Summary: Impa's son begins his last trial before becoming a Sheikah warrior. With Mila's persistent help, Link keeps plugging away at organizing his journal. Queen Zelda seeks to learn more about what's happening. The Poe Collector learns what they are searching for.

It was a cloudy but mild morning in Kakariko Village as Impa and her husband Kalan prepared to say goodbye to their son, Palan. Palan had just turned seventeen, and it was time for his "Kaishi Trial," the last step before becoming a full-fledged Sheikah warrior.

Kaishi was an ancient Sheikah tradition that had continued right up to the present day. Young men and women who wished to become Sheikah warriors first went through a rigorous training regimen in the arts of stealth, swordsmanship, archery, and hand-to-hand combat. Those who completed that portion of their training, and were at least seventeen, must then complete the Kaishi Trial. This required them to spend three months in the wild journeying to all fifteen regions of Hyrule, living entirely on their own resources and remaining undetected by anyone save a Rito. They wore traditional Sheikah garments but with a special symbol showing they were on Kaishi so that anyone discovering them could report it, though they were honor-bound to do so themselves. Sheikah throughout Hyrule were also alerted whenever a candidate began this trial so that they would keep a special lookout. If discovered before the trial ended, the candidate had to wait a month before trying again. A third failure disqualified them for good.

Since he had turned twelve years old, Palan knew he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, Kalan. Kalan was a distinguished Sheikah warrior, known for his exceptional stealth ability. Several times he eluded detection by their own Sheikah guards and entered Impa's house disguised as a Yiga Clan Blademaster. Nineteen years ago, under the alias Lanka, Kalan had risked his life infiltrating the Yiga Clan as a spy. His work back then had led to the failure of the Yiga Clan's plot to disable the Divine Beasts and kill Queen Zelda and her family. And Kalan's espionage work also indirectly led to the death of Dark Link in the Lanayru Wetlands when Link and Dark Link battled each other to the death. Only Link's daughter Mila's timely intervention had saved Link's life. Since then, Kalan was a sought-after trainer and mentor in Kakariko Village.

"I'm looking forward to this, and I'll be fine," said Palan as he prepared to say goodbye. "I studied under the best."

"We're both proud of you, and we know you will," said Kalan as he and Palan hugged.

"Be careful," said Impa. "And remember that if you chance upon something important, you must break your Kaishi trial and report it."

"I will, Mother, and I know the rules," said Palan as he hugged Impa.

With that, Palan turned to leave.

"See you in three months," Palan smiled. "And not before."

Then he left and was on his own, as his Kaishi trial would start the day after leaving Kakariko Village. He had to decide which region to visit first, and it seemed logical to work his way across Hyrule. He could head to the northeast first and then work his way west across the relatively barren north part of Hyrule.

After Palan left, Impa and Kalan smiled at each other.

"Our little boy has grown up," said Kalan. "At least Kaishi is safer now than it was in our day."

"Perhaps," said Impa thoughtfully. "I always knew Palan would follow in your path. He looks up to you so much. But as he said, he studied under the best, and that gives me confidence that he'll succeed."

They kissed, then Kalan left to train some students and Impa prepared for her next meeting, a Tab call with Queen Zelda.

Queen Zelda had requested a call with Impa because she had been growing concerned over strange things happening around Hyrule. The Gerudo discovered someone lurking by one of the ancient Zonai labyrinths who jumped to their death. And Luminous Stones were being harvested. She had shared her concerns with Link, and he shared them too. But neither she nor Link knew what to do at this point. At first, she had thought of discussing all this with Dr. Purah, and she still might. But she realized Purah was more of a technology expert. This involved something else, maybe history or magic. She was hoping a discussion with Impa might help.

When the time came, she placed the call, and Impa answered at once.

"Your Majesty?" said Impa.

"Hello Impa, and please no formality, I think of you like family," said Zelda.

"Thank you," said Impa.

"Speaking of which, how is your family?" said Zelda.

"Ironically, our son Palan just left for his Kaishi trial today," said Impa. "Kalan and I are both fine. And how is your family, Zelda? I saw pictures of your grandson, and he's adorable."

