, especially at this time of the night and with this intent.

"I've got eyes on them. Leave it to me!" Revali demanded of the soldiers, surrendering a spin through the change of winds and bolting down in direct pursuit of the escaping foot soldiers.

The blasts settled as the foot soldiers raced through the snow and Revali tore through the air in pursuit. The Hylian boy was clutching the handle of a silver sword as he bounded past below Revali, a dirty blond ponytail protruding from the back of his head flicking back and forth as he frequently shot a glance behind him to check on Revali's progress. A soldier, for certain. The young woman at his side was clearly less of a soldier, carrying no weapon as a thick sheet of white hair trailed off behind her as she bolted over the snow, giving way to strangled gasps of air. By the number and the readiness, Revali would have set his money on the fact that taking them down would have been a piece of cake.

Guiding himself through the wind with one wing, Revali utilized the other to unhinge the bow from his back. With a hasty grab towards his shoulder, he jerked an arrow from his quiver and knocked it onto his bow. He'd begun to decline from the air with the use of his wings and so he shot out one of them again, steadying himself and easing himself back to an acceptable distance from the ground. Tracking the trail of the foot soldiers from above, a perfect shot was almost guaranteed. Relying on the travel and guidance of the wind, Revali drew back the arrow on the string to make his first shot. In the split second of a pause in the air to take aim, the predicted point of the arrow stilling on the empty snow between the two. A shot at this point with the blast that would follow would knock them both to the ground. As long as they'd be down, he could pick them off one by one. The tip of the arrow sizzled for a fraction of a heartbeat before Revali let the arrow fly.

The arrow struck the ground precisely where Revali had anticipated it. An outburst of flame and snow erupted from the ground. A scream broke free from the explosion. The Hylian boy was knocked down to the snowy ground on top of the mechanical creature that scurried beside him, but the Sheikah girl received the worse end of the blow, hurling back and striking the ground with great force. A spurt of scorching air shot up from the ignition, which Revali caught to send himself shooting back up to gain distance. By the time he'd steadied himself in the air again, the explosion had fizzled out and the intruders were scrambling to their feet again from the melted snow and singed grass. He'd missed his chance.

Revali encircled the scene with the bow tucked in his wing as the intruders climbed to their feet. The Sheikah girl cast up a brief and particularly rude hand gesture towards Revali before the three had sprung off into a run once again, another attempt at a break for the village. With a swift duck of his head to apply to the wind, Revali shot through the air above them in the resume of his pursuit and readjusted his strategy. He wouldn't have been able to perform an attack so abruptly with the notion of knocking them to the ground first. Direct hits would do the trick.

Revali ripped a second arrow from the quiver. He allowed himself a few more seconds to drift under the influence of the wind, which had turned icy once again, before he knocked the arrow to the bow and drew the string back. The predicted point of arrival for the arrow, soon to be released, came to an unmoved halt on the back of the Hylian's blond head. To take out the Hylian would have been to take out the enemy's best line of support. Revali's eyes squinted, perfecting the aim, and his vision flashed into darkness with a sudden and crushing blow to the side of his forehead.

Stars and snow whirled past Revali's eyes. He caught the whisking of the arrow leaving the bow, though he didn't know where, closely followed by the clap of explosion wherever it landed. He blinked and was on his side on the ground, burrowed in the snow that pinched through his feathers with frigid temperatures. Immediately, he clambered to his feet again, the idea of losing time for counterattack screaming right in his face, and shook out his feathers to shrug off the snow that had caked on. He barely needed to scan the area to notice a broad tree right beside him, a glance upward discovering a thick branch declining towards the ground. He had been so focused on his aim that he'd collided with a tree he had not seen.

An ache wrung out Revali's head as he scoured the area for the intruders. They were several yards ahead by now, bolting across the snow and nearing the range of invasion by the fleeting second. Instantly, Revali's memories flashed back to the village and the scene of evacuation he had witnessed—Surely the Rito had all escaped free by now, but the home and everything of value still remained. There was a whole list of things to lose.

