The Legend of Zelda- Medli’s Quest
Story Draft 1
Author’s Note: This is a rough draft summary of the Medli’s Quest storyline as I have written thus far. If it seems incomplete to you, that’s because it probably is. I’m crossing narrative and explanatory elements. It’s for ME to understand, so, if you don’t, kiss off.
Opening (Narrative)
The night air was cold, and the ocean breeze blew strong as heavy clouds formed over the island of Dragon Roost. A young girl named Medli slept restlessly in her bed, troubled by her never-ending dreams.
I have you, girl! You can’t escape me now!
The voice echoed through young Medli’s mind, and her mind played through the dream she found herself trapped in upon this night, where she found herself running through metallic chambers where strange symbols shone with a great blue light along the walls.
Keep going, enter my domain…
She found herself in a room that was darkened, with little of the glowing blue décor found in the halls before it. As her eyes adjusted, she could make out a black figure in the middle of the chamber, a giant mass towering over her. Out of what must have been the head, in the very middle, shone a bright red light, aimed right at her.
And now you will face my beast…
The room’s lights came to life, flooding the chamber with a blue glow, and before her she saw the gargantuan creature, if it could be called such, before her, ready to strike. The beast resembled everything around it, being mainly metallic, but with pieces of its body made of stone. It lunged at her, and she dove out of the way.
Yes! Run! Run! Your fear feeds me! Your terror is my treat!
Climbing up onto a platform, Medli ducked behind an imaginary rock, wishing she could form one before her, give herself a chance to think. The beast got ready to swing, and was about to crush the young girl when she heard another voice, more kind and familiar than the fright that called to her before.
The sword! Use your sword!
Medli realized that something was in her hand, and somehow she had not noticed it before. Holding up her small blade, the beast’s fist smashed down upon it, and Medli was amazed to see the metal monster reel back, crying in pain.
A flash of light.
Medli awoke, sweat covering her shaking body, fear holding her like a rat in a trap, and the sky outside was little less than angry. Another bolt of lighting struck towards the Great Sea not a mile away, and the light brightened up the room, if only for a second. Realizing it was just another horrible nightmare, she took comfort in hearing the sounds of nature after even an imaginary experience surrounded by such a lack of it.
Thunder rolled across the sky, but something odd accompanied it. A strum of some sort, a high-pitched pull of a string, quick, as if… a harp? The music it produced grew louder, almost outweighing the thunder. Medli peered out the window and tried to determine where such a sound would come from at this hour, and in such weather, and even more why nobody had sought it out yet. A guard stood perched just outside, taking shelter under an outcropping of the mountain, seemingly oblivious to the noise.
Something was not right, and this time Medli knew herself to be awake. She threw on her only outfit - a plain blue dress - and ran out to find the source of the noise.
Finding Fate’s Instrument - The Ancient Harp
Location: Rito shore.
Environment: Rain, thunder, and appropriate ambience. The guard stands under the rock and, if question, knows nothing of this noise you hear.
(Narrative)
Medli went outside, and reluctantly so, but decided to brave the rain, if for no other reason than to find the bard who found himself comical for keeping her awake even more than she usually was.
Continuing to stand at his post, the guard called to Medli and inquired as to why such a young child would be out so late at night. When asked of the harp and how he could just ignore it, he simply guessed the wind to be playing tricks on the young Rito’s ears, for he claimed not to hear the gentle strums, loud as they were to the girl.
Outside of a few Chu-chus who had washed up on shore, Medli found that the only thing worth worrying about was the weather and the noise that came with it. Avoiding the slimy creatures, Medli pressed forward along the shore, careful to mind the raging tide.
There!
Out of the side of the mountain came a light, and Medli guessed the bard of the night dwelled in it. Climbing towards the opening in the mountain’s wall, Medli was careful not to slip upon the rocks she balanced upon to reach her goal, for they were wet with the ocean’s dew.
