Leap for freedom

“UIAKU!! WHERE BY HYLIA ARE YOU!!?” Someone shouted from far away.  Apparently it was from up on the hillside.  Uiaku looked up. And it was exactly who he didn’t want to see up there. His wife was staring down. You could barely see the small blue figure up there fuming with rage.

“YO!  DOWN HERE SWEET WATER LILY” Uiaku shouted back from the water down below. He had jumped from the top of the cliff down to the Zora river. It had been no accident. This activity was something Uiaku did for entertainment. He had a group of friends who also enjoyed the sport of cliff diving. Unfortunately for him, his wife was not one of those people.

“GET BACK UP HERE!!!!” Uiaku’s wife shouted angrily at him. He shook his head and did his march of shame up the mountain side. It was a long climb.  She continued to shout at him as he climbed. He mostly ignored it. There was no point in answering to her tantrums of rage. Uiaku felt it was his right to decide what sports to indulge in.
Once he reached the top his wife took his hand and helped him up. He dusted himself to remove the dirt that had clung to him on his climb back up.

“Thank you my sweet water lily” He told her as he held her close.

“Don’t you sweet talk to me!” She said pushing him away angrily. “I told you I didn’t want you jumping of mountains with your thrill seeking friends. You are going to get yourself killed! Or worse my children will follow your footsteps and jump right behind you” She had her hands on her hips and was stomping her webbed zora foot angrily.

“HEY don’t you mean OUR children” Uiaku said. He hated it when she spoke of the children that way. The children were very much his as much as hers.

“ACT LIKE IT!” She shouted loudly at his face and pointed a blue finger at him, and poking his chest with it.

“I do, I do, I’m just having a bit of fun.  Yes I KNOW it’s a bit dangerous but I….” He was unable to finish because he was interrupted by his now furious wife.

“A bit?, A BIT? IT IS HORRIBLY DANGEROUS!”  She was upset yes, but one could not deny there was a hint of love in her words. She was very worried about him.

“There is no reasoning with you. All you are going to do is yell at me. You just don’t understand. There is nothing like the rush of jumping down from a high up cliff down below to the river.”  He told her and just walked on home. He loved his wife dearly but he just hated arguing with her. Not that anyone enjoys arguing with their loved ones.

Once home his anger faded away instantly. He was greeted by his adorable children. They jumped on him and held on to him. They were all happy to see him back home.

“Can you tell us another story?”
“YEAH CAN YOU?”
“YES YES YES A STORY A STORY!!!!”

“Of course I will tell you a story! After you eat your dinner that is”

“AWWWWW” All four of his children complained. Uiaku shook his head. But deep down, he loved it. How they begged for more stories.

The house was a very inviting place. The walls were decorated with sea shells of different colors. There were several paintings of seascapes on the walls of the main room. It was a big house but it was comfortable. A large area for the family to gather was right at the entrance. Next to the family room there was a small kitchen. And behind that there were two rooms.

Uiaku made his way to the kitchen. There were several fish hanging on a back wall ready for preparing tonight. He took a large green fish and used a sharp bone knife to cut it. The scent of fish was filling the room. Of course to the Zora that is not such a big issue.

By this time Uiaku’s wife made it home. She was still upset but said nothing of the matter.  She knew she was right. That sport was dangerous and Uiaku knew it. He was just stubborn and insisted on putting his life in danger for the sake of fun.

By the time it was dark out, dinner was ready. There was a small table in the family room and some stools to sit on. The family sat around the table, while Uiaku handed out the fish now ready to eat. The children ate as fast as they could in hopes to getting to the story their father had promised to tell them that very night. However Uiaku had been taking his sweet time eating. He wanted to make amends with his wife before leaving the table. She however has having none of it.  In the end Uiaku just got up from the table.

“OK STORY TIME” Uiaku announced. At that the children ran to him, they held on to his legs and jumped on his back. Uiaku made his way outside of the house and into the halls of the Zora Village in the Domain.  Uiaku lived on the second level of the Domain. Meaning he was considered  middle class folk by Zoran order.  He had served many years and had a good amount of rupees to afford his home. In the center of town there was an area where one was able to see the night sky. This particular spot was Uaiku’s favorite place. He brought along a cushion to sit on and tell his tales.

He sat on his cushion as his children sat on the floor around him. Other Zora around the area knew of Uiaku and his story telling and would let their children come to listen.  

“OK is everyone ready for a Story!” He said as she spread his arms invitingly.

“YAY” the children shouted with excitement.

“I’ll take that as a yes” He said with a grin.

“Ok tonight I will tell you a very interesting story. It’s not like the other stories I have told you before. Yesterday I told you the story of the boy who got stuck in a water well. Tonight I am going to tell you the story of the ancient Zora deities. The ones no one talks about anymore, the ones that have been forgotten.  I know I have told you about Imaynaya before, and how he saves people. But tonight I will tell you where he came from. Would you like that?”

