"In that case... Sadly, marriage is discouraged between people of the same genders in most of Hyrule - or people of different species, Gerudo excepted. I don't understand why people feel so strongly about it... Their arguments don't match up with the teachings in our records, I think... But many people feel strongly about that rule. Most people in that situation try to adopt an orphan, or the child of someone who does not feel prepared to be a parent and is willing to give up their baby."

"And if you can't have children even with someone of the opposite sex and same species? And what are the arguments about same-sex and interspecies marriage?"

"If someone is infertile, that is unfortunate. Sometimes medicine helps, and you can always pray to Goddess Hylia for a blessing... The arguments are generally that it is unnatural, because such a pairing will not create children, and somehow that makes it wrong. As if our purpose in life were simply to breed, like barnyard animals! Hmph."

"That all makes sense to me. Do you have any duties to someone you have sex with that you're not married to, other than to marry them if you get pregnant?"

"You are saying it so frankly... Hmph. Most people do not talk about sex so openly, you know. It's considered rude and embarrassing. Where are you from? ...Be kind, be trustworthy, a bit more than with a friend, that's all. And know that passions run high when sex is involved. An argument with a spouse or lover can be more upsetting than an argument with a friend."

"Thank you, that's useful to know. I'm from Har, it's very far away from here and not part of Hyrule. So if everyone has to have a wedding before having children, in a population this size you should have a wedding to officiate soon, right? How long have you been waiting?"

"Oh, I'm not the only priest around, you know. People marry without priests sometimes. A priest is traditional but not strictly required. And we Zora live slowly. The last marriage in this city was six years ago."

"Do priests compete with each other to give the best advice or officiate the best ceremonies? How are you generally paid by people who can't ward your records?"

"Hah! That might be a good shakeup for us, competing for ceremonies! We live modestly, with donations and a small Royal fund. I find that people who were able to be counseled by a priest and comes into fortune later tend to remember it, and donate at least a bit."

Valanda has so many questions about everything and again skims the records a bit as he wards them.

The priest tries his best. It goes better today, he's more used to how Valanda views the world now, and correctly guesses which things will require more explanation most of the time.

When they're done talking he goes to find a good vantage point to watch the Divine Beast from.

One of the Zora's swimming platforms - still in that pretty deep blue stone, exquisitely carved - is up quite a few flights of stairs, but reachable.

Prince Sidon is frowning seriously, arms crossed, looking out at the Divine Beast.

"Oh, hello there! Come to see the fight? Sorry, you're a bit late - she's inside now. I tried to follow but couldn't manage to get in."

"Will we see anything change if she dies?"

"I think it'd go back to red and start spewing out endless rain again if she did... It stopped moving just after she went in and she told me she's done one of these before, and that it should take just a few hours. I am very confident that Link is up to the task! Though just getting her in there taxed my swimming skills some. I would have gone in with her and helped as much as I could, if I could..."

"Thank you for helping her. How did you decide that it should be you to do it?"

"I'm the prince. Of course it's my responsibility to help my people! Plus, I'm the best swimmer I've ever heard of. Really, the hardest part was finding someone really heroic who could help. We're really weak to shock arrows, we Zora, we needed a Hylian for that part."

"What does being a prince have to do with it?"

Valanda has no idea what you even say to someone who'd swim with someone shooting electricity around. Sidon could've died if she missed, if she hit anywhere in the water. He must really trust Link, but still.

Well, he seems oblivious to the danger.

"The crown isn't a privilege. It's a holy duty. I affect so many others - if I were rash or irresponsible it could kill people. So when something is hard, I pictures my friends' faces, over and over, multiply that feeling by all the people in Zora's Domain, and do it."

"What is your role here? I thought it was the king who ruled but all the decisions I've seen made have been yours."

"Link and I spoke to the king for a while before you got here! Plus, father and I already discussed most of what we would do if we found a great hero like Link with the head priest. My father isn't as young as he used to be, so he makes big decisions that take a lot of forethought, like how to arrange taxes and what we should build in Zora's Domain. I do things that need... Let's call them adventures. They need doing sometimes, and I'm good at them, so why not?"

"Is it a coincidence that you're related or do families tend to have multiple members involved in government for some reason?"

"Royalty is hereditary for most peoples, I think. For us Zora, it's a fact the royal line produces stronger, smarter, more magically gifted people than average. I'd like to think that if I was unsuited to it, my father would find someone else... But I am suited to it."

Shrug and grin. He's satisfying this person's curiosity, and distracting them both from doom and gloom. Win-win!

"That's convenient. At home we don't have any families like that, instead we have people vote for their rulers. Did you get different education than everyone else since everyone's always known you'd have to rule? What would happen if you didn't want to?"

"Well, the priests tutor me sometimes. Ah, my father would probably try to find a new wife and have another child..." There goes a lot of that energy and cheer.