The Great Fortress Escape

15th Chapter of IW S2.
== Explosive Victory ==
Polaris/ Twili-Gerudo Fortress/ Day 6
Everything around him was collapsing, the darkness closing in on him and his gargantuan companions, Llach-Gelu, the ageless one, disembodied soul of the steed of his forefathers fought wing to thigh alongside an even larger more impressive rock beast representative of the Mega-Gorons in the stories of old, no less than 30 feet tall and every bit as strong. And then there was him, Polaris had long since allowed his battle instincts to take over as he dashed and parried, slashed and harried, and then ultimately disposed of abomination after abomination. These beasts were the physical incarnation of the heathen bastards who dared assault this land and even worse, had the nerve to abduct a man he had come to call friend. 
The moments after Rukh was hurtled through the void in the general direction of the High Mage's tower seemed to pass like hours. In the handful of seconds that passed, Polaris dispatched of the Shadow Beast he had been entangled with and, with a running kick off of the stony haunch of Giga, he somersaulted over the flame frost dragon who had a single Shadow Beast ensnared in his frigid maw and yet another pinned to the ground with a gigantic clawed foot, tail drawn high above, waiting for Polaris to push off of it to gain just a teensy bit more altitude, before it came hurtling down and pummeled the beast on the ground into submission. As for the Red Ice General himself, he landed upon the back of an approaching Shadow Beast straddling its neck. Immediately wrapping his legs around the throat of the monstrosity to cut off circulation to the beasts brain, Polaris wrenched his hips side to side until he'd locked in his choke so tight that not even a hairsbreadth remained between the flesh of he and the beast. As Polaris held on with all his might the beast bucked and reared and stampeded around the ever shrinking area. This mindless rampaging of the Shadow Beast allowed Polaris the chance to swing his dual red-ice-mikhaira freely as he was given a full tour of their encapsulation...."Rukhukhukhukhu! Rukhukhukhukhu!"
All activity in the area seemed to cease for the briefest of instances as the sonorous boom of Rukh's war cry rose above the din of battle. In an instant everything in the warp resumed, the Shadow Beast atop whom Polaris was mounted had gained a brief respite as Polaris, taken aback by the sheer volume of Rukh's cry had loosened his grip. With his wits about him again, Polaris tightened his vice-like grip again and tried to block out the sounds at the tower which he so longed to hear, because it was far beyond evident that anything that he did inside of this warp was a fruitless effort if it closed upon them. Just as he begun to debate the possibilities of mounting his dragon and attempting to fly out, the Shadow Beast lurched forward and Polaris, assuming he'd finally suffocated the beast went to push off from the creatures back, but there was no back to springboard from and he flailed his limbs before falling face first in the sand. The creature he had been riding, along with all of the others and the very warp itself had dematerialized.
Polaris scrambled to his feet and staggered over to where Llach-Gelu stood preening in the sunlight, cleaning the gore from scales that gleamed in the sunlight as the taint was removed. Polaris smiled, and patted the dragon on the neck as he reached out with his thoughts, "Today, you fought well amazingly. I owe you my life." The dragon made a deep humming sound in it's chest, showing contentment with the compliments the General had paid it. Polaris nodded to Giga as he made his approach to the enormous rock beast, something glinted in the distance. Putting his full attention on those now approaching, he was relieved when it was Kae's voice and not that of some new, winged foe that rang out across the sands. Stowing his blades Polaris waved them onward, "We're battered and bruised, but overall we are well!!" Polaris' voice trailed off as he said this, and almost indstinctly muttered to himself..."Rukh..." Polaris turned and jumped into position on the back of his dragon, and as the beast leapt into the air, Polaris called out to Kae and the others, "Follow me!!! There may yet be healing to be done!" With that he leaned forward and with a flap of massive wings they were off and zipping through air towards the rubble of the now capsized tower.
Giga/Twilight Fortress/Day 6
Giga staggered a bit as he released the giant bird flying towards the tower in the distance, but he could not hesitate for a moment. As the last of the lightning bounced around on his rock-hard skin, and as it dissolved away the spot on his calf, once again leaving it bare, more of the Twili abominations began to swarm him. He instinctively began to bend down and swat at them, taking out two or three with one swing, sending them flying. It felt good, having this kind of power again, having the kind of muscle that only size could produce.
He was forced to pause for a moment, though, as he heard Rukh through the darkness shouting out as he neared the tower. The force could be felt even at his distance, a great explosion of wood, metal, lighting and magic. But his senses were brought back full force to the situation as he heard a Twili diving at him from behind. He spun his torso, but paused as the Twili, in mid-jump, dissolved into the air along with all the others, just inches away from burrowing itself into his exposed calf.
The darkness faded and his companions began to recuperate. Giga, exhausted from all he had done in the past day, was quite comfortable with the momentary lapse in fighting. But the sudden arrival of the Scion reminded him that this would not last for long. They still did not have the goronite, and Rukh could still be hurt. At Polaris' heed, Giga balled up and rolled along to the crashed tower, afraid of what he might find when he reached it.
IC: Rukh / Desert Fortress / Day 6
Rukh's steamwhistle screech fell silent as the evil shade fell upon him. The very fabric of the Warp had been twisted into a black pool of Dusk which Kazeem thrust into the Thunderbird's hooded face. Silence once again swept over his blindness. He felt no pain, nor terror. His mechanical mind shut down as the oblivion of Twilight washed over him and into him. With no soul in the vessel, there was no one there to drown.
The scorching Dusk began to seep into every plate of Rukh's Celestium armor. The rare alloy was said to be derived from the Sacred Realm itself, by the wise techniques of the Sky People. The astromancy of the Oocca was put to its ultimate test under the forces of the Interlopers' black magic. A grim, grey and indigo light began to bleed from beneath Rukh's poisoned feathers. Within the black inferno of the discharged Warp, Rukh's body was contorted and ripped into jagged pieces. Gears flew from his wings and nuts and bolts shook to the sand below, each coated with the afterglow of the meteoric Dusk cloud.
Rukh's headed landed with a thump in the sand a short distance from where Kazeem's Tower had fallen. Polaris's Thunder Rod jutted from the back of his beak, where his neck and crest would have been. The Rod had been deeply contaminated by Kazeem's blast, which had been thrust almost directly down Rukh's open beak. One last spark of electricity from the darkened Thunder Rod jolted into his mind, and Rukh was able to open one eye before blackness overcame him.
He saw Kazeem's body fall arm's length from his own head, the High Mage of the Interlopers brought low by the Daybreak Alliance. And he felt, for the first time in what seemed like ages, the return of his telepathic link with Mirra, his Aviatrix. With the passing of the Warp, he could see her clearly now, and with this last vision Rukh's fading heart was mortified. He saw the Twili's General Grem standing above her, and a writhing phantom possessed of a magic sword beneath.
With his last thought, Rukh cried out into the coming darkness. '...Courage, Mirra!'
IC: Mirra Lemeris / Twili Catacombs / Day 6
As she held the ghoul against the wall, Mirra's mind suddenly flashed with a vision of the Desert battle outside, and all the souls in its grip. The Twilight Warp had been lifted, and telepathy could flow freely through the Province of Spirit again. Mirra felt the many ghosts of the Haunted Wasteland lift their spirits into the open air as the marauding Warp demons evaporated from around them.
She saw Rukh receive what looked like a massive comet of dark energy point blanc, and felt his mind dissolve as he was ripped wing from wing. She saw the High Mage Kazeem hovering and drooping to the ground in a panic, Rukh's bladed feathers and talons whirling down around him, before all went black.
Then, a stray bolt of electricity gave her a last brief glimpse into Rukh's mind. She saw Kazeem prostrate on the ground, his face buried in the sand. And with that, one triumphant gasp from her Warbird. '...Courage, Mirra!'
Mirra cried out the good news to her companions, inside and out. "The High Mage Kazeem has fallen! The Twili magistry and the demon hoard are vanquished! Advance, allies! Advance! Let us rise up like the noonday sun and claim Din's sacred ore from this hellspawn!"
[b]Darrel Mytura - Twili Fortress Catacombs - Sixth Day[/b]
[color=orangered]"I'm afraid I've outlived the patience of a great many over the centuries, Grem."[/color] Darrel replied as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Jaden, defiantly facing the advance of the armored behemoth that was Lord Grem. [color=orangered]"You'll have to forgive me, but I stopped caring a long time ago."[/color]
Grem held aloft his mighty blade, looming over the pair of light warriors as he growled and swung it in a devastating downward slash. For an armored brute Grem moved with surprising speed. Darrel and Jaden were forced to dodge the blow, Jaden leaping backwards and Darrel jumping sideways. Jumping [i]off[/i] the stone span. The Twili chains unraveled from one hand and he whipped them out around the armored ankle of Lord Grem as his sword smashed into the stone and rent a deep furrow in its brittle surface.
Robbed of its structural integrity, the bridge collapsed beneath the incredible bulk of the Interloper General. Darrel swung from Grem's leg as they fell. The chains on his other arm snared themselves around one of the arching stone paths bridging the depth-less chasm, but Grem's weight joined with his own tore through the stone.
