#inevitabilis

Timeline I, A Hylian village

 “How did today go?” Dolcia asked as Astor closed up his tent.

It had been a week since Dolcia had met Astor. Since then, she had been staying with the seer in his house outside the village and had been studying magic alongside him.

“Not terrible, actually.” Astor replied, “I predicted that a young lady would marry her crush today and she seemed quite pleased. It’s a good feeling when a positive prediction comes along.”

“I would imagine so!”

The two began walking through the village back towards Astor’s house.

“Have you ever had a prediction that turned out differently?” Dolcia asked.

“Very rarely, but it has happened.” Astor replied, “Time is a very strange thing. My predictions show the most likely outcome based on information I have about the target in question. Even if something is 99.9% likely, that 0.1% is still possible.”

“Strange indeed.” Dolcia agreed as they began to cross a road. Dolcia gasped as her eyes briefly flashed gold before quickly dragging Astor back from the road.

“Agh! Hey, what-?”

Before Astor could finish his exclamation, a runaway cart of cabbages went careening past them and crashed into a wall.

“I’m so sorry!” A merchant came running down the road after it, “I turned around for one second and my cart started rolling down the hill. Are you two alright?”

“Uh…yes, we’re okay.” Astor replied, a tad amazed and confused, “Do you need help?”

“No, no, it’s fine. It looks like the damage wasn’t major. I’ll be on the move in no time. Thank you for the offer though!”

The merchant quickly hurried off to his cart as Astor turned to Dolcia, “How…how did you know that was going to happen…?”

“You may or may not be the only mage who dabbles with time.” Dolcia winked before motioning down the road towards Astor’s house.

 ~

 “Timewalker?”

Dolcia nodded as the two sat in Astor’s study, “Every century or so, one member of the Symphonyxian royal family is born with a rare form of magic. Queen Dolcia the Dark was born with the ability to safely cast dark magic safely, and I was born with time magic. Those who can use time magic are called Timewalkers; mages blessed by the deity of time, Tutti. We were given that name due to our ability to jump through timelines if we die before we’re meant to. I still haven’t mastered all my abilities yet but as of now, I can react to things before they happen and occasionally receive my own glimpses into the future. I tend to keep it a secret due to the council’s fear that some may want to exploit it for their own gain.”

“I see…” Astor muttered, “But…why tell me then?”

“Well…I trust you.” Dolcia smiled, “Ever since my parents died, I didn’t have many friends…okay, I didn’t have any friends. You’re my first. And I’m grateful for that.”

Astor’s eyes widened in surprise but was distracted as the strands of hair fell in front of his eye again.

Dolcia giggled, “Those bothersome strands, eh?”

“I can’t get the damned things to sit still…” Astor grumbled as he tried to push them behind his ear.

“Hang on, I have an idea.” Dolcia took a metal clasp from the study’s desk, leaned over to Astor, and began fiddling with the hair strands.

“E-er, Dolcia?” Astor stuttered, blushing slightly at the sudden closeness between him and Dolcia.

“Gimme a sec, I’m almost done.” Dolcia stuck out her tongue impishly as she braided the hair strands together, “Aaand…done! Ta-dah!”

Dolcia leaned back to admire her handiwork. She had turned the strands into two separate braids; one falling straight down, and the other looping towards the back of his head.

“There we go! No more bothersome bangs.” Dolcia smiled proudly as Astor picked up his desk mirror to view the braids.

“Huh…this isn’t half bad.” He muttered, impressed.

“Of course it’s great! I had a vision that I’d have mad hair-styling skills!” Dolcia stated dramatically. This was enough to earn a full laugh out of Astor, prompting Dolcia to join in.

“Y-you’re ridiculous!” Astor chuckled.

“Ridiculously awesome!” Dolcia countered.

Astor sighed as he recovered from the laughing fit, “Hey, Dolcia?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. Admittedly, you’re…you’re my first friend too.”

“It’s my honour.”

 ~

 Timeline II, Korok Forest

 “What were those clones?” Zelda asked as the group ran through the forest.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen magic like that before.” Dolcia replied.

“No match for the real thing, obviously.” Revali added.

As opposed to the first timeline where Dolcia mainly aided the group from Hyrule Castle after meeting them for the first time, Dolcia managed to convince Zelda to have her tag along. She decided it was best to not reveal her time abilities to the group and hoped that she could find Astor before he joined Calamity Ganon.

 As the group arrived at the resting place of the fabled Master Sword, Link raised his hand, signalling for the group to stop.

“Link? What’s-” Dolcia began but cut herself off with a gasp as her eyes followed Link’s.

Standing at the shrine was a hooded figure in dark purple robes with a glowing orb floating in his hand. It emitted a purple light as the hollows of the four pilots reappeared. They dashed towards Link who tried to fight back, but they were too fast and would teleport away before Link could land a blow.