"Yes, everyone is fine, thank you," said Zelda. "Little Horwell is growing up fast, and he's an excellent eater. I hope this is not a bad time for you, though, Impa. I did not know your son left today."

"No, it's perfectly fine," said Impa. "How can I be of service, Zelda?"

"It's these events I know you're aware of," said Zelda. "I'm trying to make sense of them. We have Luminous Stones being harvested. Then the Gerudo apprehend a suspicious person at the South Lomei Labyrinth, and they prefer suicide to capture. Something is wrong, but I don't know what it could be."

Impa thought for a moment.

"Those three labyrinths are ancient and pre-date any Hyrule records that I am aware of," said Impa. "It would not surprise me if they held more secrets. My saying that doesn't help you, though, but it may be worth monitoring them."

"We are monitoring them. I've asked the Rito to patrol them from the sky," said Zelda. "So far, they have seen nothing worth reporting. And we installed a remote camera at the three entrances. But we've detected nothing unusual yet. Patrolling the interior from the ground is difficult because of all the twists and turns."

"Yes, I can see that," said Impa. "As for the Luminous Stones, you know what they say about them, that their blue glow may be the souls of the dead. I don't know if this helps either."

"Well, it's something, and I haven't thought about it in some time," said Zelda. "What can one do with the souls of the dead? Whatever it is, it's unsettling."

"It's written that Ganon could revive some of the dead," said Impa. "I don't know if anyone else could."

"Yes, Ganon. Ganon is really at the root of my fears, Impa," said Zelda. "I've always had this nagging concern that my sealing power was not as effective as it could have been had I learned it over time from my mother when I was young. What do we know about the sealing process passed down from Hylia?"

"Well, we know little for certain," said Impa. "But it does not utterly destroy Ganon, for he inevitably returns and his knowledge carries over from one reincarnation to the next. The Ganon of our era learned from his mistake of ten thousand years ago. I assume that means it was the same being."

"That makes sense," said Zelda. "I just wish I was more secure knowing I sealed him away for a long enough time, that my power was adequate."

"But your older daughter learned her power from you, did she not?" said Impa. "Would her power not be as strong as needed? Besides, there are none of the traditional signs of Ganon's return that history teaches us inevitably occur. Death Mountain is not acting up, and there is no sign of monsters appearing."

"All true, and somewhat comforting," said Zelda. "So, I guess all we can do is watch and wait."

"I wish I could be of more help," said Impa. "I will look into what else I can learn."

"Thank you as always, Impa," said Zelda.

She ended the call. At least what Impa had said gave her some comfort. Up next was her ambassador meeting.

Meanwhile, in Zora's Domain, Link was sitting in their Mikau House study, organizing his journal. This time he wasn't alone, however, as Mila insisted on keeping him company.

"Mila, sweetheart, if you have better things to do, you can trust me this time to do this," said Link.

"What could be better than spending time with my Dad?" said Mila with a smile. "But I know you'll find any excuse to stop working on this. I wish I could convince you to dictate your thoughts directly into your Tab. It's not that hard."

"I know, I know, and you've said that before," said Link, shaking his head. "It's just that not being able to hold the actual writing in my hands worries me. I'm afraid I'll do something wrong, and it will all get deleted. Or some Tab malfunction will cause its loss. I know I'm old-fashioned."

"It's okay, Dad," said Mila. "Whatever makes you more comfortable. It's just more difficult to organize."

"And, well, I know you've read the early portions of my journal, the part about my original timeline," said Link. "Relying on ancient technology we did not fully understand hurt us badly back then. So, I'm probably more skeptical of it than I should be given all we've learned since. Anyway, that's just how I am."

"It's fine," said Mila. "It just means we need to spend more time together working on this, which I don't mind doing. It gives me a chance to ask you questions as we go along. Now, where were we?"

Link resumed putting some documents in order as Mila helped. He came across the chapter describing when Mila and Midon hatched.

"I'm really not finding an excuse to dawdle, sweetheart, but looking over my notes brings back a lot of memories," said Link as he held some papers and smiled. "When you and Midon just hatched, I was in awe, but also nervous, worried about how good a father I would be. I had butterflies in my stomach for days."