Revali rushed to hang up his bow again, hurriedly thrashing his wings to launch himself back into the air. The wind quickly hoisted him up like a pair of wings scooping him up and taking him up into the sky. In a matter of seconds, he was hurled back into the chase. He skimmed over the trampled snow, silently easing closer to where the two intruders bolted across the ground with a few flaps of his wings to sustain his progress in the air. The wind lashed past his face and yanked at the feathers on his wings. He took a grasp on the handle of the bow again, ready to rip it from his shoulders, when the Sheikah girl's shout broke through the shrieking wind.

"Look, there!" the young woman blurted out, smacking the boy abruptly on the arm as she bounded across the snow. "That's the entrance. If we can get past the Rito at the front, we'll be able to reach him and tell him what's happening."

Revali reeled to sneak a glance ahead of him, accidentally catching on the wind and halting his progress as his claws swung to adjust to the change. Sure enough, several yards ahead marked the first drop of the canyon and at that drop, the step onto a stretched wooden bridge to reach the village. The armed Rito standing in a line at the start of the canyon spotted the approaching intruders within moments, knocking arrows onto their bows in unison and pointing them in defense.

Revali's thoughts fired as he tugged the bow from his shoulder, beating his free wing to keep himself steady. If they had made it this far, all signs leaned towards the scenario of them getting into the village as well. Revali hadn't anticipated their resilience to make it so far, not to mention the audacity. He had to do something to cut off the effort. In a movement so sudden it was as if some force had overtaken him, Revali knocked an arrow onto his bow, drew back the string, and set it free with only a short breath of an aim.

An eruption of smoke and flinging snow shattered the ground hardly seven feet in front of the pair of rivals and their robotic ally. The three lurched to avoid the blast, staggering to a stop as a cluster. The legs of the little critter clicked as it scanned the area, realizing Revali's presence with an animate blue orb of an eye as he swooped into a swift landing in front of them. A flurry of panicked beeping escaped from it as it shuffled disquietly on the snow, digging a chaotic cluster of claw-prints in the snow, and Revali's own claws found solid land.

Revali shifted in his stance to put up a wing as a gesture to the Rito lined up along the edge of the canyon, who lowered their bows in response. They were to hold fire until further notice. Revali's interest had been piqued at the idea of such an unbeatable attacking trio. He'd enjoy himself in withdrawing information. When he turned back to face the group, they had gathered closer as if relying on each other for strength. Five wide eyes locked upon Revali, the blue Hylian's and the amber Sheikah's swimming with determination.

"You were so ready to cross that bridge and enter that village, weren't you?" Revali sneered, tucking his wings innocently behind his back and strolling forward to address the rivals. Every pair of eyes followed him in his slow shuffle. The atmosphere still buzzed with electricity from the recurring blasts. "What a way to kill the mood for you. I almost feel bad. You must not be as familiar with our humble home as you think you are. The security of Rito Village is far superior to anything you've gotten past before. Trust me, I'm absolutely sure. Take another step, and our soldiers will shoot you down in two seconds flat. You're going to regret the time you tried to stand against Revali of the Rito."

The Sheikah girl's gaze had broken free from meeting Revali's, distractedly regarding the Rito soldiers around her, but hearing his name snatched up her attention again. "You're Revali," she realized aloud.

"It took you a while to figure that one out, did it?" Revali retorted, slowing to a stop a few feet away. The eye of the mechanical creature darted rapidly and agitatedly between Revali and the young woman. A howling breeze swept over the land. "I presume that means you've heard of me. If I'm correct, and it's likely I am, then you were warned about crossing paths with me. In the potential event that you weren't, allow me to enlighten you on that information. Nothing has gotten past me unless I make it so. If you still can't understand, I'll put it simply for you. You leave this village without a word of complaint behind my back or I take your lives before you can run."

