Archive of Our Own ^beta

   The sun shone merrily down, washing the waving grasses with golden light. Shadows faded from the sky, retreating to where shadows belonged along the walls and under the trees. The cold air steadily warmed to a proper summer heat.

   Atop the Landing’s battlements, Purah could only stare, blinking. Was it really over?

   Purah scanned Hyrule Field on reflex, but the charging monsters were gone. The massive black dragon had disappeared from the sky in a brilliant flash of light.

   Beside her, Scorpis’ spear slowly lowered. Smiles began to spread among the soldiers as they straightened and looked across the empty field. Mouths opened, but it wasn’t laughter or joyous voices that broke the silence.

   “Tuli-i-in!”

   Purah flinched at the horror in Teba’s voice. Before she could turn, Teba shot overhead.

   “Teba, wait!” Harth called after him.

   Purah stiffened, realization hitting her at the same time that Buliara stepped to her side and spoke.

   “I didn’t see the Sages up there… and the Light Dragon and Link have disappeared with the dark dragon.”

   Voices rose from behind Purah, who forced back her own shock. She turned, waving for attention.

   “Captains!” Purah called. “Captains, divide everyone up into groups! We need search parties! Some to check the fields where the dragons fought, and some to see if we can check the Chasm under the Castle for the Sages! Now, move!”

   The captains began shaking off their shock and grabbing the soldiers before they could run pell-mell away from the Landing. 

   “And someone,” Purah added, “Get Teba back here before he gets himself hurt!”

   “I’ll get him,” Buliara said as she passed

   Purah silently wondered if the stoic and gruff Buliara was the best person to calm a distressed parent, then she shrugged it off. Buliara would keep Teba out of trouble… and Purah as well if she gave into the temptation to climb into the Depths under Hyrule Castle herself.

Two months later…

   “Pad, don’t fail me now,” Purah muttered.

   Purah leaned against the railing, then lifted the Purah Pad and activated the scope. She squinted and zoomed in. She gasped, starting so badly that she nearly dropped the Pad off the hundred-foot tower.

   “Yes… yes, yes, I was right- Robbie! ”

   Purah scrambled to the other side of the tower and leaned over, waving at Robbie. He looked up at her, his expression unreadable under the goggles.

   “I saw him!”

   “He’s hard to miss!” Robbie yelled back.

   “I know, and it’s great! Watch for us and tell everyone to not freak out!”

   “You just did!” Josha yelled. “Go get them!”

   “If I’m not back by sunset, it means I’m dead!”

   “Good to know, try to not get eaten because if you do we’re all going underground!”

   “More likely that I’ll be knocked out of a tree, you know these guys don’t eat!”

   “Unproven hypothesis!”

   It was a very good thing that only Sheikah were inside Lookout Landing, otherwise there would be some very nervous people around and Purah was nervous enough for everyone in the kingdom.

   “Here goes, it was nice knowing you all!” Purah said.

   Purah changed screens on the Pad, then used her crossed fingers to poke one of the blue dots. She closed her eyes as a chill ran through her body, then a wave of unsteadiness made her stumble to the side. She opened her eyes, then had to quickly grab onto a stone pillar that was thankfully nearby before she staggered off the cliff.

   Teleportation was the worst .

   Purah shook off the lingering dizziness and peered down the cliff face. A massive dragon with craggy brown scales and dully glowing golden spikes flew by, his oversized paws treading across air. His huge bronze mane shifted with each movement. The air shimmered around him with heat.

   “Oh, Hylia, he’s already here, here goes nothing!”

   Purah dug into her pouch for a red elixir, which she chugged. She quickly opened her glider and kicked off the cliff edge. Angling her body, she smoothly descended the cliff and landed on the dragon’s shifting back.

   If Yunobo noticed or cared he had a passenger, he didn’t show it.

   Once Purah was sure she wasn’t going to get shaken off or eaten -the eaten seemed unlikely, as Purah was fairly sure the dragons didn’t eat meat- she started walking up Yunobo’s back toward his head. Thankfully, his large size that made it easy to spot him from a distance also meant he had a back broad enough to walk easily across. Purah hugged the spikes as she went around them, not certain she’d be able to get back on Yunobo if she slipped.