"You needn't have worried, Dad," said Mila, smiling at him. "You're the best father anyone could ever want. But you Hylians have the strangest expressions. Butterflies in your stomach? Hylians don't eat butterflies, do you? At least not as far as I know."

"No, we don't eat butterflies," laughed Link. "It just means my stomach felt all jittery because of nervousness."

"Oh, yes, like we Zoras say we have belly bubbles," said Mila.

"I know I've been terrible about learning Zora expressions," laughed Link. "Your mother teases me about it all the time too. And it's even more embarrassing since I was a Zora myself for a while."

"No, it's understandable. You didn't grow up as one," said Mila. "But you've been blessed with many unique experiences, Dad. And that is all the more reason to have them documented in a form suitable for publication."

Link laughed.

"Somehow, I knew you would steer us back to the task at hand," said Link.

"You mean chase down the fish at fin," said Mila. "But yes, let's get back to work."

Meanwhile, Mipha was attending an ambassador Tab call with Queen Zelda and the other ambassadors while Link was otherwise engaged.

"I gather Zora Ambassador Link is not attending again?" Zelda asked as the meeting got underway. "Princess Mipha is filling in today. I'm beginning to think Link is avoiding me, Mipha."

"No, your majesty, he's been avoiding his promise to organize his writing, and our daughter Mila is refusing to let him off the hook today," said Mipha.

"I'm joking, of course, and good for her," said Zelda. "I still refer to her excellent North Hyrule history text on occasion. By all means, get Link to organize his writing, and we are honored to have you in his place, Princess Mipha. Shall we begin? Today we start with the Gerudo. Ambassador Raynia?"

Most of the reports were routine, an exception being that of Ambassador Laray of North Hyrule.

"Our Sheikah scientists have developed some Tab functionality to prevent further misuse of Grendon's invisibility technology," said Laray. "Once installed, it will detect the presence of any nearby cloaking apparel through its energy signature, and generate a spray of Tesimals to disable it. It's been thoroughly tested, and our scientists are working with Dr. Purah to push this to all your Tabs automatically."

"That is excellent news, Ambassador Laray," said Zelda. "Please extend my thanks to your scientists for their fine work."

It was lunchtime when Mipha finally returned home from the meeting.

"Hello! I'm home!" Mipha announced. "I picked up three fish on the way."

"Oh, time for lunch already?" said Link, standing up. "Time passes quickly when you're having fun."

"That's great, Dad," laughed Mila. "Then you'll be pleased to learn that we still have some hours left in the afternoon to continue our work."

They joined Mipha in the kitchen, and after Link cooked his fish, they sat down to eat.

"Did anything exciting happen at the important ambassador meeting that I missed while working on my journal?" said Link, giving Mila a wink she returned with a teasing smile. "This is the second meeting in a row I've missed. Sidon handled the last one for me."

"Not too much," said Mipha. "You'll receive the meeting minutes, and I can share my notes by Tab, including a useful technology advancement from North Hyrule. It was interesting hearing Zelda's voice sounding like a twenty-something again. Speaking of Sidon, my dear brother is off to North Hyrule, visiting Tila's cousin, Arana. It actually pleased father, which is a gigantic step for him."

"That's great," said Link. "Sidon has been stressed ever since that incident with the Shock Arrow that put you in a coma. But he handled the prior ambassador call fine, I'm told."

"Yes, at first, he felt he had to oversee everything personally," said Mipha. "But, he's learning to delegate better now."

"I met Arana when I was staying with Tila there," said Mila. "She's serious but outgoing, into nature a lot. She loves visiting their undersea coral gardens. I think she and Uncle Sidon should get along fine."

"Well, only time will tell," said Mipha. "But a little socializing will be good for him, and learning more about our kin to the north is beneficial. I also learned on the call that Impa's son Palan started his Kaishi trial."

"Oh, wow, Palan turned seventeen already?" said Link. "I guess that's right. He was born about a year after I first returned the Master Sword. Time really is flying by."

Link thought for a moment and realized that if events unfolded the same way, Palan would be Paya's father. He also remembered that the Sheikah could have children at quite an advanced age, as in his old timeline, Robbie had been ninety years old before he met his wife, Jerrin. She was fifty years his junior, yet they had a son named Granté.