The reaction left a physical blow, traveling in a wave between the three. The little creature at the young woman's feet emitted what sounded to be a high-pitched yelp and retreated a few short steps. The Hylian boy clasped his second hand over the handle of his sword, standing tense and at the ready to launch himself into battle. A jagged breath of alarm escaped from the young Sheikah woman as she rushed to speak again.

"Now, wait, hold on a minute," the Sheikah girl urged, her words hastily spilling out. The roll of hair atop her head quivered in the breeze. "We're not here to fight. We're actually only here to speak with you. It's important, I promise. Just give us a minute and we'll work something out."

"If you're not here to fight, it's in your best interest to keep that motive," Revali told them, withdrawing his wings from behind his back to fold them in front of him. The feathers on his wings flicked at the air. "That fight wouldn't last long and would certainly not end in your favor. You're here for information, aren't you? Well, that's information that you'll never get from my beak. I'm feeling generous today, so I'll say it one more time. Retreat and return to where you came from or face the powerful wrath of the Rito."

The Sheikah girl and the Hylian boy exchanged an uncertain glance. It was as though they were communicating within their thoughts to determine their next plan. After a lengthy and hesitant pause, it was the Sheikah girl to speak up once again.

"No," the young woman said decidedly. "You know what? No. We're not afraid of you. We're here to talk to you and that's it. No ifs, ands, or buts. We won't be returning until we're finished here."

"Very well," Revali answered calmly. He outstretched his wings from his sides, whipping them firmly against the moving air and driving himself back into the air. Pausing afloat several feet into the air, his eyes fell upon the Hylian boy, who still clutched the handle of his sword so rigidly. "You, there. You're a soldier, right? Let's see if you've truly earned that sword."

The soldier had just been waiting for an excuse to initiate an attack. Immediately and swiftly, he broke off into a run so sudden that he kicked up snow behind him, hammering across the ground to close off the distance between him and the airborne Revali. He expected this, as the jab was intentional, and the reaction set off a spurt of movement that had been itching to release. Revali whirled through the air, evading the soldier's line of attack, and was already withdrawing his bow by the time he rose behind him. The soldier spun on his heel to realign the attack, but he wasn't quick enough as Revali unsheathed an arrow and fastened it to the bow. The arrow flew not seconds later, a clear shot to the center of the soldier's face—If he hadn't ducked aside and let it zip past his pointed ear.

Revali captured the blast of scorching air from the eruption in his wings to hurl himself clumsily into the air. A strangled yell broke from the soldier as his body was tossed backward from the blow, pummeling into the snow on his front several feet away. He'd lost his grip on the sword as soon as he was flung backward, sending the weapon spiraling across the field and disappearing in the snow. Revali was still rocketing into the air when the soldier shifted on the ground, weakened and shakily heaving himself up.

The young woman was on the move now. She hustled through the dense snow in the opposite direction of the confrontation, eyes stilled along the ground in front of her in the act of intention. Revali, sporting the advance in the combat, allowed himself the moment to steady himself in the air with his outstretched wings before the realization struck. She was going after the sword.

Revali thrust himself upwards a few more feet with a brisk flap of his wings, sensing the temperature of the air drop dramatically in real-time, and watched the young woman snatch up the sword from deep in the snow as he withdrew an arrow. The young woman readied herself, raising the sword up in front of her as she stepped to guard the soldier—Definitely not in a proper sword-handling technique; she was clearly not educated in combat at all—But the arrow was set free before she could have moved any farther.

The young woman let loose a yelp before the eruption ignited in front of her, blinding Revali of her movements as both snow and dirt rained over the direct area. As the blast settled and the blazing wind guided him into the air, the young woman was on the ground as well as the soldier, but on her hands and knees instead. The soldier had clamped his hands over his ears at the return of the blast, instinctively recoiling from the sensation, but undid his position as the young woman scampered across the snow to address him.

