"The gifted ones should be prepared, yes?" The rough, deepened male voice rung out from the throne. "How many have answered to the call?"

"They are prepared to come, yes. At least, a handful of them are..." The young woman's tone was one of mixed anxiety and relief. "We'll keep trying on the others, but we are unable to teleport anyone here unless they will it as well. At the moment, our roster stands at six."

"Right..." The king stroked his white beard, his face chiseled, scarred, and serious. "Your work is almost done, maidens. Once they are all here, you may call it a night." He turned to one maiden in particular. "Zelda, are you sure this plan is going to work?"

"No, father..." She replied, looking for a moment to the other maidens. "But we're out of options. And if this is our last chance, we must take it... For Hyrule."

"Yes... you've grown up to be a very wise young woman, and I'm proud of you." The king looked to the triforce-patterned area the maidens surrounded in the center of his throne room. "Where is the ancient fairy, Navi?"

"Right here, your highness." The small blue sprite hovered up in front of the king.

"When the visitors arrive, you are to be their guide. Remember, if they cannot work together, Hyrule is done for." King Hyrule reclined in his seat, his rather gloomy and serious gaze almost contagious as some of the guards and Navi herself seemed to match it. "Help them gather the medallions. If they fail... Everything we know and love will be gone."

"Of course... I cannot depart this world until my very reason for creation is completed." Navi fluttered closer to the maidens, watching where she knew the group would soon appear.

Inventory
Location

Eliza - "Toph" - The Silent Healer​

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Eliza arrived at the penultimate path leading towards the grand castle that with-held dire importance for it to have called such a feeble lass in it's presence. As the young girl gradually stepped forth into the open space that was not much like the remedy shop being tucked away in the allies, she spied the entrance to the castle, an iron gate guarded by a guard stood post to push away any unwanted guests. The girl steps forwards, biting her sleeve. What if they mistook her for someone else, and then threw her into jail. For whatever reason being, anything could happen in a short space of time.

"H-hello, sir... I was called to the, er castle..." she speaks stuttering with her high pitched voice.

"Name?" The guard asks simply, his stance still strong, unwilling to let his guard down.

"Eliza sir," she replies. The guard makes a simple hand gesture and soon the gate begins to open, the grating sound like some tiresome boar. The gates shut with a crash behind me, leaving me to make my own way in this new world. The yard in front of the castle is very spacious, and guards are situated everywhere, watching Eliza's every move and step. Nervously she walked trying to avert the piercing eyes of the guards. Soon she arrived at the castle gates, and with a crash the drawbridge was lowered, and into the castle she went...

The castle was simply marvelous, such creativity and expert architecture was used in making this place simply marvelous. The doors shut too swinging at such a pace it makes the frail girl jump with anticipation. Up ahead she noticed a peculiar sight, several women were surrounding a small platform which was imprinted with the tri-force symbol, and further down was the King of Castletown, plus the gorgeous Princess Zelda. Shocked she immediately bowed before the two. Why was she called? And was she the only one?


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Inventory
Location

Eliza - "Toph" - The Silent Healer​

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Eliza rose as she spied a very young girl bravely curtsying after stating her name and race in front of the royal rulers, then walking off as if nothing happened. She flinched a little as she saw Princess Zelda looking concerned at the poor girl, understanding what a mess she must be in. She tried to gather her inside emotions yet comes out with nothing but a mutter. Again she reforms herself trying to stand tall yet looking down at the same time. Once again she tries to speak but the recurring though of saying something wrong reflects in her brain. Finally, after trying to mutter words for the past minutes she speaks quietly, "m-my name is E-Eliza y-y-your highness." No what if 'your higness isn't what he liked to be called, or he didn't like her muttering.

"I'm a hy-hylian from Castletown." After she had spoke she sighed with relief, looking down once more ut staying stationary as the other female wondered around aimlessly admiring the decorations. She didn't want to move, and found it quite rude that this Kokiri girl would simply walk around without permission, and without the King or Princess saying a word.