"Link, sweetheart?" said Mipha, interrupting his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking about Impa's family. Anyway, back to the ambassador meeting. Was there anything that required my immediate attention?" said Link hopefully, with an emphasis on the word 'immediate,' as he took his last bite of fish.

"Can you be any less obvious, sweetheart?" laughed Mipha. "No, there was nothing so pressing it needed your immediate attention, like this very afternoon."

"Come on, Dad," said Mila, taking his hand. "Just another couple of hours, and we'll be done for the day. And tonight you and Mom get Tara all to yourselves. Everyone is going to the dance."

"I'm looking forward to playing with Tara," said Link. "Mom and I may want to dance a bit, too, you know, but I guess we'll dance here. At least we can still hear the music."

"Time to get back to work, Dad," said Mila pulling Link from the room.

It was later that evening by the time Tara, Tila, and young Link returned home from swimming all afternoon.

"You sure you don't mind watching Tara?" asked young Link. "She already ate, and she's pretty tired, so she'll probably fall asleep soon and sleep through until morning."

"We don't mind," said Mipha. "We love watching her. You and Tila just enjoy yourselves."

Mipha picked up Tara and held her in her arms, and Tara immediately rested her head on Mipha's shoulder.

"You really wore her out," said Link. "I was hoping for some playtime with her. I'll be lucky to get a hug now!"

"Sorry, Dad," laughed young Link. "You can spend time with her in the morning, though. Tila and I won't mind."

"Seriously, thank you, though," said Tila. "Now be good, Tara."

"I will, Mommy," said Tara, and then she yawned.

Tila and young Link gave her each a kiss, then headed off to Ruto Lake for the dance.

"I think I only have time to sing you a lullaby, sweetheart, you look so tired," said Mipha as she patted Tara gently.

"Let me quickly kiss her goodnight," said Link, who did so.

Then Mipha hummed a lullaby while gently rocking her until she was sound asleep. She carried her into their bedroom and gently lowered her into the slumber pool, then waited until her gills took over her breathing. Mipha stood back up and smiled at Link.

"Next time, it's your turn," Mipha whispered.

"I won't forget that either," whispered Link.

They went back to the dining room, and they could hear music coming from Ruto Lake. The dance party had just begun.

"Mila and I made a lot of progress today," said Link.

"That's good, and I know that makes her happy," said Mipha.

"Shall we?" Link asked, holding out his hand.

"Of course," said Mipha, taking his hand and pulling him to her.

Soon they were holding each other close and dancing to the slow song being played. Then they kissed.

"I love you," said Link as he held her tighter.

"I love you too," said Mipha as she caressed the back of his head. "Sorry, you only have me to play with tonight."

"Since when have I ever minded that?" laughed Link. "You've been my very best playmate my whole life!"

Then they kissed again, a long romantic one.

Meanwhile, down at Ruto Lake, Tila and young Link were enjoying themselves. They waved to Midon and Larena, and then Mila and Kendal.

"I remember the dances you used to visit here for," said young Link. "You sat with my sister Mila. When you sat at all, that is. I think you had someone to dance with every song!"

"I probably did," laughed Tila. "But those dances were good for me. I could relax and just be myself here, have fun. Back home, people were too respectful of my position. That came out wrong, but you know what I mean."

"I think so," laughed Link. "But, you made quite the splash here."

"Spoken like a Zora," laughed Tila. "I really only wanted to splash you, though, sweetheart."

They held each other close and kissed, then the music picked up the pace, and everyone applauded as they began dancing fast.

Meanwhile, far away from the fun and the laughter and the music, if it weren't for the pile of Luminous Stones in the corner, the underground room beneath Thyphlo Ruins would be pitch black. But the being who worked there, the Poe Collector with his single red eye, didn't miss the light. And neither did the dark Hylian shaped figure with two red eyes who was speaking to him now, expressing annoyance at the lack of progress.

"Still nothing?" said the shadowy figure. "After all this time?"

"What did you expect?" said the Poe Collector. "One of your servants would stumble upon Luminous Stones you were looking for at once?"

"It's hardly at once," said the figure.

"It's not been that long either. And if you know a faster way of doing this, I'm listening," said the Poe Collector.