#and the universe said I love you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

minty-mumbles · 1 year

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And the Universe Said I Love You (Ch. 1)

Summary: Late one summer night, a half fairy being hunted for their magical blood stumbled into the temple of the gods and claimed sanctuary. Years later, Hyrule is still living in the temple, working to keep it tidy and operating smoothly. And for some reason, the gods have taken a keen interest in them.

AN: I put a list of all the gods and their domains at the end. This was inspired by this prompt

(Read on AO3 )

~~~

“Hail, great mother of the gods, great mistress of the skies. In all ways, I honor your name. I come bearing offerings, in hopes that you will hear my plea...”

Hyrule hummed a pleasant tune as they listened to the prayers of the young boy, who looked to be only eleven or twelve. The boy was across the room from Hyrule, kneeling in front of a statue of the god he was praying to. He was praying to Sky, the god who ruled over divinity, the sky, sleep, and- most importantly in this case- children, among other things.

From what Hyrule could overhear from where they swept the floor in the back of the room, the boy was praying to Sky for the health of his sick younger brother.

It was very sweet, and it was always nice to see younger children come to worship the gods. Usually, it was only the older folks who came to the temple on days that weren’t specifically designated for worship. Hyrule hoped the Sky would grant the boy a blessing, and aid in his brother’s recovery.

“Hear my prayer, oh mother god, and answer. Amen.” The boy dipped his fingers into the bowl of water that sat at the feet of Sky’s statue, and brought his wet fingers to his forehead, one shoulder, the other shoulder, and then back to his forehead. His movements were clumsy and unpracticed, but they served their purpose to form a triangle to symbolize the mark of the triforce. The gesture was a sign of respect toward the gods, and also signaled that his prayers were finished.

The boy rose to his feet, taking one last look at the serene face of the god. The artist who’d carved the statue had depicted Sky kneeling, hands clasped piously in his lap. His eyes were closed and he had a small smile on his face as if he were two seconds away from nodding off.

As the boy turned and walked out, Hyrule finished up their sweeping, following him out of the mother god’s shrine room.

Hylians called Sky the mother god, and they weren’t entirely wrong. Sky had been the first god and had existed long before all the others. Eventually, he’d grown lonely. He’d been tired of the endless sky and storms surrounding him and had started to wish for companionship.

So Sky had created Four, the god of earth and the forges. Four had been the God who had tended the fires at the beginning. He was the one who had forged the world that Hylians lived in today.

And after that, when Sky had gotten bored of time standing still and become tired of nothing growing or changing, he’d created Time, the god of time and the seasons. Time had started the clock ticking, and it had been his hands that induced the turning of the seasons, fall into winter, winter into spring.

And so it went, for most of the gods. When Sky saw a need, he made a new god. Twice, Sky had instead blessed a mortal with divinity, gifting them with godhood. This was how the god of the ocean, Wind, and the god of hearth and hunting, Wild, had risen to power

No one knew why Sky had chosen to bless mortals to create the gods of the wild and the ocean. Usually, Sky crafted the gods from nothing.

Sky didn’t create life like a Hylian would create life. Hyrule didn’t know exactly how it worked, but they imagined that the knowledge was far beyond their comprehension.

Regardless Hyrule thought it was a stretch to call Sky a mother, but the god didn’t seem to mind it. In fact, most of the gods seemed to find the concept of Sky being their mother rather funny. (Hyrule wouldn’t want to be too presumptuous and ask, however. Just because the gods liked him for some unknown reason didn’t mean that he could ask them about things that likely weren't for mortal ears.)

Sky didn’t seem to mind being referred to with feminine terms, either. Gender was a Hylian concept that gods played with occasionally, but never took very seriously. Even the few statues in the temple that portrayed Sky as a woman didn’t seem to bother the god, even though he usually chose a male form when appearing to Hylians.

Of course, most of the general public didn’t know all this information.

Hyrule was just a bit of a special case.

Hyrule and the boy left Sky’s shrine room, pushing aside the fine white silk draped over the doorway to do so. The boy turned left, towards the temple’s exit. Hyrule turned right, toward Warriors’ shrine room. As they walked, they passed an old man and a young mother with an infant strapped to her chest. Standing near the doorway. The old man, seeing that the boy was done with his prayer, entered the room to do his own business there.

The young mother remained hovering nervously by the doorway, not daring to enter while the old man was inside. It was rude to enter a shrine room when someone else was praying. Whatever business they had with the gods was their own.

Again, Hyrule was a special exception to this. As the temple’s keeper, they had to enter the rooms to clean and take care of offerings, so they were exempt from such etiquette.

As they passed the mother and child, Hyrule could see that the mother was very nervous, and seemed to be holding a package wrapped with brown paper and tied with string. A red feather was tucked under the string.

Ah.

She was a new mother, then, coming with an offering to ask for blessings for her baby and future family.

As much as Hyrule wanted to stop and say hello, try to ease the mother’s nerves, and greet the baby, they had work to do. So instead they simply nodded as they passed her, and continued on.

Warriors’ shrine didn’t have anyone waiting outside of it. Secretly, Hyrule hoped that meant it would be empty. Not because they didn’t want Warriors to have worshippers!

It was just… There had been issues recently with some of Warriors’ worshippers.

Instead of silk covering the doorway making the room more open and inviting like Sky’s was, there was a heavy stone door. It had always reminded Hyrule of the gates to the castle in the middle of the city. The door took some effort to open, but Hyrule managed eventually. They slowly entered the dark room, shutting the door behind them.

Instead of the large skylight, silks draped across the walls, and the delicate offerings like feathers and wood carvings that decorated Sky’s shrine, Warrior’s shrine room was dark and almost gloomy. The air inside was still and felt warmer than it should have. The only source of light was the large stained glass window directly behind Wariror’s statues, and a few flickering torches and candles.

The air smelled like smoke from the torches, but underneath that, there was a metallic tang to the air. Some might argue the scent was from the weapons that hung on the walls, but if anyone asked Hyrule- though no one ever did- they would say that it smelled like blood.

It wasn’t the kind of place Hyrule would usually find comfort in. It was too reminiscent of the dark summer nights they’d spent being hunted for their fae blood. The darkness and the scent of blood reminded them too viscerally of the night they’d ran into this temple for the first time.

It had been a last-ditch attempt to find safety. They had asked for sanctuary from the gods, and Hyrule had fully expected the temple doors to remain barred against them. They’d expected to be slain on the temple steps as the uncaring gods looked on.

Hyrule thanked the gods every day that that didn’t happen. Thanked them for letting the doors open and allowing him inside where the hunter wouldn’t dare follow. The gods had granted Hyrule clemency and even allowed them to stay in the temple permanently.

So even though the dark room brought back unpleasant memories, it had never felt oppressive to Hyrule. In fact, it was quite the opposite. There was a protective feeling in the air that made Hyrule relax, knowing no one would hurt them here.

Hyrule was sure that if they sat down in this room, it wouldn't be long before they started nodding off. They wondered if that was the doing of Warriors xemself, trying to make them feel welcome.

Recently though, Hyrule had started to dread coming in to clean Warriors’ shrine during the day. Worshipers were only allowed into the temple to pray during the day, and that was usually when Hyrule cleaned. Recently they had started to think they should clean Warriors’ shrine after hours.

Warriors usually didn’t get as many visitors as the other gods, as was expected for a god of war and battle. But recently, there had been one worshiper who was coming in much more frequently than Hyrule liked.

Specifically because she didn’t bring any offerings…. Besides herself.

Hyrule exhaled heavily when they saw that said worshiper was indeed in the shrine room. She was kneeling at the base of Warriors’ statue, wearing a dress that left very little to the imagination. She didn’t even look away from the god’s statue when Hyrule entered the room. Hyrule turned away, beginning to sweep the floor with their back to her. She, meanwhile, completely ignored them.

Cia… irritated Hyrule. They couldn’t exactly say why besides the fact that she conducted herself with no shame in the temple.

She was a beautiful woman, perhaps even the most beautiful in the city. At least that’s what people said. Hyrule wouldn’t know. They’d never held any love for physical beauty, anyways.

But Cia knew how beautiful she was. Maybe that was why she was willing to keep offering herself to the god even after it became clear xe was rejecting her.

Perhaps that was what irritated Hyrule. She just kept trying. Over and over, even though she must know it wouldn’t work. Either Cia didn’t understand her offering wasn’t pleasing to Warriors, or she simply didn’t care.

Hyrule didn’t know what Cia wanted so badly, but whatever it was, it was ultimately a fool's errand. No matter what she did, she wasn’t going to tempt Warriors into taking her as xyr wife.

The commonly held belief that the gods would take a mortal bride if the person were beautiful enough was only rooted in the stories of liars.

The myth of how Malanya had risen to godhood probably also played a role. But the truth was that she had never been a mortal.

Malon was beautiful, yes, but she had not been a mortal, even before she had become Time’s wife and the goddess of horses. She had been a wood nymph, already an immortal being. That part of the story was lost to time though, so most mortals thought Malon had been mortal and had managed to catch the eye of the god of time.

Hyrule knew this was false. They also knew that gods usually didn’t often interact directly with mortals. Much less take them as brides.

Hyrule pulled a face when they heard a rather breathy sigh from Cia as she finished her first prayer. In any other situation, Hyrule might have been flustered, but now they were just embarrassed for her. Perhaps they should say something. It would save them the ordeal of having to deal with her, and save her the ordeal of coming to the temple so often on a fruitless endeavor.

When Cia paused in between prayers, gathering herself up to start another one, that was when Hyrule spoke. “You should stop trying to gain the god’s favor like that. Stop trying to give yourself as an offering, I mean.”

The sweet smile that had been on Cia’s face the entire time she had been praying turned into an irritated scowl in the blink of an eye. She shot to her feet, turning away from Warriors’ statue to face Hyrule, who only calmly continued with their sweeping.

She sneered “Why? It’s worked for others before-”

It hadn’t, but Cia continued, not giving Hyrule a chance to correct her. Not that they would have, anyway. “Why do you care so much? You aren’t supposed to interfere with the prayers of people who come to the shrines!”

Again, she was incorrect but had no way of knowing that.

The gods had never taken a mortal to tend to any of their temples before. Usually, they employed the help of wood nymphs and forest spirits. Those types of immortals didn’t like to be seen by mortals. They cleaned the temples and dealt with offerings during the night when no one was around to see them. However, being adverse to being seen by mortals meant that they had no recourse to correct inappropriate behaviors from the worshipers.

Hyrule had no such restrictions.

How Hyrule had gained so much favor from the gods that they had offered them protection and a job at the temple was beyond them. But they’d managed it somehow. So now Hyrule kept the temple clean and took care of the offerings the gods didn’t accept. They gave shelter, healing, and protection to those who sought sanctuary at the temple. Along with all of that, though, they were also here to make sure that the actions of the temple-goers were proper.

Prostrating herself in front of the shrines was not proper. Hyrule felt quite certain that Warriors would only feel relief if xe didn’t have to watch Cia do it anymore. Hyrule certainly would. Cia was no doubt a beautiful woman, but it got embarrassing after a point.

Cia huffed when she got no response from Hyrule- who wasn’t even looking at her- and stalked closer. She stepped close enough that Hyrule had to stop sweeping to avoid smacking her ankles with the broom.

“Or you just don't want the gods’ attention on anyone but you? I bet that's the reason they keep you here. Not good enough to take as a wife, but pretty enough to keep around all the same.”

Hyrule ignored the hurtful words and the implications that came with them. They were more than used to such things being insinuated about them by now.

Most people who heard of the gods taking on a mortal to tend to their temple were confused by it.

Hyrule themself was confused about why it had happened, so they didn’t blame other people for their assumptions. Though it did confuse Hyrule that people thought the gods had chosen them because they thought Hyrule was pretty. Hyrule knew they weren’t considered that attractive, so they didn’t know how that line of thinking held up.

Speaking of…

Hyrule wasn’t phased by Cia’s insult, but they did blink in confusion at Cia’s backhanded compliment. No one had ever called them attractive before, let alone pretty. Usually, people called them unique-looking and left it at that. Their fairy blood influenced their appearance a bit too strongly for most people's tastes. They’d been told that their innumerous golden freckles were particularly unnatural and off-putting.

Regardless of her odd compliment, Hyrule was getting sick of Cia. “No. I’m not trying to keep the gods all to myself. I’m trying to warn you before Warriors’ patience wears out and xe curses you.”

An exaggeration- Hyrule doubted Warriors would curse her- but Cia didn’t need to know that.

Cia puffed up at that, her face flushing. Hyrule was honestly kind of impressed. Even angry and looking like she was two seconds away from hitting them, she still managed to look composed and well put together. “How dare you call a god by their true name! They choose you to sweep the dirt out of their temple, so you think you're special?” She hissed venomously. “You need to learn to respect those who are better than you.”

For some funny reason, Hyrule didn’t think that Cia was talking about the gods anymore. Especially not when she raised her hand in the air, open-palmed and ready to strike them.

Her fingers glittered prettily as she swung her hand down. Hyrule let themself get distracted for a split second by the twinkling of the rings that adorned her fingers. They couldn't help themself. Fairies loved sparkly things.

Their distraction lasted only a moment, though. As her hand swung down to strike them, Hyrule’s hand shot up to meet it, grasping her wrist firmly but not harshly.

Hyrule only sighed, exhausted already. Part of this was their fault. They really needed to start referring to the gods by their proper titles while in public. Most of this situation was entirely Cia’s fault, though.

“Cia, I think you should leave.”

“What? No!” She protested, yanking her hand back away from their grasp. They let her. “How dare you! You can’t kick me out, I have every right to be here.”

“You tried to attack me.” Their protest falls on deaf ears. They see her hand raise once more, and they prepare themself to catch it a second time.

Gods, couldn’t they catch a break?

Perhaps invoking the gods- even in just their head- while also being in one of their shrine rooms was a bit of a mistake. Before Cia could even start to bring her hand down again, her wrist was caught, but this time it wasn’t Hyrule who grabbed her.

Both of them were startled, and Cia spun around to face the newcomer who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The stranger was difficult to look at. Neither one of them had noticed that Warriors’ statue had started glowing over the course of their argument, but it was indeed glowing. Golden light played along the statue’s features, lighting up the room much better than the stained glass window did. It had become so bright that it was difficult to make out the features of the person who was haloed by the light.

But Hyrule already knew who it was.

It took Cia a few moments, but as her eyes darted from the person’s face- a perfect mimic of the war god’s statue- to the statue itself, and then back again, and Hyrule was sure she had figured it out.

Hyrule was more than accustomed to seeing such a glow, but Cia remained silent and trembling. Hyrule could tell she was terrified. Not that they really blamed her. Warriors could be terrifying when xe wanted to.

When xe spoke, xyr voice rolled through the room like the distant sounds of an approaching thunderstorm. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It wouldn’t end well for you if you try to assault one so favored by the gods.” Distantly, Hyrule could feel the deadly pressure building in the room, but it wasn’t meant for them. They knew that Cia could feel it much more directly.

Cia wavered for a moment, before yanking her hand out of Warriors' grip. Xe let her go easily. She ran from the room, looking very frazzled and more than a little afraid.

The figure in front of Hyrule paused for a moment to insure she was really gone, then the light slowly faded away. Soon the figure- looking less godly but still exactly like xyr statue- stood in front of them without an unnatural backlight.

“Hello, Warriors.” Hyrule greeted politely, hoping that the god wouldn’t make a big deal out of the incident. Thankfully, Warriors didn’t seem to think that one mortal was that big of a deal, even if she had tried to hit Hyrule.

Xe smiled, greeting Hyrule, then turned to look at their altar. Cia hadn’t brought anything with her, as per usual, but there were a few offerings from earlier in the day. A small knife with a wooden handle, a gleaming golden apple, and an unfortunate scrap of fabric that looked like it was stained with blood.

An offering like the fabric usually meant that the worshiper had a loved one who was off at war or had died in battle. Someone had been here, praying either for their loved one’s safe return, or for their safe passage to the god of the ocean. Wind was the one who guided souls into the afterlife.

Hyrule couldn’t make heads or tails of the other offerings, but Warriors would know what the worshippers had asked for.

Warriors frowned as xe leaned over the table, fingers fluttering over the offerings. The knife and the scrap of fabric disappeared, while the golden apple remained untouched. That offering had been rejected, and the worshiper’s prayer would not be answered. Hyrule would have to clear the shrine of the rejected offering, but they could do that later. It would be a little rude to take the offering from Warriors’ shrine when xe was standing right there.

When Warriors turned back to them, Hyrule asked, “Are you sure you should be here?”

Warriors waved away their concern. “Relax, It’s getting late and it’s almost time for the temple to close. No one will see us. And if anyone does,” Here, xe paused and grinned, xyr features twisting and warping slightly as xe did so. Xyr formal clothes also melted away, turning into a more normal-looking outfit, although xe did keep the scarf.

Xe was still recognizably Warriors, especially to Hyrule who spent a lot of time around xem and knew xyr appearance. But anyone else who saw the god wouldn’t be able to match xyr features to the statue that loomed behind xem.

It was always disconcerting to Hyrule when they were reminded that their friends didn’t truly look the way Hyrule thought they did, but they brushed it off. Hyrule would never be able to witness the gods’ true forms. Hyrule was mortal. Witnessing the gods’ divinity in its pure form would burn their eyes out, and they would rather avoid that fate.

“See? No one will recognize me.” Xe continued, satisfied. “It’s the same as we usually do, yes?”

“Hmmm, yes,” Hyrule agreed. “Sorry, I was just worried about Cia.”

Warriors snorted in derision but sounded more amused than anything. “You shouldn’t worry about her. It’s not like she can do any true harm.”

Hyrule rolled their eyes. “No true harm except to me,” they complained. “What if she says something? Her family is rich, you know. If she decides she wants retribution for her embarrassment, she can easily come after me.”

Warriors waved off their concern. “I doubt she’ll be back anytime soon, and I doubt she’ll say anything. No one would dare touch you. You're under our protection. We wouldn’t let you tend to our temple if you weren’t.”

This was true enough.

For all that people were baffled that the gods had chosen a mortal to tend to their temples, most people left Hyrule alone. People were fearful of the gods’ wrath if they messed with Hyrule.

Hyrule was glad. They liked living in the peace and quiet of the temple, and they loved not being bothered. It was a stark contrast from the time when Hyrule would constantly be harassed and even hunted because of their obviously fairy features.

But just because Hyrule loved peace and quiet, that didn’t mean they didn’t have room for some chaos in their life, and the gods were more than adept at providing that.