   As she rounded the second spike, her foot skidded on something loose. She tightened her grip on the spike, looking quickly down as a shard of the spike tumbled away. More loose shards littered the base of the spikes, like he was shedding them. Well, that explained why Link had always turned up with dragon spike shards.

   Purah kept going until she reached the mane. She had to pause to figure out the best way to climb the mane, and found the mane was coarse and thick. While it was rough on her hands, it made for easy climbing. She reached the top of Yunobo’s head, then slipped when Yunobo twitched his head, causing her to slide down to his nose. She balanced herself and looked over her shoulder, intending to check if Yunobo was looking at her.

   Instead she saw Riju.

   A quarter of Yunobo's size, Riju had been hidden from sight behind Yunobo’s mane. Golden spikes ran down her bronzy, scaled back and three long golden horns curved gently around either side of her face, and her red mane was topped by a round golden horn in the middle. Energy flashed around her spikes and horns.

   “That’s two of you,” Purah muttered. She looked around, but it was just the two Sages. “Come on, take me to the others.”

   Yunobo’s horns were broad and craggy, practically mini mountains. Purah tucked herself under one of his horns and hoped she’d packed enough elixirs to last until Yunobo reached his destination.

   They hadn’t been traveling for long when Yunobo gave a low, deep call that made Purah’s teeth vibrate. Riju responded with a higher, thrumming call, then a piercing call joined in. Purah leaned out from under the horn.

   While the other dragons were a mix of scales and furs, the smallest dragon yet seemed to be all white feathers with gray spikes jutting along his back. His paws were yellow with knobby black claws, and he didn’t have any horns on his long, pointed head.

   “Tulin,” Purah murmured.

   Tulin looked at her. Purah’s heart leaped when he flew closer to Yunobo’s back. She stretched up a hand as he put his muzzle down low, making him swing his head away. Riju joined him, and both seemed to study Purah.

   “Don’t nibble on me,” Purah tried to joke. Her voice caught. “I don’t… don’t taste good.”

   Yunobo rumbled, and the two smaller dragons slipped further ahead. Purah wiped her eyes and tried to enjoy just watching the young pair twist together in the air. Either because of their size or age, Riju and Tulin moved faster than Yunobo and seemed to be playing by hiding from each other amongst the trees.

   Purah pressed her hand against her mouth and had to look away. It wasn’t just seeing the young Sages as dragons… but seeing them play as the children that they were. Riju, as Chief of the Gerudo, had been a very serious teen. Tulin’s playfulness had sometimes shown in the past, but he’d taken his Sage responsibilities very seriously as well.

   Purah exhaled slowly. She couldn’t lose it yet, not when she’d only found three of the Sages.

   The hours slipped slowly by. Purah eyed the darkening sky, wondering if it would be safe to spend the night on Yunobo’s back. The full moon would give her plenty of light, but if she fell asleep, she’d probably fall off his back. Maybe if she spotted a shrine nearby, she could teleport to Lookout Landing and get some rope to tie herself to his horn…

   A long, delicately pitched call came from ahead. Purah startled as Yunobo lurched and sped up. Riju and Tulin rushed ahead. Her heart suddenly in her throat, Purah climbed around the horn to Yunobo’s forehead.

   The Light Dragon -Zelda- was hovering ahead. The full moon was just starting to rise behind her. Zelda called again, and Purah tore her eyes to the other two shapes rising from the shore.

   The pitch-black dragon made Purah freeze, though his movements were slow and gentle. His golden spikes and horns -two large twisting horns like a ram, though the right was broken in half- seemed to glow. Golden light flickered between the scales on his face and paws.

   Link? Purah wondered why his dragon form would be so dark, but the colors were definitely wrong for Sidon, and the other dragon…

   The ears gave Mineru away. The gray dragon had ears that were massive even by dragon standards, and they drooped so much that her churning paws nearly snagged in them. The moonlight reflected oddly on her fur -though it was difficult to be sure, Mineru appeared to have all fur and no scales- so parts of her body blended into the sky.