Grem landed with a resounding crash on the next bridge down and Darrel swung from his ankle down around it and up from the other side. Finding his feet he fought to detach himself from Grem's ankle even as he whipped the other chains up around the thick gorget protecting his foe's neck.
[color=orangered]"Jaden! Strike quickly!"[/color] He yelled into the dim black of the subterranean pit. He was uncertain of where his Sheikah comrade had sought refuge from the collapsing stone, but he needed to attack now.
Darrel couldn't help but wonder whether his other companions had managed yet to rescue his sword. He would need it before long.
Jaden/Catacombs/Day 6
Even with such a heavy weapon, Grem had a quick, big swing. There wasn't enough room on the bridge for both to dodge by leaping back, so Jaden leaped a little further than usual. He was a little surprised when he saw Darrel jump off the side. There had to be some sort of plan, as someone with centuries of experience wouldn't just jump for jumping's sake.
He had to backpedal a little more when Grem's sword struck stone, and where his foot had been moments earlier was now pitch darkness. Or somewhat. His low-light vision was of some help here, as his people were more inclined to work under the cover of darkness.
As a gap separated Jaden and Grem, he saw more stone crumbling, and a chain wrap itself around his enemy's leg. Grem lost balance and fell also.
This wouldn't be enough to do him in, but he heard both of them land with a loud thud. He couldn't make out Darrel's form, but he heard his voice. And he saw an outline of a rather nicely gift-wrapped opponent. Too good to be true. 
"Jaden, strike quickly!"
Indeed, an opportunity like that wouldn't last for long. He couldn't fully commit to something like an Unbalancing Strike, but he could use a technique that was tried and true from this position. It would look like a full-commit, but with how he knew a sword, he could turn it into a last-minute parry if he needed to. Downthrust, aimed as well as he could given what he could see, was on its way to the Leader of the Twili.
He had a feeling this was a bad idea. But opportunities like this didn't present themselves often. Even if he could do some damage now, it was worth the chance. And Darrel really gave of himself to make it possible. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't think Jaden capable. 
"The Defiant powers my blow!"
A crimson, hexagonal glyph briefly flashed from his forehead as he hurtled downward towards Grem. Defiance Aura had been activated to maximize impact. As the outline grew clearer, Jaden knew he'd aimed as best he could, and a matching red anima enveloped his sword. 
Mirra / Twili Catacombs / Day 6
Mirra shuddered as the towering figures above her came crashing down in a hail of rubble and rock, only to have Jaden rocket downward in a red glow close behind. She looked back to the Poe Knight, crammed against the wall by her spotlight, and reinforced the Light aura she was raining down on this specter from the underworld.
As Jaden flew past, she felt a new rush of energy fill her tiny sphere, power from Jaden and Lynn combining in her to give her strength, and Mirra used this to redouble her affliction of the thief spirit. As her empowered Light aura started dissolving the ghost into smoke, Mirra imbued the Morning's Edge sword with a brilliant Light enchantment. With hands too small to lift the sword, Mirra could no more than this, but she prayed that what for the Poe Knight was a curse, for the Sunrise Knight would be a blessing...
Horus/ Twili Catacombs/ Day 6
Guilt and regret had such an ugly taste. He followed the party into the catacombs as he tried to clear his mind, if only to make himself feel better and improve his morale. Mirra captured the armored phantasm with what appeared to be ease. This struck Horus as almost an insult. He knew next to nothing about the people around him, half of them looking like they could tear Horus to pieces...but he could not shake what he had witnessed. He had trained in the artes of magic throughout his childhood, but could not stop a swinging sword in its tracks. And yet, here he stood watching another being, small enough to fit in his hand even, being able to not slow or stop, but outright immobilize an entire body of armor. The sight of this made him feel almost ill. What was his training for if he couldn't even do better than a fairy? He shook his head, try to dismiss the thought. There were more important events unfolding around them, and brooding wouldn't accomplish anything.
The power of the pure magic that flowed through his veins made him feel lighter than ever before, as when he jumped towards the immobilized armored mass, he almost overshot the jump onto its shoulders. As he made the leap, rocks fell from the sky, but he had no time to find out why, for his focus was on the armored figure before him. As he landed, he felt a rock hit his head, but curiously, it did not cause him any pain. As the rock fell from his head, he could feel a different power fall past him, as his own appeared to magnify as his right arm rose to above his head. He used his other hand to tear the helm off with ease, for the magic that bound it caused the ghostly force to decay, and plunged his arm into the armor.
A horrible screech rang out throughout the cavernous room, as the armored body writhed and struggled, its efforts futile. He grabbed what felt like a glass ball within icy cold liquid. He yanked hard as the ghost shivered violently, screeching in pain one last time as its orb was removed from within. Horus shook his arm as if it was wet as he hopped of the shoulders of the figure, nonchalanty ripping the sword from its hand as he gazed at the orb in his hand. The creature began to collapse and dissipate as he placed the orb in his pocket, and focused on the strange energy emanating off the sword in his hand. He knew Grem was close, so there was no time to hesitate. He looked up at Mirra, glanced around the cave, then back at Mirra.
"So who is this for? It must be important if we've stopped to fell that ghost." He hated to ask it, but he honestly didn't know. Horus hated missing out on briefings for this very reason.
Mirra / Twili Catacombs / Day 6
Mirra floated down to Horus where he held the sword on a rock bridge. The Morning's Edge glistened in his hand with Light, mirroring the gold and silver energy that rippled from Horus and Mirra. "The Morning's Edge must be returned to the Sunrise Knight! It's the only thing that can break the Twili chains that bind him. Fly down and return the sword to Darrel!"
With the Poe Knight dispatched, Mirra rechanneled her energy into Horus, strengthening his Light aura along with the power Jaden had given them all. With magic from Jaden, Mirra, and Lynn to protect him, Mirra hoped that Horus could get close enough to Grem and Darrel to hand over the sword. "Courage, Horus!"
Horus/ Twili Catacombs/ Day 6
The warmth of Light had never been so delightful in his life. He felt his powers double once more as the fairy shared what she had with him, exceeding what he had felt just moments ago outside the catacombs. As Mirra  gave him enough knowledge necessary to take his next step, he walked swiftly towards the remains of what was the bridge that led into the catacombs. 
He leaned ever so slightly over, and squinted his eyes at the darkness, trying to make out the fight that was possibly already ensuing. He could feel a power emanating from below, which was accompanied by a smell he could not properly describe in words. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't revolting either. Magic always had a strange odor to him that he had never really noticed unless he really concentrated on it. He turned to Mirra once more and spoke as she finished her orders. His words were soft and more sincere than any he had uttered since he had arrived last morn.
"With what I have seen, Courage alone simply won't be enough.' 
He rose his hand slightly below Mirra as if to give her a platform to rest her small feet upon. 
'...At least, that is what I believed, until I gazed upon the war that cost us that town, watching all of you. Especially you...you are the most admirable of them all. Before that...witch got her claws on me, I saw you risk everything...a heroic sacrifice, something I would have never done in a millenium. I watched that mechanical bird sorrowfully carry what was left of you from that fire, as my own flesh burned and my will to stay awake dwindled. Yet, here you are...shorter than a foot, but the most awe-inspiring individual I have seen in my two decades of life.' 
He walked back towards the bridge's remains and whispered to himself. '...and yet here I am, after suffering a injury that not even the mightiest of the soldiers of my kin would survive.' 
He looked at Morning's Edge as he finished, '...what a curious two days this has been. I arrived in this land foolishly blind with rage, yet the only feeling I have now is wonder...of almost child-like properties..."
As his words trailed off, he focused his magic into his feet. He summoned his power from within as his now magnificent wispy wings spread out from his back, to thier furthest they had ever stretched. What happened next wasn't a jump, but a launch. Without appearing to move a muscle, Horus propelled forward and slowly drifted down to the battle that ensued, his narrowed eyes darting around the scene, seeking opportunity. He held Morning's Edge tightly as he silently touched down on the bridge, a safe distance from the action. His wings folded as he crouched, his posture suggesting he was ready to pounce.
"Now I just need a clear shot of those shackles, and you're as good as free..." He whispered to himself, watching the scene unnoticed. He didn't plan to get comfortable with that, for he knew he was going to be noticed very soon. By Grem.
Kae and Elly/Gerudo Fortress Exterior/Day 6
Healing to be done? That wasn't Kae's specialty outside of alchemy. But she and Elly followed Polaris as they proceeded. 
What of the Warp Field, though? 
"Be ready for anything, Kae. We're still deep in enemy territory, though victory may have been declared at this time."
Rukh's head entered Kae's field of vision, and she gasped.
"Rukh, no! How did that happen?"
She shook her head, trying to keep her wits about her. Something didn't feel right, and she readied her weapon in case the Warp opened back up again. Not that it'd help much, but she figured it'd be better to be prepared and consumed than flat-footed.
Polaris and Llach-Gelu/ Gerudo Fortress Ruins/ Day 6
Polaris knew that his compatriots had joined him in his mad dash to the aide of heavenly thunderbird, at once he felt their formidable powers join in behind that of his and the ancient red ice dragon, therefore it was he whom first dismounted and strode towards the lifeless body of Rukh, absorbing the substantial powers of the primordial dragon upon which he rode. Taking a moment to survey the situation, Polaris saw a crumpled body lying before him with scorch marks all about it, the Thunder Rod lay some feet away from the scene, blackened and obviously tainted by the dark artes that had opened the Warp. As he examined the vessel of the Goddesses he came to a sole conclusion, a significant blast from the heavens was all that would revive his fallen comrade.