Dolcia turned to yell toward the figure, “Hey! What do you think you’re-?!”

Dolcia froze. She had gotten a good look at the figure’s face as they lifted it to glare at her.

“A…Astor…?” Dolcia stuttered in a mix of fear, shock, and disbelief.

“You know this mage?” Urbosa asked.

Before Dolcia could reply, Link was thrown backwards into the shrine, his broken sword lying beside him.

“Link!” Zelda exclaimed.

Astor slowly raised a finger towards Zelda with a malicious glint in his eye, “Kill her.”

“Astor, no!!” Dolcia jumped in front of Zelda alongside the other pilots to defend Zelda as the hollows charged toward them.

Suddenly, a bright light filled the area as the hollows began to fade away. Behind Link, the Master Sword began to glow brightly.

“What?!” Astor gasped as he turned to face Link, who had begun to lift the Master Sword from its pedestal. With a mighty tug, the blade came free from its stone binding as Link raised it high before pointing it towards Astor. The seer cursed under his breath as he summoned more of the hollows to fight Link. The Master Sword, however, made quick work of them, slicing through as if they were made of butter.

 Astor glared at Link, “Fine. I will end you myself, you nuisance! Your power is mine for the taking.”

Astor fired a blast of the strange magic at Link, but it was shot off course by a blast of golden magic. Astor glared at its source: Dolcia, who was holding her golden baton.

“Astor, what are you doing?!” Dolcia demanded.

“What I must to ensure the Calamity ensues!” Astor shot back as he began firing blasts towards Dolcia, who parried them away by firing blasts of her own. They were by no means more powerful than Astor’s but bought enough time for Link to attack from behind, the two performing a pincer manoeuvre on Astor as the pilots took care of any hollows he summoned.

“That sword…It is too powerful…” Astor cursed. He shot one last glare towards Dolcia – his eyes cold and unfeeling – before disappearing in a flash of magic.

 As Zelda and Link conversed with the Great Deku Tree, Dolcia was lost in her thoughts.

‘He was allied with Calamity Ganon this early…? This is bad…if I can only be sent back a month before my death, then that means I can’t prevent him from joining Ganon. But why would he even join Ganon in the first place? And those eyes…that thing on his forehead…he’s not acting like himself at all…Astor, what happened to you…?’

As the Great Deku Tree fell back into slumber, Dolcia turned to leave only to be greeted by Revali’s bow aimed inches from her face, “G-gyah!!”

“Revali?! What are you-?” Zelda exclaimed as Revali glared at Dolcia.

“I knew I had a reason to be suspicious of you.” Revali’s eyes narrowed as Dolcia shakingly took a step back.

“Revali, what do you think you’re doing?” Urbosa demanded.

“Does no one else here find it a little odd that your ‘new friend’ seemed very familiar with the mage who tried to kill us?”

“W-wait! I can explain-” Dolcia stuttered.

“Explain what? That you’re secretly working to bring about the Calamity? That you’re trying to take us down from the inside?”

“Waah! Bird guy is scary when he’s angry!” Hestu cried as he attempted to hide behind Daruk…the key word being attempted as he was much taller than the Goron.

“Revali, that’s enough.” Zelda placed a hand on Revali’s bow, lowering it gently, “I don’t know how or why Dolcia knows that mage, but now is not the time to be brash. For now, let’s return to the castle where it’s safer. Dolcia can explain herself there.”

“The princess is right.” Impa added, “We’re all a little on edge from… whatever those were. I’m sure once we’ve cleared our heads, things will make sense.”

Revali glared at Dolcia before fully lowering his bow and walking off.

“Are you alright, miss Dolcia?” Mipha asked.

“I…I’m okay…” Dolcia replied, “A little shaken, that’s all. I’ll feel better when we get back home.”

‘I hope…’

 ~

 Hyrule Castle

 Dolcia sat uncomfortably between Daruk, Hestu and Mipha as the rest of the group had an intense discussion about Dolcia’s trustworthiness. Dolcia kept opening her mouth to get a word in but would be cut off by someone else talking, mostly by Revali.

“I’m telling you, we can’t trust her!” Revali retorted.

Impa sighed, “Revali, will you please-?”

“TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!”

Everyone covered their ears as the small white guardian let out a sharp whistle.

“Beep bewoop!” The guardian pointed at Dolcia as it beeped aggressively at Dolcia.

“I think it wants us to let Dolcia speak.” Impa said as the guardian scuttled over to Dolcia.

“Thank you, little friend.” Dolcia gave a small smile before addressing the rest of the group, “I know you have your suspicions of me, but I’m not trying to bring the Calamity. Astor was a close friend of mine I met about a year ago, back when I first arrived in Hyrule. But a few months after I met him, I received a vision and left to investigate. When I returned a few weeks later, he was gone, and nobody knew where he went. I don’t know why he would try to bring about the Calamity…he’s never acted like this before. I know it’s hard to believe, but I swear I’d never do anything to hurt you guys!”

