-Somewhere, Link-

Link did not know how long he laid there. He remembered opening his eyes briefly, how bright everything was, and that he was racked in pain with the simple knowledge that the pain meant something was very wrong. He knew what bruises felt like. This wasn't it.

'So weak...' he thought. It took effort just to think, and he thought no more as his eyes closed.

The next time his eyes opened was in response to voices but it came to him as garbled and scattered sounds and at times akin to melody; and he remembered feeling comfortably warm and with the sensation of hovering. It was dim.

'Ah...' he thought weakly. 'I died. So this is the heavens... it's not bad... I'm sorry... Zelda... Ganon...'

His eyes closed again.

Link's eyes snapped open. Colours flickered in the darkness all around him, hovering and shifting innumerably. It was like Fae but something about their movement confused him. No... it wasn't Fae. It was reflected lights on cavern walls from water he was laying in.

This was followed by two thoughts, 'Wait... what am I doing in a cave?' And then, 'Shit! I can't swim!'

Link thrashed around, reaching for leverage. Water fell over him and pulled him under. His mouth and lungs quickly filled with water. He felt the surface at the edge of his fingers, but he couldn't quite hold it. Tiny hands grasped at him, trying to pull him in. He fought against them but there were many. They sat on him, grabbed his chest shirt and his arms and pulled at him. Something moved under him akin to a snake. It roped itself around him and squeezed him tight.

The giant snake pulled him out of the water and slammed him down on a rock surface. The snake loosened its grip, but many small creatures crawled onto him. He fought against them while drowning in himself. His torso felt like it was on fire and his body was weak and numb. He could not resist them and was forced onto his side. Water spilled from his lips and lungs.

Link gasped for air and collapsed.

"Breath!" A little voice said behind him. "Just breath!"

Link panted and looked back at the voice. It was a monster straight from his dreams. Some kind of slithering abomination with the bottom of a snake, the top torso of a woman with four spidery arms, three long, fat fingers on each hand, some kind of scaly cloth over her chest, and a massive head with two sets of eyes along either side of her face and an unnaturally wide jaw with teeth.

"HOLY NARYU, DIN, 'N' FARORE!" Link exclaimed. He backed up, crawled, and generally scrambled away from her as fast as he could. He had no weapons, and while he could hold his own in a fist-fight with his peers, something told him this animal had special tools at her disposal to eat him.

Link fell backwards into water. The snake-woman dove into the water, grabbed him, and pulled him back up. "No! No!" Link fought back, but the woman grabbed his arms tight and held him down to the rock surface. "Don't eat me! I'm gangly! I'm thin!"

"Quiet! Stop moving!" The woman exclaimed.

Link shut his mouth, and quivered in fear, waiting for the inevitable bite to his neck. Something told him he was still very wounded and moving so much had not helped, because normally he would have been able to move easier to put up a bigger fight. He actually felt quite woozy. The world was spinning and his side burned.

In front of him where he held onto the rocks a bunch of little creatures, like hunch-back turtles, looked back at him curiously.

The woman did not bite him. She pulled herself onto the rock surface herself and took a deep breath. Gills all down her neck opened and closed. She had no nose. She looked at him in a very human-like expression of exasperation. "We aren't going to eat you, foolish Huma! You are a patient."

"Patient?" Link whispered.

"Yes." She said. "You were wounded. You are being healed."

"I- what?" Link looked around. The pool of water he had nearly drowned in was only ten inches deep, and on a nearby surface was a plate with creams, bandages of sort, and other items that he did not recognize. Link looked at himself. His torso was covered in a kind of skin-like bandage, similar to the skin a snake sheds. Although parts of it were now torn from when he had been trashing about.

"I... You aren't going to eat me?" Link asked fearfully.

"No." She gazed at him a moment as she moved about and started to tidy up. He had knocked things around. The smaller creatures scurried about. "I see by your eyes you have not seen the like of us before."

Link shook his head.