"Rukh, no! How did that happen?"
Slowly, Polaris turned toward the newly arrived Scion, "It happened because of his undying loyalty and dedication to our cause. Even in the most dire of situations, this machine as some would call him, had more heart than those that swear to hold the fates of us who call the Crown of Hyrule their guiding light, our survival and victory was his deepest calling, I feel that he held our overall value in the utmost of his beliefs, because it was us in whom he trusted the future of this land... There is but one way to revive him. He is imbibed with the manifest power of the Goddesses, their very essence. The calling card of the heavens is Thunder, and more specifically, lightning." Polaris walked towards the blackened Thunder Rod which he had claimed from the aeromancer Aves Valkyrian deep within the confines of the Snowhead mines and retrieved the artifact. What he wouldn't give to have his old traveling partner, Felina Xiphias alongside him now, for it was she that possessed the lighting side of this double edged weapon. Polaris could create a small amount of lightning, if only residual, with his half of the super weapon, but it was Felina who held the electrified end. At best Polaris could only shock Rukh to consciousness, not restore his full power. He would need a visit to his mistress, or someone with powers the Zora General did not possess for a complete healing.
As he rounded on the lifeless form of Rukh, Polaris drew up the tainted rod of the heavens and beckoned to those around him, "Stand back, I cannot be sure what will happen once I strike." In unison the whole of the group retreated several paces away from them and Polaris, muttering every spell of shielding and healing he had ever learned, lunged forward, striking down with all his might with the staff of thunder. Almost instantly he knew it had been a foolish endeavor, Polaris heard distant, detached screams echoing high and loud above his own retort. And when the blunt of the rod connected with Rukh himself, the red ice general felt a jolt and his vision was clouded with the thickest veil of darkness he himself had ever envisioned. With a ground quaking retort, Polaris was heaved backwards in an explosion of the most unholy tainted magic he himself had ever witnessed. Skidding across the dunes, Polaris bellowed in an uncomprehindingly high pitched wail that was not his own voice, but one that was flecked with the cries of those who died to fuel the heathenistic magicks that powered the warp.
As he hurtled through the nothingness of the desert air and, eventually struck the sand, a blackened unholiness spread up the majority of his sword arm rendering it nigh unusable, robbing him of all feeling in that extremity, leaving a dull aching in it's place. The ozone around the thunderbird cracked, sputtered, popped and without warning, erupted into a dull, purplish hue of thunder light, so bright that even those with the weakest of eyes were forced to turn their heads or shield their eyes. With a resounding retort, a dark blasphemous thunderbolt swooped down from the heavens and struck the once lifeless Rukh, bringing the whole of his parts together once more. As his eyes glowed and shot open, Polaris regained his wits and clambered back up to his feet.
"By the heavens, what have I done?"
High Mage Kazeem/Noon 6/Interloping Fortress of Gerudo
"Rukh, no! How did that happen?"
A female voice broke Kazeem from his daze, lying in the sand. He coughed, squinting out from amidst the rubble. What had happened? The tower was no more, and he could no longer feel the power of Dusk imbuing his veins. He stared directly into lifeless aquiline eyes. Oh, yes... the bird-beast of the Hylian's force.
He rolled to the side, particulates from the tower's destruction sliding off his back, and reached forward to the head of the Thunderbird. Before he grabbed it, the roar of a thunderstrike broke across the desert, and the thing was borne away from him under magical influence. With it came a familiar feeling, a scent to which the desert air had become accustomed in the past few days. The pieces of the Thunderbird drew themselves together, swirling around each other and clicking into place, reforming the mechanical wonder.
Kazeem stood, watching this spectacle, just in awe as the Hylians mere feet away. Neither he nor they made move to assault each other, as this Ruhk brought itself back to life from utter destruction. The process completed, and metal wings spread wide as a call bellowed forth from the chest of the bird.
"Khukhuruh!"
Its eyes grated open, revealing a dull and lifeless gaze. Kazeem smiled, recognizing the scent that cloyed the air about them. Dusk.
His hand outstretched, and Ruhk clunked toward him. "Beautiful thing. A creature of your Goddesses, but like them, it pales to the might of Dusk. As all things in this world will, he bows to the true master of all things."
The self-christened Light Warriors made to move towards him, allegiance to their friend bidding them fight on his behalf. Kazeem laughed as they were met in opposition by the one for whom they would fight.
[b][color=darkred]Lord Grem/Noon 6 or whatever)/Catacombs[/color][/b]
Grem landed with a bone-crushing slam on the second bridge. It creaked and cracked under the impact, but held together for the moment being. Grem straightened himself, observing the stone around him, gauging its strength for the continuing duel, as chains swung and wrapped around his gorget. He grunted in amusement. Mytura was attempting to [i]choke[/i] him? Through this armor?
[color=orangered]"Jaden! Strike quickly!"[/color]
Ah, yes. The Sheikah, it wouldn't do to let the other feel left out in this double suicide the Lights were perpetrating. Grem grabbed the chain around his neck with his left hand and pulled, swinging Darrel as a human flail at the other end. The Sheikah dove downward, sword-first, toward Grem, and instead met with Mytura halfway. The Lights collided and sprawled sideways with the force of Grem's swing, sending them careening off the side of the bridge.
Grem stood firm atop the bridge as the chain went taut. Dust and chunks of stone fell away from the already damaged bridge as Grem braced against it to arrest the force of Darrel's fall.
[b]Summary:[/b] Grem uses Darrel as a flail on the end of his chain to hit Jaden mid-lunge, sending both flying off the bridge. Darrel is still chained to Grem, and thus is dangling off the edge of bridge. Hopefully Jaden grabbed onto him... Oh, and there are telling signs that this bridge is about to give out, too, with all the punishment it's been taking.
[b][hl=#F0E68C][color=#1E90FF]Lynn Hothlight[/color][/hl/Noon 6/Catacombs][/b]
Lynn stood with sword in hand, ready to move in should things turn sour. Mirra appeared to have things under control, and Lynn's concerns were unfounded when the Rito slew the Poe Knight and freed from its grasp the Morning's Edge sword. She cheered inside for that. With this distraction out of the way, she could continue with her true mission. Horus took the sword and leapt into the chasm after Jaden, Darrel and the Interloper General.
This left Hothlight alone with the fairy.
"[hl=#F0E68C][color=#1E90FF]Well done, Emissary. We have secured the Morning's Edge. If we escape with out lives, that is mission complete. However, I fear with the General's presence, that is a rather large 'if'. What will you do, then?[/color][/hl]"
Lynn strode to the edge and peered into the abyss below. The darkness was rent by the luminescence of their fellows, blessed by the Light mages of the group. Specks of light in a pit of darkness. Such an appropraite metaphor.
Kae and Elly/Gerudo Fortress Exterior/Day 6
They both saw the unfolding. What Polaris did was good-intentioned as far as trying to shock Rukh back to health for a time...but the corrupting influence of that Twili spellcaster had to have taken hold. It still permeated the air, and Kae could feel it even though the Warp had dissipated. She felt other familiar things too, but the Warp's cacophony blocked out most other things.
Facing two foes at once...of course Kae's side had the number advantage, but when it came to the Profane, logic was dismissed. 
Elly looked over at Kae and quickly wagged her finger. There was to be none of that hourglass shaking, even with what was before them. Living to fight another day was more important than winning one battle.
Kae looked over at Polaris and cringed. 
"Not you too, Polaris! I'm sick of seeing my friends suffer! This heresy ends now!"
The Scion attempted to ward herself against the Warp's destructive influences by attuning herself to Lunar energies. She began to take on a very light nimbus of an anima, but it wasn't anything too extreme. She could have done this as a beginner apprentice, but it would have required her full concentration then.
Elly was skeptical of even that, but she figured if Kae was going to use magic, she'd be more responsible about it, considering her daily reserves were stunted by the curse.
Skeptical of attacking Rukh and believing that the Twili archmage was the source of this entire problem, Kae decided to attack him. She wasn't sure what the others were going to do, but there wasn't much time to plan. And she didn't have to be a caster based on pure offense. Some of the beauty of Lunar Artes lies in their metamagical proficiencies, such as her warding spell. 
Starborn Edge in hand, Kae rushed headlong at her enemy with a furious strike at the ready. Elly trailed close behind her, moving to flank once Kae hopefully got into a good position.
"Someone keep Rukh busy!"
Summary: Kae's really not happy about what just happened, and believes it is all Kazeem's fault. Therefore, she attacks him. Elly moves to flank, depending on if Kae can keep his attention long enough. She loves sneak attacks, after all.
Jaden/Catacombs/Day 6
No plan survives first contact, but in such a critical battle, sometimes one has to follow the lead and have something ready to improvise.