The group was silent for a moment before Zelda spoke, “I believe her.”

Everyone turned to the princess with surprised expressions as Zelda continued, “I don’t think Dolcia’s working against us. She’s done nothing to hinder us thus far and seemed just as shocked to see Astor as the rest of us.” Zelda then turned to Dolcia, “I don’t know why your friend is trying to bring about the Calamity, but we won’t allow it to happen. And if possible, we’ll get to the bottom of this and find out why he’s acting this way.”

Dolcia breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled, “Thank you, princess.”

“How asinine…” Revali muttered, “Fine. But if you do anything remotely shifty, I won’t hesitate to end you on the spot. Understood.”

Dolcia nodded.

Zelda gave Dolcia a warm smile, giving her hope that maybe things would work out after all.

 ~

 A few weeks later, Hyrule Castle

 “This humiliation…cannot be my destiny. It cannot be!”

Astor glared at the heroes before him with frenzied rage in his eyes, “Hear me, Calamity Ganon!”

Dolcia’s eyes widened in horror, the situation all too familiar to her.

‘No…’

“It’s time for you to devour these…these…”

Astor stared at his extended arm in horror as it slowly became infected with Malice.

‘No, no, no, no, no!!!’

Dolcia darted for Astor and pushed him away from Harbinger Ganon in an attempt to distance him from the malice. The strange headpiece fell from his forehead as the two hit the ground, but the Malice continued to spread. Dolcia tried to use a healing spell on it in an attempt to slow it down at least, but nothing seemed to work.

“No…no, no, please no!” Dolcia cried, panic filling her voice.

“Dol…cia...” Astor choked, his body searing with pain from the Malice, “Your power…please…go back…stop me…stop me from being…being a fool…please.” Astor looked up at Dolcia pleadingly as he begged, barely managing to get the words out.

“Astor…I…I will. I promise…”

“Dolcia, watch-!”

Dolcia looked up just in time to see a beam of Malice come flying at her.

 ~

 Timeline Null, The Sea of Time

 Dolcia gasped as she sat up, clutching her chest as she could still feel lingering pain from the Malice.

“Take deep breaths.” Tutti lay beside Dolcia as they rubbed her back with their tail soothingly. Once Dolcia had caught her breath, Tutti’s expression saddened, “Tragedy again…”

Dolcia nodded.

“Take your time.” Tutti reassured, “There’s no need to rush into the next shard immediately. Take as long as you need to clear your head.”

“Thank you…” Dolcia replied as she tried to calm her breathing. She looked up at the shards floating around her. She noticed one shard – the shard she had entered before – was no longer a shining blue, but a dull grey.

“Shards you’ve entered and died in will turn grey,” Tutti explained, following Dolcia’s gaze, “Indicating you cannot return to that timeline.”

Dolcia nodded in understanding before looking out at the countless shards still shining before her.

‘I’ll see this though, Astor…I promise…’

Timeline I, A Hylian village

“…and Orion is known as the hunter constellation due to its depiction of a man with a club and shield.” Astor explained, aligning a small constellation made from magic with its skyward counterpart as Dolcia watched with sparkling eyes, “Fortunes and visions related to warriors, strength, and hunting tend to be more prominent when the constellation is fully visible, and also tend to yield more positive results.”

Astor and Dolcia were sitting outside under the clear, starry sky as Astor explained the Hylian constellations and how fortune tellers, seers, and diviners would draw power from the stars to fuel their predictions, while Dolcia listened attentively, bundled up in a blanket.

“I’m surprised you’ve never heard of these constellations.” Astor spoke as he dismissed the arcane tracings of the constellations, “Are they different in Symphonyxia?”

Dolcia shook her head, “We don’t really have constellations back home. The first Symphonyxians believed that the night sky was a window to the Sea of Time. The stars were Time Shards floating within it, and we were looking out at them from within our own shard.”

“Fascinating.” Astor followed Dolcia’s gaze up to the twinkling lights above as she continued.

“People believed that night was the best time to wish for a miracle, as that is when Tutti could hear their cries clearest. And during the longest night of the year, Symphonyxia holds a night-long music festival to thank Tutti for looking out for them, lasting from when the first star appears in the sky until the last one fades away.”

“People from other kingdoms always associate Symphonyxia with music being our culture, but it’s so much more than that. It’s our love for every aspect of life. We appreciate every gift we’re given, we respect nature, and we live each moment to the fullest. If something doesn’t go to plan, we understand that’s just how life works. Then we get back up, dust ourselves off, learn from that experience, and keep going. Even something as heart-wrenching as death, we accept as part of the balance of things. When someone we love dies, we don’t mourn or have regrets. We celebrate the happy moments we had with them, all the great things they did, and how they impacted our lives. We thank Piana for bringing them into the world, and we ask Forten to give them a peaceful afterlife, whatever it may be.” Dolcia stifled a yawn as she felt her eyes getting heavy, “Life’s wonderful, isn’t it…?”