~~~

Hyrule sighed deeply from where they were standing in the doorway of their small room, their hands on their hips.

This room- which more than likely had originally been a storage closet- had been theirs for the past several years. It was small, yes, but it was home. A bed tucked into the corner, a chest to store their clothing sitting at the foot of it, and a small personal shrine was all the furniture in the room.

And currently there was one more addition to the room: a wolf laying in their bed like it belonged there.

“If this is why I keep getting dog hair in my sheets?” Hyrule tries to keep a stern expression on their face as they scold the wolf. Given the way the wolf lifted his head to look at them and then promptly started wagging his tail, Hyrule wasn’t successful.

“Twilight.” Hyrule stresses, which only causes the wolf to roll over on his back and show his tummy. He was doing an excellent imitation of a shit-eating grin as he stared at Hyrule, even though he was currently a wolf and wolves could not grin.

A wolf, and laying in Hyrule’s bed.

If Hyrule wasn’t so acutely familiar with the god, they would be terrified out of their wits. As it was, they were more than used to situations like this. The gods usually took up Hylian forms, but some of them liked to take the forms of animals sometimes. Twilight, as the god of animals, was one of those, and he was particularly fond of canine forms.

Hyrule had gotten more than used to random dogs in the temple.

After another few seconds of silence from Hyrule, the wolf raised his head to look at them. It made no move to get off their bed. Hyrule contemplated him, but eventually decided trying to get Twilight off the bed was too much work. They were tired from the day, and wanted rest.

They flopped down onto the bed and partially on top of the wolf. Twilight chuffed at them, but still made no move to leave. Hyrule took it as a sign Twilight wasn’t actually uncomfortable with Hyrule laying on top of him. They buried their face in his fur, and closed their eyes.