Seeing a form being flung at him as he hurtled downward, Jaden wasn't too sure who it was right away, but he knew it wasn't Grem. He adjusted his blade, raising it and turning the flat toward the form. Unfortunately, the collision sent him flying, and he wasn't able to grab onto anything. There was darkness everywhere, and the adrenaline was pumping out of control. Normally, he'd harness that combat high and ride the wave.
At the last possible moment, he saw Darrel's chain and attempted to grab onto it. He could hear the bridge starting to make crunching noises...and his shield arm was the one reaching for the only thing keeping them from falling into depths unknown. 
Jaden realized that kiting him on the bridge above would have failed just as miserably as any other plan after seeing how brittle they were. They were built to last, but how long had they been there? 
IC: Mirra Lemeris / Catacombs Chasm / Day 6
"...what a curious two days this has been. I arrived in this land foolishly blind with rage, yet the only feeling I have now is wonder...of almost child-like properties..."
Imbued with Light magic from Mirra and the Morning's Edge, Horus's hand glowed with an inner light as the Fairy rested in it. Only the night before, this hand had been mutilated in the Battle for Hyrule Castle, and she had healed it. By cleansing him from within down in these darkest dungeons of the enemy, Mirra knew that her destiny was bonded to his, just as she was bound by an Intimate Embrace with Telma, Jaden, and Darrel. Now the destiny for which the Goddesses had brought Mirra and Horus together became more clear. As he leapt away to aid his Allies, Mirra sent a message to him.
~In later days, minstrels will recall the day that the winged Horus bore the Morning's Edge to the Sunrise Knight, and liberated him from the chains of the Twili. Horus, guard closely the bead of the Poe's Soul which you claimed just now. The Morning's Edge gave strange powers to the wraith, and there's no telling what his soul now holds.~
Before she could fly down the chasm and follow Horus to Jaden and Darrel, Mirra was stopped by an inquiry from Lynn. A strange quiet fell over the two Light mages, even as the battle raged below.
"Well done, Emissary. We have secured the Morning's Edge. If we escape with our lives, that is mission complete. However, I fear with the General's presence, that is a rather large 'if'. What will you do, then?"
Mirra hovered just past the edge of the bridge they stood on. She turned to face Lynn behind her, shining her light on the Sheikah's face.
"I fear not for the lives of our comrades, for I know that the Goddesses give them strength. Have Courage, Lynn! Our friends need us! The Light magic we have given Horus won't last long; without us down there no one will be able to see!"
With that, Mirra dashed down the chasm after Horus, following the glow of the Morning's Edge and his own aura. As she intercepted him, she called out, then continued down towards Darrel.
"Follow me, Horus! I'll show you the way to Darrel!"
Mirra ducked around the crisscrossing stone bridges at breakneck speed, hoping Horus would be able to keep up with his larger wingspan. As she came to the bridge where Lord Grem stood with the manacles of the Twili wrapped around his neck, she snuck along the side and continued down to Darrel and Jaden. She stationed herself over Darrel's shoulder and started beaming out light, hoping Horus could see it several levels below Grem.
Horus/ Catacombs/ Day 6
His animal-like senses enhanced his vison in darkness, but Mirra's brightly lit body served as a torch. The battlefield might as well have been taking fold in broad daylight for him thanks to that, and he twisted and contorted his body ever so slightly, easily avoiding the stone bridges that lay in his way, without losing even the tiniest momentum. As he approached as fast as gravity allowed him, he saw as the battle turned to Grem's favor in a single motion. This would normally leave Horus unsettled, but he knew he had the advantage to begin with, considering his ability to fly and the bridge's fading integrity. He had no reason to engage the hulking armor below, and had no plans to do so. Horus mused at what appeared to be Lady Luck, whom was smiling upon him. 
"If there was a Lady Luck...' He thought, '...she has definitely adopted a schizophrenic nature today."
He could hear the bridge shift as two of his comrades were flung to the far edge of the bridge, with Grem still in the middle. Unfortunate they be thrown, but more fortunate they be out of the way when Horus took action. As the distance between him the the target bridge closed, he corrected himself in the air, adjusting from a divebomb to landing on his feet. He landed softly despite his momentum just moments ago, and rose up erect as his great wings disappeared into nothingness, feathers fluttering about where they once were. He stood tall and proud, for the first time in months, with Morning's Edge in hand, and his eyes on Grem's face. His next move was faster than what most would believe Hyrulian muscle could.
He turned around and stabbed the sword into the rock, weakening the bridge in the most necessary spot to make his next move possible. He turned to Grem as wind picked up speed around him. He walked slowly but spoke swiftly and almost angrily, a huge contrast from his previous conversation with Mirra. His voiced boom through the catacombs as he yelled at the darkness within the armor before him.
"I may not be able to cease your stride, Twili Juggernaut,' He barked as he walked, 'but gravity will!"
Wind swirled around his foot as he reared back. With a mighty grunt, Horus stomped onto the bridge, followed by the most ungodly crunching noise he had the displeasure of hearing. He smiled as he felt the bridge give way under his feet, along with Grem before him. He had no time to think of how he would go about what he was going to do, but what had been done was done. All he knew, was that this had to be done first. 
"Fall."
Khur / Twili Fortress, Desert Province / Day 6
"Khukhuruh!"
A horrible creature rose up from the sands before the Light Warriors, seeming to tower over them in a vortex of lightning and dark ether. The High Mage Kazeem walked towards the demon, smiling as it clunked towards him. The Celestium armor of the Thunderbird became jet black, and a crimson light burned from the joints in his armor. He was no longer Rukh. He had become Khur. 
"Beautiful thing. A creature of your Goddesses, but like them, it pales to the might of Dusk. As all things in this world will, he bows to the true master of all things."
"Khurukhuru! Khurukhuru!"
Like thunder rumbling in the sky, a grinding howl rang up from the abominable machine Polaris had created in the Desert. The howl echoed far and wide, grating at the ears of the gathered Light Warriors. As his howl shrieked over the canyons, Kae and Elly sprang into attack.
The Scion of Nayru illumined herself with a lunar glow and advanced on Kazeem with her astral blade drawn. Khur swooped across the sands, closing the distance between himself and Kazeem faster even than the Scion could run. Her penitentiary curse had weakened her, and her magic use was restrained.
Khur, on the other hand, was overflowing with Profane energy. Clouded out from its communion with Mirra by the Dusk, the body of the Thunderbird was an inanimate artifact. And with all of the Warp that Kazeem had poured into the Thunder Rod now infused into him, Khur was a weapon of the high Dusk sorcerer. The same power that had blasted him apart now welded him together and bid him slay the very allies for whom he had been obliterated.
Khur rose up between Kae and Kazeem with his wings folded over his breast. With her vague lunar aura only moderately aiding her strength, the Scion of Nayru's cosmic sword glanced off of Khur's cosmic armor to no effect. Under the miasma of Dusk and Thunder that coated Khur's new form, the Celestium plates and mail that constituted his body still radiated with the power of the stars.
"Don't make me do this, Kae...," Khur muttered through his clenched beak. Inside his shell of a mind, some echo of the divine mission for which the Thunderbird had been built still resonated with the divinity housed in Kae's body, and could not allow him to commit such a sin as accosting the Scion of Nayru without a wave of guilt.
As the two cosmic warriors faced off against each other, a distant cry not unlike the echo of banshee voices following Polaris's use of the Dusk Rod carried across the battlefield. It was as if thousands of distant inhuman voices began screeching at once, from every angle. The piercing cries grated against the long ears of the iridescent Sheikah, and she faltered.
But just as Khur found his opening, he heard a yelp of terror from Kazeem behind him and spun around to find Elly sneaking in from the side, and Kazeem's surge of fear flooded Khur's mind and eclipsed the Goddesses's imprimatur. "NO!" In one fluid motion, Khur swept open his wings, pummeling Kae to the ground, and bolted across the ground to Elly, scooping her up in his talons by the torso and waist. The same divine intervention that allowed him to intercede when the life of his Aviatrix, who bore the Dominion Rod, was in danger, had now been corrupted to apply to Kazeem.
Circling into the blackening sky, Khur flinched his talons and sent massive jolts of electricity into Elly's meek and slender frame. The little Sheikah trainee was a rag doll in the massive warbird's black talons. The Dusk began seeping through his armor into her psychic energy, contaminating her mind and threatening to war her consciousness into a profane depravity. Behind him, Khur trailed a stream of electrifying Dusk in his wake, a black ether that filled the sky as he circled higher and higher. With one last screech, Khur reached his apex, then swooped back down towards the ground below at breakneck speed as the encroaching screams met his howl.
"Khurukhuru! Khurukhuru!"
A maelstrom of fluttering Dark Cuccos tore through the Dusk with which Khur had surrounded the area, dozens of them divebombing Polaris, Kae, and Giga each. A swarm of the demonic fowl came down on the Giant Goron with eyes beaming red, tearing into his eyes with razor beaks that dripped tar and stabbing into the flesh of his inner knees and thighs. Another swarm rained down on Kae, smothering her lunar aura in a swirling vortex of madly cackling Cuccos that stabbed at her enchanted arm and ripped at her hair and face, knocking the Starborn Edge to the ground. And finally, a curtain of Cuccos descended on Polaris, enveloping him in a deluge of monsters that slashed at his disabled arm and knocked the Thunder Rod out of his hand.