“Indeed it is.” Astor replied before feeling a weight on his shoulder, as Dolcia had dozed off while leaning against him. Astor draped the blanket over Dolcia, for it had fallen off as she fell asleep, and gave a gentle smile as he watched Dolcia’s peaceful, sleeping form.

“But not as wonderful as you…”

~

“…mn…huh?”

Dolcia slowly opened her eyes and let out a sharp gasp. Below her, she could see all of Hyrule as if she were floating in the sky above it. Suddenly, she felt the air rush past her as she seemed to zoom down towards the Great Hyrule Forest, darting between trees until she found herself standing deep within the Lost Woods. Before her stood some sort of marble pedestal with steps leading onto it, and an upright slab of similar material standing behind it. Embedded in the slab were three jewels: an orb made of dark amethyst to the right, a diamond made of ruby in the centre, and a flat diamond made of opal to the left. The marble itself wasn’t sparkling new but it wasn’t ancient either, as if it had been around for a few years at least.

“What is this place…?” Dolcia muttered before hearing footsteps behind her.

Approaching behind her were a small crowd of what looked like Hylians, except their skin tones were pastel shades of colour, and the pupils of their eyes were shaped like diamonds. Their clothes looked ancient compared to the ones worn today. They seemed to pay no mind to Dolcia as they walked by. In fact, they acted like she wasn’t there at all.

Looking down at herself, Dolcia noticed she was semi-transparent. “This is…the past.” Dolcia muttered to herself as the people gathered before the strange shrine.

Stepping out from the crowd stood a young child in purple and plum robes. They had long dark purple hair with a streak of plum going through their fringe, lavender skin, and bright silver eyes. Dolcia let out a soft gasp as she recognised who it was. It was a younger version, but Dolcia recognised the figure from her history books. This was a young version of Krystalite ‘Krys’ Ginmaho, a sorceress known as the Silver Mage. She was a powerful spellcaster and was the last known Gemonyk, as they had been wiped out when Krys was just becoming well-known.

Dolcia watched as the young Krys stepped up onto the pedestal, wringing her hands nervously as she faced the slab behind it. After standing atop it for a brief moment, the opal diamond began to emit a sliver glow before a short burst of silver light shot out from it and towards Krys’s forehead. She stumbled back a bit but kept her balance as a silver diamond formed on her forehead. Her eyes flashed silver as a soft, quiet voice seemed to echo around them.

“Young heart, full of joy and laughter, compassion and empathy…you are worthy of being my champion. Protect nature, value all life, punish those who seek its destruction, and cherish each moment of your own. Go forth, my silver mage.”

Suddenly there was a flash of light. When it faded, Dolcia was still in the grove with the shrine, but it had become overgrown and there was no one in sight.

“This looks like the place…”

Dolcia turned around and her eyes lit up. Behind her was Queen Harmonia but during her princess years.

“This is where my dream said to go…” Harmonia said to herself as she floated towards the pedestal, “And it looks like Octavo’s rhythm curse hasn’t reached this area. But now what…?”

Harmonia sat down on the pedestal with a sigh as she became deep in thought.

“Oh my stars, she’s so cuuuute!” Dolcia squeaked, “I can’t believe I’m meeting Harmonia in person. Well…kinda…”

As Harmonia sat there, her attention was grabbed by a glow coming from behind her. She floated up and turned around to see the amethyst orb glowing brightly before a misty wisp of dark purple energy shot out and hit Harmonia in the forehead, sending her flying backwards a couple of feet. Her golden eyes flashed a dark purple before returning to normal and a male voice echoed through the grove.

“Child of the dark…you seek to prevent the destruction of life within this kingdom…while saving a soul corrupted. A noble deed. I sense much kindness and empathy in your soul, but also intolerance and rage towards those who would do wrong to those you care about. But you don’t let these emotions control you either. I shall grant you the power to see your goal through as my champion. Seek out those who try to defy or control death. Remind them that death will always be the final fate for all that lives. I wish you luck, Dark Princess.”

“This dream…is it trying to tell me something?” Dolcia muttered.

As if on cue, there was another flash of light. Now the shrine was very overgrown with vines and moss covering the marble. The only untouched parts seemed to be the three gems. But this time, there was no one around. Dolcia looked down and saw her shadow detach from her and began walking towards the pedestal, stepping onto it. The red diamond began to glow brighter and brighter until it engulfed her vision.

Dolcia’s snapped awake as she jolted upright with a gasp. She quickly glanced about her surroundings. She was in her room within Astor’s house.

