《The Wind Waker》-IX-
Advertisement
GERUDO, VOLCANOES were very hot! Link nearly tripped on the hard rocky path as he climbed upward. The path had led him into a dark expansive cavern. He had gotten very sweaty. There was molten lava all around him.
This was where the Rito took their kids? There were rickety bridges going over lava! What's more fun than being dangerously high up? High up above lava!
He pushed through his increasing uneasiness. It was okay. If a board broke, he could grab onto the chains holding up the bridge. Thankfully the bridges held, but they liked to sway.
Link finally got to a part of the cavern that was away from the lava, and the air became mercifully cooler. He rested a moment. He had done a lot of hiking today, and was very grateful for the cooler breeze of this part of the cave.
He took his cap off and let the wind blow through his hair closing his yes.
He thought for a moment about just stuffing the cap in his pocket, but he felt it would be disrespectful to wear this clothing, but reject part of it.
Besides, he had grown used to it, and he felt a bit weird without having it on.
It had been a long day. He felt a bit guilty in a way. He was doing this to help the Rito, but he also wanted to find a way to get Din's Pearl.
This was like when he'd first met Tetra, when he had been conditionally kind. He felt worse this time though.
Last time, Tetra had barely been grateful at all, and she had said they wouldn't have had a problem attacking the island.
The Rito hadn't threatened him, but he felt as though he was taking advantage of their problem to use it as a bargaining chip.
He had become little more than a mercenary - putting himself forward as a good person - but only if they gave him what he wanted. Would he be doing this if he didn't need Din's Pearl?
He didn't have time on his side. Aryll was in danger, and he needed to do all he could to get closer to saving her. He wasn't sure if he'd have decided to help the Rito. He tried to rationalize that it would because he didn't have time, but...
This was a very, very, dangerous, treacherous place. Every time he set his foot down he was afraid it would be the last footstep he ever took. The ground sometimes crunched beneath his boots. It wasn't very reassuring.
Advertisement
The volcanic cavern appeared to be criss-crossed throughout by Rito made tunnels. Link tried to use these cooler, more stable passages as much as possible, because they had wooden supports. Plus, the Rito probably knew better than he did.
However, it seemed like they hadn't been taken care of for a bit. Torches throughout the caverns were dark.
With the lack of light in the passageways, it was hard to see without the illumination of the lava.
If he got anywhere near the lava though, it became extremely hot.
Walking through a new network of tunnels, they seemed... old. They seemed like they belonged to a very different time. On several, he found drawings in faded black paint on them.
Though he'd seen paintings on the walls of the caves the Ritos lived in, they were bright, vivid, colorful murals.
These... these were different.
He'd heard people speculate before that Dragon Roost Island was what remained of ancient Death Mountain.
It seemed incredible to him. Perhaps he was touching the work of a Goron that had lived during the life of the hero of time. Perhaps the hero himself had walked where he walked.
He continued on, despite the stifling heat. It seemed that if these were ancient Goron caves that they were used for mining. Unfamiliar tools laid around.
After a somewhat precarious climb up a slope of rock, the path went down again, but into a swath of lava. He looked back behind him. It was going to be a slow, tedious climb back down the way he came, but he felt like he hadn't seen another path.
Link was afraid he was going nowhere, and that he wasn't going the path that the Rito traveled.
Looking back towards the patch of lava, Link saw, shielding his eyes against the bright light, a metal platform, suspended by chains bolted into the ceiling. In the roof of the cave nearer to him was the mount for what appeared to be where another platform would've been. Perhaps the first one had fallen into the lava.
The lava blocked his path.
Link sat on a rock for a moment, thinking about his options.
There was more of the old forgotten equipment next to him. Examining it for a second, he found a long coil of rope with several hooks at the end.
He held it in his hand, looking out over the lava. There was another platform beyond the one that was in front of him. He could see it.
He stared at the rope with the hooks. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea.
Advertisement
He tossed the hook as hard as he could towards the metal mount in the ceiling, where the first platform used to be. He missed.
The hook just barely scraped the lava, and he quickly grabbed it out. He discovered that it wasn't fully liquid lava, but broken ground with only a few patches of lava coming up.
Link waited a bit for the hooks to cool down. He swung for the mount again. To his amazement, it actually caught. He tugged on the rope. It held. He pulled on the rope from side to side. It didn't come off.
He took a deep breath. Farore help me, he thought. He pulled the rope back a few steps, then running forward, jumped onto it.
He swung for a horrible second or two over the cracked patches of lava. He couldn't muster the guts to jump off though, and swung backward over the bubbling fire beneath him.
This was not good. He had to jump this next time or he could be stuck hanging over lava.bHe leaned into his swing as he came back towards the platform, and mustering all his will power, jumped.
He fell onto the edge of the platform with a teeth-gritting amount of force. The platform swayed a bit, and he held to one of the supporting chains to steady himself.
He also grabbed the rope he'd swung over the lava with. He whipped a wave up it, and it unhitched the hooks. Quickly snatching it inward, he avoided dropping it in the lava. Once he regained his balance, he slung it over his shoulder.
He took a deep breath. That was... horrible. He imagined in his mind for a moment that he wasn't here in the middle of a volcano. Anywhere else would've been great.
He looked ahead. There was a gap of a few feet between him and the edge of the lava pool. Sucking down his fear again, he jumped, landing safely on the other side.
He sighed in relief that it was over. Until he turned around the corner and found another line of the hanging platforms.