Then, all the Dark Cuccos arranged themselves into consecutive rings around the warriors, rotated rapidly, and each started shooting short bursts of flame at their target when they had an opening through the rest of the flock. The accursed birds moved with near mechanical precision, like gears within gears turning around each of the Allies.
And while the three Light Warriors were distracted by Khur's plague of Cuccos, he swooped down to the ground where Kazeem stood waiting, and the sorcerer mounted his newly acquired air machine. Elly still clutched in the grip of his claws, and nearing unconsciousness from the onslaught of Dusk and Thunder, Khur and Kazeem took to the skies once more, and flew above the clouds of blackness they had gathered.
Giga/Day 6/Twilight Fortress
Giga took a step back as what was formerly Rukh flew into the air.
"I have a feeling you might want to get under me," Giga said cautiously, feeling the ensuing divebomb. But Giga's wish turned out to be unneeded, for when Rukh started his descent, it was not he who attacked, but hundreds of a strange bird form of these abominations. They came down in swarms, scratching, screeching, biting, and it seemed for every one Giga smacked aside, ten more took it's place. It was absolute pandemonium, chaos in its purest form.
And then the pain struck.
The exposed patch of skin on his calf felt like it was being ripped apart. His knees buckled and he went down hard as the birds continued their cruel punishment. Every peck was like a thousand swords being stabbed into his skin at once. In a last, adrenaline-inspired effort, Giga swatted back at the birds with his fist, taking out perhaps a dozen or more with one swing. He quickly rolled up and sped off, causing a massive dust cloud to form around the scene as Rukh and Kazeem flew off with Elly. But Giga was not concerned with such things. His mind currently had a single objective: get away from these damn birds. After several seconds of high-speed rolling, he stopped and uncurled onto the sand in a bloody heap. The area around his knee was covered in the red liquid. In truth, it seemed an unnatural amount of blood for such tiny birds, but at the same time, it almost seemed like it was not enough blood for the pain he was feeling. With a last bit of energy, Giga let out a deep, long roar. A roar of pain, of anger, of hatred. And with that roar, Giga passed out in the sand.
Kae/Pain City/Day 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm7Bq_4JspI
"All the experience in the world won't teach you how to react when things backfire."
Jaden's words rang true as Kae was intercepted by the possessed Rukh. What could have possibly caused this? He obviously wasn't himself. And after being knocked to the ground, Elly was taken into the air. This enraged Kae to a point. Even though Elly signed up to protect her, nothing caused the Scion's temper to flare more than seeing someone close to her in pain. 
She could feel her left cheek throbbing, and her breathing quickened. As Elly screamed out in pain, Kae wanted to call forth divine wrath in the worst way. But she couldn't. Not only would she shorten her own lifespan, she'd also most likely hit Elly too. And with as much agony as Elly was experiencing now, it'd kill her. 
Too many people were throwing themselves in front of danger to save her. She had to do something to justify all of that. Even with Polaris and Gigagoron present, this was a mess she believed herself responsible for.
A flock of possessed Cuccos descended upon those left on the ground with a ferocity only found in purely evil beings. The Scion's body was stinging in all of the places where those birds had pecked about. They were trying to rip out her hair, pluck at her eyes, and lacerate anything their talons or beaks could get a hold of. One even tried to rip a closure of her corset off! And being disarmed didn't help matters much, as all she could do was get low and swat...before she remembered one of the benefits of her blade. 
Giga's advice was short lived before he was overwhelmed. The Scion had to take matters into her own hands once more.
Nayru, do not forsake us in this hour of need. Give us the strength to survive!
Whispering up a brief prayer, the Starborn Edge found its place back in her hand, and her frame was filling with an indignant lunar light. Her feet sprouted small wings at the ankles, and in frustration, she sliced one of the swarming Cuccos in half. More were still coming down, trying to disfigure her. All she could see was Elly, suffering. That had to stop.
She leaped up, kicking off of another bird, which ruptured beneath her feet, and then came momentum. While feeling slightly bad leaving Polaris down there on his own, the possibility of ending such a chaotic encounter had presented itself. Or so she thought. 
Skipping from Cucco to Cucco as they were stepping stones, she began to pick up more speed, hurtling through the air and closing distance between herself and the possessed construct. They continued to explode beneath her feet, unable to survive contact with such holy radiance. Viscera rained from the sky, intimidating some of the Cuccos to peel off from the pack and fly into the distance.
"You give me no choice either! Let her go!"
Supercharging the Starborn Edge with a renewed luminescence, Kae used the speed she'd picked up to gain quite a bit of air, performing a front flip and hoisting her blade overhead. This was an attack she was fully committed to. If she could jar Elly loose from Rukh's grasp, maybe she could catch her, put her down, and run up here to hit him again.
While her previous attack had no effect on such thick armor, the Scion was quite sure that this fully committed Lunar Cleave would have its intended effect.
Khur: Cosmic Metal Avian / Desert Province / Day 6
"You give me no choice either! Let her go!"
The Scion of Nayru let loose her Lunar Cleave in a whirl of light that slapped Khur on its profane beak. With a last glimpse, it passed the nictitating membrane of Celestium over its eyes, shielding his reconstituted eyes from her Starborn Edge. Khur had regained its sight, and Khur intended to keep it. It let out a tinny squawk gargling with the fluid glow from her sword, anathema to the Dusk that coated the grinding gears of its throat. It threw its bladed comb back in a jerking fit, ruffling its razor's edge feathers as Kae Bryseis plummeted to the Kukko-ridden dunes below. Their struggle had taken them well into the desert, outside the demolished walls of the Twili Fortress.
Khur lost its grip on Elly's right shoulder, and she fell to one side as the hallux talon on the back of Khur's foot sliced into her back. The Scion's apprentice gasped as the Khur's hallux stripped the fabric from her shoulderblades and drew a streak of blood that flowed from her flesh. Dangling her from one claw, Khur flapped his enormous wings wildly, shooting needles and sharp feathers out over the expanding cloud of Kukko into which Kae flew.
He knew the Scion would land on her feet. She had not yet begun to fight. Giga and Polaris had both just taken on Kazeem in the depths of the Dusk Warp, a stultifying abyss that cloyed at the mind and seeped like some black, poisonous warmth into the skin. Khur, lacking a true living body, had been immune to its torment, but only to a point. Now, the Warp had been spread inside of Khur, and Khur was its source and center. With a dull, pulsating rhythm down in the sprockets of its chest, the Warp generated the closest thing the Thunderbird had ever known to a beating heart. And it was this Cosmic Dusk that enveloped Khur's armor that the Scion had tried to destroy.
Steam began firing from the slits of its nostrils, and the feathers on the back of his neck stood up. Then Khur spread its wings wide, and a curtain of Dusk descended underneath its trail.
"A choice, Scion? I am to give you a choice?' came its voice booming down like thunder from the billowing Dusk above. Khur's industrial roar permeated through the cackling Kukkos and spread to wherever Kae stood below. Khur lifted the Celestium shield from his eyes, the light of Kae's attack fully dissipated, and spotted the Zora General.
"I am the Dark Wind of Chaos," Khur thundered, as bolts of lightning shattered from its eyes. "I give rise to all choice. And now, Scion, it is the curse of a choice I give to you..."
Khur dropped the Scion's apprentice from its second talon, then raised the Celestium shields from his coveted eyes, and easily spotted General Polaris standing on the ground far away. He was standing in the central yard of the fortress, visible through the cacophony if Kukkos swarming between them with Khur's divine vision.
Then Khur entered into its dive. As Elly, wounded and stunned by electricity, dropped to into the ravenous hoard of Kukko where Kae had fallen, Khur sped off at a low angle with his wings folded in for unmatched speed. A river of toxic, nauseating Dusk swept in the wake of Khur's downward advance. It had its sights set on the Zora General, and Khur reared his talons ahead of him in anticipation. While the Scion was distracted, Khur would demolish the Zora, then devour the Giant Goron, who was already being picked over in his unconsciousness by the Kukko. The Goron was the true threat.
Polaris/ Twili Fortress/ Day 6
The series of events following Polaris' grave mistake with the Thunder Rod got even weirder when, as he was struggling to his feet, the general was swept under by a tide of what appeared to be demonic cuccos, the flame spitting bastards drove him to the ground and separated him from the tainted Rod. Fighting them one handed and severely weakened proved to be quite the task as the fowl (heh, get it? lame joke I know) creatures swirled around him, pecking, clawing and yes, breathing fire. Polaris plucked the nearest one from the air left handed and held tight, channeling as much of his energy as he could spare into the bird, until it's entire body matched the color of it's eyes, a pulsating deep crimson, all the while, ducking dodging and kicking his way through the flurry of beaks and feathers that surrounded him, he made his way over to where the Thunder Rod had skittered away to and retrieved the artifact. He dare not use it again for fear of ending up like Rukh, instead he stowed it in his belt and lobbed the demon dusk/red ice cucco frag into the swirling midst of birds and ducked down, shielding himself from the blast. 