In no time at all, Hyrule was asleep, curled up next to the divine beast.

~~~

“Will you take me to the festival? Please?” Wind’s eyes were big and watery as he begged Hyrule to bring him with them.

It was late autumn, which meant it was time for the harvest festival, when people gathered together to celebrate a successful summer and a bountiful harvest. The past few years- ever since Hyrule had come to stay at the temple actually- had seen particularly generous harvests. This year had only continued the trend.

Once the harvest was finished, the farmers and craftspeople from surrounding towns would gather in the city to sell their wares. They also came to give thanks to the gods at the temple. For some, it was the only time of the year they managed to make it into the city, and the only time they were able to pay respect to the gods.

As the god of the seasons and by extension, the harvest, worship for Time skyrocketed during harvest festivals. Twilight, although he was mainly the god of the night, day, and the moon and sun, was also the god of animals which meant he was worshiped more during this time as well.

So the temple was busy at this time of year. Time and Twilight got plenty of attention, but the other gods got their fair share as well. Because of the influx of worshipers, Hyrule always has more work than usual to do. That meant they hadn’t had much time to enjoy the festival itself in the last few years. It always felt like a waste to go galavanting off to have fun when they had a job to do.

This year though, the gods seemed to think that Hyrule was overworking themself. Legend had visited last night, needling Hyrule until they begrudgingly agreed to take a break from their duties. He had even slipped a small purse of rupees into Hyrule’s hands. They had tried to return the purse, but Legend had glared at them into submission.

Hyrule had to admit that there was little chance that anything would go wrong in their absence. The temple had always run smoothly without a mortal attendant before Hyrule had arrived, even during festivals. It would survive without them for a few hours.

That was why Hyrule was preparing to go to the festival now. They had no doubt that Legend had sent Wind to insure Hyrule was actually taking a break and annoy them into doing so if it were necessary.

“Uh, are you sure going into the city is the best idea?” Hyrule asked the young god. Not that Hyrule was opposed to Wind’s company! The young god could be strange at times, like all the gods, but he was still fun to be around. It was just… Well, most of the gods weren’t the best at pretending to be mortals.

Wind seemed to understand exactly what Hyrule was getting at, and he scoffed. “Oh, please! I used to be mortal before I was a god, you know. I’m a lot better at blending in than the others are. You don’t have to worry about me.”

When he saw that Hyrule was still reluctant but had started to soften their resolve, Wind grabbed their hand. He looked up at them with big watery eyes and went for the kill. “Please?” His voice was softer now as he pleaded. ”I kinda miss it. Festivals like this remind me of my mortal family. And the other gods don't want me wandering around without supervision,” An irritated look flickered over Wind’s face, “Which is dumb because I’m literally a god. I can handle myself!”

And yep, Hyrule couldn’t say no to that face. It just wasn’t possible. (They also didn’t want to start the argument that, yes, Wind was a god and could take care of himself, but most of the time he looked like a thirteen year old. That put a target on his back, especially when he was wandering alone. It was better to let the older gods try and convince Wind of that. It wasn’t really Hyrule’s place.)

“Fine,” Hyrule allowed. They continued before Wind could celebrate too much. “If you do anything weird, I’m telling Time. No stealing either.” That caused Wind to deflate a little, but he still looked more than pleased with being allowed to tag along.

Hyrule turned away to get themself ready. They pulled on their cloak to hide their features and not draw attention to themself, and grabbed a basket to carry their purchases. Meanwhile, Wind sat nearby, swinging their legs back and forth absently.

After ensuring that their money pouch was tied securely to their belt, they turned to Wind. “Okay,” Hyrule said. “I’m all set. Are you ready to go?”

“Yep!” Wind replied, hopping down from his chair.

As he did so, he changed.

His form shifted and warped until instead of a blonde teenage boy in front of them, it was a young girl- probably eight or nine- with curly chocolate brown hair that fell untamed down their back. Bright green eyes shone up at Hyrule from under their curly bangs. They even had a smattering of golden freckles across their nose. In short, they looked like a spitting image of Hyrule themself, when they had been younger.

Wind skipped forward, grabbing Hyrule’s hand. He looked like a perfect example of innocence. “There! We look like sisters! Now no one will look twice at us.” Wind sounded proud of himself for the disguise.

Hyrule felt their breath stutter involuntarily, feeling like they’d just been punched in the chest. All of Hyrule’s sisters in real life had been immortal, having taken after their fairy mother. Hyrule had been the only one who’d taken after their mortal father.

Was this what it would have looked like if they had a little sister? If they had had some small piece of their family they could have clung to? All of Hyrule’s sisters had stayed with their mother when Hyrule had to set out from home. Hyrule’s eyes started to mist over as they looked into Wind’s big green eyes. Was this what it would have been like if they had a little sister they could’ve held onto during those long lonely nights?

Wind looked regretful when he saw Hyrule was close to crying. “If you want, I can turn back!” He exclaims worriedly, tugging on where he was hanging on to Hyrule’s hand.

“No,” Hyrule denied. “You’re fine. You don’t have to turn back.” Their voice sounded a little fragile. Wind didn't protest. He didn’t try to herd Hyrule towards the temple’s door either, letting Hyrule continue to hold him. Hyrule also didn’t try to get the two of them moving, despite the fact they were losing daylight.

The two of them stayed where they were for a while, standing together. Wind continued to hold onto Hyrule’s hand and lean into their legs. Hyrule hesitantly put their free hand into Wind’s hair. When Wind didn’t protest, they ran their fingers through Wind’s curls gently.

Hyrule eventually sniffled, shifting away from Wind. “Alright. I guess we should head out if we want to get to the market before it gets too busy.”

No one glanced twice at the pair of them as they walked down the steps of the temple and into the market square, which set Hyrule’s heart at ease. They must really look like siblings.

Although it wasn’t even noon, the market was already decently busy, and Hyrule knew it would only get busier as the day wore on. Most of the square was taken up by stalls, some of which were already open to serve the early morning crowd. One small section was taken up by vendors selling hot food made to order, and one corner of the square was dominated by festival games.

Wind didn’t seem to have any preference on where to go, although he made some not-so-subtle hints about visiting the confectioner’s stall at some point. Hyrule decided it would be best to visit the stalls first, before it got too crowded, and they could go find something to eat later in the morning.

It was nice to just blend into the crowd and browse what goods were on sale. No one looked twice at the two of them, and even if they had wanted to, the crowd ensured anyone who caught sight of the pair's golden freckles and took issue with it would quickly lose sight of the two of them.

The pair passed by a leather worker’s stall with only a cursory glance. Hyrule didn’t need any leather goods today. And if they did need to buy something, they could buy it at a lower price at a later date. Merchants always upped the price of their goods at festival time. With demand being so high, Hyrule couldn’t blame them, but some things just weren’t worth it.

The next stall they passed smelled heavenly, and Hyrule didn’t use that word lightly. The temple was nearly always filled with the scent of incense and flowers, so Hyrule was more than used to smelling good. At this point, the scent of incense had seeped into their clothing and hung around Hyrule even when they left the temple.

But the smell from this stall gave them pause anyway. It was a warm scent, like spiced cider on a cold winter evening. It was nothing like the incense that burned inside the temple.

The stall was selling bottles of shampoo and conditioner, bars of soap, and even some bottles of perfume. Hyrule paused at the stall, eyeing the soap bars consideringly. The bar Hyrule was currently using was getting kind of small, so they did need to buy a new one sometime soon.

It was festival time, after all. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little on a new one. And whatever scent they were smelling was worth splurging a little on.

It didn’t take long for Hyrule to flag down the merchant and get their hands on one of the bars of soap. It took a bit of haggling to get the price down to a more reasonable level. The merchant wrapped the soap up in paper, thanking them for their purchase. Hyrule smiled at him, turned around to find Wind so they could move on, and their smile slid off their face

When they turned around, Wind was nowhere to be seen. Hyrule choked down their initial panic. Just because Wind was no longer clinging to them didn’t mean the god had somehow managed to get himself into trouble in the five minutes Hyrule was distracted. Not that Wind wasn’t capable of finding trouble in that amount of time, but hopefully he hadn’t.

Hyrule almost missed the small blue-clad figure as their eyes skimmed over the crowd. They did a double take when they spotted Wind- still in the form of a young child- making very rude gestures that a child as young as Wind appeared to be should not know.

Hyrule choked, hurrying over to Wind. They caught his hands in theirs and yanked them down. “What are you doing? Are you trying to cause a scene?” Hyrule hissed quietly at Wind, who seemed completely unapologetic. Hyrule turned to try and see who Wind had been flipping off.

But when they turned around, they saw no one Wind could have been gesturing at. There was a throng of people surrounding them, but none of them were paying any attention to Wind.

Looking back at Wind, Hyrule saw he wasn’t even looking at any of the people in the crowd around them, but glaring upwards. Following his gaze, they saw a little red bird, probably a cardinal, perched on top of a nearby noticeboard.

Hyrule blinked in confusion, looking back down at Wind. They almost opened their mouth to ask why Wind was flipping off a bird, but then their head whipped back around to stare at the creature.

It was a red bird, it was staring at Wind and Hyrule in particular, and it was a bird that Wind seemed to be intimately familiar with.

With those facts in mind, Hyrule squeezed Wind’s hand and tugged him away in the direction of the rest of the stalls. Their lips were pressed tightly together to keep themself from laughing.

“You know,” Hyrule started casually after a moment of silent walking, “You probably shouldn’t be flipping off the god of divinity himself.” They didn’t worry about anyone overhearing them. The crowd was thick, and a stranger’s odd conversation wouldn’t draw any attention. Even if it did draw attention, they were moving through the crowd and would be gone before anyone tried to listen in.

Wind pouted, stomping his feet a little. He looked exactly like a grumpy little kid throwing a tantrum, and Hyrule had to suppress another laugh. “That’s not even Sky! It’s just his stupid messenger bird.”

Hyrule hummed understandingly, and pulled them to a stop so they could inspect a display containing a rainbow of different yarns and threads. Their spare tunic had gotten a hole in it, and Hyrule was out of thread. They should buy some more. “I thought you liked Crimson? I’ve met her and she seems nice.”

Wind grew quiet, almost sulking. “It’s not that I don’t like her- especially not when she’s in a smaller form like that. Her bigger forms kind of freak me out, it's not natural- But Legend asked me to come to the festival with you-”

I knew it, Hyrule thought, locating some shades of green thread that were pretty similar to his tunic color. The tunic that had a hole in it was the same shade as the one they were wearing now, so they used it to compare colors.

Wind kept talking. “-And it feels like Sky won’t even trust me with this one thing! I can take care of you! I don’t need my own babysitter!”

“Hey now,” Hyrule protested. “I don’t need a babysitter either. I’d be just fine on my own.”

Wind huffed. “It’s not the same. You’re so fragile. I’m a literal-”

Hyrule’s heart skipped a beat in dread, and they acted quickly. Before Wind could continue, Hyrule shoved the two spools of thread they’d been contemplating into Wind’s face and asked, “Which shade of green do you think matches my tunic the best?”

Wind shot him a nasty look for the interruption, but Hyrule only lifted an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. Wind rolled his eyes and pointed to the one on the left.

”Careful what you say.” Hyrule whispered warningly. People might not listen in on the conversation of others here, but that wasn’t any reason for Wind to go around declaring to all and sundry that he was a god.

“Whatever.” Wind said, rolling his eyes. “You know what I mean. You’re not even two decades old yet. You’re young.” Wind stressed his last word, and Hyrule tried not to feel a little insulted. What Wind was saying was true, from his point of view. Hyrule wasn’t even twenty yet, although at nineteen, they were close. To a god such as Wind, who’d lived for millennia, they would be incredibly young.

Instead, Hyrule only said, “You’re young too, you know.” They waved over the merchant and paid for their thread, tucking it into their basket with the soap.

“I’m not even the youngest!” Wind protested hotly as they moved away from the stall. He was flushed in anger that, frankly, just looked adorable in his current form. If this was how Hyrule looked when they were angry when they were hung, they don’t know how their mother ever took them seriously. “Wild and Wars are both younger than me!”

Hyrule lets the conversation trail off after that, as Wind starts telling stories about how adorable Wild and Wars had been as new gods, back when they were unsure of themselves and unused to their powers. Wind was right- he’d been made into a god before Sky had needed to create Warriors, and long before Wild had even been born a mortal.

Hyrule didn’t know exactly why Wind was considered to be the youngest of the gods. The way gods aged was strange though, sometimes not even following a linear pattern. It was further complicated by the fact that they could appear to be whatever age they wanted to be.

Hyrule thinks they might have heard Warriors mention that Wind was the youngest because he had still been a child when he’d been turned into a god. He hadn’t had the chance to grow normally. Hyrule could understand that dying and becoming a god might stunt that sort of development.

Wind had to grow up as a god, which took a lot longer. Sky had created the other gods in the form of teenagers, and Wild had at least been of age when he’d been given godhood.

So while Wind might have been alive longer than Warriors and Wild, he was still mentally the youngest, and treated as such by mortals and gods alike.

Hyrule was pulled out of their thoughts by tugging on their hand, which slowly led them away from the direction they’d been walking. Wind was steering the two of them slowly but surely over towards the confectioner’s stall.

Hyrule snorted when they realized what he was doing, and dragged Wind back on course. In his current form, there was no way Wind could overpower Hyrule, so he resorted to pouting at them. Hyrule chuckle at that.

“Come on. We have to at least get lunch first before we have dessert.”

The pair wandered the festival until they found a nice stall that was selling meat pies. Hyrule paid, despite Wind’s protests. “What are people going to think when they see me making my little sister pay for her own food?” Hyrule said. Wind opened his mouth to protest but shut it again, seemingly not having a response to that.

If Hyrule’s money pouch somehow suddenly felt as heavy as it had before they paid for the food, they said nothing. They had told Wind not to steal, but they didn’t think reverse pickpocketing Hyrule themself counted. Hyrule would just have to pay Wind back somehow. Maybe a nice offering tonight in the temple after the crowds left.

The two of them ate as they walked and people watched. This time, when Wind subtly tried to steer their direction to the sweets stall, Hyrule let him.

The stall was already being browsed by a family with three young children when they reach it, and Wind and Hyrule join them in looking at the selection. Wind only had eyes for the honey candy, but Hyrule took a bit more time sorting through what was available. Being part fairy, they had more of a sweet tooth than most, and they couldn’t help but spend more of Legend’s rupees on candy than they’d intended.

They managed to buy a small package of sea salt taffy without Wind noticing. They hid it beneath the package of soap in their basket. Tonight, they could place it on Wind’s altar to repay the god for the food Wind had refused to let them pay for. Honey candies flavored with blueberry syrup joined the taffy, to be tucked away for a rainy day. To munch on now, Hyrule ends up buying a bag of chocolate-coated nuts.

The chocolate was sweet on their tongue as they and Wind wander through the rest of the fair. It's well past noon by now, and things were starting to get busy. People throng tightly around them. Hyrule would feel crowded, but every time they started to feel anxious, Wind squeezed their hand tightly, as if he could sense their turmoil.

He probably could.

The reminder of the protection the god offered soothed Hyrule a great deal, and they managed to push away their anxieties.

Eventually, the two end up wandering around the second of the market set aside for

There’s a dunk tank set up nearby. Wind pays for three tries to hit the target. He doesn’t succeed, and that alone told Hyrule that he wasn’t really trying. But his gleeful giggles make Hyrule’s heart squeeze, and they smile at the god’s joy. It’s more than infectious.

They don’t see any games they're interested in paying themself. Most of these games Hyrule can guarantee are rigged, and the prizes usually aren’t of interest to them.

That was until something sparkled in the sun out of the corner of their eyes.

It was a small necklace. A small blue stone was set in the center of it, glittering attractively in the sunlight. Silver filigree filled with green-tinted glass created tiny wings surrounding the stone, mimicking fairies wings.

That. Hyrule wanted that. They know it was their fairy blood that made them want it so badly. (The irony of the necklace being in the shape of a fairy was not lost on them.) Everyone knew that fairies were attracted to shiny objects. Even half-fae like Hyrule were affected by that particular biological quirk.

The necklace hung on a peg inside one of the many game booths, a prize for one of the shooting games where you were given a small bow and three arrows, and targets popped up that you had to attempt to hit.

Hyrule didn’t even wear jewelry, most of the time. But the necklace sparkled so prettily in the sunlight they couldn’t take their eyes off it. They tried to caution themself. The game was probably rigged, and they're not that great a marksman anyways.

But Hyrule wanted that sparkly necklace, and by the gods, they were going to try to get it.

It took them three tries before they finally gave up. They eyed the necklace with longing, but their purse was starting to feel a little bit too light for their liking, and Wind was starting to look impatient.

The man running the stall offered the bow back to Hyrule for them to try again, but they gave a polite smile and shook their head.

A sudden voice coming from behind them made them startle. Wind remained nonplussed. “Here, let me try.” The voice was familiar, and Hyrule was both surprised and not to turn around and see Four standing behind them. They are a bit surprised to see Time, though. The god wasn’t really the kind of person that liked festivals.

But on the other hand, this festival was dedicated to Time. If there was a festival dedicated to Hyrule, they’d want to go out and see it, even if they didn’t like crowds. So maybe it shouldn't be a surprise to see the older god out and about.

He looked much less stressed than the last time Hyrule saw him. The harvest was over, and Time could return to his usual duties until next year. Hyrule was glad. Time always seemed like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders during harvest season.

The game master was more than happy to take Four’s rupees. Only once the man disappeared behind the back of the booth to operate the targets did Four turn to Hyrule with a wink.

As Hyrule expected, Four was able to hit a target on their first try. Wind rolled his eyes. “Show off,” he complained but didn’t look all that bothered. Time, who seemed unimpressed and uninterested in watching Four demonstrate their archery skills, clapped Hyrule on the back with a nod, and then wandered off in the direction of the Temple.

“That’s hardly showing off.” Four insisted. Suddenly, their eyes flickered, a deep blue color flooding their irises. Their hair color shifted ever-so-slightly to become more of a strawberry blonde than true golden as it’d been before, and Hyrule swore the god was an inch or two shorter than they were before.

Hyrule twitched, but after spending a certain amount of time around the god of the four elemental spirits, you start to get used to sudden appearance changes. This time the change wasn’t even as dramatic as it usually was. Four had kept the change rather subtle compared to what they usually did when one of the elemental spirits decided to surface.

Four’s eyes had gained a competitive glint. “This is showing off.” Their next arrow not only hit the same target they had struck before, but it split the previous arrow they’d landed on that target. The last arrow once again landed on the same target, splitting the second arrow.

Four turned to Wind with a smirk. “How about that, then?”

Wind rolled his eyes. “Anyone could do that.” Hyrule resisted telling him that not everyone could do that. Not everyone was an immortal god who had eons to hone their skills.

When the game master returned from behind the curtain, his mouth dropped open at the sight of the perfect bullseye and the two split arrows.

“O- oh,” He stammered, eyeing Four- who still had a slightly dangerously competitive gleam in their eye- warily. “That’s very impressive, kid. Well, I suppose you can choose any prize you like.”

Four turned to Hyrule, waving an offering hand. Hyrule, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, gestured towards the necklace.

The gamemaster, still looking a bit baffled, shook his head in disbelief, but pulled down the necklace from where it hung on its peg, and handed it over to Hyrule. They wasted no time clipping it around their neck. They grinned stupidly at the necklace, flicking it back and forth across their chest to make the light dance along the glass of the wings.

When they looked back up, Four had already vanished. Maybe literally, or perhaps they’d simply wandered away in the crowd. Wind, inpatient, wasted no time in dragging Hyrule away from the still gawking game master.

Later that night, after giving an offering to both Wind and Four’s shrines, Hyrule lay curled up in his bed. Maybe it hadn’t been a waste to go to the festival after all.