   “Guys, where’s Sidon?” Purah asked, focusing on the missing Sage and trying to not think too much about who the dragons really were.

   A deep, bellowing call that was a bit higher than Yunobo’s came from below. Purah looked down, recognizing the Bridge of Hylia below.

   A huge head of red scales emerged from the lake and blew water from his nostrils like waterspouts. He had no fur, and his mane was made of huge, interlocking scales around his neck. Two broad horns shaped like fins angled backward from his mane. He put careful paws onto the bridge and drew himself out of the water, revealing a massive body second in size to only Yunobo.

   All the dragons stopped moving, hovering -and half-standing, half-floating in the water in Sidon’s case- in a rough circle. Before Purah could wonder for long, they all lifted their heads and opened their mouths.

   Purah clamped her hands over her ears, but the overlapping dragon calls were still deafening and made her feel as though her very bones were vibrating. Thankfully, it ended before long, and they all turned their heads to the moon.

   “What are you doing?” Purah tried to ask, though her ears were ringing so much she couldn’t hear herself.

   Zelda rose higher and flew to Yunobo, who ducked his head. Zelda’s muzzle lowered toward Purah, then lifted. Her muzzle opened. Tulin’s head bobbed, then he darted down. Purah’s hearing returned enough to hear Sidon bellow. She looked down as he slipped back into the water.

   “Wait, don’t go already!” Purah pleaded. “It took me this long to find you!”

   Link drifted alongside Yunobo. He was silent, unlike the other dragons, who rumbled and called softly to each other. He seemed to look right at Purah, then tilted his muzzle so it was close to Purah.

   “Are you… offering me a ride?” Purah asked.

   Link blinked slowly and didn’t move.

   Purah reached out and touched his fuzzy muzzle. When he didn’t move away, Purah pulled herself onto his slightly smushed muzzle. There was a flat spot right between his eyes where Purah sat down.

   Link turned slowly away and drifted toward the shore. Riju and Tulin were there, scratching at the dirt while Zelda watched them. Sidon surfaced nearby and floated, his tail churning mini whirlpools in the water.

   The two younger dragons sat back. Tulin gave a sort of barking call, drawing Purah’s attention to him. He lifted a paw and… and he waved and pointed. Purah followed the point of his claw to the ground, where…

   Where “hi Purah” had been scratched into the dirt.

   Purah stared at the words, then at the dragons. They were all watching her. Her ears were ringing again for some reason, though she didn’t think the dragons had roared again, not that she would have noticed-

   Just like she didn’t notice the sudden tunnel vision until her body went weak and she slumped over. Everything went black.

   Purah woke up with two dragon muzzles inches from her face. She yelped, and Zelda and Mineru drew back. Purah sat up, forcing back lingering dizziness as she waved her hands in the air.

   “You couldn't have done that sooner?!”

   Zelda ducked her head and pointed a claw. Purah looked at the shore as Tulin lifted up to reveal more words.

    “Sorry. Didn’t mean to surprise you. We can’t do this long.”

   Purah looked at the dragons. “What do you mean?”

   Riju was still writing. She gave a low call and sat back.

    “Zelda thinks it’s the full moon. The rest of the time we don’t”

   “Don’t what?” Purah asked.

   The dragons shrugged. Zelda touched her head.

   “I get it. Dragons don’t show any signs of understanding or capability of communicating with Hyrulians,” Purah mused. “But something about the full moon… it makes you feel like… like yourselves again?”

   The dragons nodded. Purah looked at the sky, relieved to discover she hadn’t been out for long.

   “It… it is the seven of you, right? Zelda, Link, and the Sages?”

   Another nod.

   “Then how… why…” Purah flung her hands in the air. “Why are you like this?!”

   Tulin scratched out the answer. “Long story. Too long to tell in the dirt. It is to save Hyrule.” 

   “Oh, great, another danger,” Purah muttered. “Everyone thinks you’re dead, you know.”

   The dragons bowed their heads. Except for Riju, who scratched her own response.

   “‘For the best’?” Purah read. “How? Why?”

   Sidon lifted his tail from the lake and washed the shore clear. Tulin and Riju quickly began writing.