"Well, I wish I could say 'do not be alarmed', but it is far too late for that." She grunted. She reached for him and pulled him up out of the water. Her flesh felt wet and clammy against his skin. Her hands did not have scales on them, but her torso did in a loose form. It was something he had saw already, but only now registering it was clothing like any intelligent being would wear. She was not an animal.

Link resisted slightly at being laid back down, but relented slowly. He felt close to panicking. He had seen Fae before, but these things... this was straight out of tales parents tell their children to behave.

"I'm a Zora. We are Zora." She said.

"Zora." Link repeated. Zora was a country far to the east. It was a nation the bordered the ocean. "You are... people of Zora?"

She nodded. "Now you seem to get it."

"Wha-what are you doing in Qin? What are you doing here?... Just where is here? The last I remember-" Link gasped. His chest constricted and convulsed a moment as he was overcome. He had complicated his injury. He coughed violently.

"Lord Ouki kicked you into the lake." She concluded. She slithered over towards the tools and retrieved some things.

"You saw?"

"Not me, no. But others did. You hit the lake hard. Crushed many bones. You nearly drowned, but the border guard brought you in."

So there were more of the Zora. Link concluded. Also this meant he was either deeper within the lake, or nearby the lake. Either way he was in Qin. Link breathed easier knowing this.

But Ouki... tried to kill him.

Why? The man was like an idol to him... and Ouki tried to have him killed.

Link didn't know what to think, what to feel. He felt empty. He hurt everywhere, both body and soul. He felt betrayed.

The Zora woman started the process of removing his bandages and reapplying new ones. Link put up no more resistance. All fight had left him as his mind internalized itself to process and understand what had happened. He could not fathom the idea that Ouki would do it, yet Ouki did. Why?

"Why would Ouki try to kill me." Link wondered.

"I do not think he did." She replied. "Ouki Mitagi is brilliant, calculating, and most of all: Knows we are here." Link stirred at her words. "He sent you here fully knowing we are here. Of all the places to knock you down a cliff, he aimed for the entrance to this place."

That... made a lot of sense actually. Link felt a bit better. He didn't know if that was the truth or not, but at the very least it gave him some hope. Hope that he wasn't betrayed.

But that only left a whole lot of questions. "What is this place?" Link asked. "Why would Ouki know of you? He didn't mention you when we passed by. Again, what are you doing in Qin?"

"I apologize, but I am not allowed to say. I am merely the doctor," she replied apologetically. "I can see you are confused and scared, but don't be scared. You are well here. Rest. Your body was broken when you were brought to me, and already your recovery has been nothing short of miraculous! You healed in two days what should have taken two weeks!"

"I've been out for two days?"

"That's right." She said. "In that pool there. It nourishes your body while you heal. Otherwise we would have to force feed you scrubs and pour water down your throat." She smirked with sharp teeth.

Link gulped. "I think mystery water is better than bugs..."

"Thought you might."

She continued her work on him a little longer. Thankfully he had not torn his stitches badly, but his healing was set back. The smaller Zora clicked and made weird noises, to which the doctor replied in kind. They hurried out of the small cavern.

"What are they?" Link wondered.

"Lesser Zora." She replied.

"They don't look like you."

She scoffed, "You huma are so racist. You think other huma have to look the same to be huma."

"No! I-... I don't mean to offend. I have never met Zora before." Link apologized.

"Accepted. Zora have different bloodlines and castes. Many different castes. I am of one of the worker castes. So are they, but a lower one. The higher castes consist of Zora built to do harder work, then there are Zora built to be warriors, and finally there is the Siren caste."

"Built to fight? Surely any Zora can defend himself... or herself."

"Not so. Your weapons only rust. Zora are born with the tools we need, and we adapt with... what do you call it?" She hummed. "Arranged mating? Warrior Zora are born with weapons or strength and dexterity to wield weapons on the surface. Zora like me are the peasants and so on, supporting the empire. And those little ones you saw are strong, but lack understanding. They make good servants."

"And the Siren? You mentioned the highest caste is Siren. Is that a fancy name or?" Link asked, curious.

"No, no. Siren are born with the gift for speech."

