XXIII

Even if my introduction was less than exemplary, I eventually integrated with university life. I gained a few friends, but we’ve since lost touch apart from greeting cards during the holiday season.

Those few years moved so fast that pulling memories out of the blur is quite difficult. I did not commit myself to remember specific events; rather, my focus was more on what I was learning so that I could get my doctorate. Yoshian Anatomy and Physiology is boring, if you are a Yoshi. Maybe if you’re a human, it’s slightly better, but I wouldn’t know. At least my Mushroom and Koopan provided relief.

Of course, I did those things that all university students do as part of freedom exploration: hit the town, party, put forward opinions…simply looking life in the eye and taking it by the horns and having fun along the way.

I was not one of those people who, when they suddenly realise they have a social voice, put it to some sort of use about whatever they feel they can. I did not take part in protests – sometimes, when the posters around the university got to me, I’d pull a few down, especially if my student union fees were going towards them. One time a supporter of such an event saw me do it. They said that they had the right to have it up. I said I was “anti-protesting” and that I had the right to do it too and that I was engaging in their sort of behaviour and all’s fair in love and war. They went away feeling rather bitter.

As for partying, Aunt Tia never allowed me to have a party at her place. But when one of my friends had them, they would rope me along. Growing up in an inn with a bar had left me with a few tricks or two, especially when it comes to mixing drinks. While there may be a limit on what age you can be served alcohol in Pandora, there’s no limit on the age of those who serve, so long as they don’t serve themselves. I had been learning how to make cocktails since the start of high school with my father’s help, so with about five Yamauchian years of experience already up my sleeve, I knew my stuff. My friends knew this, so I would often play barkeep for them.

Being around so much alcohol back home, I had been taught from a very young age to be responsible with it, and the ethos there has been carried with me ever since. Unfortunately, this did lead to a few disagreements between them and me as to when they had had enough. When we would hit the town, at our usual haunts in the tower district where they served drinks as good as or better than I could, I would often be the one left standing, just like the house parties. I didn’t really mind: it’s far more fun to remain sober enough to watch your companions be outrageous while drunk and then be able to blackmail them later.

Amongst the partying and fun-having, with study thrown in on the side, I had my citizenship ceremony. I went to City Hall, where it was being held and instantly, I noticed something was wrong. I was the only Yoshi making pledges to the Archipelago. There were Koopas by the handful, a number of humans, and me.

Needless to say, when it came around to present my birth certificate (and official translation by the Mushroom Embassy) to receive my citizenship certificate, the official was more than surprised.

“Coming back, are you?” he asked me.

“I guess you could sort of say that,” I replied.

“We don’t get very many people from Pandora; in fact, all of Fa’Diel. You’re probably the fifth or sixth Yoshi to get a dual Pandoran-Yoshian citizenship, from what I’m aware of.”

“Good to be part of an exclusive club.”

He laughed. Then he asked the usual questions, including one very important one: “As part of your dual-citizenship of the Yoshi Archipelago, you may use this as an opportunity to change your name in some way to reflect your other citizenship. Is there a name you would like to use from now on?”

I had discussed this with my parents and Aunt Tia when I was going through preliminary information sent to me. If I was really going to have my new start, this would be the final step. I was going to put Lich as part of my name, but that was my nickname, and if I made it part of my name, I would need a new nickname. So, I came up with a compromise of sorts.

“Dyluck Thanatos Yoshi von Kippo,” I told him. “Small ‘v’ – ‘von’ is Pandoran for ‘from’.”

It was recorded, put into whatever government registers it needed to be in, referred to the Mushroom Embassy to refer to the Pandoran Kingdom to be changed there, and I have been von Kippo ever since.

My friends thought I was mad to change my name. I suppose, at the time, it would have been seen as rather frivolous. But in the future, being known as “von Kippo” or “Yoshi von Kippo” rather than just “Yoshi” would prove beneficial. It sets me apart from my parents, especially with the future occupation I would have.

After I graduated from university, I became known as Doctor Yoshi von Kippo. I prefer to be called “Mister” rather than “Doctor”, but if it’s official things I put my title down as Doctor. I don’t really like the term: it makes me sound haughty and pretentious.

Once the parties were over, everyone started to go their separate ways. I still had a good amount of money from my compensation payout, especially since I had invested a good portion of it. So, I put my earnings to good use: fulfilling my wanderlust.

Over the course of university, I had never had the chance to satisfy it except in my long summer break, but I went home to Kippo during it anyway so it never was. Now it was hitting me overtime. It had to be satisfied. I saw myself being in the middle of my job and just dropping everything and going, and not coming back.

Every young person aspires to go on the Big Trip someday; this was when I intended to have mine. I would keep an eye out for things that would possibly lead me to Ark, but reasoning kept kicking in: if he had escaped from the caves, the first thing he would have done would have been to go home.