~~~

The temple of the gods that Hyrule served was located in Castle Town, the capital city of Hyrule. Castle Town was notoriously hard to invade. As far as Hyrule knew, no one who tried to lay siege on the city had ever been successful.

The Great Sea lay to the east of the city, allowing the city to get supplies during a siege. Sprawling docks and beaches made up the eastern side of the city. Under the tutelage of the ocean god, Hyruleans had become masters of the sea, both above and below the waves, in the case of the Zora (Worship for Wind was, unsurprisingly, more popular in that part of the city.)

To the south the land became more arid, the landscape past the city slowly shifting from forest to a large desert. It was impossible to traverse unless you knew the right routes to travel and had the correct supplies. Invading countries who tried to cross the desert had to carry their own supplies and bring enough water for a whole army. They very rarely made it very far.

Out west, a mountainous landscape gave shelter from potential invaders. Death mountain oozed lava across the southern half of the mountain range. The lava and heat made it impossible to cross to everyone except the Gorons.

In short, Castle Town was an impenetrable fortress of a city. It offered safety to those who lived there. The citizens of Hyrule were more than used to the natural barriers that offered them protection and knew how to harness them. They knew the dangers and how to minimize them.

That was, besides the Lost Woods. The Lost Woods was kind to no one who carried pure mortal blood, Hyrulean or not. The nymphs and other forest spirits that lived there didn’t like to be seen by mortals.

Those who entered the woods brought with them thick fog that confused their senses. The Skullkids would dance through the mist, giggling and disorienting the mortals. If they were lucky, mortals would stumble out a few days later, exhausted and starving but ultimately fine. Those who weren’t so lucky never came out at all, remaining in the woods forever, becoming a wandering lost soul.

Those who’d survived the woods told tales of it being a dark and haunted place, unwelcoming and horrifying.

To Hyrule, the woods were home. They were technically mortal, yes, but their fairy blood gave them a bit of a pass. They might not have inherited their mother’s immortality or fairy form, but they had still been born in these woods. The forest recognized them as one of its own, even if they were mortal. To Hyrule, the forest was never hostile. The nymphs and spirits were shy but didn’t hide away from Hyrule as they did from other mortals. The Skullchildren left them alone besides trying to goad them into an occasional game of hide and seek.

Hyrule’s mother’s fairy fountain lay safe, deep within the trees. She still resided there with their immortal sisters. Hyrule visited sometimes, but the visits were almost always brief and strained. The chasm that had been created when their mother realized Hyrule was mortal had only grown since Hyrule had left the safety of the fountain to strike out on their own.

But even if they could never truly go back to how it was when they were a child, the forest still welcomed them with open arms, magic reaching out and twinging around them. They had grown up here, and the forest knew that.

Their ability to enter the forest made them popular with the apothecaries in Castle Town. Usually, the doctors and potion brewers who wanted to harvest magical plants had to creep along the outer edges of the forest to do so, all while remaining cautious of the ever-present fog.

If the mist started to creep in too much or the whispers of the skullkids became too loud, they knew they’d wandered too far in. It was a delicate balance between getting the plants they need, and not becoming trapped

Hyrule’s fairy blood allowed them to freely pass through the woods and collect as many of the needed plants as they wanted, and they were more than happy to do so, and sell them to the apothecary shops. For a price, of course. This was how they got most of their money. Their jobs at the temple were paid in room, board, and protection from the gods.

That was what they were doing today. It was a sunny day, but the sun’s warmth was cut by a brisk wind that blew between the trees. It was getting a little late in the afternoon, but they still had plenty of time before they had to start heading back.

Hyrule shivered and drew their cloak tighter around them to block out the chill. They were crouched at the base of a gnarled old apple tree, picking a few stems off of a cluster of warm safflina. They were careful not to take too much of it, leaving enough of the blooms for the plant to thrive. They had to be cautious not to over-harvest if they wanted the safflina to continue to flourish in this part of the forest. They tucked the safflina into their foraging pouch, standing up to move on to find another plant.

A sudden rustling from the tree above made them startle slightly, but they dismissed it as a bird or squirrel, or maybe even a curious skullkid. They hadn’t even taken two steps before they were proven wrong. A louder rustle this time followed by a gloopy-sounding thud sounding from behind them, and they whirled around to see what had fallen from the tree.

It was an electric chuchu, glowing a sickly yellow in the shadow of the trees. The creature gurgled for a moment, bugling green eyes locked onto Hyrule. Instinctively, Hyrule took a few stumbling steps backwards to get out of its immediate shock range.

If it had been a regular chu, Hyrule would have probably dealt with it themself. Chuchus, as a general rule, weren't that dangerous. Anyone with a knife could deal with them, as long as they were quick enough to avoid getting trapped in their acidic ooze.