"You can talk too. You are fluent in Qin."

"Not that, but thank you." She smirked. "Siren have a voice that is given by Farore to be beautiful, entrancing, and commanding. Any who hear obey. In turn they bear the weight of leadership. The king is a Siren. The queen is a Siren. The many princes and princesses are Siren. They will always be Siren."

Link hummed. In some ways what she described was familiar, but in other ways it was entirely alien to him. She helped him into the water and held him up as he flattened himself out and relaxed.

"But-" He continued, but she put a finger on his lips.

"Enough of that. I said rest."

"Right..." He groaned. "But I've been asleep long enough... I've wasted so much time." He yawned. "I promised her... I'd be ready..."

Link fell asleep. The water was warm and dreamy.

When he woke up next, it was slowly and without disturbance. He looked up in a daze. The weaker light in the cave gave him the impression of night. His bandages felt new.

Another few times he slept and woke briefly over the next day. Each time he felt more aware, stronger, and the pain and wrongness in his body lessened. The final time he saw another Zora talking to the doctor.

He could not make out the conversion in their language, but this new Zora looked highly masculine. He had thicker arms and legs, was much taller, and seemed to have some sort of skin plating on his joints. On his forearms were very large fins pointing up towards his head. His head was a bit more like a human, with two eyes and a smaller mouth, and a bald head, but the similarity ended there. The ears were holes on the side of his head and he had gills going from the top of his forehead to his pale lips. Like the doctor he wore scales, but these looked much thicker. His feet and fingers were webbed.

The next time Link woke he rose from the water and walked around the room, being careful not to pull at anything. He could feel his body had become lighter, his muscles had weakened, and some bones were still broken. Without having had anything solid in his stomach and inactivity had left him very weak.

"You are awake. You look stronger. Good!" The doctor observed as she returned.

"Yes, I do feel better... still hurt, but better."

"It will pass in time. But this is a good sign." She slithered around him poking at him. She shoved him gently and he stumbled. "Hmm... weak. Do you feel you have the strength to walk? It will be good for you to use your body again."

Link smiled gratefully. "Please."

"Then let us go. The exit is there." She pointed to a part of the cave Link had not noticed. In the mixture of shadow and lights from the water, he had missed a corner where there was an opening deeper into the cave.

Link walked slowly into it, being careful of his steps. The doctor stayed within arm's reach and followed him as he moved. Her involvement proved unnecessary. Link felt strength in his legs. If given another day or two he would be able to walk as well as ever.

The ground was slippery. It was bare rock under his feet. Link could not see the steps before him. He trudged in ever deeper, confident in himself. He had trained every day of his life that he could remember until sweat poured down his side. He had trained in rain and storm. He had trained when his body rebelled, and weakness came over him. He had trained in the snow and blistering heat. Link knew his limits. He knew them better than anyone. He had felt this weakness before. He would master it as well.

"Amazing." The doctor murmured. "You are recovering quickly. That fall would have killed an ordinary man, and you are but a boy."

Link clenched his jaw tight. If this blow was capable of killing an ordinary man, then he could not allow himself to be ordinary. He would surpass it. He would surpass everyone he stands against. He had come to Ouki Mitagi for training, and Ouki had tossed him aside! Screw Ouki! Screw teachers! Link would surpass them all. He would surpass the greatest in all of Qin!

"I will surpass you." Link whispered to himself.

"Well you have certainly surpassed my expectations." The doctor said. Link blushed, having been caught thinking out loud. But all the same, he swore it.

He would surpass Ouki Mitagi.

The dark cave lit up in light as they took a careful step further around a bend. What opened itself to him took his breath away. Before him was a large cavern, an amazingly large cavern that connected with other caverns. Water fell from high and a large pool of water lied before them, in which were dozens upon dozens of creatures swimming in it. Some were very small, being of the hunch-back turtle like things he had seen. Some were larger, comparable to the doctor, but with different characteristics for body parts. Some were larger still, standing taller than a normal man and looking stronger as well. The cavern was lit and shimmering and these creatures, these Zora, went about their business. Some carried things to and fro, some were with smaller versions of themselves, no doubt children. Tapestries were over some cavern entrances, no doubt hinting at what was inside like shops or 'streets'.