    “We were going to get you. You and some others. Link will take you to our homes. Can you bring Mom and Dad Teba, Saki, Buliara, Yona, Bludo, Impa, Robbie?” 

   “Then will you explain?” Purah asked.

    “What we can,” Riju scratched with a grumble.

   Purah looked at the sky, then back to the dragons. Tulin was scratching something else.

   “We don’t have that long, though. Even riding a dragon, I don’t know if we can reach everyone in time. They’re all in their villages.”

   Tulin waved and pointed to what he’d written.

    “Just hold onto Link.” 

   “Why am I- HEY!”

   Purah clutched at Link’s mane as he dove suddenly. She closed her eyes as the ground rushed up, wondering what Link was thinking, then the sensation of diving ended abruptly. She peeked an eye open, then her mouth dropped.

   They were floating over Gerudo City.

   “How… when… what did you do , Link?”

   Link just lowered himself near the city walls. Guards were running along the top, glancing around.

   “It’s okay!” Purah called before someone decided to throw a spear or something. “I need Buliara!”

   “Purah?!”

   Purah smiled. “Buliara. Perfect timing. I’ll explain on the way, let’s go!”

   “Where did you get this dragon?” Buliara asked, leaning over the parapet. 

   “It is a really long story,” Purah hedged, not sure if Buliara would want the entire city to find out about the dragons right away. “Come on, it’s important and I don’t have a lot of time.”

   Buliara looked at Purah, then Link. Purah could see the gears turning in her head, then Buliara turned.

   “Everyone, go back to bed or your posts. I’ll be back soon.”

   The Gerudo nodded and dispersed, though Purah saw many of them watching Link. Buliara climbed onto Link’s mane and settled herself near one horn.

   “Okay, she’s good,” Purah said. “Next place. Oh, and Buliara, you might want to hang-”

   Link dove into one of the deep shadows at the base of the city walls, and shadows wrapped around them. 

   By the time Link returned to Bridge of Hylia, Purah was almost used to his method of travel. At least, she stopped flinching every time he dove into the nearest shadow. She didn’t think she could ever get used to going from the craggy, arid lands of Death Mountain to the swooping spires that made Rito village.

   As Link rose from the shadows under the bridge, Purah cast a concerned look at the sky. They were running out of moonlight, and Purah had no idea how much longer the seven dragons would be able to think clearly.

   The other five flying dragons were standing on the beach. Sidon sat in the shallows, his head lifted as he lowed mournfully.

   Saki jolted. “Tulin? Tulin!”

   Saki shot from where she’d been perched on Link’s horn. Teba stared after her, then turned his tortured eyes to Purah. 

   Purah slowly nodded. “It’s them.”

   Teba vanished in a blur of feathers, diving after Saki. Tulin rose from the sand to meet them halfway.

   Beside Purah, Yona gave a pained keen. She slid to the end of Link’s snout and dove off. Purah jerked forward, then remembered Zora could handle diving from such heights. Sidon vanished beneath the water, his tail churning whirlpools as he rushed to where Yona had landed.

   Link drifted carefully down and let Bludo drop gently from his claws to Yunobo’s mane. Yunobo craned his neck to look at the Goron, rumbling.

   Buliara slid down the length of Link’s body to the sandy beach. Riju floated over to her, holding her head high. Even unable to speak, Riju was clearly daring Buliara to scold her for what had happened.

   Instead, Buliara held her arms open. Riju stared at her for a long moment, then gave a heavy sigh and pressed her muzzle against the woman who was like a mother to her.

   Purah respectfully looked away from the reunions. Link floated further inland, then settled in the grass. Zelda and Mineru walked over to him.

   Robbie looked between the dragons. He gave a hoarse chuckle. “Well, this is certainly not what I expected after the fight.”

   Josha, who’d insisted on coming, stared up at Zelda with wide eyes. “Princess, what happened?”

   Link rose into the air and turned his head to where more words had been drawn into the sand.

    “It’s a long story, and I don’t know if we’ll have time to explain in words.”

   “What does that mean?” Robbie asked.

   Purah explained about the full moon. As one, the Sheikah looked at the sky.