Electric chuchus, on the other hand, were much more dangerous to the average Hylian. Their shocks were the real danger, making them able to paralyze their victims. Those who got caught by the electricity remained conscious but unable to move. By the time the chuchu’s victims regained movement in their limbs, they were usually halfway dissolved and well on their way to becoming the slime’s dinner.

Hyrule shuddered. The forest might love them, but there were still dangers in the woods, who didn’t care if Hyrule had fairy blood in them or not. Personally, they thought that was one of the worst ways to go. Forced to watch in terror as you were sucked into a chuchu’s slime, but unable to so much as scream for help.

It was somewhat easier to deal with electric chuchus if you had a ranged weapon like a spear or bow. Unfortunately, all Hyrule had brought with them was a small metal knife. Even if they managed to land a hit on the chuchu, the electricity coursing through the metal would cause them to drop their weapon, which would be the last thing they wanted.

Hyrule turned to run, a bolt of pure fear shooting through them. Chuchus were slow, but when they were close to their prey they could put on terrifying bursts of speed. And for eclectic chuchus, those bursts of speed came with waves of paralyzing electricity coursing through the ground. They could hear the gurgling sound of the chuchu getting ready to spring them before they had made it more than a few steps.

Hyrule eyes squeezed shut. Was this how they were going to die? Alone out in the forest, destined to become a skeleton stripped clean by a chuchu’s acid. Hysterically, they thought that at least their remains would be returned to nature when they died, and not burned like Hylians tended to do with their dead.

Just as the sizzling behind them grew to a crescendo and Hyrule was expecting to get hit with a wave of electricity, there was another sound of rustling above them.

Another chuchu in the trees? Oh gods, no-

But what followed wasn’t the wet sound of another chuchu landing on the floor. There was a whoosh of something falling from the tree, a loud pained gurgle, and then silence. When they had run a good distance away, and no electricity overcame them, Hyule slowed down cautiously, taking a quick look behind them.

It hadn't, in fact, been another chuchu. It had been Wild.

Hyrule slowed to a complete stop, staring in shock at the god. He was crouched in the middle of the remains of the chuchu. His back was to Hyrule, so they couldn't see what Wild was doing, but that long blonde hair and scarred ear peeking out of it was unmistakable.

A sword- still dripping with sparking goo- was slung on his back. The blade seemed unaffected by the acid, leaving it as clean as ever when it dripped off. Hyrule didn’t have to ask to know who forged that blade. No mortal smith could have made a blade like that. At least not without the blessing of the god of forges.

Hyrule pressed a hand to their chest, feeling their racing heart. They let out a slow and steady breath as they tried to calm themself. Their legs felt weak. They offered a silent but honest prayer to Wild for the protection given to them.

That seemed to catch Wild’s attention from whatever they were doing with the chuchu jelly. He looked up, sending a mischievous smile at Hyrule. “No need to thank me. It wasn’t a big deal, it was just a chuchu.”

“Well, still,” Hyrule protested, walking back over towards the god. “I’m pretty sure you just saved my life. So thank you.”

Wild didn’t respond to that. His attention had wandered away, as it often did. He seemed distracted by something up in the tree above, pulling himself upward by a low-hanging branch. Hyrule left him to it. Worrying over the wild god never got anyone anywhere. He would do what he wanted to, and it's not like falling out of the tree would actually hurt him.

Hyrule took a seat below the tree. They were more than rattled by their encounter with the chuchu, and not willing to wander too far away from Wild just yet. They would wait until WIld came back down again.

After a few moments of Wild moving about in the leaves, he called down to Hyrule, His voice sounded slightly wistful. “I wish your fairy blood had won out over your mortal parentage.”

Hyrule blinked at the seeming non sequitur but didn’t bother about it too much. Wild was scatterbrained on the best of days. One could never know how a conversation with him would go. If you wanted to keep up with him, you had to be ready to change topics at a moment's notice.

When Wild saw Hyrule had stopped to sit, he dropped out of the tree. When he landed, he was crouched on all fours like a lithe cat. For a moment, Hyrule swore Wild’s eyes glowed a bright teal as he looked up at them.

Then they blinked and the moment was gone. Wild flopped dramatically over Hyrule’s lap, handing them an apple he had picked from the tree. Hyrule, more than used to Wild’s lack of respect for the concept of personal space, simply hummed.

“I would’ve liked to have your company when I go out hunting,” Wild admitted. “You’re fun to hang out with. A lot more fun than some of the old nymphs can be. They’re always complaining about Hylians encroaching on their territory. It’s not like I can actually do anything about it, though! Forest spirits already have the Lost Woods, I can’t claim any more land in their name.”

It was commonly said among the gods that Hyrule should have been born a fairy, not a mortal. Hyrule couldn’t bring themself to be offended by it. They couldn't even say they disagreed, necessarily. They especially couldn’t disagree with what Wild had said. Being a part of the Wild Hunt sounded fun.

They didn’t often get to hang out with Wild. He was the god that Hyrule saw the least of. He was somewhat willing to enter the city, and therefore didn’t come to visit the temple often.

Maybe they could convince Wild to let them join the Hunt, just for a few hours. They probably wouldn't be able to keep up, not without the wings that true immortal fairies were blessed with, but it would be enjoyable all the same.

For now though, they could settle for relaxing under the tree with Wild, happily munching on the apples he had picked.

~~~

The Pantheon:

Sky: God of the sky, divinity, sleep, and children (The first god, Mother of the gods)

Four: (They/Them) God of the four elemental spirits, and the forge. (They created the world out of the endless cloudy void Sky had been living in. The void is now the realm of the gods, the world is now the realm of the mortals)

Time: God of time, the seasons, the harvest/farming (He began the turning of the seasons)

Twilight: God of the night/day, animals, and the sun/moon/stars (He created the stars, planets, moon, and sun, and helped populate the world with animals)

Legend: God of myths, adventure, and music (He worked together with Twilight to create mortals. He also helped create the constellations)

Wind: God of the ocean and the dead (He helped deal with the overpopulation of mortals. Psychopomp. Started out as a mortal)

Warriors: (Xe/Xem/Xyr) God of war, strategy, and battle, (Also a psychopomp, but only to the effect that xe delivers souls of those who die in battle to Wind. “Battle” is very widely defined. Lots of things can be battles Ie: childbirth, battle with sickness)

Wild: God of the hearth, hunting, and the wilds (He moderates how much Hyians encroach on nature. Started out as a mortal)

Malon: Minor god of horses. Used to be a forest nymph before marrying Time

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minty-mumbles · 9 months

Text

And the Universe Said I Love You (Ch. 2)

Summary: Late one summer night, a half fae child being hunted for their magical blood stumbled into the temple of the gods and claimed sanctuary. Years later, Hyrule is still living in the temple, working to keep it tidy and operating smoothly. And for some reason, the gods have taken a keen interest in them.

AN: Thank you to @breannasfluff for being a huge help with this chapter! I also have a list of the gods/ their domains at the end of this fic

TW: Child sacrifice is discussed in this chapter

(Read on AO3)

~~~

The temple always got eerily dark at night. After the worshippers had left and the sun went down, Hyrule would snuff out all the lanterns that hung along the walls. The only remaining light came from where the moon shone through the windows and the two torches outside Wild’s shrine room that burned with strange teal flames. Hyrule knew better than to try and snuff out the holy flames of the wild god. It wouldn’t work, and would only serve to irritate Wild.

Back at the beginning of Hyrule’s stay in the temple, they’d been afraid to wander at night. That was before they’d been given a permanent position as the temple's tender, and they were simply a child looking for sanctuary. The temple at night had seemed dark and cold back then. It had been too strange, too foreign to see the halls silent and empty.

During the nights, Hyrule would do their best to hide away in the windowless storeroom they’d claimed as their sleeping chamber. With no moonlight to illuminate the room, it had still been dark, but at least it hadn’t been the cavernous hallways that felt like they would swallow Hyrule whole.

Even after the gods had given Hyrule their job, they’d tried their best not to wander after the sun went down. They’d snuff out the lights as quickly as they could and scurry back to their room, which by then had been filled with a simple bed and chest to store their clothing.

Now, after two years of living and working in the temple, that uncomfortable feeling Hyrule got at night had long since faded. The darkness of the temple at night was comfortable, and the silence gave them time to reflect on the day. The nights were peaceful and serene, now, no longer haunted by bad memories.

Even the cold flickering light of the Wild’s holy fire served to remind Hyrule that even if Wild- who Hyrule now considered a friend- preferred to remain out of the city, he was a constant presence in the temple just as the other gods were.

When Hyrule couldn't sleep, they often took to wandering the halls. That was what they were doing tonight. It had been a slow day at the temple. Nothing exciting had happened and Hyrule hadn’t needed to do much physical work, so they weren’t tired yet.

The wind was strong tonight, blowing in through the windows. It came from the north, and if Hyrule concentrated enough, they swore they could smell the scent of the Lost Woods carried on the breeze. They breathed in deeply, letting the familiar smell soothe away their worries.

‘Hyrule.’ The sound of someone’s voice startled them. Barring a few special rituals dedicated to Twilight, people didn’t come to the temple in the middle of the night. As it wasn’t the full moon or new moon tonight, they hadn’t expected anyone to be here.

They whirled around, half expecting to see someone who had come to ask for sanctuary, just as they themself had. But no. It wasn’t even a Hylian- or any other kind of mortal.

The figure that towered in front of them was monstrous in a beautiful kind of way. It would’ve been difficult to see them in the dim light, if not for the faint white glow that the figure emitted.

Distantly, Hyrule noticed the blue flames of Wild’s torches spluttering and going out as the night wind picked up speed, blowing clouds over the moon. In response to the newfound darkness, the creature began to glow brighter, its shine lighting up the whole hallway.

The figure was tall, towering so far above Hyrule that its head nearly brushed the ceiling. It had two pairs of arms, each held neatly in front of the creature, folded as if in prayer. From the knees down, its legs gradually faded from tanned skin to white feathers, and instead of feet, the legs ended in the golden talons of a bird of prey.

A large red bird of a species Hyrule didn’t recognize was perched atop the figure's head. Its wings were stretched forward, covering the majority of the figure’s face from Hyrule’s view.

The bird tilted its head, eyes locked onto Hyrule as if it were inspecting them. They wondered, briefly, if the figure was seeing through the bird’s eyes instead of whatever was hidden beneath the bird's wings

The figure was clothed in draped pastel robes that were cinched at the waist with a belt of gold studded with opals. Around the figure’s knees, the fabric of the robes faded into swirling clouds, filling the hallway with a sweet-smelling mist. The belt wasn't the only piece of jewelry that adorned the figure. It was practically dripping in gold, with a thick gold band around its throat, and its ears adorned with delicate chains. Clutched in the bottom pair of its hands, a necklace with the symbol of the triforce swung slowly in the breeze.

Hyrule should have been frightened by such a creature appearing suddenly behind them, but they knew who this was. They’d never seen him appear in such a form, but they’d heard of it and seen drawings in books held in the ancient library that filled most of the second floor of the temple.