The children nodded and shouted yes with excitement.


This is the story of the first Zoran world.

Mainaya, Imaynaya, Ukunaya, and Yarrzanaya were the only Zoran deities alive.
They were out there somewhere. Back when there were no Zoras or anything else.
But one day, or night, they decided to make a world. And they all got together to make a world, except for Ukunaya. He didn’t think it would be fun to create a world.  Ukunaya left but the others worked together to make a nice world.
Mainaya made the time flow,
Imaynaya kept the balance of things,
and Yarrzanaya gave life to everything else.
But Ukunaya didn’t like what his brothers and his sister were doing, he though of it as useless, a waste of time and power. Ukunaya stood and watched his brothers and sister work.
Mainaya made the land,
Yarzanaya filled the land with water and life,
Imaynaya kept order.

It was a wonderful world all covered in water and with some land. The waters were filled with different fish and other sea creatures. Very much like the ones we see in the lake. Only much, much more, and many, many different ones, and finally they made the Zora. There were many different kinds of Zora in this watery world not just Zora like us.  And it looked like a perfect world and the 3 deities were happy with their work.
It was different than this world because if was almost ALL WATER good for fish and Zora to swim in.
That night Ukunaya went and saw the world. And he saw that it was filed with life. He didn’t like it. He wished for it to all go away. His brothers and his sister didn’t talk to him anymore all they cared about was the life of the world.  He was jealous.
“Why do you care for such insignificant creatures? They are worthless they give you nothing but trouble? He asked his sister.

“But look at them. They are tiny but they are smart.” Yarzanaya, his sister said.
“They will create great things” Imaynaya, his brother said.
“We can have fun watching them” Mainaya, his older brother said.

And none listened to Ukunaya so he was enraged and decided to destroy the watery world. So he went to the center of the world and he shook the world from the inside. He made a fire inside the world. The world got so hot that the water began to boil from the inside. So the water disappeared and the Fish and the Zora died out. Their lifeless bodies covered the world.
And Ukunaya took their life essence away and became stronger. And so Ukunaya created death.
The three Zoran gods didn’t know it was Ukunaya who had destroyed their world.
They searched for a new place to create a world. That is when they found a world already made.
“Why bother with creating a whole world when we can just use this one” Imaynaya said to his older brother.
“That will work and if whoever destroyed the one we made comes back, whoever made this one can help.”
So they asked the Three Goddesses who had made this world if they could use it to bring their creatures back. They explained what had happened to their water world.
They allowed them to use their already created world.
So
Mainaya created his fish again to live in the waters of this world.
Yarrzanaya created the Zora all over again. And for the first time she laid an egg. And Aiganaya came from it and he was now in charge of the fish.
Imaynaya was not able to keep order of this world because he had not been part of the creators of it so he left and found the tallest mountain and fell asleep.
While he slept Ukunaya found out what they were doing. So he decided to destroy this world as well.
The creators of this world were not happy with this. They were furious and so they called Mainaya.
“Mainaya your sibling is trying to destroy our world you better do something about it or we will not allow you to use our world anymore” Din told him.
“Do not worry we will take care of it” Mainaya said and went to the tallest mountain and woke his sleeping brother.
Imaynaya and Mainaya went and fought their Little brother. Ukunaya had become very powerful because he had absorbed all the life essence of the fallen people of the world that had been destroyed.
It took them a long time to fight Ukunaya.
Ukunaya used his long and sharp legs and scratched Mainaya .
Mainaya fell injured to the ground. Mainaya’s essence was slowly fading because Ukunaya was feeding of his brother’s life. Imaynaya alone now was trying not to get touched by his evil brother. They fought for many days until Yarrzanaya found out what was going on and made a magic box to seal her brother away. She waited for the perfect moment and attacked her brother herself while he was distracted fighting Imaynaya and sealed him away in the box. Yarrzanaya gave the box to her son Aiganaya and he hid it in the land so it would never be found.


It is said that while Mainaya fought his brother time was stopped for 2 days and  Aiganaya , his happy party going son, took over their work by making the biggest party there has ever been. He did this so that the Zora didn’t see their creators fighting in the skies.
This is how the tradition of Mai_uoi was started by the Zora of old.
There are always 2 extra days in the year because Mainaya stopped time to fight his evil brother.

Not many follow the old traditions anymore. It would be fun if we still had Mai_uoi today wouldn’t it? And we can make masks to look like the fighting deities and have a grand parade.  Maybe someday we will do that again.”

By this time some of the smaller children were sleeping soundly. Their parents came to pick them up and take them to their beds.

Uiaku walked back home with his four children. The glowing light from his opened door beaconed him home. There was a Zora figure at the door; by the looks of it he was sure it was his wife.  At first she said nothing. Uiaku walked inside and put the children to bed and kissed their foreheads.  

With that he went back to the kitchen and made himself a warm cup of tea.  He didn’t like going to sleep while his wife was upset.  To his surprise, she came to the table.