   Impa raised her hands. Zelda delicately lowered her muzzle close to the old woman, then bowed her head, allowing Impa onto her mane. 

   “Link showed us the memory of your decision,” Impa said. “I suppose Link and the Sages made the same decision?”

   Zelda slowly nodded her head.

   “But why?” Josha asked.

   The dragons hesitated, then Zelda wiped the sand clear. While she wrote, Purah looked back to the others.

   Tulin was curled around his parents. Even as the smallest dragon, Tulin dwarfed his parents. Saki was stroking his feathery hide, smoothing out the ruffles, while Teba spoke into Tulin’s ear.

   In the lake, Yona sat on Sidon’s tail, looking up with a wobbly smile. Sidon gazed down at her, his eyes full of warmth and wet with sorrow.

   Bludo and Buliara showed less intense emotion. Bludo blustered loudly, pounding Yunobo’s rock-hard scales. Riju was curled around Buliara, both of them moving slowly toward Zelda.

   Looking back to Zelda, Purah read the words written in the sand.

    “The world will never be safe as long as the Secret Stones are out there. You know the histories as well as I do. Ganon will rise again. We can’t leave this power to him.”

   “We could find better places to hide them,” Robbie said.

   Mineru shook her head, ears flopping.

   “The original Sages hid the Secret Stones well,” Purah said slowly. “But nothing can remain hidden forever.”

   Zelda nodded, then lifted her head. A low, mournful cry came from the dragons. Following their gazes, Purah saw the moon sinking low.

   Zelda scratched quickly in the sand. “We will return here every full moon. Come back, please.”

   “We will,” Purah promised, along with the other Sheikah.

   Riju lowered her head to Buliara. Once the woman was on her muzzle, Riju rose to her full height, her muzzle pointed toward the words. Tulin followed her example, with Yunobo rising behind them both. In the lake, Sidon raised his tail so Yona could read the words.

   “Must you go?” Yona asked, her voice quivering.

   Sidon closed his eyes and pressed his muzzle gently to Yona. He sighed heavily, the air nearly blowing her over. Tulin curled his parents into his feathers one more time.

   Zelda roared. She bowed her head for Impa to climb down, then leaped into the air. 

    “Quickly,” Mineru scratched messily in the sand, “Our time grows short.”

   Link’s passengers slid to the beach. Buliara rubbed Riju’s scales one last time and Bludo smacked Yunobo’s scales in farewell, then joined them. Teba and Saki pressed their foreheads to Tulin’s, then Teba helped Saki to the sand. Yona stared up at Sidon until Sidon lowered his tail below the water and drifted back, leaving her floating and looking up at him.

   Mineru stamped her paws, then rose into the air. Link jumped up, giving a rasping roar that Zelda joined in. 

   Zelda darted forward, her eyes closing. Purah gasped as a gleaming drop of liquid squeezed from her eye and fell, plopping into the damaged fountain in the center of the bridge. Link was right behind her, a teardrop falling from his eye into the fountain as well. Then Mineru passed, shedding a tear. Riju chased behind her and Yunobo crossed the fountain a moment later, followed closely by Tulin. Last, Sidon leaped from the water, passing over the fountain and shedding the seventh tear into the fountain.

   The dragons, save Sidon, rose into the air. They formed a circle, leaving a gap for where Sidon floated in the water. They tilted their muzzles back.

   “You might wanna cover your ears,” Purah said, doing that.

   Everyone followed her advice, though they still winced at the heartbroken bellows that burst from the dragons’ mouths. The sound tugged tears to Purah’s eyes, and Saki fell to her knees as the cry faded.

   Then the seven dragons blinked, and their eyes glazed over. Rumbling softly, the dragons turned and drifted away in different directions. Sidon vanished beneath the water, his large form quickly vanishing in the deep lake.

   In moments, all the dragons were out of sight and silence fell. The silence was broken by sniffs and muffled sobs from among the group. Purah walked mutely to the edge of the water and put out a hand to Yona.

   Yona swam slowly to the shore, but didn’t take Purah’s hand. She stared blankly at the sand, then her head darted toward the bridge, then back to Purah.