‘Right…I fell asleep while outside with Astor. He must have brought me back inside. But that dream…was that really all it was…?’

Dolcia sighed.

‘No…I know exactly what it was…’

~

“A vision?”

Dolcia nodded as Astor sat down next to her at the table.

“It had to have been.” Dolcia replied, “I’ve heard tales of it in the past; those who became champions of the three deities have always felt a pull towards a shrine within the Lost Forest in Hyrule. No one knows where the shrine came from but only those chosen by the deities can find it. I think Tutti wants me to find it.”

“And you’re absolutely sure about this?” Astor asked, concern evident in his voice, “I don’t want you getting lost in Hyrule Forest, or worse…”

“I’m sure.” Dolcia placed a reassuring hand on Astor’s, “I wouldn’t be doing this if I felt like it wasn’t important.”

Astor sighed before giving Dolcia’s hand a gentle squeeze, “Alright. If you’re sure, then I won’t stop you. Just promise me you’ll stay safe.”

“I promise.” Dolcia smiled, “And don’t worry; I’ll be back before you know it!”

~

It had taken her a few days, but Dolcia had finally reached the innermost forest. It felt odd. Not only did it seem to get quieter and quieter the further Dolcia went in, but it almost felt like her feet were moving on their own; like she had been here a thousand times. Eventually, she approached a small clearing.

“I’m here…”

Sure enough, before her was a marble pedestal and slab overgrown with vines and moss; identical to the one in her vision. She cautiously walked up onto the pedestal and looked towards the slab. The three gems were still there, untouched by the wildlife.

“Tutti…nobody has heard from you for centuries…nobody knows why.” Dolcia began, “But I have the feeling you called me here. Or maybe my own power did. Either way…whatever it is you have to show me, I’m ready.”

A brief moment passed before the red diamond in the centre began to glow as a beam of navy energy with twinkling lights within it shot out towards Dolcia.

But instead of hearing a voice echo through her head, she saw a vision.

Hyrule Castle was in shambles and dark, evil-looking magic swarmed the area. Monsters ran amok as soldier-after-soldier fell.

‘Wha…what is this…?!’

Dolcia frantically glanced around but it felt like everywhere she looked, that dark magic filled her vision. As everything began to fade to black, a voice called out to her.

“Dolcia…please-!”  

Dolcia gasped as she returned to the present.

“Astor!”

~

Dolcia ran as fast as she could towards Astor’s house. She went to knock on the door but found that it was already open. She entered the house and her heart dropped. The place was near-completely trashed, and Astor was nowhere to be seen. It looked like there was some sort of break-in and a struggle.

“No…”

~

Timeline XCIX, The Sea of Time

Dolcia woke up on her back within the Sea of Time. The initial shock she used to feel upon waking up there had faded a long time ago. It felt like no matter how hard she tried; no matter what she did, the result was the same. Tragedy.

“Dolcia?”

Dolcia sat up and looked over her shoulder at Tutti. Tutti gazed at her with a mix of concern and sadness.

“This is it…isn’t it?” Dolcia asked, “The hundredth timeline.”

Tutti nodded. Dolcia looked away out at the sea of shards. Tutti walked over to her and lay down beside her, glancing at her expression. Dolcia looked like she was fighting back tears as her fists clenched tightly.

“Dolcia…holding it in isn’t healthy…”

Dolcia pulled her knees to her chest and hid her face in her arms, a few muffled sobs escaping.

“I…I don’t want to disappear, Tutti…I’m scared…I’m scared this final timeline will end like the others and I’ll disappear forever…I’m tired…I’m so tired…”

Tutti curled around Dolcia in an attempt to comfort her, remaining silent as they allowed her to let out her emotions.

As Dolcia began to calm down, Tutti spoke up, “Dolcia…if you want, you don’t have to go back. There isn’t much for you here…but maybe Piana could let you stay in her realm. There’s plenty of light and greenery. Granted she tends to sleep a lot but…but maybe you’d be happier there…”

Dolcia wiped her tears away with her sleeve before looking back at the faded shard she had just come from.

“…no.”

Tutti seemed surprised as Dolcia got to her feet.

“Running from this…it won’t solve anything. My friends…my home…they’ll all be destroyed by Calamity Gannon. I can’t allow it.”

Dolcia took a deep breath, steeling her resolve, before continuing, “I made a promise to myself that I’d do whatever I could to help Zelda save Hyrule. And I made a promise to Astor that I would save him from Gannon’s Malice. I don’t care what it takes…I will save everyone this timeline. It’s my last chance. I can’t waste it. And I refuse to ever run away.”