"Link, are you okay?" the young woman urged to know, snagging ahold his arm with the hand that was free of the sword's handle. "Can you stand up?"

They were distracted. Revali turned control over to the unpredictable flow of wind, wrenching an arrow from the quiver and knocking it onto the bow. As he drew back the string of the bow, he pinpointed precisely where it was going to land: Right in the center of the soldier's forehead, blowing apart his head from the inside. The tip of the arrow crackled in anticipation, and the young woman heard it. Her eyes snapped up at the sound, realizing the nearing fate, and sprung to her feet.

"Revali, stop!!" the young woman burst out. Revali eased the drawback of the bow, though only to steady himself with the flap of a wing. "I don't want to fight you."

"Wish I could say the same for you," Revali shot back, drawing back the string once more. A direct shot right through the young woman's neck. "Next time, make better choices."

Revali released his grip on the arrow, watching it whisk through the air. Not fast enough. The soldier had managed to raise himself to his knees and had flung his arms around the young woman at his side, yanking her down for them to collapse into the snow together. A clap of explosion rumbled through the ground, showering both the young woman and the soldier in snow. Having lost count of the number of missed shots, something that didn't occur often, Revali cast out his wings and began to drop again.

Revali anticipated a soft descent onto the snow, but what his claws found was not snow. The little mechanical pest had run out from under him, causing his claws to catch on its egg-shaped head and hurl him off his guard. Revali scrambled to regain his balance, but in the haste slipped and gave out into the snow on his back. The star-sprinkled sky was wide and immense above him and shouldn't have been witnessed at all right now. He had just barely begun to move to force himself back up before he registered the scurrying of the creature through the snow, closely followed by a sudden, piercing, fire-like birth of pain in his left wing. The nuisance had punctured him through his feathers with its claws to create a diversion.

A strained howl clawed from Revali's throat as if it had not been his own and the warmth of irritability pumped through his skin. He jerked his wing free on his way upright and prepared another arrow, focusing the next shot as an unmistakable blow to the creature's particularly large eye. His wing throbbed with a scorching agony, but he grimaced through the struggle and refused to withdraw. The threat was enough to influence the pitiful creature to retreat, offering up a fuss of whimpers like a plea to survive as it scuttled to back away.

Footsteps crossed the snow in his direction. Revali first raised his arrow before his eyes, immediately bringing the owner to a halt. The soldier, Link, had regained the holding of the sword after successfully returning to a standing position. He froze in place several feet in front of Revali and his deadly aim the moment the arrow was lifted. The young woman stood close by, face as still as stone.

The aim of the arrow met with the point between Link's thick blond eyebrows. "Any sudden movements, I'll release this arrow and blow your brains out," Revali cautioned. "If you want to keep your head intact, do as I say. I don't care who sent you and why. Leave this village or you will never see the light of day."

"Revali, stop, please," a different voice emerged into the scene, insistent and pleading. More footsteps were hastily crunching over the snow to intercept the confrontation. "I sent them."

Revali turned his head, but his aim didn't budge. Princess Zelda Hyrule was hustling across the snow in approach, creating a trail of indentations behind her, cheeks rosy with the chilled temperatures under the thin moonlight. She was not dressed in formal attire as Revali would have expected, but instead snug black pants and a blue puffy winter jacket. Her hands, encased in brown mittens, clasped around a device adorned with the traditional Sheikah symbol. This was no attack. It was a formerly arranged discussion that had been neglected to be shared with any member of the Rito. Poor planning, in truth.

Revali abandoned the retaliation, plucking the arrow from the bow and slipping it back into the quiver. His heart still skipped from the energy in performing combat. He took his time in responding to the princess, shifting in his stance on the snow to face the Rito along the edge of the canyon, still awaiting instruction. Revali cast a short gesture with his injured wing, a flick directing them to retreat in turn. The danger had been cleared away. A cease-fire was in order. A wave of movement shot through the collection of Rito as they withdrew the arrows from their bows, tucking them away in their quivers as Revali had done.

