Zelina

Link, although still very quiet, proved to be just as interesting as he appeared. He explained that he was the latest in a long history of heroes who had taken up the brilliant blade, called the Master Sword, to protect this land of Hyrule from forces of evil. Melina found that commitment somewhat comforting. The Lands Between, wherever they were, needed the Tarnished to reshape them, but this Hyrule was so serene and perfect.

Riding behind on Link’s horse, she found herself mesmerised by the incredible vistas they rode through. First, they descended from the Great Plateau, which was elevated on great stone walls. The site of such monolithic structures brought a little bit of a feeling of home in this foreign land.

To Melina’s amusement, Link then led his steed directly through the bisected mountain. She asked him about it, and he explained that an ancient weapon, called a Divine Beast, accidentally activated and caused the destruction. They were designed to help him battle an ultimate threat, which he ‘eventually’ defeated. Melina thought about probing him further, but he didn’t seem to want to talk any more.

On the other side of the ‘Dueling Peaks’ mountain they passed by an elaborate horse-shaped stable, and proceeded through a wetland valley. Here, Link shot some forlorn looks towards the landscape. Melina elected not to ask him why.

They continued on, Link leading his steed expertly up a hill. Over the top of a small forest appeared a town, white houses dotting the landscape, the sun catching red roofs and drifting through lazy chimney smoke. Fields danced in the wind as villagers bustled between them and the town’s buildings. It seemed like a nice and quiet place to live. Was this where Link lived?

He certainly seemed familiar with the town, as he was looking around intently. He took a long, low look at a secluded house, and seemingly not finding what he was searching for, he turned his attention towards another building on the other side of town. Again, he seemed disappointed, so he continued down the road.

At the peak of the hill, overlooking the village, they came upon a final building, which seemed similar to the houses before, but with tons of hasty modifications. Strange instruments and machinery poked out from the basic frame of the building. A massive telescope jutted out from the side, and some sort of automaton seemed to be affixed to the roof. Link paid its strange makeup no mind, though, and he marched up to the doorstep and opened the door. Melina tentatively followed him.

Inside, she found an absolute mess of papers and instruments, whiteboards, models hanging from the ceiling. Odd and unfamiliar creations littered the tables and floor, and in the centre of the whirlwind of junk stood an elaborately dressed, white-haired, bespectacled lady conversing deeply with a short, goggled old man with an absurd hairdo.

At the sound of Link entering, the enigmatic pair ceased their discussion and quickly turned to the visitors. The woman seemed rather thrilled to see him.

“Hey, Linky!”

Linky?

“Who’s this?” she asked loudly, locking her eyes onto Melina. “You know the stuff we work on here is top-secret.”

Link then recounted the morning’s events to her, and the strange lady’s brow furrowed. She patted some sort of tool against her cheek in thought.

“Interesting…” she murmured. “Alright, then, ‘Melina.’ My name’s Purah. That…” - she gestured to the old man - “is my assistant, Robbie. This is the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, and technically, you shouldn’t be here.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Melina said meekly. This Purah was very assertive and full of energy. She had wondered how she ended up as the superior of someone like Robbie, but with a personality this strong, perhaps it was not so mysterious.

“So where did you say you came from? In-Between-Land, or something? Robbie, hand me that Purah Pad.”

“The Lands Between,” Melina quietly corrected her. “I do not know where it is in relation to Hyrule. Nor do I know how I was transported here.”

“Very interesting,” Purah replied absent-mindedly. “Please take a seat on that stool there.”

Melina obliged, and Purah began waving some sort of slab in her face. She made a number of unique noises as she stared intently at the object. Melina glanced over towards Link, but he seemed uninterested and unconcerned.

“Fascinating! Come have a look at this, Linky! The compendium doesn’t recognise her species at all.”

“It’s impossible!” Robbie growled. He was staring at some other device which was connected to Purah’s Pad by a long wire. “She looks like a Hylian, speaks Hylian, but the Pad says she’s not a Hylian! Is the camera functioning properly?”

“Pardon my intrusion,” Melina tried interjecting, “But, what is a Hylian?”

The three others in the room exchanged several looks with each other. Robbie mumbled, “I guess the camera’s working fine.”

Purah set down her instrument and marched right up to Melina’s stool and pondered her intently before answering, “We are Hylians. Link is a Hylian, Robbie, I am too. Everyone
who looks like us is a Hylian.”

“And yet, your… tool says I am not?”

“Correct! And I am very perplexed as to how. And since you don’t know where your Between-Lands are, that leaves us at somewhat of an impasse.”

“So what shall become of me?”

“Well,” Purah withdrew with a long exhale, “We could start by exchanging notes. You tell me about your home, we tell you about ours. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up about getting you back there. If our people have never interacted before, and you don’t know how to return…”

“I understand,” Melina said quietly. “Please, do not be sorry for me. I did not have much there.”

“Awh, come on, dear,” Purah suddenly cooed. “Surely you have someone waiting for you.”

Melina stared blankly at the floor. “Yes, but… I do have someone missing me, but they are not exactly waiting for me. I was… dying.”

Purah and Link both looked shocked, and they both moved to be closer to her. Even Robbie had stopped focusing on his work, now enraptured by Melina’s story.

“I gave my life to change the world. I paved the way for my friend to rule, so that they might repair it, shape it into something greater. It came at the cost of me…”

The room fell silent. “And then you awoke in the Shrine of Resurrection?” Purah finally offered.

“Yes, late last night,” Melina whispered.

“Very interesting,” came the response, but with a much more somber tone. Eventually, Purah collected herself and said, “Linky, I need you to go and fetch Princess Zelda. Our Melina here is proving quite an enigma. I think she’ll be able to help us figure out what to do. She’s down in Castle Town conducting repairs.”

With a nod of his head, Link turned and dashed back out the door obediently. Between his stature and his athleticism, he inspired images of little rodents in Melina’s mind.

“Now then,” Purah said. “You must be pretty hungry.”

Melina hadn’t realised it, but she had indeed been lacking energy. It had been so many years since she’d had a body to take care of, she’d practically forgotten how to manage it.

“Robbie, could you please head into town and pick something up? It’s almost lunchtime anyway. See if they have that thing Linky is always eating. Tomato Pizza, or whatever it’s called.” Then, she turned to Melina. “If you don’t mind sharing, I’d really like to know about this eye of yours…”