"You can fit a village in this cave..." Link murmured.

"That's good. Because it is a village." The doctor chuckled.

In every way it was... amazingly similar to every other village or city Link had been in, and yet the striking differences were also there.

"It's so... different. But so similar." Link reflected. "Are they all Zora?"

"They are."

"Why are there so many different kinds? I mean... among my people there is only one form of man. Some may have darker skin, but we are not a different kind."

She huffed, still smiling. "You huma are so obsessed with race. Indeed, huma. We are many kinds. Farore created us, and from what I understand you know of her and her... pension for imagination."

Link smiled wistfully. "Yes."

"She couldn't make just one. She wanted to explore the possibilities and made many. To help organize our people all races are split into one of four castes. The Lesser, Worker, Warrior, and Siren."

"Okay," Link said, barely listening as the doctor went on to explain further.

His attention was drawn to the sights around him. But there was one person that stood out. It was a single Zora that stood alone with a silver half-mask around his lower jaw. This Zora stood on webbed feet, had a head that widened slightly at the forehead, and had long fins at the elbow, but otherwise was remarkably human-like. A little short, two eyes, two legs, two arms with webbed hands.

Something about the emptiness in the Zora's eyes struck Link.

"Who's that?" Link pointed.

The doctor stopped her explanation to look where he pointed. "That is Princess Siren Ruto."

"That's a princess?" Link guffawed. "What is she doing here in Qin?"

At this point the doctor was silent, and looked hard at him. Link gulped, thinking he had overstepped himself. She took him by the arm, slowly turned him back around and guided him back where they had come.

After a moment she said, "That is not for me to say. Seeing as how you are progressing so well, tomorrow we will be seeing Siren Prise. He will determine what to do with you."

"That... ominous."

"We do not know why you were sent here nor if we can trust you. Our existence here is a carefully kept secret, so you have put us in an awkward situation. For now, rest. I will see about finding you some solid food."

The doctor took him back to the cove, and Link obediently sat while she left. She returned after a time with a small skinned fish. She placed it before him before curling around herself to sit and eat her own.

"Oh you skinned it too. Thanks." Link said. He tore off a piece and dug in. It was a tasty fish.

"You are welcome, but it was already skinned."

"Why?" He asked, his mouth full.

"You huma wear plants and the hide of your beasts. We do the same with ours."

Link nodded. He had noticed the Zora wore scales and such. He swallowed.

"What's a Siren and who is this guy we will be meeting?"

"If you had paid attention the first time you would have heard." She replied patiently. Link smiled guiltily. "Sirens are the leaders of the Zora, they blessed with the Gift of Voice by Farore."

"Good for them."

She huffed. "Of course, you think so."

"You don't?" Link wondered.

Her composure darkened. She took a shaky breath through her gills. Link narrowed his brow in concern. "It's terrifying. The gift allows them to control any Zora against their will. You don't know what it's like to be a slave."

"Actually, I do. I was raised as one." Link said gently.

Her eyes widened briefly. "Then you can understand how oppressing it feels."

"The Siren are slave masters, I take it?"

She nodded. Link growled in the back of his throat. "Sounds like a curse, than... does this control extend to humans?"

She shrugged. "I do not know. If it does, then there is nothing you can do if he gives you an order." Seeing him getting worked up, she said, "Human, do not fret. Such concerns lie within us, not you. It is feared, yes, and the Siren use it to hold supremacy, but they are not evil or cruel. It is their gift, just as all Zora are born with gifts. The king is wise, and Siren Prise is not abusive."

"All the same, I do not like it."

"Neither do we, there is much unrest; but let us talk no further of this. You must rest and this talk will do you no good."

With that said, she finished eating and left. Link called, "Hey, what do I call you?"

"The closest way you can understand in our speech would be Lenovalarinalbacrin." She answered.

"I... what? How about Len? I am Link!"

"As you wish, Link."