​

"My lord, there seems to be a problem," the red maiden spoke.

"What?" Navi fluttered closer. "What's the problem?"

"One of the requested members of this party no longer wishes to join us. Our line-up now is all we have for the time being."

"Not to say we won't be able to find anyone later," the green maiden chimed in.

"A party of five? It will have to do..." The king stood from his throne, gesturing for everyone to follow as he walked through a large open doorway. "Come, come, I'm not going to just send you all right in... You're here now, so there's no turning back... But don't think you'll be heading out like this." The king sat at a large chair at the nearest end of a long table, covered in all sorts of delicacies of food and drink. "Don't be shy, come, feast! There's more than enough for all of you. Might as well enjoy yourselves before your quest!" The aging man let out a hearty laugh, and the maidens, Zelda included, sat in a line closest to the king at the table.

Navi hovered near Zelda, watching quietly as the newcomers would come to the table to eat. "Best to eat as much as you can now. Food and drink won't be easy to come by once we head out... But we'll talk about the quest tomorrow." There was a chirp in Navi's tone, and a watchful eye could notice the small fairy's smile. "We have a busy day tomorrow, so once you're all done eating I can show you to the guest room so you all can settle in and sleep."

The feast began without anything out of the ordinary and it seemed that everyone was enjoying themselves. However, as the meal went on, some of the Maidens began focusing their attention on those they had summoned. Slight glances here and there, spots where conversation would dwindle abruptly, little things of the sort. Anybody who was decently perceptive would realize they were being observed. Although, it would take a more trained eye to spot the concern hidden beneath their trained smiles.

The king let out another jolly laugh. "It is wonderful to see that the food is to your liking! We've made sure to have a wide variety of dishes in case some didn't suit your tastes. For after your meal, we've prepared some of the best rooms in the castle."

"Yeah, when you're done just tell me and I'll take you to your rooms," Piped the little blue fairy. "Make sure you sleep well because you're gonna need all the energy you can get." For a moment, it seemed she was about to make an additional point, but she relented and kept her silence.

Indeed, Zelda and the other Maidens had selected their prospective heroes meticulously, but the question in everyone's mind was whether or not they would all be able to work together to fulfill their destiny. That was something that was up to them and them alone, but the silence between each of them at the table was not exactly reassuring to the Maidens and the King. They did find some small comfort in the fact that it was still only the beginning. Their true potential was yet to be seen.

Navi waited until the others had finished eating before saying, "Right this way," and fluttering off to another wing of the castle. While the castle was still an incredibly impressive structure filled with beautiful decor, some spider webs and dust could be seen lining the corners and certain areas of the ceiling. In a time like this, it seemed Hyrule was emptying all the contents of its treasury entirely on the military which left little room to pay the many servants the castle once had. Of course, there were still those who used their own free time to keep the castle from looking abandoned even, believing that the building served as a symbol and such a thing could not be allowed to fall into disrepair. Indeed, the people needed a symbol to hold on to in these grim times. Something to keep their hopes alive and say "Hyrule can win this war!" no matter how truthful the statement actually was.

After a little while, Navi reached a hallway that was lined with ornately carved doors. "These will be your rooms for the night. Pick whichever one you want. There are enough for each of you, but there's no problem if you want to share one. Just remember that you should try and get as much rest as you can, that's very important." The fairy waited until everyone had gone to their separate rooms before making her way back to the king and the maidens. On the way, she asked herself, "Can these people really be the ones who will save Hyrule?"

---

The sun rose over a solemn kingdom locked in a war that was seemingly hopeless. Except that now there was hope; five individuals that didn't appear special at all. Some of them may even think that about themselves, but the fact was that they were all very special and were not brought there by chance. Navi arrived to wake them and brought them all to the main hall where the king and the maidens stood waiting. "Here they are, rested and ready," she stated.