When she reached the cave’s edge, she sneaked towards the entrance, planning to frighten he who dared drive her so mad at such a time of night. Turning the corner, she got ready to shout whatever came to mind at whoever was there, but was stunned to find that, as she turned the corner, the light vanished and the harp stopped playing within an eye’s blink. Staring into the dark, Medli found only the instrument that had given her such trouble. On the ground lay the harp, engraved with an appearance of a dragon’s face, with two wooden handles protruding from it’s golden body, holding tight its four strings.
How odd… Medli thought, picking up the instrument. She thought the owner may have ran deeper into the cave, but a quick examination revealed that there was no deeper to recede to. Nonetheless, something inside Medli told her to hold on to the object she found as her own.
Moving twice as careful down them as she did up, Medli carried her new treasure down the rocks and onto the shore. The storm had calmed a bit, for the time, and all that remained of it now was a slight breeze and some angry waves still wanting to settle a score with those in charge of nature. She curled up next to the mountainside for a time, staring at what she had found, unable to determine just why she’d determined to keep such a fearful thing. The harp’s “face” stared at her, as if wishing to penetrate the flesh and see right through into the deepest recesses of her soul.
Even with such a haunting thing staring her down, she wished to touch it, even hear it as it sounded in her hands. She gave the strings a gentle strum.
No sooner had the sound began its first echo than the harp began to glow and shoot forth a light that stopped suddenly a short distance from her. Where the light once was sat a young girl in a blue robe with green hair, sitting on a flying broom and looking somewhat bewildered. Her face was plastered with so much make-up that one could almost consider her a clown if it would have looked like it was intended to be as silly as it was.
“I’m… I’m out!” the young girl exclaimed. “I’m out! Finally! Oh, how long was I in there? I lost track, if there was any way to keep it anyway. That’s what one gets for sneaking a look at what shouldn’t be seen.” At this point she noticed Medli and the instrument in her hands. “Oh, so YOU let me out! Be careful with that thing, trust me.”
“..um…” Medli wanted to speak, but had to think about what to say. “…You were… inside?”
“That’s right. I peeked in on some lady playing it one day and found myself trapped in it. It’s a hard thing to cope with, being cramped up inside an object like that. It’s not exactly HOLLOW, you know?”
“…oh… Well… um… I’m Medli… and you…?”
“…Maple. Apprentice Witch to… some old hag. Her name’s not that important. I should probably get back to her. I imagine she’ll be having a good skwak at me for being away so long… however long it was. Tell me, where’m I at, kid?”
Look who’s calling who a kid! The girl who tried to look more grown up than she is and failed! “Dragon Roost Island, home of the Rito.”
“Dragon Roost? Rito? Never heard of neither.”
“… I… find that hard to believe. The Rito deliver mail all over the Great Sea…”
“…The Great wha--?”
“You seem… confused?”
“You’ve just used three proper nouns that aren’t in my vocabulary. I’m a bit thrown off, yes. Where’s the.. Um… ‘Great Sea’ at, exactly?”
“Well, as far as we know, everywhere, pretty much…”
“So… I guess finding my way home from here would be kinda hard right now…”
“So then you are lost.”
“…Yeah, it would seem that way… well, crud… So… um… Medli… I don’t suppose your renting out a room or anything?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m thinking I’ll need a place to stay for a bit. I can pay, if you’re concerned over it, rupees, nick-nacks, or I could even treat you like you’re higher than dirt on the food chain. Not many people get that, but you’re close enough, having let me out and all.”
“… I suppose.. I could see what I can do… but…”
“Wonderful! It’s weird, I don’t think I’ve ever really liked anyone before, but you seem to fit the bill, Med!”
“… Med?”
“What, nobody ever give you a nickname before? Cut it back to one syllable, may as well be the first… Med. I could call ya Meds, but then I’d have too easy a time making doctor jokes around you.”
“So.. Then… Maple, right? I guess we should find you somewhere to stay…”
“Great. Anywhere with enough space to move around a little bit at all would be an improvement over being in THAT thing. Not that you can relate or anything, though I wouldn’t wish it on you to be able to. Not even I can be that cruel to anyone, especially not the person who let me out…”
But how DID I let you out…? I don’t understand…
The Guest - Maple
Maple follows Medli back into the caves and ultimately into Medli’s small home.
