"They make places empty. What are balloons?"

"They're like boats for air. You can float with them because the air in a balloon weighs less than the air outside a balloon. The Rito use them for target practice, but indestructible balloons filled with vacuum sound like they could be pretty useful. Somehow. Or fun, at least."

"What do you make them out of that's airtight but light enough?"

"I think they use some kind of leather coated in special resin. The bigger the balloon is, the heavier the material can be, 'cause there's more insides compared to its outsides."

Valanda notes what a balloon is.

"What do you use them for?"

"Target practice. Decorations and festivals. Other fun. Octoroks, a kind of monster, have balloons too. If you kill them and attach their balloons to something heavy it gets easier to move around."

Valanda writes that down. "So balloons are like very weak force mages. There's probably a market for that, thank you! Are there any books on your world's technology? Can you cross oceans?"

"There were ocean-going ships before the Calamity. Haven't seen any lately, though. I bet there are lots of books on technology. Purah had tons of books. Probably literally."

"So I'll find out if my world has another continent somewhere that I can take over. I'll have the ability to conjure matter and I'll have advanced technology from Hyrule and somehow that will have to be enough. I'm not sure it will be but I have to try this and I don't know of anything else I can get here that could help me keep people happy..." Valanda can look weak and uncertain when it's useful, which it might be now. Come on, nice person, offer things, that's moral, right?

"Careful the other continent doesn't have people on it already. I bet there's more places with technology Bar can tell you about. Conjure matter, what's that about?"

Well, maybe he overestimated how useful morals are for manipulating people or something.

"Thanks! Maybe if it has people Bar will have books by them and I can check that way. I bought some artifacts earlier that create water. Like I said before, destroying matter is illegal in every state but it's not an imperial law so I can just let people do that and compensate. I probably don't need as many as I have, if you want to buy one." He quotes her a price that's higher than he got it for but not by as much as it would be if she'd bothered haggling earlier. He wonders if haggling is just not done in Hyrule.

"Oh, those do sound useful, but I'm not usually hurting for water. Hyrule's nature is kind to us for the most part. Harsh but fair at worst, so I don't really need it. I think a lot of your world's problems might be because you don't have a kind goddess? Other people I met don't have Hylia and also don't have slavery, though... Maybe I can open the door and you can pray and she'll give you advice or a blessing."

"What's praying and how do you do it?"

"Praying is talking to Goddess Hylia. You talk, but in your head, wanting to talk to her. Being near a statue or symbol of her helps. She's a goddess and she's everywhere and very busy so she might not answer, and you should be deferential, but she's kind. The worst that will happen is nothing."

"She can read minds? Does she tell people what she learns that way? Does she enforce any requirements about the contents of people's thoughts?"

"I don't think she reads minds. Even if she could, she probably wouldn't. She hears what you pray at her. It's a matter of intent."

"Thanks. I would like to pray to her. Is there anything she's likely to want from me?"

"Be nice? Or rather, don't be evil. Hylia wants to help everyone be safe and happy! It's Ganon you have to be careful of."

And Valanda knows exactly what evil is and how to avoid being it, it's not like that's something he only just heard of today or anything.

"Is your door somewhere convenient for me to step into your world for a moment? Is it safe? Would you like anything, for holding the door for me?"

"It's cold where I am, but should be safe. Maybe you should borrow my Snowquill coat. Nobody else is around. And nah, it was my idea in the first place."

"I'm warded against cold, but thanks! Now?"

"Let's do it! Hebra mountains are so pretty, even if Hylia doesn't answer you'll get to see them, at least."

Link stands up, almost bouncing on her feet, and rushes over to the door and opens it on a view of some rather majestic mountains, a thick layer of snow over everything.

"It's so pretty here!"

He prays silently. Hey, Hylia, it's Valanda, human defense mage from another universe, trying to reduce slavery and help people and figure out right and wrong. Care to help?

And he waits for an answer.

Nothing for a solid thirty seconds.

After that...

He might be imagining it. If he's not, it's a very, very faint sort of answer. It seems to be asking 'why?'

He tells Hylia silently that he wants to make people happy. The other things are ways to achieve that goal, but that's an end, not a means.

He really hopes that's the right answer. If it turns out there's something she wants people to want to achieve by being moral, then maybe she won't decide to give him anything. If it turns out she can hear thoughts not directed at her, he hopes she doesn't mind that he's deciding what to say based on what seems most likely to make her want to help him. It's not like he's directly lying to her about anything.

Also, he suspects that was his imagination and feels kind of silly.