This was Sky, appearing in a form usually reserved for when he showed himself at royal ceremonies or when he decided to bless someone personally. None of the gods had ever appeared before Hyrule like this, in a form that was so obviously Hylian yet not at the same time. Sometimes things seemed off about the forms they took, like Twilight’s eyes, which remained the eyes of a wolf no matter what shape he took. (And sometimes Twilight appeared as an animal, But an animal was much different than this)

Sky’s presence was oppressive and although Hyrule wasn’t afraid, they couldn’t help but take a stumbling step backwards.

Sky’s lips turned downward for a moment. Hyrule couldn’t figure out what the god was thinking without being able to see his eyes. The thought that they might’ve displeased Sky enough for him to appear like this before them sent a bolt of terror through their heart.

‘Be Not Afraid.’ Sky’s mouth did not move as he spoke, but his voice rang through Hyrule's head like a bell.

“I’m not afraid.” Hyrule managed to speak without stuttering even as they lied. They knew that anyone else would have fallen to their knees in reverence by now. Their familiarity with the god was the only thing keeping them on their feet.

Sky did not answer, but he continued to frown down at Hyrule. After a moment, Hyrule felt compelled to speak to fill the silence.

“I just didn’t expect you- you're very large, that’s all.” Hyrule cringed. Why did they say that? Gods, they were an idiot. They didn’t even know why Sky was here, but they were already saying things that the god could very easily take offense to.

At least they managed to stop themself from mentioning how unnatural it looked for something shaped like a Hylian to possess two pairs of arms and bird-like talons instead of feet, and that it also didn’t help that Hyrule couldn’t see their eyes which prevented them from gaining a better understanding of what the god was thinking. Saying that probably would not have gone over well, no matter how much Hyrule was in Sky’s good graces.

Sky tilted his head slowly as if considering something, and Hyrule waited with bated breath for him to make his next move. Their heart pounded as they gazed up at the gigantic figure, and their body remained tense as if they had any hope of outrunning the god.

Suddenly, a strong wind howled through the temple. It was fierce enough that Hyrule instinctively brought their arms up to cover their face, stumbling back another few steps. When the wind had died down, and they gained the courage to peek out from behind their arms, they saw that the towering figure of the god was gone, replaced by a much more reasonably sized person.

Sky was still tall, nearly seven feet, but he could no longer pick Hyrule up in one hand if he so desired. It did help Hyrule relax a little. The bird had shrunk too, and as Hyrule watched it seemed to come to life, withdrawing its wings from where they were stretched in front of Sky’s eyes and ruffling its feathers.

The bird’s movement revealed Sky’s eyes. They were a piercing blue, the exact same shade as the morning sky on a clear summer’s day. His eyes held such fondness as he looked at Hyrule that the breath stuttered in their chest.

Knowing that Sky wasn’t angry at them made the last bit of tension bleed out of Hyrule’s shoulders, but the affection shown just made them blush in embarrassment. Despite their embarrassment, they didn't dare turn their eyes away from the god.

In a burst of movement that drew Hyrule’s attention away from studying Sky’s face, the bird atop the god’s head took flight. As it flew, it seemed to shift, changing midair. Its size diminished so rapidly that for a moment Hyrule thought it was going to disappear completely, but by the time the bird landed on Sky’s shoulder, it had stopped shrinking. Its form was more familiar now. It looked like a little songbird, although Hyrule was still unable to identify its species.

They realized that it must be Crimson, Sky’s.... pet? Hyrule had never asked what Crimson was exactly, but they knew that the bird was very precious to Sky.

Sky reached up a hand to his shoulder, letting Crimson hop onto his fingers. He absently pet the top of the bird's head, all while continuing to stare at Hyrule. His gaze was no less affectionate than it was before, but now there was an undercurrent of contemplation.

‘Hyrule, do you know how gods are made?’

The question that rang through their mind caught Hyrule completely off guard. That was one of the last things they would expect a god to ask them, let alone Sky after he showed up in such an imposing form.

“No more than most mortals do. I-” Hyrule cut themself off, not knowing if Sky would want to hear the specifics. Sky tilted his head curiously, an action that made him look remarkably bird-like, and Hyrule felt compelled to continue.

“You made most of them? Except for Wild and Wind. They used to be mortals, and you turned them into gods.” Hyrule hesitated to say anything more, as that was all the information they had on the subject. How gods were made was knowledge that had been kept away from the minds of mortals, and Hyrule had, for once, not been an exception in this.

‘Do you know how I made Wind and Wild into Gods?’

Hyrule shakes his head slowly. Where was Sky going with this series of questions? Why was he here in the first place? Although Hyrule had told Sky they weren’t afraid, and Sky shrinking to a more reasonable size had elevated his more primal fears, Hyrule was still uneasy. What had prompted the god to appear to them in such a form?

‘The world is full of magic, Hyrule. Gods depend on that magic to survive. It is what makes us what we are. Sometimes, magic starts to build up in the world and when this happens I can, if I choose, create a godling. Something that is not a god yet, but has the potential to be.”

Hyrule knew their mouth was hanging open, but they couldn't help it. Why on earth was Sky telling them this?

A frown came over Sky’s face. Crimson chirped, nudging at Sky’s fingers, and attempting to comfort its master. ‘Godlings… they do not always survive long enough to become full-fledged gods.’

Hyrule sucked in a deep breath, surprised. They’d had no idea that gods could die. This was something deeply personal, more invasive than anything the gods had ever told them before. They reached out hesitantly, wanting to comfort the god, but thinking better of it at the last second and withdrawing their hand. “Sky, I’m so sorry. I never knew…”

Sky sent him a sad smile. ‘You have nothing to be sorry for. It is the way of things. One of these godlings was named Spirit. I intended for him to watch over the dead. He did not live long enough to even make his first physical form.’

For the first time since he had revealed his eyes, Sky broke eye contact with Hyule. He looked away, and Hyrule was horrified to see that tears were gathering in the god’s eyes.

The entire hallway grew darker as the glow Sky emitted dimmed. Even the light from the moon outside seemed to weaken, as if Twilight had been listening to what Sky was saying and was also reliving the anguish of losing a sibling.

Crimson screeched, flying off Sky’s fingers and disappearing out a window as the atmosphere grew more oppressive by the second.

In a split-second decision, Hyrule moved forward, throwing his arms around Sky’s waist. They doubted they could offer much comfort to a god, but they couldn’t let someone who they thought of as a friend stand there crying from grief and not do anything.

Sky made a startled noise- still in that strange echo in Hyrule’s head that wasn’t truly speaking- before relaxing into the hug, and returning it. It was a bit awkward with Sky being two feet taller than Hyrule and having an extra set of arms, but Sky didn’t pull away so Hyrule didn’t either.

After a while, Sky’s glow returned to normal, and he drew back, so Hyrule followed his lead.

‘You’re so sweet, Hyrule.’ Hyrule blushed.

Sky sighed, deciding to continue his story. “Spirit didn't have time to absorb much of the magic I had gathered for him. Soon after that was when we met Wind. He was such a sweet boy, so lively and mischievous. At first, he simply reminded us of Spirit, but as he grew, he quickly became his own person in our eyes, and the thought of losing yet another person we cared for so soon- We just couldn’t stand it. What happened to him is Wind’s tale to tell, but suffice to say we found out that gathered magic can also be fed to mortals to make them into godlings.”

It was strange to hear someone talk about magic as if it were a physical, tangible thing that could be eaten but Hyrule supposed, to a god, magic would be very different. “So after you figured that out, you met Wild, grew fond of him, and…” They tilted their head.

Sky smiled. ‘And I made him a godling too, yes. I’m sure you already know most of the story of how he died. Wild is more open to speaking about it than Wind. I think mortals know the tale?’

Hyrule nodded, but they were growing more and more curious. “Why are you telling me this?”

Sky didn’t respond, but continued to look down at them with soft eyes. Hyrule realized rather abruptly that during the course of their conversation, Sky’s eyes had shifted from a soft summer’s-day blue to a lovely pastel purple.

The god sighed again, but this time, it was less heavy and more affectionate. Leaning down, Sky gently cupped Hyrule's cheek and smiled at them. His touch was gentle and warm, but his skin was rough with callouses covering his fingers. Hyrule couldn’t help but lean into the touch just slightly.

Between one moment and the next, just as quickly as he had appeared, Sky was gone. In an instant, there was no trace of him anywhere. The moon was just as bright as it should be outside, and Wild’s torches were lit again as if they had never gone out.

The temple was silent once again. The only sound was the distant yells of people in town who had taken more than their share of ale.

Later that night, Hyrule lay in their bed, ears pinned back in a show of discomfort as a headache pounded against their skull. Apparently, listening to the voice of a god echo inside your head for an extended period of time could be bad for you. Who knew?

It didn’t escape Hyrule that Sky had never answered them when they’d asked why he’d told Hyrule all that he had. It didn’t make any sense. Why would Sky feel the need to offer up that information voluntarily? It wasn’t like Hyrule had asked him. Sky had just appeared in the middle of the night and told Hyrule of his own free will.

It didn’t make any sense. Why would Sky tell them about how mortals could become gods? That seemed like something that would be a carefully kept secret.

Hyrule’s swirling thoughts mixed with the throbbing pain in their skull until there weren’t any coherent thoughts left. They hovered on the brink of sleep, unable to rest while their brain still sent shockwaves of pain through their head.

It could have been their imagination, but suddenly they feel a hand brushing their hair aside.

A gentle palm feeling their forehead.

A soft voice, and instant relief as the pain subsided all at once.

As they slipped out of consciousness, they could have sworn they heard a familiar voice softly singing a strange melody.

The strange conversation with Sky didn’t leave their head for weeks. They don’t see Sky again for a while, and the absence of the god is more noticeable than Hyrule thought it would be. They missed seeing him around. When had Hyrule gotten so attached, they wondered?