Medli’s home was a small one, though plenty large enough for one person. There appeared two bedrooms, for instance, and a spare one on top of that, though not one of them was very large.
“Sorry if it seems a bit empty right now. My parents are both explorers, you see, and they left to find some lost continent or something.” Medli spoke as though she didn’t honestly care, though Maple could see through it.
“‘Lost continent or something’? That seemed a little nonchalant, especially for a girl who’s living without her parents.”
Something about what Maple said hit Medli deep. By the wince she’d gained, the young witch knew she’d struck a nerve and left it at that.
“Let me show you to your room…” said the young Rito, her voice tinted with a cross of sorrow and bitterness.
Maple made mental note not to bring the subject up again.
_________________________________
The ship was ready to sail, and Medli’s mother and father were wishing their daughter well until their return. Both had striking red hair, a rare trait among the mainly white- and brown-haired Ritos, and also a trait Medli had inherited and taken pride in. Another trait she’d inherited appeared to be bravery, as the girl shed no tears watching her parents leave the island on what had been labeled a fool’s journey.
“Be strong, honey.”, her mother had said.
“We’ll be back before you know it!”, added in her father.
And before she could muster up the courage to look either in the eye and say anything, or even simply to wave farewell, the ship had gone upon the fool’s quest.
The hunt for the lost land.
The search for Hyrule.
_________________________________
Well, she knew it, and they weren’t back yet. That had been over a month ago, yet the dream stayed as vivid as ever. Though it was annoying in its reoccurrence, it was nothing to her troubling dream from earlier that night.
Medli took little time to dwell on it, as a certain sund was starting to interrupt her train of thought.
Well, at least Maple is sleeping well…
The snoring young apprentice lay comfortably upon what Medli considered a rather makeshift bed, consisting of a pile of straw on a cement slab. However long she’d been in that instrument, she’d apparently grown used to discomfort on a much grander scale than this, and probably took the bed to be a small slice of heaven.
Even if it was just in memory, seeing her mother’s face had brightened up Medli’s mood considerably, and with it her generosity. She started off to make breakfast for them both, figuring the witch hadn’t eaten much in a long time, either. She’d be hungry.
And Medli’s preparations were not in vain. Maple had no sooner woken from her ungraceful slumber than she’d caught the aroma from the kitchen and made haste to devour all that lay before her.
“I.. Take it you like it…?” Medli couldn’t help but sound odd. She was witnessing eating taken to a level of speed that made it seem impossible that her guest even tasted the food prepared for her, although Maple’s face clearly had an expression upon it that told that she not only tasted the food, but thoroughly enjoyed it as well.
“It’s wonderful…” said Maple, stuffed to nearly twice her normal size, thoroughly content, and not at all ashamed of several new stains upon her dress.
Medli stared for a moment longer before she could muster up anything intelligent to say. “Perhaps you would like to clean up?”
“Hm? That might not be such a bad idea, I guess, seeing how I do look much like a pig…”
“I’ll show you to the bath…” Medli couldn’t tell whether she was embarrassed to have such company, grateful, or simply amused by this animal of a girl. Her make-up had worn off in the eating process, and that allowed Maple’s true face to show through. Medli was sure to catch a glimpse of it.
By witch standards, Maple didn’t appear like the common idea passed down over time. Though she wore the legendary brimmed hat, it was a shade of blue on the outside and magenta on the inside, with a ribbon tied around it, much opposed to the stereotypical black hat. Her green hair, frazzled as it was from however much rolling about she did that night on her… “bed”… was still fairly beautiful, although Medli didn’t care much for its green color. She didn’t care much for the witch’s haircut, either, with a spike of hair protruding from either side of her head.
