Tears of the Kingdom: Tales out of Time

[aubergion]

A nonexhaustive list of things I have to do in this game:

- Become a reporter to recruit musicians to cure a giant woman's probably-clinical depression
- Learn to read ancient Hyrulean (somehow)
- Get some rice where is it I have cut down so much grass
- Upgrade my battery life, goddamn
- Buy a sweater (possibly)
- Evidently, play Ocarina of Time

I headed out of central Hyrule north and west, to Serenne Stable. I knew Impa is waiting for me there, thanks to running into Cado repeatedly around central-eastern Hyrule. It's not too far, and unlike someone (Robbie) she has a working balloon she lets me use. (am I still salty about the Depths thing? Maybe). I didn't actually spot the water in the Rauru geoglyph until I spent a fair bit of time running around it, but after that - interesting to see that the locationally-linked Zelda flashbacks are still part of the game. And a return of the tears motif, since these memories are dragon's tears.

This confirms what I already more or less figured since Zelda bestowed Recall on me way back in the Great Sky Island - she's back in time, in the age of Rauru and his wife, Sonia, which if I recall my Zonai ruins lore from Faron, is strongly indicated to predate the Sheikah. In BotW, they were responsible for the Barbarian Armor and the cool sort of draconic stone pillars near the shrine of courage. Rauru's personality doesn't really scan with the whole "fearless warrior, raise your attack stat, wear a skull on your head" aesthetic but it's entirely possible he's an outlier and all the other llama people just love to go apeshit on their enemies. And the textures of the constructs do sort of remind me of the stone pillars.

I am very glad Rauru's mythical queen is a different woman, not Zelda herself. I was worried for a while there - then she'd really be stuck in the mother of all grandmother paradoxes, and I'd probably never get her back.

After the vision, Impa and Cado directed me to the Forgotten Temple, which is absolutely wild because that was endgame-endgame in BotW. More guardians than I could shake a Master Sword at. I know there's no guardians in this game (probably? hopefully?) but the instinct of avoidance is strong. So that sounded like a plan. But first: sidequests! Picked up my beloved climbing shirt and hopped down a well, which I'm trying to do more consistently. And I helped a girl build a wagon. But if you give a stablegirl a wagon, she'll want a horse to go with it.

I've got five horses. Three aren't getting given away (my giant horse Firefax, my white horse Rhoam, and my five-spur black horse Inqy). Of the other two, I have Cloud, my first horse, and Chino, my spare horse who, because I was terrified of losing Inqy, fought Ganon with me. I haven't ridden Cloud for ages, since I got Rhoam, so like, sixty hours and two Divine Beasts ago? And I feel like that's not fair to poor Cloud.

If you love something, let it go.

Onwards! Upwards! Well, downwards, actually, since the temple's in a canyon. There's nothing in there but a couple red and blue bokoblins now and I still spent the entire time jumping at every corner because in my mind's eye, I could hear the damn lasers. But past the decidedly laserless bokoblins and a new Zonai shrine in exactly the same place as the Sheikah shrine - there's a new room. Seven rocks around a little metal lotus thing. And beyond that, a map of geoglyphs. Plus a wall showing them in order. I have to say, this memory quest is a lot easier than BotW.

Also, the seven sages sealing Ganondorf is an Ocarina of Time thing, isn't it? I read a little about it in Kakariko, though apparently it doesn't count for the quest unless you read it yourself, which I can't do yet. Just like the floating islands are, I've heard, a Skyward Sword thing. I wonder what else from the other games will make an appearance, and if I'll find any of it before freezing to death in Hebra.