Tutti was silent for a moment before getting to their feet, “Very well. No matter what happens in this timeline, this will be our last meeting. I must admit, it’s bittersweet when you Timewalkers end up in my realm. On one hand, I finally have company after usually centuries of isolation. But on the other, you go through tragedy after tragedy because of it, and I can’t help but pray for your ideal fate to arrive. Even though it means returning to isolation once more.”

“If I may ask…why can’t you interact with timelines like you used to?” Dolcia asked.

Tutti hung their head in shame, “When I gave rise to the Timewalkers…mortals stopped wishing for miracles. At least, stopped wishing to me. Timewalkers could grant whatever miracles they needed and in a sense, I became redundant. I know I sound selfish, but I felt like they didn’t need me anymore. So I placed a curse on myself: until a mortal wished for a miracle with every ounce of their being, I would never be able to access the Time Shards. And that curse still stands centuries later.”

Tutti shook their head, “But don’t mind that. It was a mistake I made, and I must deal with the consequences. Right now, you have a future to fight for. And I know you can do-”

Tutti was cut off by Dolcia hugging their neck, “…I’ll miss you.”

Tutti gave a sad chuckle, “I honestly thought you’d be sick of seeing my face a hundred times by now.”

Dolcia shook her head, “Never. If anything, it gave me comfort every time I returned here. Thank you…for everything.”

Tutti smiled, “It was my honour. Now go…I believe in you.”

Dolcia stepped back and gave Tutti one last smile before turning and reaching out to one of the shining shards above her. As Dolcia entered the shard, disappearing into a shower of sparkles, Tutti watched the shard for a moment longer.

“I’ll never forget you…I promise…”

~

Timeline C, Tabantha Tundra      

Dolcia found herself tumbling down a hill and faceplanting into the snow.

“A hundred times…and I’m still not used to that.” Dolcia grumbled as she got to her feet.

“Beep-beep, bwoop!”

Dolcia looked down. Just like clockwork, the small white Guardian was looking up at her with its big blue eye as Zelda and her companions followed close behind.

“Are you alright?” Zelda asked.

Dolcia took a deep breath. This was her last chance to change fate; to save the people she loved. She had to pull out all the stops. And that included being fully honest.

“Princess Zelda…there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Once upon a time, there was a dragon. The dragon was born from a mighty crystal egg that shattered into billions of shards upon hatching. The dragon gave birth to the concept known as time, and the crystal shards were used to store flows of time known as timelines. The dragon enjoyed watching timelines go by, each one different from the last. Some differences were subtle, some were huge, and some completely altered the flow’s course. Now and again, the dragon would enter a shard, pausing time in the process as they looked around the world of that timeline. Sometimes they would stumble across a mortal that was in the depths of misery. Feeling sorrowful for these mortals, the dragon would change the timeline’s flow to grant them good fortune; to pull them out of despair. These would become known as miracles. One day, the dragon learned of a group of mortals that could combine music and magic to create something spectacular. But the dragon could only watch them from the Sea of Time, and any time they entered a shard to listen to their music, time would pause. That’s when the dragon had an idea. The dragon gave a piece of their magic to one of the mortals, allowing them to be unaffected by time pausing. The dragon told the mortal that they could keep this aspect of magic in return for performing their musical magic. The mortal agreed and gave the dragon a spectacular performance. The dragon was most pleased with the performance. When the mortal asked for the dragon’s name, the dragon replied that they had none and asked the mortal to bestow it one. The mortal named the dragon Tutti. Tutti was incredibly happy with the new company they had in different timelines. The magic they had bestowed had even spread to some of the mortal’s kin, which began to call themselves Symphonyxians. The magic was referred to as time magic, and those who wielded it were known as Timewalkers. The Timewalkers could manipulate time to an extent and even travel to the Sea of Time should their lives end early. But as time passed, Tutti realised that the Timewalkers were creating miracles for others in their stead. Tutti slowly began to feel like the mortals no longer needed them. Feeling like the timelines were safe in the Timewalkers’ hands, Tutti cut themselves off from the timelines completely, no longer able to enter or interfere with them and resigned to an eternity of guiding Timewalkers that found themselves in the Sea of Time.

 I know, it’s a sad story. It’s my story after all. Hey, don’t look so sad. How about this…I’ll tell you a happier story. This story is about a timebound princess who fell in love with a seer and broke time to save him from darkness…”

 ~

Timeline I, A Hylian village

Golden magical lines were absent-mindedly drawn in the air by a golden baton, held by a woman muttering to herself as she read a book in her other hand. Dolcia, princess of Symphonyxia and heir to the throne, was currently exploring the many lands outside her kingdom to learn more about their culture and forms of magic. At this moment, Dolcia was reading over a book on evocation spells. Sitting by a fountain in the centre of a small Hylian village, the only noises Dolcia could hear were the running water, the low hustle-and-bustle of the villagers going about their day, and the soft tinkles the trails of magic made as she traced them through the air. It was peaceful.