"What in the world was that, anyway?" Princess Zelda pressed as Revali turned back to address her, still aghast at the sight she had stumbled upon. "Impa and Link are here by my request. They mean no harm. What could have caused such a commotion by their arrival?"

"In a world like this, you can never be too careful," Revali pointed out, fastening the bow to his back once more. "Also, I believe this is hardly a fault of mine or the Rito. If you made any sort of announcement of your arrival, it must have gotten lost along the way. With no information, there was simply no other option than to assume an attack. These are new faces around here, you know."

"Oh no." Princess Zelda worriedly snuck a glance at the two presumed intruders, evidently called Impa and Link. The notably shaken arrivals peered through the dimness back at her. "Revali, I sincerely apologize. I truly hadn't meant to provoke such alarm. Our entry at this time of the night is purely unintentional as well. I thought it best to arrive during the same day that we made our departure from the castle so that we could pursue a discussion that cannot be postponed. Once again, I'm terribly sorry. This is completely my responsibility."

"I beg your pardon, but you seem to be missing the point," Revali informed her. A distant commanding shout struck the air and several flapping wings retreated into the night. The soldiers were on their way to announce the false alarm and guide the Rito back into their homes. "It doesn't matter if this happened in the morning, evening, or the dead of night. A little bit of information goes a long way. Even just your presence would have been enough to tell us that there was no malicious intent. So where, may I ask, have you been while all of this was happening?"

"Now that I consider it, it does seem a bit suspicious for my absence to be prominent," Princess Zelda confessed, shifting sheepishly. "Impa was concerned about running into danger while entering the village to seek you out. She asked me to wait behind while she and Link scoped out the area. I would never have predicted that we would be the danger. In retrospect, I really should have ventured in alongside them. I heard explosions while I was waiting and went to check that nobody was hurt."

"Well, I suppose that's that cleared up," Revali remarked. His gaze then drifted back to Impa and Link, still standing close nearby to each other as if they awaited a second move for attack. "It appears that was the main problem here, then. I hadn't the faintest idea that they were associated with the royal agenda at all, let alone close acquaintances. They are close acquaintances, I assume?"

"Oh, yes. They're friends," Princess Zelda replied in certainty. "Impa is the advisor to the throne. Link is a knight working in service of the kingdom and myself."

"A knight?" Revali echoed, dropping his wings to his sides to begin to approach Link. Link finally lowered his weapon as Revali came to a stop before him, lips curled in a slight scowl as he clutched the handle and looked up at him. His blond bangs flicked across his forehead. "A knight. I'm truly flabbergasted. You couldn't put a lick of harm upon me and you call yourself a knight?"

Link did not have an answer to give. He was seemingly aware that he was being spoken to, given his anger-laced gaze locked onto Revali's. The wind howled in the distance. Impa rubbed her hands together to sustain warmth, tense as she glanced between the two soldiers.

"I'm just saying that perhaps the lack of communication wasn't the only mistake that was made here," Revali went on.

"I can assure you that Link has most certainly proved himself as a knight," Princess Zelda broke in, snapping the focus of the conversation. "However, the reason we've made our appearance here tonight is not to discuss his skill in combat."

I'm sure he has, Revali grumbled sarcastically in his thoughts. He lingered in front of Link for a moment longer, greeting his judgment with a mutual sensation. It wasn't likely they would ever see a day where they would appreciate the other's presence.

Revali shifted his focus back to the princess. "Yes, so you've said," he replied. "Out with it, then."