As the dusk mixed with the already blowing sand, Polaris steadied himself, unsure as to where everyone else had gone, unfettering his mind he reached out probing for the mental link he shared with the ancient Llach-Gelu. "What have I done? Where are you? And Rukh? What of him?" A familiar mechanical roar ripped through the night air, before Polaris could turn in it's direction however, "Do not acknowledge the sound, trust that I am here and I am close. Rukh, I fear is no more. This was not your doing so fret not. The High Mage and his blasphemous magic tainted both you and the wind-up toy who now refers to himself as Khur...do not begrudge me for this, but it's time you rest and let me do the work General." With that, the Red-Ice Dragon pulled the remainder of it's power from the weakened Zora General and the multitude of injuries suffered over the previous days finally took their toll as he went crashing to the sand unconscious. As Polaris lay there, limp and very vulnerable, a bubble of red ice encapsulated the now slumbering warrior, shielding him from the elements and those devilish cuccos. 
As it sped across the short distance between itself and its master, the flame-frost dragon projected it's consciousness, thoughts and feelings outwards across the vastness of the open desert and the outer walls of the fortress, unable to form speech from its lips without a real body, instead of the one formed of ice created by the fallen hero, Llach-Gelu chose to touch the minds and thoughts of all in the vicinity allowing them a brief glimpse of the voice inside Polaris' head, this was a warning, there was one pissed off dragon on the loose. "I have withdrawn my protection from my weary Rider, allies do not worry, these heathens cannot kill the undead and I am not abandoning him, I have withdrawn so that he may rest, his wounds are many and his body tires. Let this be a warning enemies old and new, I however..." A deafening screech like a thousand shattered glasses reverberated across the desert as Llach-Gelu roared into the air, those whose minds the dragon touched heard the screech in their ears and their minds. The dragon blanketed a swarm of dusk cucco's with a plume of fiery ice and a crimson hoarfrost spread over the desert sands as the ancient creature reached the spot where Polaris' body now lie under the protective bubble and banked hard, turning upwards toward the incoming Khur, cutting off his path to the General. 
"...am just getting started."
Khur / Desert Province / Day 6
"Fools!" shouted the sorcerer Kazeem.
At the last second, Khur pulled up from its dive and flared its wings to their full breadth, slashing out in either direction with black gusts of wind that slammed into the ethereal wyrm that burst from the Zora's body. Khur screeched wildly, opening its beak and spiking the knife-like feathers around its neck. Then a deep crimson glow arose in his throat, and it matched a red ball of light that formed in the shell of Red Ice that the Zora had been sealed in. The Twilit Thunder Rod smashed through the Red Ice shell, summoned by the Dusk that fumed in Khur's machinery, and ripped through the maw of the phantasmal serpent in a thunderclap. The black-stained and black-charred Thunder Rod slipped easily into the High Mage Kazeem's flurrying fingers. As Khur swept back from its dive, its head tore through the belly of the spirit dragon Llach-Gelu, and the Dusk with which Kazeem had rebuilt his armored mask was shattered, revealing a pale, humanoid face with intensely shining red eyes. Kazeem held the Rod aloft as Khur screamed a guttural howl into the skies, and a bolt of lightning split the air to teleport them away. Where the Red Ice Dragon swept up to protect his Rider, a black strip of lightning now came down to meet him.
Far afield into the twisting sands, a scarlet light spread from within the black clouds of Dusk that haunted the wastelands. Below it lay the collapsed body of the Giant Goron, the Swordsmith of the Daybreak Alliance. Kazeem poured a powerful desire to destroy this colossus into Khur's every bolt and nerve, until Khur felt as if a burning core of hatred smouldered in Kazeem's chest. As they drew closer to the beleaguered blacksmith, Khur's tongue lolled from its chin and licked its needle-like teeth. Khur landed on top of the Goron's rocky hide, and spread its wings high again as lightning flashed down behind him. Its reflective surfaces cast a pale shine on the wounded Goron's head, Khur's two great bladed wings casting a acute shadow on the crags of his brow. As a tornado of Kukkos formed a protective barrier to surround them, Kazeem lifted the Twilit Thunder Rod over his head, filling it with a continuous circuit of energy that flowed down from the skies, into the Rod, through the Twilit Thunderbird and back again, a swirling maelstrom of quantum turbulence that rent the very Fabric of the Realm.
"Fie to you, Allies of the Realm!" Kazeem whispered into Khur's ear, and Khur belted it out over the cacophony of Kukkos. "Thou art come to defend this ground called Hyrule, but we are not invaders. Thou art come to preserve the Peace and Order of this fertile land, but we are not Interlopers. I am the High Mage Kazeem; I do not come to enslave this earth. I come to explode it."
Kazeem brought two rolling streams of red lightning down from the blackened heavens, and wove them together around the Rod of Thunder in an artful twirl. Khur's eyes continued to flare and flinch sporadically as the helical ropes of lightning ripped through its metallic bones, electrifying him on a molecular level, shocking the very essence of the Thunderbird in a torrent of Dusk, the terrestrial answer to that cosmic Celestium whence the Oocca had it made. Khur let loose a tortured howl that was not like that of a thousand demons and ghouls, but that of a primordial ancestor of the Hylians, a forefather of even the Ancient Hylians. And it was this power that Kazeem now whipped into submission with his dark artes. In a fulminating clap of thunder, the High Mage Kazeem released his concentrated blast, and brought the Thunder Rod cracking down on the skull of Gigagoron.
Lord Grem/Noon 6 (roughly)/Catacombs
Grem laughed a horrid, dark laugh as the greatest of the Defenders of the Realm dangled below him, their lives so ironically entwined with his own. The chain which had bound Mytura served as his lifeline, and that twist of fate tasted delicious to the Lord of the Interloper Army. He rose his mighty sword, ready to split the chain where it fell over the edge and end this ridiculous display. But a voice from behind bid him pause.
"I may not be able to cease your stride, Twili Juggernaut," came the bark of a young man's defiance, "but gravity will!"
As Grem turned to face this new amusement, a sound of breaking stone and shattering granite cracked through the chasm. The weakened bridge exploded from unnatural winds, and four figures were dumped into the abyss.
As he fell, Lord Grem laughed once more. It was not the psychotic, panicked cackle of one about to die, but a short and measured chuckle.
"Heh. Heh. Heh." Grem turned as the air whistled through the chinks in his armor. He found his unknown assailant to be the Rito he had injured earlier in the hall. "Well played, boy. You've denied me my pleasure twice this day. Tell me, do you believe in the significance of luck numbers? It's said that three is a charm."
Mid-air, falling an immeasurable distance, the behemoth of a Twili brandished his weapon against the Rito, confident in victory at all odds.
== I'll Get You Next Time! ==
Darrel Mytura – Twili Catacombs – Sixth Day
Down through the darkness did they descend, plummeting through stale, dead air toward a bottom that they could not see. Darrel was overmatched, relying rather ironically on the instruments of his bondage to protect him from a fall that, in his weakened and mortal state, would quite easily kill him. Somewhere in the emptiness of the cavern, near to him but lost to his eyes, Jaden fell as well, and Grem also. The Rito, Horus, had no fear of a long drop or sudden stop, for he was of the avian race, and was borne up by the wind and his wings.
But as he fell through the void, wondering if it would ever end, a light began to take shape within the scope of his vision. A point only, a small beacon in the subterranean abyss, it grew brighter and more prominent as it followed him down, growing larger in his field of vision.
It was drawing nearer.
And then he felt it, the familiar resonance, the echo of that which pulsed deep within himself. It was a warmth and light that he and the beacon shared, as though the source of that illumination was a piece of himself. 
Morning’s Edge.
It followed him down, somehow lost to the hands of his Rito ally when he had attacked Grem and the stone span upon which he’d stood, and from which Darrel and Jaden had swung helplessly. As though drawn to him through the emptiness it drew ever nearer, but not close enough for him to seize it. He had but one chance, and while an idea took shape in his mind he knew not whether it would succeed.
Even so, victory could not be gained here in the dark underground. Grem was too powerful yet, a foe beyond the strength and skill of any of them, individually or with all of the amassed might they might hurl against him. They needed to escape, to find their way free of the catacombs. They needed to get free of Grem’s pursuit, for he would follow after, shadowing their footsteps as long as he was able to do so.
Darrel came to a conclusion then in that moment of introspection as he fell, and he gathered up the length of chain that hung from the manacle on his right wrist, and whipped it out toward the beacon of his blade.
Time itself seemed to slow as the chain whipped forth through the black, entwining itself around the hilt and crossguard of Morning’s Edge, seizing hold and securing it.
And then the world was torn apart in Darrel’s mind. A sudden torrent rose up in him, and washed over him. The chains of Twili magic had held him fast in their withering embrace, but broken as they were could not withstand the cyclical nature of his relationship with that sword of myth and legend. Existing between he and Morning’s Edge since the day it was forged and first held in his fist was a superconducting loop. Each held its own magical properties, spirit and some other energies resonating from the core of wizard and weapon alike, and each fed off of the power of the other. Though he did not hold the blade in his bare palm, he was connected with it again in that moment, and the chains formed of Twili arts could not hold back that power.