He let out a few quiet, probably insane laughs, and proceeded to slowly jump between the platforms. With difficulty, he finally reached the end.
Walking on solid ground again, Link came to a winding path that wove tightly through the walls. He was barely able to squeeze through some sections.
As he moved through it though, he saw light up ahead. Not the light of lava, faint natural sunlight. He moved with increased vigor through the cracks in the rock, and finally broke free from the caves.
And immediately wanted to go back inside.
He stood on a path directly adjacent to a cliff. He was very, very high above the ground. Daring just slightly to peer over the edge, he saw the mountainside slope beneath him to the island's shore, hundreds, maybe a thousand feet below.
This was even higher than where Aryll had been imprisoned in the fortress. And he still wasn't at the top.
It didn't make things any better that there was a vicious storm going on. It wasn't raining thankfully, but there were unceasing gales blowing along the face of the volcano.
He finally came to a place that was solid ground, and away from the edge.
Link took a moment to rest. If it wasn't raining now, it would be soon. The sky was dark with storm-clouds.
Down on the beach, he could see the palm trees bending in the wind.
He looked up higher. It was faint, but he could hear... the sound of a large, bellowing creature. It was the dragon. Valoo.
Did he trust what the Rito said? Was the dragon actually friendly? Or was it only friendly to Rito? Looking up above him, he could see ripples of heat in the air.
This was going to be almost as fun as walking through the baking oven of the caves. If he survived his encounter with the dragon, he wasn't too excited about getting back down.
He continued walking up the path. It was starting to get rather slim...
He hugged the cliff face, keeping as far from the age as he could. As he pushed himself up against the wall, he fell backwards into another cave, sliding down a slope of rock into the dark.
His skidding ended. He'd gotten several scrapes from his fall. He slowly stood up, checking his things to make sure they were alright.
He was in a chamber, illuminated by the light of another cracked patch of lava. The ground shook beneath him.
Uh oh.
There was an inhuman, soul wrenching sound that moved through the chamber.
Link looked up to the roof of the cavern. Surprisingly, he saw a long spiny tail, sticking down through a crack in the roof. It was the dragon.
The sound bellowed again.
As he listened, he swallowed nervously. That sound... that was not Valoo.
Advertisement
Soul of ether/ towards eternal horizons
The boat will take you to the promised island far away, where you will find what you are looking for. It is the land of the wizards, fairies, and the final resting place of the king of knights. The path will be treacherous, and many are not allowed to pass. Be vary of the highest order kept by an iron fist, the ruler sparkling in gemstones, and their dukes with their fragments of power. The fog-sealed island hides its dark history under shining armor with padges of honor and blood. Then there was a boy, and his two loyal friends, who bravely took to find it and rediscover the soul's domain.
8 76Apathine
Demadara. A former slave, turned thief, turned apprentice, reaches out for the power to attain freedom absolute. Ellyrie. A Sky Ship captain with a burdening lineage toes the line between duty and humanity. And Serafin. A Guardian of highest truth, order and faith, wades through the rivers of death to deliver the destiny of her people. Their steps shake the foundation of the empire humanity has been struggling to build, surrounded by the inhuman, the idols and the ancient gods at the end of the world. For Ruin, Deliverance, or Triumph. No matter the outcome, Rightheousness prevails.
8 134Anime World?
In this era, anime has spread to the entire world; people are indulging themselves in anime so much that they’re calling themselves as ‘Otaku’. They’re going to conference and events that’s related to anime. Some people quit their social life and choose to indulge themselves in figurines, manga, light novel and animes. Some of them are teens that are been bullied or has the same circumstance, some of them just choose to be a ‘Hikikomori’ (People who withdraw their social life) just because they wanted to. But one day, one after another, people who called themselves ‘Otaku’ starts to disappeared. Their relatives are confused since they never see the person leave the house so it’s still a mystery on why they suddenly went missing. That strange phenomena continued until it finally takes it final victim, Carlo Delacruz suddenly disappeared. When the people around him got interviewed by the reporters, they said something like “That guy is a thirty years old virgin who has no family left beside him” or “I always so that guy loitering around the park meeting with his nerd friends, maybe they’re the one that took him” But none of them surely knows what happened to Carlo and the other person that went missing, but there’s a fact that only a little of people knows, and in fact all of them are the ones whom went missing. All of them, all of the ‘Otakus’ that went missing knows this. The fact that all of them are transported into a another world. But not just any other world, they have been teleported to an Anime World.
8 93Prince of the Wild
After her mentor is murdered, a young goblin must leave to request the help from human heroes. But not all is as it seems. Soon they all become entangled in a master vampire’s evil scheme. Will our heroes survive when the undead are already creeping outside their door? Step into The Wyrding. A land of gods, skin-changers, magic, and adventure. Blessing of the Wild to all who enter. ----- Cover art by RacecarArt.
8 185The Snake Immortal
(Unless there are real life issues, chapters are planned for release every 2 to 4 days. 5 days if I get writer's block.)On a planet where cultivation reigns, one magical beast defied all odds and reached the crossroad to ascension to the Immortal Realm. However, it decided to be reborn and start cultivation anew as it feared the unknown.The Heavens respected its choice and it was reborn from a woman's womb a thousand years after its soul underwent the transformation. With a new life as a human, he embarks on the path of cultivation once more.Just one question remained: why was such an option available alongside ascension?
8 133"I'm a slut for you Daddy" Demon time😈
8 167