Comparatively, Medli was a little shorter, though not much, and average for her age. He long red hair was almost always tied back into a ponytail, and was, in her mind, her only mark of beauty, and it graced by hear pointed ears in a thick strand on either side of her face. She didn’t care much for the bill on her face, though she much preferred having a bill to some sort of atrocious hawk beak that seemed to grace most of the Rito men. Despite the bill, her upper half was fairly normal, for the time being. Sooner or later she’d have wings, but until then her skin was graced only by a few freckles instead of feathers. Her eyes were bright red, enough so that they had a bit of a glow to them in a dark room, though a friendly one as far as red glows go.
Otherwise, the two girls could be nearly identical, ignoring Medli’s little talons that passed as her feet. Both were relatively scrawny in size, except for the bulge indicating Maple’s thoroughly satisfying breakfast. The bulge would pass, though, and then the tow would be about the same size again. Both walked in a similar manner, and neither walked in what both considered the nonsense manner of luring boy with one’s hips. In fact, their walk may have been considered boyish, and Maple’s attitude could be considered the same.
“So what should I do with these whilst I’m in there?” asked the witch, pointing at her dirtied garments.
“Just leave them outside the door, I’ll clean them for you in a bit. In the meantime, you seem about my size, and it would appear our color sense is about the same, so you can borrow one of my gowns until I get yours cleaned up.”
“Sounds good, then.”
Though her only outfit was a plain blue dress, she kept a small stock of it. Medli pulled out the biggest of the three she kept, though it wasn’t much larger than the others, and would still be a tad short on her guest, but better than nothing. She left it outside the bath door and took what the young witch had left for her to add to the small laundry pile one person can produce.
Medli had not been at washing the clothes long than she had some help with her, freshened up and in a dress that revealed about an inch past the ankles.
“Can’t leave you to do this on your own, now, can I? That’d be a bit rude of me.”
“But you’re the guest, and I am the host.”
“Guest, eh? I dunno about that. I feel enough like an intruder as it is without you pampering me so much.”
Medli couldn’t argue with that. “Does it fit alright?”
“The dress? Yeah, it’s OK. A few inches shorter than I care for, but better than a dirty rag like this.” Maple held up her shirt, which Medli failed to notice as the one the girl’s grabbed from the pile. It looked a little better, but half the stains were still there, and more spread than gone.
“You like your garments dragging on the ground, though, don’t you?”
Maple giggled a bit. “So you noticed. My feet aren’t exactly what would be considered the most beautiful thing in the world.”
“They look fine to me.”, Medli said with her eyes half-closed.
“They look OK, yeah, just not on ME.”
“Oh, that’s nonsense!”
“Pah! Look at them!”
She did. And she didn’t see it. The feet looked fine, with or without Maple attached. “They look fine on you, too. Mine, however…” Medli held up her talon of a foot in all its yellow majesty.
“It matches your bill and feathery legs well.”
“Thank you so much.” A tone of sarcasm littered Medli’s voice.
Maple had to think on that one. She’d already figured that treading the wrong ground in a conversation with this girl was a bad idea. “… It would seem neither of us is thoroughly satisfied by how we look, then, hm?”
“It would appear not. How was the bath?”
“More like a hot spring.”
“Ideally, yes.”
“Very bubbly. And warm. I darn near fell asleep in it…”
Medli laughed. Maple was glad she was able to change the mood with Medli’s help of changing the subject.
That’s when a ship was spotted heading towards Dragon Roost in desperate need of repair.
Tetra Arrives at Dragon Roost
The news of a ship heading towards the island spread like a wildfire, and many had their hopes set upon seeing one of the expedition parties coming home. One great hopeful was Medli; her parents were on one such ship.
Granted, it would not be hard to imagine the pain and disappointment that filled the girl’s heart when she laid eyes upon the ship that had washed nearly ashore. What was left of its tattered flag was not one of the island, but rather one of pirates. The crew had its sets of men: a few burly types, a couple smaller men who apparently needed to be more crafty than skilled, and, the strangest thing of all, the young girl who appeared to be their leader.
Medli wanted a closer luck, partly out of curiosity, and partly because the feeling of Maple’s breath going down her back from being so close told her the young apprentice wanted the same.
©2002-2003 Sam Boyd