Having learnt Mushroom, the universal Yamauchian language, I was well equipped to go to most places on Yamauchi. My big trip was going to be straightforward. I would head for the Isle of Hags, island-hop back to the Pokémon countries, do the round trip of the Miyamoto continent, and finally, visit Termina and Hyrule. Looking at my finances, however, wanting to keep a good portion as further investment capital, I scratched everything except Miyamoto, Termina, and Hyrule. Knowing Koopan was proving itself to be redundant then, as I didn’t go to the Koopa Kingdom. Travel advisories by the government and by travel agents, and the common person in the street all shared the same thing: don’t go there unless you have business. Having none, I scratched that as well.

So, I set off for the Mushroom Kingdom. I arrived in Toad Town, and since I was already reasonably familiar with it, I was able to maximise my fun. During my time at university, there was the Star Rod Incident where Bowser invaded Star Road, took the Rod which grants wishes, and wished to take over the Kingdom. He would have been successful if it wasn’t for Mario and a band of travellers, along with the Star Spirits. Toad Town was well and truly back to normal when I arrived. I did go to the casino, but I didn’t win anything. And, unlike my father, I did not lose my wallet, thanks to Mana Storage.

I moved on from there and visited some of the other towns; I even went to Lavalava Island to get a taste of “traditional” Yoshi life. A colony of Yoshies had been set up there a few centuries before, escaping the strife that was in the Archipelago at the time. It came as a bit of a culture shock to see where I had come from, but, I envy the simplicity of tribal life. Sometimes, I wish I could join them.

Next, I tried to get to Subcon, but I was given the wrong directions and ended up in Beanbean instead. I then went on my way around Miyamoto to Marrymore; I wanted to go further, but it was getting close to the Carnival in Clock Town, so I shot over there. The Terminans know how to party – even in a city that has a big clock as its centrepoint, I lost all track of time.

So, once I pulled myself away from Clock Town, I visited the Ikana Ruins as part of a tour group – we didn’t see any ghosts, though. Then, I went on to the idyllic glades around Woodfall where the Terminan Deku people live – they’re like little plants that bounce around and squeak, with snouts. After spending a day or two there, I moved on to the western beaches of Termina and soaked up the sun.

Hyrule is a land of tradition, which they hold on to extremely fiercely. They shun all forms of motorised transport for travel around their country. So, the only way to get around is by foot, or horseback where you can. They don’t really talk to the outside world that much, so if you’re able to see Hyrule, you have achieved something in your travels. Part of their isolation is thanks to the desert they lie across: the mountains around the country are virtually impassable, so this is the only way in.

The only real tourists in Hyrule come from Termina. So, I boarded a coach, pulled by horses, and we set off through the forest. My Terminan companions were bemused to see a Yoshi come along, and we got to talking about things: small talk, mainly.

Forest soon gave way to savannah, and savannah gave way to desert. This was where Termina and Hyrule met. After customs, it was one day to the Gerudo Fortress, owned by the Gerudo amazonian women. Along the way, however, was the Spirit Temple. Hyrulians are spiritual people, and their six temples are the seat of it. The Spirit Temple embodies all that has to do with the soul, and being out in the desert is part of it. The coach took us past it and I kept staring at it in awe from the time it was before us until it disappeared behind another sand dune behind us. Needless to say, it is an impressive structure, hewn into a rocky outcrop with a colossal figure of a seated Gerudo on the front.

As soon as I lay my eyes on it, I felt my hair stand on end. Something about the place haunted me. I have never really felt that way about any place I have been in before, except then. It was almost as if it was calling out to me, ordering me to enter beneath the woman’s crossed legs.

Two days later, we reached Hyrule Town. I stayed around there for a little while and saw the sights, before I moved on to Kakariko, Kokiri Forest and Lake Hylia. But everywhere I went, I remained haunted by the Spirit Temple.

On the night before I was due to leave to make my way back to Yoshiville, it called out to me within my dreams. I remember seeing a snake woman pointing to where her feet would have been, and telling me to come to her and take what should not have been there. I made the arduous trek on foot back to Hyrule Town, sleeping under the stars as I went. Each night the same dream taunted me.

I only made it halfway before I changed my direction. I made a beeline for it, passing through the Gerudo Valley and its fortress. They were surprised to see a lone Yoshi traveller come their way, and I was stopped at the entry to the desert. Unfortunately, I do not understand Hyrulian, so I kept telling them in fragmented speech that I was going home and I did not have the money for the ride. I told them I did not need water, for I could take it out of my hand thanks to one of my spells – I showed them. This seemed to impress them, and they let me through. Apparently, the Gerudo favour those who are strong of will.