"I've been hearing more and more of Calamity Ganon's prophesied arrival as of late," Princess Zelda explained. "Recently, I was made aware that the outcome is already on its way. Ganon's mark is making its way to Hyrule. It's even making its first wave of attack now. It's learning how to overcome and rewrite the codes of technology constructed to destroy it and turn them against us. Just two days ago, the three of us were in danger of being harmed by a Guardian that Ganon had taken control of. I've been hoping to calibrate and find pilots for all four of the Divine Beasts before they can be turned as well. I trust that you've heard of the Divine Beast Vah Medoh."

Revali could point out the direction that the conversation was headed from a mile away. She was going to request that he become the pilot for Vah Medoh, an immense and powerful airborne mechanical being of a bird, built absolutely on the reliance of attack. Piloting the machine would have been a terribly risky and completely critical duty to name oneself to because of the complexity of the controls alone, but also the overbearing suggestion of someday battling Calamity Ganon from within its walls. Revali had suspected that this conversation was coming.

"Heard of it?" Revali repeated before he swung out his wing to direct attention to the night sky. "I spend my days and nights with it."

And there it was. Only the silhouette of the wings and body of the massive machine was visible at this time of the night, but several various blue lights leaking from the crevices glowed artificially against the pitch-black sky. In the silence of observation, Revali's ears finally registered the faint whirring of the engines, even from the ground. The machine hadn't been in use for as long as he could remember, though it seemed that this was about to change.

"Wow," Impa remarked after a moment. "Yeah, that's just right there, isn't it?"

"I'm glad you're familiar with Vah Medoh, Revali," Princess Zelda spoke up again, drawing the focus back towards her. "In that case, I'll spare you the introductions. The reason I've brought this up is that I feel you'd be our best selection of pilot for the Divine Beast. Your skill and determination are unparalleled. You needn't have an answer right away, as it is a big decision to be made, but I urge you to consider it. Beyond that, I've brought no other topics to discuss. Please write to me once you've made your choice. I'm prepared to begin my journey onward shortly, but I have one curiosity I'd like to propose before then."

"Well, I'd suggest you get on with it," Revali replied. "It's past midnight and I was hoping to get some sleep tonight."

"Yes, of course. I apologize for taking up so much of your time." Princess Zelda gave a soft clearing of her throat before she went on. "Please forgive my bluntness, but why was your first instinct to make an attack as soon as Impa and Link came nearby? Link may carry a sword, but they don't appear threatening."

"Perhaps not, but after everything the Rito have been through in the last five months, do you really think I'd take that chance?" Revali retorted.

The princess paused, slow to process what he was saying to her. "The last five months...?" she prompted hesitantly. She had not heard of the attacks.

Revali, leaping at the opportunity to spill the weight of the start of the year, folded his wings once more and launched into explanation. "Ever since the beginning of the year, monsters have been arriving at the outside rim in great numbers with nothing but destruction and slaughter on their minds," he vented. "I thought several days and nights of patrol would have been enough to hold them off, but I was wrong. The incursions had started off infrequently but quickly grew in occurrence. I don't entirely know for certain what's causing the sudden growth of popularity in such malevolent beings, but now that I know that Ganon's on its way, I would bet that at least some of it is because of that.

"No matter what created those beasts, all I know is that they've stopped at nothing to tear Rito Village to the ground, and I assume it's similar everywhere else. I mean, this type of thing goes on almost every night now. You can't exactly blame me for thinking that something—Or in this case, someone—Was trying to bring harm to the village like every other night. This place has been a battlefield for far too long. Our soldiers are shooting down monsters all around the clock. We're running out of options for how to proceed. Just think about how much worse this could get if we continue as we have been. Believe me, I've been more ready for a change than anyone."

Crickets chirped in countless numbers when silence fell, breaking it as soon as it began. Not even a stir crept into the movements of Impa, Link, or Princess Zelda as they waited, hanging on every word, for Revali to say more. Revali might have run his explanation's course completely, but his next words tingled on his tongue before they even took flight into the icy air.

"For Rito Village and all of Hyrule, my answer is yes," Revali declared. "I will be rising to the task of piloting Vah Medoh."