Now that the Divine Beast is protecting Zora’s Domain rather than flooding it, there are a whole bunch of sidequests Link can pick up. Some are quick – a Zora wants to watch Link dive into the water and swim up a waterfall, another asks Link to donate a few frogs for him to sell, and a third will trade diamonds for the luminous stones he needs. Two more are a little more involved: a guard wants a picture of the Lynel up on Ploymus Mountain to scare people into leaving it alone (thankfully, I had a Blood Moon shortly after finishing the dungeon), and another Zora asks Link to kill a nearby Hinox. Another quest asks Link to visit the historical monuments around Zora’s Domain and record what they say for posterity. Finally, there’s a shrine quest to recreate a ceremony in Mipha’s honor to open a blessing shrine (Dagah Keek). The chief reward for completing all the quests are two pieces of armor to complement the Zora Armor: one for returning with the Lynel picture, one in an underwater chest hinted at by one of the monuments.
There are two more quests that involve following the river downstream: for the first, Link follows – okay, escorts – a letter in a bottle to see who receives it. The recipient is on Mercay Island, and with Link’s help, decides to go to Zora’s Domain to meet his pen pal girlfriend. The other involves looking for a Zora’s missing wife, which means going way downriver, passing close to the castle and under the Bridge of Hylia to arrive at Hylia Island; she’s on a nearby island and returns home when she learns that her family’s looking for her.
That long journey downriver showed Link a fair bit of Hyrule, but the highlight was the Woodland Stable. As expected, there was a shrine nearby: Mirro Shaz/Tempered Power. The shrine gives Link a couple sledgehammers and orbs to send flying with Stasis into their sockets. The first one isn’t too bad, as long as you can figure how to shoot straight. The second also requires shooting straight, with no room for error as there are obstacles that will block a ball hit even slightly off-course. It’s technically not required to complete the shrine, but if I didn’t I wouldn’t have the little treasure chest icon on the map saying I got it, so, yeah, it is.
Woodlands seems like a likely place for the Korok Forest, so while Link was already here, I had him follow the road from the stable, and eventually the way got misty and the trees got creepy. This can only be the Lost Woods. Wander off into the mist, and eventually it gets overpowering and a Korok’s laugh fills the screen as Link returns to the latest checkpoint. At first, there are a bunch of lanterns, and the way the wind blows points toward the next lantern; Link can either follow the wind or just run between lanterns. Eventually, he comes to a clearing with two lanterns and a torch, but there are no more lanterns. After this, he has to use the torch and follow the wind.
Eventually, the fog lifts and Link comes to the Korok Forest. Straight ahead, illuminated by the sun shining through the trees, the Master Sword sits in its pedestal, showing no signs of the damage it has in the game’s logo. It’s too tempting not to try to claim it; as soon as Link touches it, he hears Zelda’s voice again telling him “You are our final hope. The fate of Hyrule rests with you.” At this, the Great Deku Tree wakes up and notices Link. He talks for a bit about who he is, who Link is, what the Master Sword is, then says that the Master Sword would test him if he attempted to claim it, and if he’s not strong enough, he would die. (This is adorably illustrated by a pair of Koroks standing over a twig. The one that tries to pull it gives up and keels over, to the other’s horror.) Trying to draw the sword drains Link’s life, and just before it would kill him, the Deku Tree intercedes to stop and heal him… but he warns him that he won’t be able to do it again.
The trip’s not a total waste, though. Hestu’s here, and finally doesn’t run off after Link trades in Korok seeds, so he can get a bunch of inventory slots now. There’s also a shrine here, Keo Ruug/Fateful Stars, so Link can warp back rather than having to go through the Lost Woods again. The Shrine has a totally not intuitive puzzle: there’s a grid of orb sockets, with the columns illustrated with a constellation and the rows marked by groups of lights. There’s also a plaque: “Look to the stars for guidance. The constellations are the key.” Finally, there’s a wall in the distance with a bunch of constellations, and Link has to place the four orbs in the sockets that correspond to how often each constellation appears on the distant wall. This opens the way to the monk, and there’s another wall with the same constellations, and arranging the orbs to match that wall gives Link a treasure chest. It’s easy enough when you figure it out, but I spent way too long thinking the constellations were part of the usual decor and scanning the ceiling hoping for a hint.
Next: They fly now?