“UGH, YOU’RE THE WORST!!”

Aaaaand the peace was gone.

Dolcia looked up from her book as a couple angrily left a tent set up not too far from the fountain.

“The utter nerve…we’re never coming back, you quack!” The wife yelled as she walked away with her sheepish-looking husband. Not long after they left, another figure emerged from the tent, letting out a sigh. A pale, young Hylian man with golden eyes and chin-length black hair, a couple of strands falling in front of his eye. He wore a white shirt, black trousers and boots, and a purple waistcoat. He had an exasperated expression on his face as he closed up his tent while muttering under his breath.

“I tried to warn them not all my predictions are good things. But no, don’t listen to the experienced mage and get mad at him when it’s your own damned fault for not listening…”

The man sat down at the fountain, a few feet from Dolcia, and huffed in an attempt to push the stray hairs out of his face.

“They didn’t seem happy.” Dolcia spoke, setting her book and baton down.

The man jumped slightly, not seeming to have noticed Dolcia’s presence beforehand, before returning to his exhausted demeanour, “I told them I couldn’t control what visions come to me, but they insisted they could handle it.”

“Visions…? You’re a fortune teller?”

“I prefer ‘seer’. Anyone can draw a card and pretend it means something. I use divination magic for my predictions.” The man glanced at Dolcia’s book, “I take it you’re a mage as well?”

“Symphonyxian sorceress.” Dolcia nodded with a smile, “But I’m trying to learn other forms of magic too. I have wind magic pretty much nailed down as well as…other forms of magic, and I’m trying to perfect evocations.”

“Ah yes, I’ve heard the odd tale of Symphonyxia and its music magic. Never seen it used in person, however.”

The man smiled slightly as he held his hand out, “I am Astor.”

“Dolcia. A pleasure to meet you.” Dolcia smiled as she shook his hand, “What was their vision of, if I may ask.”

The two could hear a faint yet heated argument from the distance, seeming to be the spouses from earlier.

“Divorce.”

“Never would’ve guessed.”

Dolcia’s remark earned a slight chuckle from Astor before he turned his attention back to Dolcia’s book, “And what about you? What evocation are you working on?”

Dolcia picked up the book and briefly glanced through the diagrams on the page, “It’s supposed to summon a giant hand that does whatever you command it to. Pretty useful for battle or even menial housework. And…”

Dolcia picked up her baton, “I think I should be able to cast it!”

“Well, let’s see it then.” Astor folded his arms, curious to see the results.

Dolcia muttered an incantation as she carefully performed movements with her baton, ending with an anti-clockwise circle as a golden apparition began to appear and take the form of…

 A giant foot.

 “Uhh…that isn’t right…” Dolcia stared at the foot in bewilderment.

“Really? I never would have guessed.” Astor chuckled before reading through the book, “Ah, here’s the problem.”

Astor walked to where he was between Dolcia and the foot and showed her the final page of the spell, “So the diagram says to trace a circle anti-clockwise. However, the text says to draw it clockwise. Likely a misprint in the book. No fault of you-AGH!!”

Dolcia barely managed to dodge to the side as the foot began to stomp away…with a screaming Astor attached to it.

“Astor!!” Dolcia exclaimed as she ran after it.

“Get me off this thing!!!” Astor yelled as the foot made its way through the village.

Dolcia began to wave her baton – as if she were conducting music – as she gave chase, “Gohmaracas, Wizzroboe, I need your help!”

In a flash of golden light, two large creatures appeared on either side of her. One was a red and green crab-like creature with one yellow eye and maracas instead of claws, and the other was a grey bird-like creature in purple, feathery wizard robes and had an oboe for a beak.

“Can you guys stop that foot?” Dolcia asked as the two kept up the pace with her. Wizzroboe and Gohmaracas looked at the foot before looking back at Dolcia with confused expressions.

“It was a spell gone wrong! Please help!”

The two nodded before zooming ahead to catch up with the apparition. Gohmaracas spat out blobs of green slime ahead of the foot. The foot stepped in the green slime and tried to keep moving forward but found itself stuck. Gohmaracas shook her maracas, signalling Wizzroboe who fired a blast of ice from his oboe, freezing the slime along with the foot, finally bringing it to a halt.

Dolcia ran up to the foot apparition and dispelled it as Astor climbed off.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Dolcia apologised.

“I’m alright. That caught me a little off-guard, that’s all.” Astor replied as he dusted himself off, trying to regain his composure, “Um…may I ask about…?”

Astor motioned to the two monsters behind Dolcia who waved happily at Astor.

“Oh! That’s Wizzroboe and Gohmaracas.” Dolcia explained, “It’s a bit of a long story, but basically their two of the four musical champions that live in my baton.”

“Musical champions?”