The symbols and emblems that had existed upon the surface of the chain links and the manacles themselves gleamed a deep, sinister purple for but the most brief of instants until they were overwhelmed. They turned to a brilliant orange and gold, and the runes themselves changed shape, becoming those with which Darrel was most familiar, the signs of his element. The nature of the chains changed in that instant when Darrel became complete. It was as though the dam that had held back his power was torn down and all of the strength of his spirit rose up in him.
He was, as he had not been in days, the Sunrise Knight.
The sound was deafening as Grem slammed at last into the bottom of the pit, landing with such force as Darrel could hardly conceive of. Knowing that he too neared the end of his drop, he whipped the now bladed chain out, realizing that where before the transformation the chain links had merely wound themselves around the blade they now fused themselves to the pommel, forming a new weapon, one at once alike and yet wholly different from the Morning’s Edge.
The Horizon Lash buried itself into the stone of the cavern wall, halting his descent mere meters from the bottom, where he would have met his end. He felt strong again, fueled at once by the mystical nature of the desert, by his blade, and by the Great Fairy tears that had been given unto him by Mirra Lemeris. He freed his new weapon from the wall and dropped the last few paces to the floor of the cavern, then turned to face Grem as he rose from the crater that had been formed by his impact. His armor, despite the fall, seemed undamaged as he stepped forward, his mighty sword still gripped menacingly in one mighty fist.
”You and I have unfinished business between us, Grem.” Darrel said, his voice surprisingly calm as he addressed his once captor. His eyes were alight with the passion of retribution, but his gaze was hard. ”You tortured me, tried to break me, meant to convert me. In time you would have killed me, rather than admit your failure.
“But you did fail up there on the surface, and you’ll not have us here beneath the earth, either.”
And he crouched, whipping forward with all of his might the bladed chain of his Horizon Lash, which blazed all along its surface with the spirit energy that had built up within him but could not before find release past the instruments of his captivity. Grem hefted his blade, secure in his superior strength and the impenetrable might of his Twili armor. And so should he have been, for even fueled by such strength and power as he then was, Darrel could not hope to penetrate the general’s armor. 
But every suit of armor, no matter its size or its magic, had its gaps. Perhaps it was that Grem had gone for so long without fear of damage that he overlooked this miniscule weakness, but as he prepared to counterattack with lethal force he allowed Darrel’s gleaming blade to sneak past his extremities and bury itself into the gap in his armor between the prodigious breastplate and the spaulder that covered his impossibly broad shoulder.
”Until next time, Grem.”
And all of that pent up spirit energy unloaded itself through the chains and blade, channeled past the armor through the entire length of the Horizon Lash, and released into the flesh of the Twili general with all of the incredible force that Darrel could muster. The average man would have been destroyed utterly in the eruption, but he knew that such would not be the case with Lord Grem. The Twili were a people of magic, and he was the highest of them, the most powerful. Still, after all of the torment, after the repeated and agonizing sessions of torture he had endured, he took some small pleasure in delivering back unto the general even the smallest fraction of his pain.
”Retreat! Everyone move! Now while we’re able!” His voice reverberated through the cavernous pit, and he knew that his allies could hear him. The brilliant orange/gold glare threatened to overwhelm his sight, but he pulled hard on the chains and freed from Grem’s flesh his blade. Winding the chains around his arm, he took hold of the hilt of Morning’s Edge in his fist and turned his eyes this way and that, searching by way of the temporary illumination for their way out.
Horus/ Twili Catacombs/ Day 6
As he descended at a safe velocity downward, he could only guess what had happened below him. He heard two horrible crunching sounds, both concerning the earth below, followed swiftly by a pained groan and an orange radiant light, almost rivaling that of the sun. He shielded his eyes as he touched down, and waited for the light to die down, for he would be of no use if he was blind. As darkness swallowed them once more, he stared at Grem, whom stood paralyzed in a crater, with Darrel standing before him. It had been mere seconds since he had lost sight of him, but it seemed gravity was smiling upon them as well, for the Morning's Edge Horus had foolishly lost track of had nimbly found its owner.
He sighed in relief as he saw this, then looked to Jaden, whom had somehow landed without complication, despite sharing the same fall as Grem. Horus had heard of the Shiekah and thier ninja-like properties, but he had never would've guessed he would see the grace they share in person, especially after the fall that had just been survived. He had little time to think on the occuring events, for action was the immediate necessity. Darrel almost appeared to be filled with glee as he pierced the flesh of the mighty Twili, which was soon replaced with a vibe of desperation.
"Retreat! Everyone move! Now while we’re able!” Darrel barked, using the illuminating effect of the Morning's Edge, looking for a route.
Horus stopped thinking, and moved on instinct upon those orders. He walked to the two Light Warriors before him whom were still focused on Grem, whom writhed in pain several feet ahead.
"As you wish...hold you weapons tight, and prepare for rapid ascension." He warned, speaking quickly and softly.
His wings burst forth as he grabbed the two as if engaging in a group huddle, and shot skyward with an explosion of wind and rock. Before even Horus could blink, they were once again back on the very cliff that Horus had last spoken to Mirra. He released the two warriors, and walked back to the edge and looked over, glaring into the darkness.
"If the Goddesses do indeed smile upon us, may he spend days...nay, weeks climbing back up. His armor weighs him down, and the cliff is steep.' He spat down into the darkness. '...Good riddance to that."
Polaris/ Desert Province/ Day 6
As he collapsed in the sand, it was as if a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders, he felt the power of the dragon leave him, was vaguely aware of the red ice dome that encapsulated his body, the battle raged on above him, and from the sound of it, it wasn't going well, but none of that mattered now, there was only one thing on his mind as the General slowly drifted into unconsciousness. Rest. Rest like none he had experienced in days, maybe weeks, finally, graciously it came to him.
Llach-Gelu/ Desert Province/ Day 6
The dragon had known rushing to the aide of the Rider was a major risk to his self, but protecting him was all that mattered, for if the General fell, he, Llach-Gelu, the flame frost serpent could not rise now, and maybe never would, their situation was unprecedented in the annals of their line. As the Dusk tainted Khur and the heathen mage Kazeem swooped down to meet him, Llach-Gelu reared back, long muscular forelegs extended forward, talons glistening in the desert sun waiting to pluck the desecrator Kazeem and the once ally, now foe machine that he sat atop. All this proved to be a futile attempt as, the mechanized warbird veered off course and slammed it's massive head into the now exposed underbelly, causing the dragon to shriek wildly, in anger moreso than pain.
Polaris/ Desert Province/ Day 6
As the Thunder Rod was ripped from his grasp, Polaris gave no fight to keep hold of the artifact, was not even aware that it had left his side, for though his body lie in the sand, his spirit was...somewhere else. He strode along a dimly lit corridor towards a massive stone door that had the crest of his forefathers etched on its front, as he approached, the door swung open of it's own volition and Polaris strode through the gap towards the hunched figure that stood alone on the dais swinging side to side. Coming closer he saw the form of a wizened old woman draped in shawls, and to Polaris' surprise, the ancient witch, (for what else could she be to summon him here to this place) was singing in some unknown, yet familiar language. Coming to a stop mere paces away, Polaris watched, afraid of intruding on this lady and even worse, interrupting her chanting. 
As abruptly as he stopped walking, her chanting died down to low distant murmur and she turned to face him. "Good, you have come, though not how I had envisioned." Even though the witch no longer cast her musical spell, the melody still echoed throughout the hall, reverberating off of the walls and back again, the intensity remained the same. Polaris bowed to her, because it seemed the right thing to do, before speaking. "Yes, I have come, but was it not because of your chanting? I know not why, or how I am here, yet, here I am."
The witch cackled with glee, and the sound washed over Polaris like a bustling stream, he found it eerie, yet it pleased him. "The method of your transport matters not, only that it occured and you are now here. That, is what matters. Though, you need not bow to me, it is I who should be doing the bowing to you. But we do not have the time to follow all of the delicacies of principal, your time here is short, there is a battle raging above your body between your friends and the forces of the Dusk. Your mighty wyrm is about to fall, but fear not, the beasts soul will rejoin your own until such a time as it can be re-united with its proper body."
With that, she strode forward with an agility not befitting her age and inspected Polaris from all angles, muttering to herself as she encircled him. "The tattoos will have to stay for now, there is naught I can do for them at such a distance, but I think...you would keep them anyway wouldn't you?" Not giving him the chance to answer, the witch laid her palms upon Polaris' blackened right arm and he gasped as the muscles popped and the twisted arm became whole once more. "Yes, yes, that will do. Much better. Now, a change will take place in you once you return to your body, do not be alarmed for it is the first stage in the transformation to becoming a true Rider, your appearance will mostly remain the same, although..." She trailed off mid-sentence and seemed to gaze at something off in the far distance, "...well, you'll see, you will take on the hue of the ancient Zoran protectors. You will be more your fathers son than ever before. Is this something you're prepared for?" The witch spoke quickly and left no openings for Polaris to interject, he barely had enough time to nod as she was shooing him back out of the doorway. "Fare thee well for now noble Rider, but you must come, and soon for you are the only heir left in the line, come to your families vault and all will made clear, only then will the transformation be complete."