"I hope they are ready because they have a great task ahead of them," said the king.

This time Princess Zelda was the one to come to the front of the group and speak. She spoke firmly, yet her voice was smooth. "We have chosen the five of you to undertake this quest to end this war and save Hyrule. Each of you have all been called here because the seven of us have sensed a great potential within you, whether you know it or not. We believe that this hidden capacity is the key to succeeding in your quest." She paused for a moment, eyes passing over each of them before continuing. "We need you to gather the six medallions of the sages scattered throughout the land. They will grant us the power necessary to seal away the Sacred Realm and trap the King of Evil's forces forever more."

Zelda allowed this news to sink in. It would definitely be a shock to them considering that they left their lives behind knowing almost nothing as to why. She almost felt as if she was deceiving them. However, their help was necessary if any of them wanted to survive. Castle Town's walls couldn't hold forever. She knew that she needed to set aside her personal feelings and do what was best for the kingdom. "We all believe in you. We believe that you can unlock the hidden potential within and succeed in your mission. We will help you as much as we possibly can, and together we will save Hyrule!"

With Zelda's speech done, the king took his place beside his daughter, very proud of her. "Hyrule is a dangerous place, as I'm sure you all know well enough. The closest medallion lies in the ruins of Kakariko village, but as it lies in far too dangerous a place it would be better to seek out Goron City. There you will get help from the Gorons who fight against the King of Evil's armies as fiercely as our own people. Climbing death mountain is impossible, but fortunately a path directly into the city lies deep within the Lost Woods, a name I'm sure the two Kokiri present are familiar with. The danger of the woods lies less in the monsters within and more in the woods themselves that they inhabit. However, if you follow close to Navi then I'm sure you will be safe."

Now it was Navi's turn to speak. "The maidens will teleport us a certain distance there, but they need to reserve enough energy to summon the other chosen who didn't heed the call the first time. Now's the time to make sure you have everything you need." The maidens began to make a circle, but left an opening for now which Navi passed through. "Come join me in the center of the circle when you're ready and we'll officially be on our way."

​

Once everyone was in the circle, the medallion-seekers slowly became enveloped in light radiating from the circle itself. The light grew so bright that it was impossible to see past it, although it wouldn't have been smart for someone to keep their eyes open in the first place with that intensity. All that could be heard was a fading "Good luck!" from Princess Zelda before the light faded with it. However, once they could see again they were no longer behind the castle walls, rather they stood in what was once the rolling greens of Hyrule Field. The dark energy that seeped from the corrupted Sacred Realm, causing the plants of Hyrule to wither. Indeed, the grass underfoot had become brown in death, as had the few remaining leaves on the trees farther ahead. The scene served as a reminder of how the world was just barely surviving, if that.

Fortunately, their destination was in the opposite direction from the gate to the King of Darkness' realm meaning that there weren't as many of his soldiers filling the area. This was one of the things that helped keep the Kokiri children safe, along with guidance from the Great Deku Tree, a relatively young being of little over a century old. However, despite being younger than even some Kokiri, all of them are as reverent to him as they were to his predecessor. However, as the forest rots this new tree grows sick as well and needs the Kokiri's constant help to stay alive. If the King of Darkness is not stopped in time, the tree will die, and the Kokiri themselves will eventually follow suit.

Because of the Deku Tree's weakened state, monsters are slowly accumulating in the forest, but so far they've stayed out of the Kokiri's village. "There's the opening to Kokiri Forest," announced Navi, floating in the direction of a narrow opening between rocks with trees inside. We need to pass through the Kokiri's village to get to where we need to be in the Lost Woods."

The blue fairy led the group into the opening, where there were dying trees lined the edges, and guided them into the forest. Few knew what lied in these woods anymore, but fortunately the cursed Lost Woods were deeper in the forest. "Keep your eyes peeled, we don't want to be ambushed by monsters."