   “Link found those memories from Zelda’s tears, right?” Yona asked.

   There was a beat of silence as everyone realized what Yona had said. Then everyone rushed to where the bridge met land. Teba and Saki beat everyone to the fountain, but waited until everyone stood around the fountain.

   The base of the fountain was full of softly glowing tears. Shapes seemed to shift inside the liquid.

   “Do you think…?” Buliara trailed off.

   “As one,” Impa said, lifting a hand.

   Everyone followed her example. They carefully reached out and touched the shimmering surface. 

   Instantly, the vague shapes solidified. Purah stiffened, and Yona and Saki let out a sob when they saw Link, Zelda, and the Sages standing in their Hyrulian bodies. Voices came from the liquid.

   “We did it!” Tulin chirped excitedly. “We really kicked that bully’s butt!”

   “We did,” Riju said, grinning infectiously.

   “That was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done, goro!” Yunobo proclaimed, smiling shakily.

   “But noble, friend,” Sidon said, clapping a hand to Yunobo’s shoulder. “Ganon will never bother the good Hyrulians again.”

   While the Sages laughed and congratulated each other, the other three were silent. Link was smiling a bit, until he looked at Zelda. Mineru, her spirit hovering over her unmoving construct, was already watching Zelda’s intent face.

   “What’s wrong?” Mineru asked, cutting into the Sage’s celebration.

   “What Sidon said,” Zelda said, weariness weighing down her words. 

   “About Ganon never coming back?” Tulin asked. 

   Zelda nodded.

   “He won’t,” Riju said, “Not after what you and Link did to him.”

   “But that’s just it,” Zelda said softly. She stared at the Secret Stone in her palm. “Ganon always comes back. It’s in all the histories.”

   Link and the Sages shifted uncomfortably. 

   “What are we supposed to do, goro?” Yunobo asked. “If Ganon can come back from this-” Yunobo gestured to the battlefield behind them, “How can we stop him, goro?”

   “We must find a way to hide the Secret Stones from Ganon,” Zelda said. “Without them, he wouldn’t be so powerful. We can do that at least, can’t we, Mineru?”

   Mineru lowered her chin. “We can. But keep in mind, Zelda, the first Sages thought the same. They managed to hide the Secret Stones for thousands of years, but they still came out.”

   Zelda sighed. “Yes, but as Yunobo said, what else can we do?”

   “Can the Stones be destroyed?” Riju asked.

   Mineru shook her head. “Theoretically, yes.”

   “But?” Zelda prompted.

   “The Zonai legends say the destruction of a single Secret Stone is what caused the Zonai’s homeworld to be destroyed.”

   A chilled silence fell upon the seven. Link lifted one hand and opened it, revealing a Secret Stone. It was slightly darkened from Ganon’s corruption, but still glowed with golden light. He put his other hand over it. He pointed in seemingly random directions.

   “Yes, we could return them to the Temples,” Mineru mused.

   “Wouldn’t that be the first place Ganon looked if he came back?” Tulin asked.

   “Ganon never knew where the Temples were,” Mineru said. 

   “It would be too risky to leave two Secret Stones in any one location,” Sidon said. “We should start searching for suitable locations for Link and Princess Zelda’s Stones.”

   Link glanced at Zelda. The two of them met gazes, then nodded.

   “There’s something else we can do,” Zelda said, bringing everyone’s gazes to her. “I was able to keep my Secret Stone hidden for all this time as well. The only reason I stand here as I am now is because of Rauru and Sonia’s intercession.”

   There was another beat of silence, followed by overlapping clamor of the Sages protesting.

   “You’d be as good as dead!” Riju said.

   “Link said you didn’t remember anything about being Zelda when you were a dragon,” Tulin piped in.

   “You can’t!” Sidon said.

   “The Stones Link and I hold are the most dangerous,” Zelda interrupted. “Touched by Rauru and Sonia, they hold the most power.”

   “So we find a really good hiding place, goro,” Yunobo said.

   Link shook his head. With a rasping voice, he said, “We can’t take that risk. It worked before. This will keep the Secret Stones from Ganon, and make sure Zelda and I are here if Ganon must be defeated again.”