The other gods continued to visit, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but every so often Hyrule caught one of them shooting them a strange look when they thought Hyrule wasn't watching.

~~~

Not all weather could be attributed to the actions of a god. Most of it was simply due to nature acting the way it had been designed to act by the gods when they’d first created the rain and snow and sun.

But even Hyrule was starting to suspect that this wasn’t a natural storm. The rain had been lashing fiercely against the sides of the temple since morning, and not a single person had been brave enough to venture out into the weather to come pray.

Never in their time living in Castle Town had Hyrule seen it rain so hard. Thunder seemed to echo through the temple every thirty seconds, and the downpour was unrelenting. Hyrule could hear it pounding on the roof of the temple from inside his small room.

Hyrule sat on their bed, a blanket spread over their lap, and a book laid open over that. Lit candles were scattered around their room, giving them enough light to read by. The book they were inspecting was one that was usually kept in the temple's library, but Hyrule hadn’t felt bad about squirreling it away to his room today. It wasn’t like there was anyone else there who would need it.

When Hyrule first came to the temple, they didn't know how to read. Their mother hadn’t seen any value in teaching them and hadn’t known Hylian letters anyways. Legend had been personally offended when he’d discovered this and had made it his mission to teach Hyrule how to read. After two years, Hyrule had advanced greatly. They were able to read most things without help now.

The book spread across their lap was a collection of ancient fairy tales. It wasn’t the most engaging thing Hyrule had ever read. It had been written for a child to read and was simple in its word choice, but it was something to take their mind off the howling winds outside, so Hyrule couldn’t complain.

They twitched as a crack of thunder echoed through the temple. Their eyes didn’t leave the page but they were no longer paying any attention to the words. That was the loudest thunder they’d heard from the storm so far. Hyrule wondered briefly if lightning had struck the temple itself.

That would be a very bad omen.

Hyrule wondered which god was angry. Realistically, it could only be a few of them, only those who had domain over the sky and storms. Sky, perhaps, or Wind, maybe even Wild.

Right as Hyrule bought their attention back to the book on their lap, they became aware of a quiet dripping sound. Was there a leak in the roof? Hyrule frowned, twisting around to find the source of the noise.

What they saw startled them so badly that they let out a small yelp and slammed their book closed.

A soulful-looking child stood behind them. He looked so bedraggled that Hyrule almost didn’t recognize him as Wind.

He wasn't wearing the blue tunic he usually favored, instead dressed in the typical garb one would find in some of the poorer villages along the coast. The god was barefoot, not even wearing sandals. His golden hair was slicked down and turned a duller color from the water that plastered it to his head.

Water dripped from Wind’s clothes and air, creating a pool at his feet which grew too quickly for the amount that was dripping off of him. His head was tilted down, and Hyrule couldn’t make out his face, but his skin had an unhealthy blue tinge to it. He looked like a drowned ghost, coming back to haunt the living.

Hyrule suppressed a shudder. Now they knew which god was causing the storm.

They waited patiently for Wind to speak, but minutes dragged by and Wind didn’t move his eyes up from the ground to look at them.

After a while, Hyrule hesitantly set their book and blanket aside, slowly scooching their way off the bed. They planned to approach the god slowly, just in case, but the first step they took towards the god made Wind’s head snap up to face him.

Wind’s lips had a purple tinge to them, and his eyes were sunken in. Tears dripped continuously from his eyes, faster than any Hylian should be able to produce tears.

Hyrule shivered. “Wind, I can't help you if I don't know what’s wrong.”

Wind stared at them soulfully for a moment, and Hyrule started to think he wasn’t going to say anything before the god spoke. “You can’t help. Not unless you're able to beat some sense into every single mortal who thinks that they know the will of the gods.” Wind's voice was quiet, but filled with boiling anger.

His voice grew louder as he continued. “What gives them the right? What makes them think they know what I want!” The god gave a short, wordless yell, his hand flying up to tug on his hair.

Instinctively, Hyrule reached out, gently trying to remove Wind’s hands from where they were tangled in his wet tresses. Tugging on his hair like that can’t feel pleasant, god or no. Wind allowed Hyrule to take his hands into theirs, but he didn’t look calmed in the slightest. Wind seemed to be working himself up into a true temper, and it made a sliver of fear appear in the back of Hyrule’s mind.

They knew by now that Wind would never hurt them on purpose, but a god’s anger could be destructive.

“When has that ever been okay? Why did no one stop her? Why, why, WHY?” Wind was screaming by the last word, and a chorus of thunder echoed from outside to accompany his cries. His anger had morphed into hurt.

Hyrule didn’t know what had happened, or who “she” was, but they could see it was time to do some damage control before Wind summoned a storm inside Hyrule’s bedroom and accidentally fried them with a lightning bolt.

With a sharp tug on Wind’s hands, Hyrule drew the young god into a hug starting a mantra of soft reassurances and soothing words. Wind, who wasn’t paying attention to Hyrule by this point, was taken off guard. He fell into the hug with a wheeze, his next yell stolen from him.

It took a while for Wind to calm, for water to stop pouring from his eyes, and for color to start to return to his skin, washing away the unhealthy pallor he’d had before. As Wind’s cries grew quieter so too did the storm outside, being reduced to a steady but much less forceful patter of rain on the Temple’s roof. Hyrule managed to draw Wind over to his bed and sat the both of them down, not minding how wet the god would make their blankets.

When Wind has been reduced to quietly sniffling at irregular intervals, Hyrule finally felt like they could ask what happened. What could cause a god to become so upset? And why would he come to Hyrule for comfort instead of any of the other gods? It baffled them.

Hyrule asked, but Wind simply shook his head into Hyrule’s chest, obviously not wanting to speak about it. But by then, Hyrule's curiosity has been thoroughly roused, along with their concern and no small amount of protectiveness over the child clinging to them.

Wind was a god. He could protect himself, and he certainly didn’t need protection from Hyrule. Knowing that didn’t soothe Hyrule’s anxieties. “Come on, you don’t have to say much, just let me know what’s going on, okay?”

Wind eventually pulled back from the embrace, wiping away the last of his tears. He looked much better than before, no longer looking like a dead body at least. He looked more like a sick child who fell in a puddle

Wind looked up at Hyrule with fresh tears welling in his eyes. “One of the fishing villages along the coast was going through a rough spot- the fishing was just getting worse and worse. People were going hungry. There was a woman, who had just given birth to a baby girl. The woman wasn’t… well. Something went wrong with her birth, and she nearly died. Wanted nothing to do with her daughter after that.”

Hyrule nodded along with the story but was no closer to understanding what had caused Wind to become so upset. It was a sad tale, yes, but it happened sometimes- mothers falling into agony, trapped in their own minds after they give birth. There must be more to the story than that if it made Wind so upset.

And indeed, Wind carried on. “When the famine started, she got it into her mind that we had sent her child to her as a test of some sort. She became convinced the only way to end the starvation was to kill the child. She waded out into the water and held her baby under until she stopped moving. She just- didn’t stop. And she kept praying to me the who- whole t- time.”

Wind’s voice started hitching like he was about to cry again. “Everyone sa- aw her. There was a whole crowd there. No one stopped her. Why did no one stop her?”

Despite the waver in Wind’s voice and his hitching breath, he didn’t start crying again. Instead, he simply leaned forward, burying his head in Hyrule’s chest and returning to their positions from earlier. He sounded so defeated.

“Oh,” was all Hyrule could force out. That was worse than he was expecting. They shuddered, suppressing the urge to make noise in reaction to that, but they were sure Wind could feel their shiver.

When times got hard, people got desperate. If they got desperate enough, they would be willing to try anything to gain the gods’ favor, even Hylian sacrifice. It was illegal, of course, and doubly so if the victim was unwilling, but people still did it occasionally

But child sacrifice? That was beyond cruel, and even people who weren’t as well acquainted with the gods as Hyrule was would know they wouldn’t approve of that. Mentally, Hyrule offered up a prayer that the child’s soul would find peace.

“She will. I made sure of it.” Wind spoke, startling Hyrule when it seemed he had replied to their thoughts. Then they realized that was exactly what they’d done. Hyrule hadn’t directed the prayer to Wind specifically but the spirits of the dead, afterlife, and reincarnation was Wind’s purview. Of course he’d heard Hyrule’s prayer.

“And the mother?” Hyrule inquired hesitantly. They couldn’t imagine that Wind had granted the woman’s prayer for more food, not after she had killed her child in Wind’s name. Especially not when he seemed so distressed by it.

“They killed her.” Wind spoke softly, and monotone, all emotions leaching out of his voice.

Hyrule tightened their grip on Wind. They weren't surprised she was dead. Not really. The courts would never be kind to someone who killed their child, especially when it was indisputable that they had done it. Hylian justice was strict in that regard.

“I didn’t save her.” Still, his voice was flat, unusual for the overly expressive god.

Hyrule was left floundering at that. “Ah, did you want to save her?” The woman had offered Wind a sacrifice, after all. Had Hyrule misunderstood why Wind was so upset? Maybe he had accepted the sacrifice, and he was upset the woman had been punished so severely.

The thought of Wind accepting Hylian sacrifices made Hyrule’s blood chill, and for a split second, Hyrule felt more fear than he ever had around Wind. They were also insignificant to the gods. Half fae they may be, but they were still mortal.

Wind shook his head into Hyrule’s chest. Relief flooded Hyrule, and they barely managed to keep their voice from shaking as they asked, “Then why are you upset?”

“Because I didn’t want to save her. I thought she deserved to die.” Wind looked up at Hyrule with wide mournful eyes. “Did she?”

It was as if he was waiting for Hyrule to cast judgment- as if Hyrule was in any position to judge a god for their actions, let alone their thoughts. When Hyrule didn’t speak one way or the other, Wind continued. “I should have stopped them, but I didn’t.”

Wind sounded so defeated. “Why is murder the answer to murder? Why do Hylians take others' lives? We gave Hylians free will. We try not to interfere. But sometimes it just goes so badly… And to do things like that in our names, as if we told them to...” Wind trails off, seemingly at a loss for words.

Hyrule could have said something about Hylian law listing death as a suitable punishment for the murder of a child, that by the judgment of a Hylian court, what had happened to the mother had been lawful.

They didn’t, though. They were sure Wind was already well aware of that and didn’t need a reminder.

Wind seemed to go slack in Hyrule’s arms, allowing them to support him. It was as if he was waiting for them to cast judgment- as if Hyrule was in any position to judge a god for their actions. When Hyrule didn’t speak one way or the other, Wind looked up at them. “She could have gotten help. She might have gotten better.”

Hyrule wondered again why Wind had come to them for this. Why hadn’t he gone to one of the older gods? They would no doubt be better equipped to deal with this. But Wind hadn’t. He’d gone to Hyrule, so they would just have to help the best they could. “Maybe, but you can’t control what other people do.” Wind probably could but that wasn’t the point.

Neither of them spoke anymore after that, simply sitting on Hyrule’s bed in silence. Wind’s hiccups slowly pestered out until his breathing was even, and after a while, Hyrule realized he was asleep. It was strange- sleep seemed like the last thing a god would require but here they were, cradling a teenage god who was dead to the world.

On the upside, Wind no longer looked like a sickly child who had fallen into a puddle. He looked more or less like himself again, even if he was rather damp. Paying no mind to the moisture soaking into their blankets, Hyrule laid Wind down so he would be more comfortable. Tucking him in, Hyrule hesitated, realizing this meant they would have nowhere to sleep.

They considered it. Their bed would be big enough for both of them, yes, but it might be more cozy that was strictly comfortable. Shaking their head, Hyrule climbed into bed next to Wind. The boy had already cried in their embrace for at least an hour. Hyrule doubted he would mind them sleeping in the same bed.

Hyrule soon followed Wind into unconsciousness. When they woke in the morning Wind was already gone, but to Hyrule’s relief, when they stepped out of the temple, they found the morning had dawned bright and sunny.

~~~

Hyrule had only stepped outside for a few moments to go to the market to get something to eat for lunch. They returned with a meat pie wrapped in wax paper and a few apples tucked into their basket. There was a pep in their step as they looked forward to finding a quiet place to take a break and eat lunch.

Maybe they could head up to the roof? They thought about it as they entered the building, quickly bypassing all the shrine rooms as they headed towards the staircase in the back of the building. The roof of the temple was accessible by a small staircase tucked away in the back of the library on the second floor, but Hyrule was convinced that most people didn’t even know you could access the roof. They’d never seen anyone but themself and the gods up there

Hyrule spent a lot of time on the roof. It was a nice private place to take in some fresh air and get some sun, but they also spent time tending to the rooftop garden.

About a year and a half ago, when it had become obvious that Hyrule would be staying in the temple permanently, a large section of the rooftop had been transformed into a garden for them to tend to and harvest from.

