Urbosa the Scholar (WIP Preview)

WARNING THE FULL STORY WILL CONTAIN: Urbosa (Breath of the Wild) Nerd TF and Weight Gain

   Leaving behind the scorching sand and bright sun of the Gerudo Desert, Urbosa entered her abode for a well-deserved rest. The towering, woman with bronze-like skin set her muscular body upon her couch after putting away her scimitar and shield. Brushing her blue-painted nails through her long, thick ponytail of scarlet hair jingled about the golden rings hanging from her ears and around her arms and neck. The glamorous gold accentuated her typical attire of her battle-worn breastplate and the blue skirt around her shapely waist bearing the image of her sacred beast. Considering how long it had been since she had a chance to rest, she let out a deep exhale from her blue lips and let the air rise past her prominent nose.

   “Pardon me, Lady Urbosa?”

   Urbosa tilted her head back down to see a Gerudo soldier standing in the doorway. Letting out a sigh, she stood up and approached her. “You may speak.”

   “We were going through the artifacts we recovered from the ruins and came across something that seemed out of ordinary.”

   Urbosa raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

   The soldier pulled from behind her back a thick tome and placed it in Urbosa’s hands. Holding the book up to her face, Urbosa found herself staring at the image of a single, black and white eye upon the cover. Flipping through the pages, she couldn’t even begin to decipher the strange runes written on them. She had spent enough time exploring Hyrule to know that it wasn’t anything resembling the lands’ dialects.

   Urbosa shut the book to look over the ominous eye once more. “It is interesting, but I can’t say I have the slightest idea of where to start digging up information for something like this. Send a message to the princess. This seems to be more her expertise.”

   “Right away, Lady Urbosa,” the soldier said, bowing towards the champion before taking her leave.

   Returning to the comfort of her couch, Urbosa continued to gaze upon the strange tome. Cradling her cheek in her hand, she let her fingers flip through the book. Nothing seemed to show a hint of what the book was or what it was for. The aimless browsing came to a halt as she returned to the front page. Straining her eyes, she saw the lines on the page begin to morph and distort. While the letters were still foreign to her, something in her mind made it click as to what they meant.

   “To the owner of this book,” the text read off, “you are in great danger. You have come into possession of this extraordinary tome so that you may avoid a terrible fate. Within these pages is a gift that will allow you to avoid certain doom. Be forewarned that, in exchange for its knowledge, the book will take from you things dear to your heart and change your body in various ways. Do not fear, when the task is done, you will be the savior of this land. I wish you the best of luck, Urbosa.”

   Urbosa read over the lines a few times to try to make sense of it. Her instincts told her that the book’s supposed “gift” was nothing more than a curse. However, something about the way it spoke of the land’s future resonated with her spirit to ensure her it was telling the truth. While she wasn’t thrilled at the notion of giving into whatever entity had created the tome, she nonetheless turned the page in hopes of taking a miniscule amount of information from it.

   Just like the previous page, Urbosa managed to read it after a few tries. Curiosity turned to keen interest as she reached the next page of text and began to extract the very information she needed. If asked, she would be unable to explain the specifics of what she was exactly reading. The unfathomable knowledge pushed her to continue reading under the notion that the words before her were vital to the survival of both herself and Hyrule.

   At some point she was forced to leave the couch to grab some form of nourishment. Keeping her nose in the book the entire time, she thoughtlessly grabbed a bag of sweets and sat back down to continue reading. This ritual continued for hours on end, her snacking and study only interrupted once to light a torch in her home. She only looked away from the tome once she heard someone knock on her door.

   Tilting her head up, Urbosa saw the same Gerudo soldier from the previous day standing in her doorway. Noticing how the sun reflected off of the soldier’s armor, Urbosa realized that it was morning. Rubbing her eyes as she tried to comprehend how long she had been reading, she brushed off stray crumbs from her chest and stood up.

   “Do you have anything to report?” Urbosa asked, tucking the book beneath her arm and grimacing as she felt something bristle against it.

   “No, Lady Urbosa,” the soldier replied. “The troops were just a little worried when you didn’t show up for morning training.”

   “Ah, I see,” Urbosa said, rubbing her chin and feeling a stray layer of grease across her skin. “Apologies, I got a little caught up in reading last night. Tell the troops I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just give me a moment to refresh myself.”

   As the soldier took her leave, Urbosa turned back to try cleaning herself up. Washing her residual grease and sleepiness with a splash of water from a jug, she tried to make sense of how she had lost track of time. Leaning closer towards her mirror, she felt something push against the basin. Stepping back, she noticed that her former six-pack abs had been buried beneath a soft, thin layer of pudge. Pressing her fingers against the growth and feeling fuzzy, miniscule hairs against her skin, she recalled what the book had said about taking something from her in return for its gift. Taking a deep breath and putting it off as just a result of her night of binge reading, she stored the book in a safe hiding spot and headed out to the training area.