“Uky?” She said to him. That is what she usually called him when she was not upset. Uiaku gave her a smile.

“Does jumping of those mountains make you as happy as telling stories to the kids?”  She asked. The question caught him of guard.

“I uh… No.. It doesn’t. It’s different” He said as he took a sip from his tea.

“But why do you do it if you know it’s so dangerous? I worry so much every time I find out you are out there putting your life in danger. What about the kids? What if you get hurt?”

He knew she was right. He however felt that he needed the thrill. He was not a warrior anymore.

“Ok, We are having a big event next week. Let me go to that. After that I promise I will quit. Would that be ok with you?” He asked, placing his arm around her shoulder. She nodded in agreement.

The next afternoon Uiaku went and told his cliff diving buddies that he would quit after the big event.

“YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!”  A tall and slender Zora, who went by the nickname Winter, shouted as he shook him.



“Look, As much as I love the sport, I just can’t be having issues about it at home every day when I get home. Not only is it exhausting, but I want my family to be at peace.” Uiaku explained pushing Winter away.

“You are going to abandon your fiends over some stupid quarrel with your wife? She is is as empty headed as those other fools who tried to persuade me to stop last year” Winter continued. The other four cliff divers didn’t interfere with the conversation. They only sat there eating their drinks.

Uiaku could feel his blood boil. How dare he insult his wife!  It was only his dignity as an ex royal guard and warrior that held him back.  
“You speak of my wife that way again..” Uiaku said never finishing the sentence. It was enough to end the discussion.


It was the day of the great event. Usually the Zora gathered close to their domain, the Zora River, and some at Lake Hylia. This event, however, took place at a different river, the faster and more dangerous, Gerudo River rapids.  As the morning grew older, the crowds of thrill seeking Zoras appeared. There were a few Hylians and perhaps even a Goron or two.  

Uiaku was used to diving at the Zora River, nothing as daring and dangerous as this. He stood with the other divers as the crowd grew larger and more eager.  He stretched his legs and flexed his tail muscles to get ready for the great event.  He looked up at the canyon that he would be looking down from in about an hour. The sun seemed to lick everything it touched. It was not the best weather for a Zora.

“Welcome to the annual Cliff diving contest!”

A cute Zora lady with wavy tail fins shouted from atop a crate on the side of the cliff.   The crowds cheered with excitement. That was the signal Uiaku was waiting for. He placed his webbed feet against the warm rocks of the cliff. He looked for a good grip and started to climb the canyon. The other contestants were also climbing.  There was even a single Hylian who had somehow decided to compete.  Uiaku had never seen the man before, but was intrigued and wanted to see how good the Hylian could do against the Zora divers.
His back felt hot as the Valley’s sun reflected of the scales on his back.  Once atop the cliff the spectators seemed miniscule. Their cheers however echoed in the wind and were more than enough to send chills down Uiaku’s spotted spine.



Each diver was called one by one. Each would dive from atop the canyon to the river rapids below. It was a feat to behold. Someone always seemed to come out injured from this event. It was a risk they knew about, and were willing to take. The glory of being the best diver in Zora’s Domain was no small thing to a Zora.  They were graded on speed as well as elegance.

Winter was behind Uiaku and was giving him evil glares.  

“So this is it Uiaku? Your last dive? Never gona dive again after this?” He asked.

“We already went over this. Now don’t mess with me. I’m trying to concentrate on my diving here” Uiaku said as he swatted at him with his tail flukes.

The young Hylian man was in front of Uiaku.

“Nice to see others trying this out” Uiaku told the man as he waited nervously for his turn.  “Relax, so much tension is bad for diving” he added.

“Why are you telling me your secrets?” The Hylian man asked. He was still quite a bit nervous.

“This is my last dive so don’t worry about it” He laughed.

Winter was fuming with rage. His pale blue scales seemed to be washed with red.  It was either sun burn or just his rage manifesting itself.

“Next we have BRUNO! He is the only contestant in this event who happens to not be a Zora” The announcing lady said. She was interrupted by someone shouting “BRUNO I LOVE YOU “from the audience.

With that the Hylian named Bruno dove down into the river below.

It was Uiaku’s turn. He was trying to concentrate on his dive and had no idea what Bruno’s score had been. He didn’t exactly care. He was in the dive for the fun and thrill of it. Surfacing out of it as the best diver would be a very well liked bonus.

“Next We have Uiaku Aigaba from the Eastern side of the Domain” The announcer said. Uiaku got ready. He wanted to savor every bit of this dive.

“Good luck with the dive storyteller” Winter whispered.

It took but a spit second; none was able to see it, Perhaps another diver had. Winter gave Uiaku a light push, ruining his perfect dive.

He could see he was not positioned right.
“Holy waters of Hylia!” was the last thing he said as he hit the side of the canyon head first. His apparently lifeless body rolled down the sandy canyon bumping into everything in its path.