Twilight had been the one to give Hyrule the garden, although Hyrule suspected that Time was also involved in the making of it. The god had woken them one early morning, demanding they accompany him to the rooftop. Hyrule, who at the time was much more cautious around the gods than they were now, had agreed hesitantly.

They had worried slightly that Twilight was going to push them off the roof but followed him obediently up the staircase anyways. When they’d reached the top of the stairs, Hyrule was shocked to discover that the rooftop had been transformed overnight. There were now several large planting beds in the middle of the roof, each already filled with rich black soil. Twilight had handed them a shovel and a handful of seeds- both of which had appeared out of thin air- and instructed them to get to work.

Twilight had handed them handful after handful of seeds and sprouts, all the while talking their ear off about proper growing techniques. It had slowly dawned on Hyrule that Twilight was expecting them to tend to this garden and harvest it when the time came.

When they’d asked what the food was for, Twilight had looked at them like they’d grown a second head, and said “It’s for you, of course. Ya don’t think we expect you to live just off the salary we give ya, do ya?” At that, Twilight knelt down in the dirt next to Hyrule and helped them finish planting.

So taking care of the garden had become part of their daily chores. The garden wasn’t large, nothing that would take Hyrule’s whole day to tend to, but it was nice to have something else to do besides clean.

Between the garden- which Hyrule suspected was producing more food than the amount of space allowed, but what did they know? They weren’t a farmer- and with the occasional rabbit or pheasant that Twilight or Wild would give him, Hyrule was less reliant on the markets for his food.

After Wild had seen the garden for the first time, he’d perked up like an excited puppy. The next thing Hyrule knew, the roof also had a hearth, cooking pots, and a stack of firewood that never seemed to grow any smaller. Retroactively, Hyrule was grateful Wild had the foresight to give them a place to cook. The temple wasn’t designed to be lived in permanently and therefore lacked even a basic kitchen.

(More often than not, Wild would take pity on them and cook for them. He said they were dismal at cooking, and Hyrule didn’t know enough about cooking to disagree.)

But some days, like today, Hyrule preferred to get out of the Temple and find something to eat in the marketplace. It's not like they lacked the money to do so. Twilight had said that he didn’t expect Hyrule to live off the money that the gods gave them, but in truth, Hyrule could easily do so. Some months he wasn’t even able to spend it all before he was given more.

Just as Hyrule reached the bottom of the stairs that led up to the second floor, their thoughts were abruptly cut off as a scream sounded from behind them. Someone was wailing in terror inside one of the shrine rooms. Hyrule turned on their heel and sprinted back in that direction.

A group of worshippers had already clustered around the door to Time’s shrine, so it was easy to locate where the scream had come from. People parted like water around a rock as Hyrule approached, recognizing him as the temple’s keeper and letting him through. Those who didn’t were grabbed by the people who stood next to them and hauled out of the way. Hyrule didn't spend any time reflecting on the authority they now held when it came to the temple and the gods, but it was definitely a weird feeling.

Besides, it was probably less that the crowd respected them, and more likely that no one else wanted to be the first to enter the room. Firstly because whatever was that had caused the room’s inhabitant to scream like that couldn’t be good, and secondly because it was rude to enter a shrine while someone else was praying. Hyrule was mostly exempt from the second point, meaning it would be better to let them deal with the danger, whatever it was.

Before Hyrule could even reach the door, it burst open. A young man dressed in typical farmer’s garb came barreling out of the room in a flat sprint. The man was down the hall and out the door before any of the onlookers, including Hyrule, could get a word out.

The crowd around them murmured uneasily, but the sight eased Hyrule‘s worries a little. They’d been afraid that they might walk into the shrine to find a dead body. Thankfully, it seemed like that wouldn’t happen now.

The man had left the door to the shrine- a solid oak door carved with harvest motifs- open, not bothering to close it in his haste. It swung back and forth gently with the force the man had slammed it open with. Hyrule caught the door with a hand, steadying it. Steeling their nerves for whatever they would find inside, Hyrule entered the room.

The first thing to hit them was the smell of the room, as it always did when they entered Time’s shrine room. It smelled like freshly grown grass, and deep dark forests, and if they concentrated it even smelled a bit like their mother’s fairy fountain. In short, it smelled like home and it always made some of the tension in their shoulders seep away

The second thing they noticed was the towering figure standing in the middle of the room. For a second, Hyrule was reminded of the time, months ago, when Sky had appeared before Hyrule in a gigantic inhuman form. At least in this case, the figure had the correct number of limbs and was a more reasonable height.

It was obviously Time- there was no one else it could be. Even if this form was different from what he usually took, it still looked remarkably like him. He wore silver armor, and a great double helix sword was strapped to his back. His hair was pure white, as were his eyes. The marks on his face remained, but they seemed brighter than usual, the only streak of color on the man’s body.

Both of his eyes were open, which was usual. Time preferred forms that had a large scar over one of his eyes. Hyrule had never heard the tale of how he’d gotten the scar, but it must have been a fight to boast of, if the god willingly kept the scar in all his forms.

Hyrule could see why such a sight would frighten someone who was not accustomed to seeing the gods, even if this appearance was very similar to a Hylian’s. The god’s pupil-less eyes seemed to bore into your very soul as he looked at you.

“Lord of the Seasons,” Hyrule greeted, using one of the god’s many formal titles. They bowed low and didn’t rise from the bow or dare look up at the god before they were told to. Their basket tumbled out of their hands as they did so, but they let it

For perhaps the hundredth time since Hyrule had come to the temple, Hyrule thanked their mother for teaching them proper manners. Fae were notorious for their politeness, and their mother wasn’t going to send Hyrule off into the world without teaching them manners, whether they were only half fae or not.

That meant that they had fit in quite well at the temple, back when they still maintained proper decorum with all the gods. Most others, unless they were nobility and had been raised in such environments, wouldn’t have known proper behavior.

Of course, those manners weren’t really needed anymore, but they still served Hyrule well in situations like these. They may have gained respect from the people of Castle Town by being the caretaker of the temple and they may be regarded as an authority on the will of the gods, but even then they couldn’t go around acting so casually toward them in public.

Time’s voice responded to his greeting, albeit deeper than it normally was. ”Rise, supplicant,” He ordered.

Thankfully, it seemed Time also recognized the need to keep a formal distance between them. Hyrule pushed down a feeling of hurt that Time would call them a supplicant, as if they had been reduced to simply a worshiper at his shrine. There was no need to take it personally. Time was playing a part, just as Hyrule was.

Hyrule rose, meeting Time’s eyes. (At least they were pretty sure they were meeting Time’s eyes. With no pupils, it was impossible to tell where the god was looking.)

With a wave of Time’s hand, the door to the room slammed shut in the faces of all the onlookers. It might have been Hyrule’s imagination, but they could have sworn that Time’s shoulders relaxed when they no longer had an audience.

Hyrule knew Time hadn’t come here for them. If Time had wanted to speak to Hyrule, he could have appeared before them directly. Which meant that the god couldn’t be angry at them for some slight Hyrule hadn't realized they had committed.

That and the fact Hyrule had gotten over being fearful of the strange forms they took. After being espoused to it for so long, the novelty of it had worn off. It took something very shocking- like Sky’s gigantic form- to startle them.

Lacking any fear, Hyrule said, “Didn’t expect to see you here.” It was a casual greeting, one that you might give to a friend you met in the market. It seemed absurd to give such a greeting to a god, but a lot of things in Hyrule’s life were absurd and they had learned to live with it.

“He wanted advice.” Time spoke. Time’s face remained impassive and completely still. Hyrule yet to see any movement on the god’s face. It was as if the god were wearing a mask carved of wood. Time had an excellent poker face and rarely let emotions show, but he was usually a bit more expressive than this.

Hyrule blinked in confusion. “Who- oh, the young man who was in here before me?”

Time sighed, voice slightly irritated. “Yes.”

Hyrule knew that many people sought out the gods to ask for advice on a whole range of topics. Still, it was very rare for any of the gods to answer in person, let alone Time. Out of all the gods, he was the most seclusive, preferring to keep to himself and do his work from a distance.

“What did he want advice about?” Hyrule said, wondering what would have drawn Time to visit.

Time lifted a hand to rub over his face, sounding exhausted when he spoke. “He wanted love advice. He said that since I was the only one of the gods who was married, I might have some wisdom for him.”

That certainly wasn't what Hyrule had been expecting. It was true- Time was the only married god, as far as Hyrule knew- but he wasn’t known as a god of love or anything like that. If you wanted advice on the softer aspects of things, you were better off praying to Sky, or perhaps even Four or Warriors.

Time nodded, perhaps seeing confusion on Hyrule’s face. “It’s unusual that I get a supplicant asking for romantic advice. I wanted to answer him in person, but it seems he was too much of a coward for that.” Time’s face remained as impassive as ever, but Hyrule heard scorn in Time’s voice.

Courage was something that all the gods valued, and Time was no exception. All of the gods were warriors of some kind, and none of them took kindly to cowardice, so it didn't surprise them that Time was displeased that the man had run. ”But I think I might stay for a while longer and hear more supplications from those who are brave enough to face me.”

Not wanting to offend, but also slightly amused by the whole situation, Hyrule said. “Maybe you could take on a less frightening form? Other people aren't as used to seeing gods as I am. He was just scared of that, I think.”

There was a long pause as Time seemed to consider this. While he did, Hyrule turned to gather their basket off the floor. The basket and meat pie had stayed where they had dropped them, but the apples had rolled away. Hyrule found one of them easily, but the other was nowhere to be seen.

Most likely it had rolled into a corner or under an offering table. Hyrule could find it later, after the worshippers had left the temple and this whole situation had died down.

But when they turned back to Time, they were pleasantly surprised. Hyrule hadn’t thought that Time had moved when they’d turned their back on him, but they found that the god was standing closer than he had been, and holding out the apple Hyrule had lost.

He had also changed his appearance. Time looked more like he usually did, now. He still wore the armor, but it was no longer unearthly silver, but a normal iron. His hair was no longer white, but a bright blonde, and he stood at a more reasonable height. If Hyrule had seen him out in the city, they would have assumed that he was a knight, and wouldn’t have looked twice at him.

At least, if it hadn’t been for the mask the man now wore. It was white and pearlescent, with a swirling symbol Hyrule didn't recognize carved into it. It also had no eye holes, but Hyrule got the unnerving feeling Time was still staring at them.

With a smile, Hyrule took the second apple from Time’s outstretched hand and tucked it into their basket. “That’s better,” They agreed to Time’s unspoken question. “Much less intimidating, I think.” Then they hesitated. “But, if you still wanted to speak with that young man, I’m afraid that he’s, um, already gone.”

Time snorted at that. “No need to be delicate about it. I know he ran away like a child.“

Hyrule nodded, not bothering to defend the young man. He had run away, after all.

They would have to warn those who were gathered outside that the god would still be there if they entered his shrine, and then they would have to prepare for a flood of people coming to see the god in person. Hyrule would probably seclude themself in their room. No need for them to get caught up in that mess.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.” Hyrule sighed. “Here’s hoping I won't have to fight through a hoard of people all asking questions the second I step out of this room.” It was a fruitless hope, they already knew. News of the god’s presence would have already spread, drawing even more people to crowd around the door.

Time said nothing, but patted them on the shoulder consolingly before they headed towards the door, leaving the god where he stood.

~~~