My only signposts were masts with red flags as I trekked across the sand. It was the way the coaches went, and I knew I would be able to see the Spirit Temple once more. It took me two days to cross, my night spent in a small outpost-like building.

The next day I woke up on the stone floor, after being haunted once again. They say there are two very important days in your life: the day you were born, and the day you find out why. This was the day of the latter.

I came over the crest of a dune in the afternoon of that day, and I saw the temple once more. There she sat in her stony beauty, calling out to me. I responded. As sunset fell, I stood before her. I looked up in awe and drew a deep breath, ready to step inside.

“Come, I am waiting.”

The voice came out of nowhere. I jumped and looked around, but no-one was there. My hair stood on end again. I had journeyed across the desert for this. Nothing was going to stop me.

As I entered, I wondered where my life was going. I was between university and the workforce, harbouring the potential to be a physiologist, with a whole heap of uncertainty laid out before me. And here I was, trying to appease my dreams in the middle of nowhere; it began to feel like the middle of everywhere.

I came into the temple’s foyer and looked around in awe. Two snake statues stood on either side of a set of stairs, carved out of sandstone. They displayed some sort of texts on their chests: I hoped they weren’t warnings.

As I looked around the room further, I noticed smashed pottery. Someone or something had done this. Perhaps there had been looters before me: the room looked rather plain in places, but I think it was designed that way. Up the stairs, parts of metal statues were scattered around, as if something had exploded from the inside of them.

I saw a small hole nearby, so I squeezed through it, determined to continue, even when I was hacking on the dust as my constricted lungs fought for air. I wondered why this seemed to be the only way forward, especially when I emerged in another room.

I hoped there were no traps. I fought with myself. Maybe the dreams were just my brain dealing with my view of the temple. But then I asked myself why they kept coming over and over and over again. So, I continued, warily, making sure not to stand on or touch anything suspicious.

There was another hole at the end of the room and big heavy doors. The only way through seemed to be that hole and once I appeared on the other side, in another room littered with wooden splinters, I saw another heavy door blocking my way. This one, however, seemed like it couldn’t shut properly – it came down from the ceiling – so I rolled under it and found myself at a wall.

Training under Dogo’s derogatory remarks in the Pandoran Army finally proved itself useful here. There were a number of obstacle courses we would have to go through, one of them scaling walls. I breathed out, rubbed my hands together, and began to climb the roughly hewn sandstone blocks. Something was probably here in ancient times but had long gone, because when I reached the top, I found myself in another room with a heavy door as the only other way out.

Somehow, I knew I needed to be on the other side of the door, but tried as I could to open it, it would not budge. There was a strange hole in the wall where I could see some stars and a design on the floor that looked like a sun. I did not know what it all meant, so I tried to find another way in.

I climbed back down and tried the doors, but they would not move at all. Then I went back up and tried again – still no success. I was tired, but I did not want to sleep in case horrible things happened, especially with the bones I saw in that room. They looked reptilian, and had fallen as if something had attacked them; but they weren’t Yoshian at least. I sat down in a corner and struggled to keep awake.

I questioned myself as to how stupid I was being. Why was I here? What spirits had I possibly offended? What was I going to do with the rest of my life? I had no answers, but my determination remained.

I had no dream that night; it was perhaps the most peaceful sleep I have ever had, as everything around me was silent, until the dawn came.

As light began to pour in through the hole in the wall, I noticed that it fell on the design on the floor. Looking at it closely, it seemed to be some sort of photovoltaic cell. As more light entered, I heard something click, and the door opened. It seemed as if I could only enter the room in the light of day and as time wore on, I realised how fitting this was.

I looked off to my left once I entered the large room and saw her: the snake woman. She was a towering stone statue, as big as the one outside, with dust and bits of stone littering the floor before her. I clambered down from the gallery I had come out in, and approached her reverently, my footsteps kicking up the dust. It swirled around me and I coughed a little. My breath caused it to part before me and, amongst the ruins I saw an odd looking, dust-encrusted shape. I knelt, reached out and touched it with my right hand, intending to sweep the dust off it.

My mind was filled with visions. I cannot explain all of what I saw. What stands out is that I saw the face of a strange figure with glowing eyes; eyes that looked like they had witnessed the birth of their holder’s child. Then I saw another figure holding a spear, and suddenly I felt pain, and darkness, and floating. I don’t know how many images I saw next, except that I swear I saw Popoie amongst them. Then, I saw the Spirit Temple once more, and the ruination that had happened which could get me to where I knelt. Then, I saw me. My life flashed before me, and I suddenly got an incredible thirst for light. That’s how best I can describe the feeling. Then, I opened my eyes, and I saw what I had touched as the last of the dust fell off it.

It was a boomerang.