   The logic was sound, but terrible.

   Mineru gave a heaving sigh, then nodded. “Then I will join you.”

   “Mineru, no!” Zelda protested.

   Mineru lifted a faded hand. “My physical body won’t last much longer anyway, Zelda. I’m not sure what would happen to me as a dragon, but I suspect the power of the Secret Stone will keep me alive until it’s removed. And it’s as you said, the Secret Stone will be sufficiently hidden and I will be present to aid in the fight.”

   The Sages were looking between each other. At first, it looked like they wanted to protest, but their faces fell in acceptance.

   Link smiled sadly. “I will miss you all.”

   “No, you won’t,” Tulin said. He drew himself up. “I’ll do the same as you three.”

   “As will I,” Sidon said before Link could form a protest.

   “I will, too,” Riju said.

   “Me, too, goro,” Yunobo said.

   “No!” Zelda protested. “Your Secret Stones can be hidden like-”

   “And be found again,” Riju interrupted. “Nothing remains hidden forever, Zelda. This is the only choice. You know it is.”

   Zelda looked at each of them. She smiled sadly. “I can see I won’t be able to convince you otherwise. When should we do it?”

   “Now,” Tulin said, pulling his Secret Stone free. “Mom and Dad won’t let me if they knew what the plan was.”

   “Neither would Buliara,” Riju said.

   “I guess there’s no point in waiting, goro,” Yunobo said with a brave smile. “Now is as good of a time as any.”

   Zelda looked at Sidon. The Zora king was looking in the direction of his realm.

   “Do you want to say good-bye first?” Zelda asked softly.

   “I… I can’t,” Sidon said, more subdued than anyone had ever seen him. “If everyone in my kingdom saw me returning, they would want to know what happened and where I’m going when it is time. One or two might be able to keep the secret of our fates, but we cannot risk any more. It is better if the histories only say that the Sages were slain in the battle.”

   Sidon’s logic was sound, but hard to take. The seven took one last look around, then nodded to each other. As one, they lifted their Secret Stones.

   The vision in the fountain thankfully faded before the watchers could see the transformation. Purah was leaning hard on the fountain to stand, as were several others. The rest sat heavily on the stone bridge.

   “To protect everyone,” Purah murmured. “Everyone here and now, and for generations to come. But I wonder why they chose to show us when it was such a risk?”

   “They must have wanted us to know the truth of what happened,” Teba said, his voice gruff as he wiped his eyes. “Some of us are parents, Purah.”

   “Of course,” Purah said, looking briefly down. “Sorry, Teba.”

   “For their sake, we can’t let anyone else know,” Buliara said, going straight to the point.

   Yona nodded slowly. “I agree. At… at least I can still see Sidon.”

   “We’ll need a different meeting place soon enough,” Purah said. She gestured to the bridge. “We’re lucky nobody has come to the bridge since the battle. They’re all busy elsewhere.”

   “Would anyone be able to see them?” Josha asked. “Most people can’t see Dragons.”

   “Everyone saw Zelda during the battle,” Robbie said. “And we all saw the seven of them now. It’s possible.”

   “The Sky Islands!” Teba said suddenly, catching everyone’s attention. “They’re only reachable to the Rito, and few Rito range further than the skies over Hebra and Tabantha. Link could get the rest of you there easily enough, and probably Sidon as well.”

   “I’ll start looking for an island tomorrow,” Saki said.

   “You don’t have to,” Purah said.

   “I do,” Saki said quietly. “I need to do something.”

   “Try over the Wastelands,” Buliara said. “Nobody strays far from Gerudo City or the Bazaar. Nobody will see us out there.”

   Saki nodded, then looked up.

   Purah followed her gaze, and was startled to find the sun rising. How long had they been caught in the vision? She looked at the others, most of whom didn’t seem to notice the sun.

   “It’s time we went,” Buliara eventually said.

   Buliara’s words broke everyone fully from their thoughts. Nobody spoke as they walked along the bridge, but Purah knew their thoughts mimicked her own, that the next full moon couldn’t come fast enough.