“Monsters enchanted with Symphonyxian magic. Wizzroboe was a Wizzrobe, Gohmaracas was a Gohma, and the other two – Gleeokenspiel and Bass Guitarmos – were a Gleeok and an Armos.”

“Fascinating…” Astor muttered in astonishment before clearing his throat, “My apologies if this is a bit forward, but have you anywhere to stay while you’re here?”

“Nope.” Dolcia shook her head.

“Well, I’d be more than happy to have you stay in my home in exchange for telling me more about your magic. I must admit, I find it quite curious.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a burden…”

“It’s no burden at all.” Astor smiled slightly.

“In that case, I’d be honoured.” Dolcia grinned before turning to Wizzroboe and Gohmaracas, “C’mon you two, time to go back.”

Wizzroboe let out a sad toot while Gohmaracas seemed to pout.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you two and the others back out to play when we get to the house, I promise.”

This seemed to cause the duo to perk up again before they both disappeared into the baton as a trail of golden sparkles.

“That’s settled then.” Dolcia smiled, “Lead the way, friend!”

As the two walked through the village, Astor was trying to suppress a smile.

Friend…he couldn’t remember the last time someone called him that…

 ~

 1 year later, Hyrule Castle

 It had all happened so fast.

One moment, she was watching her former friend become swallowed by Malice.

Now she was forced to watch as one by one, the champions fell to Calamity Gannon.

“No…” Dolcia muttered in disbelief as she sunk to her knees, “Please no…”

Dolcia looked up just in time to see a beam of Malice come shooting right towards her, hitting her right in the chest. Pain seared through her body as her vision slowly faded to black.

‘Is…is this it…? Is this…my fate…?’

 ~

 ???, ???

 Dolcia’s eyes snapped open as she shot up, gasping for air as she glanced around in a panic.

“Wha…wh…where…am I?”

Around her seemed to be an endless starry void. Despite seeming as if she was floating, it felt like Dolcia was sitting on solid ground. In the void around her were what looked to be shards of blue crystals floating aimlessly.

“Oh dear…you poor thing…”

Dolcia jumped to her feet and spun around to see the source of the voice. Behind her, standing a little under ten feet tall, was a white and gold dragon. It had a mane of fur which seemed like it was reflecting the night sky and a red gem in its chest. Golden, sympathetic eyes stared into Dolcia’s own.

“It seems your life ended when it was not meant to…” The dragon spoke, “My condolences to you, dear Timewalker.”

“You…your them, aren’t you…?” Dolcia stuttered in both amazement and confusion, “Tutti…dragon of time and miracles.”

“Indeed.” Tutti nodded, “And the realm you find yourself in is my own: the Sea of Time.”

Dolcia stared down at her feet. She knew all too well what this meant. It was the first thing every time mage – or Timewalker – was taught upon realising their gift. If you were killed by unnatural means, your soul would be sent to the Sea of Time where you would be given the chance to enter another timeline to change your fate. But if you died unnaturally after your 100th timeline, your magic would run out and you would be wiped from existence in every timeline.

“Raise your head, princess.” Tutti spoke softly, “There is no need to be so solemn. You have a chance to fix your fate and create the future you want. So tell me…what is your goal?”

Dolcia looked out at the sea of endless time shards, glimmering brightly as they floated by. She recalled all the moments leading up to the fatal fight that sent her here. There was no question about it. She knew what future she desired. The real question was if it was even possible. She had to try. She had to.

Dolcia turned back to Tutti with a determined expression.

“I want to stop the Calamity…and save Astor.”

“Very well.” Tutti nodded as they spread their wings, causing the surrounding shards to shine brightly, “Each time you enter a shard, you will be sent back exactly a month before your death in the first timeline. I cannot interfere with the timelines directly. Therefore it is up to you to change your fate. I can only provide you guidance and comfort should you return to this plane. I hope, however, this will not be necessary, and you will find your desired future in the next shard.”

Dolcia nodded before looking around at the shards floating by her. Cautiously, she reached out to one of them with her finger. The moment it made contact with the shard, Dolcia disappeared from the Sea of Time in a flash of light.

“Farewell, Princess Dolcia…and good luck.”

 ~

 Timeline II, Tabantha Tundra

 “GYAH!!!”

Dolcia found herself tumbling down a hill and faceplanting into the snow.

‘Right…’ Dolcia thought to herself with a huff, ‘Of course, I’d be sent back to this moment…’

“Beep-beep, bwoop!”

Dolcia pushed herself up off the snow where a small, white, egg-shaped robot with a single blue eye stared at her curiously.

‘That’s right…this was when I met…’

Dolcia’s thoughts were cut off by the sound of footsteps running through the snow. Approaching were a small group of people including a Goron man, a Gerudo, and a Zora woman. In front of the group was a young woman with long blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She reached out a hand to Dolcia.

“Are you alright?”

 And thus, it began.