Llach-Gelu/ Desert Province/ Day 6
Khur had disappeared and in his wake left a crackling black thunder bolt, Llach-Gelu had no time to react and the torrent of Red Ice was barely pushing past his teeth when the lightning struck its mark. A massive explosion rocked the desert and shards of ice, red and blue alike fragmented, shooting out from the epicenter of the blast like massive frozen spears. The projectiles went forth in all directions, the largest of which, a portion of Llach-Gelu's neck, head still attached with wide open maw baring teeth and the jagged edges of the fiery crimson ice that failed to burst forth and protect him protruded out from it. This largest chunk of the dragons faux body fell straight down and buried itself in the peak of the shell which held Polaris' still prone form.
Polaris/ Desert Province/ Day 6
Polaris' eyes shot open and he was suddenly aware of his surroundings, and of the massive spire of ice that was the dragons face, just inches away from his back, rolling over to get a better look, Polaris felt the weakened dragon touch his consciousness as the serpents essence poured back into him, "Forgive me master, for I have failed you..." 
"No. You did what was necessary to buy me the time I needed. For that I thank you, and vow to return you to your rightful body once this is finished." The dome of Red Ice melted away, leaving the spire of the dragons head and neck to fall to the sand. Polaris rose to his feet, those who looked on may have shared in some surprise as a deep blood red glow seeped from every pore on his body and covered him head to toe, as the glow faded, Polaris found that his once pale blue scales now bore a resemblance to the product of his magic, his body was as his element, red. "Kazeem!! I believe you have something that belongs to me, and I intend to retrieve it!"
Reaching down, Polaris smirked as he hefted the dragons head and neck, "This should get his attention." raising the projectile high above his head, Polaris hurled the dragon headed javelin at the whirling torrent of dusk Kukkos surrounding Kazeem, Khur and Giga. Polaris strode behind the projectile confidently and at a measured pace, towards the High Mage leaving a trail of frozen sand that glittered red in the desert sun.
Giga/Day 6/Desert
Giga opened his eyes wide as feeling came back into him. A dull sense of his surroundings were enough to tell him two things: he was still hurting, and he was being attacked. As he came to, the realization of what had happened in the last several minutes dawned upon him. Surrounding him were a torrent of the Twilit birds, the giant mechanical bird he used to call an ally, and the Mage of the Twili. Thunder and lightning poured out from everywhere as Kazeem made his speech, but Giga could not move. He was groggy, beaten, fatigued, and most of all, in pain. His leg still screamed out in agony from where the Kukkoos had bitten him, and he could barely move his foot, let alone stand.
And then he saw it.
The High Mage was bringing down his scepter onto Giga's skull. Giga stared at it, sensing his doom was near at hand. Just a few more seconds, and the lightning would engulf his body, frying his insides. Just a few...more...seconds...
He winced when the rod made contact. He hardly felt the initial blow, but what he was not expecting was what would happen afterward. Lightning struck out in all directions, clearing the Twili birds from their formation. The electricity bounced around his skin, miraculously missing his exposed calf. He figured at this point in the game, the best he could hope for was to take his enemy with him. With a great surge of adrenaline, he reached up and grabbed Khur from his back. Giga pulled down the giant bird close to him, hoping that enough exposed electricity would be enough to end this mechanical rampage.
But the opportunity never came.
At that instant, a great force hit Khur from the side, creating a ice-shattering explosion strong enough to send both Khur and Kazeem flying several yards backwards. The lightning ceased as it made contact with sand and rock, and Giga turned to see his savior. It was Polaris, and yet, it wasn't. This was not the same Zora he had been fighting with earlier, the reddish hue surrounding the general gave an aura of authority that was previously imperceptible. He came charging, and Giga, surprised to find the great pain in his leg subsiding, took the inspiration in stride and heaved himself up as well. He was ready for a fight.
Jaden/Catacombs/Day 6
Jaden's reactions, even when under extreme duress, were as close to flawless as possible. He was always aware of his surroundings and did everything he could to use his environment to his advantage. First, he was grasping to Darrel, and then when things gave out, he caromed towards one of the walls.
Using the wall to slow himself down, he gained footing and began to run tilted sideways. It ended up being short leaps from foothold to foothold until he had to skid. He even used his shield to guide that part of it. Still, it was a mess unfolding around him and he had to avoid being hit by stray things and especially getting close at all to Grem.
Once he hit the floor, he realized that he'd stayed out of sight better than he'd intended. And he was glad everyone was alright. Darrel got his blade back, though it took on a new form, and he sensed a strange energy coming from Horus that he planned on speaking with him about when they got to safety. He wouldn't have sensed it if he hadn't taken the Pact a few days ago...
"Ready. And good riddance to that walking profanity of a tin can."
[b][color=darkred]Lord Grem[/color]/Noon 6 (roughly)/Catacombs[/b]
Grem slammed into the farthest depths of the chasm with an impact that shook the rocky foundation around them. His armor absorbed the force, cushioning him in icy magic. He rose, barely a bit of stiffness in his limbs, from the crater that had deformed under his fall. He hefted his mighty sword in a single fist, striding forward to face Darrel Mytura, who had, miraculously, also survived their plummet. For the moment, Grem ignored the Rito, despite it acting as the sole point of illumination in the inky darkness.
Darrel's voice was calm and even as he spoke, and his eyes burned with an inner passion that stirred visions of glory in Grem's gut. [color=orangered]”You and I have unfinished business between us, Grem. You tortured me, tried to break me, meant to convert me. In time you would have killed me, rather than admit your failure.
“But you did fail up there on the surface, and you’ll not have us here beneath the earth, either.”[/color]
The chain which once held the Hylian in bond the Hylian now served to strengthen his weapon, no longer bounded to Darrel's limbs but to the Morning's Edge. The weapon whipped forward, shimmering with its own light, empowered by Darrel's Spirit, which Grem and his minions had worked so hard to diminish. Under his helmet, Grem smirked. The man was stronger than he had ever been given credit. But such strength was no match for the Lord General of the Twilit Armies.
Grem's sword began a swing aimed to hew the Hylian in twain. He trusted in his armor to absorb the blow from the Horizon Lash, focused fully on ending the annoyance the Sunrise Knight was proving to pose. He found himself surprised once again by this single man.
The Morning's Edge found its way into a ***** in his armor, biting at his flesh between spaulder and breastplate. His eyes widened, shocked.
[color=orangered]”Until next time, Grem.”[/color]
Pain burst in Grem's shoulder as Darrel's Spirit unleashed itself upon his body, searing his nerves and scintillating his skin. His muscles bound, locking him in place as the pain washed over him. He had forgotten what it was like, if he were to be honest with himself. It was almost refreshing, if not for the fact that it hurt so much. The magic channeled into his armor, expulsing itself through the extremities.
On the edges of his hearing, he heard a distant and familiar voice. "[color=orangered]”Retreat! Everyone move! Now while we’re able!”[/color]"
Moments passed as his armor continued to channel the excessive Spirit magic that coursed through him. Soon, his limbs relaxed, and he dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. A small trickle of blood leaked from his lips, and the taste thrilled him.
"[color=darkred]Well, well. Mytura has some bite to him, after all. How thrilling.[/color]" He once again rose to his feet, taking stock of himself. No lingering pain, and the injuries would heal in short order. "[color=darkred]Amazing. That was enough power to kill seven men... [/color]"
His gaze rose to stare upward, hoping to catch a fleeting glance of his retreating quarry. "[color=darkred]You escaped me this time, Sunrise Knight. But all you've done is make my impending victory all the sweeter. If I cannot make you the Sunfall Knight, if I cannot introduce you to the Dusk, then my consolation prize will be your demise.[/color]"
[b]Summary:[/b] Darrel's attack from Grem's perspective, and a bit of the after. Infiltration Team is officially free of pursuit and can escape the Catacombs! YAY PLOT PROGRESSION!
[hr]
[b]Kazeem/Day 6/Desert[/b]
An icy javelin shattered against the Celestium armor of his Dusk-animated minion. Khur was knocked meters to the side, and the blast sent Kazeem reeling as well. Multiple shards of ice sliced at his clothes and skin. Unbeknownst to the High Mage, his pouch was torn asunder, loosing its contents across the desert sand amidst a spattered trail of Twili blood.
Kazeem regained his composure, turning to the source of the attack. The ice-empowered zora strode purposefully toward him, intent upon the High Mage and his stolen Thunder Rod, accompanied by the gargantuan goron. Khur charged to Kazeem's side, ready and willing to protect its new master. Kazeem gritted his teeth against the pain of the multiple lacerations crisscrossing his body. From his hand he dangled the corrupted Thunder Rod.
"If you want this so badly, then you will have to come and claim it."
Kazeem gripped Khur's shoulder and swung onto the metallic avian's back. With a cackling caw, the creature spread its leaden wings, unleashing a flock of Dark Cuccos from pockets of Dusk beneath. With the Lights' vision obscured thus, Khur tore into the sky, fleeing the fight.
Gigagoron/(Late?) Afternoon 6/Desert
Giga gripped himself as more of the Twilit birds surround him and his companion. This was it, he was sick and tired of these damned nuisances having such an impacting role in this fight. With his vision blurred and his arms swinging, he let loose with a deafening roar that could be heard from miles away, and which also, without exception, caused every single one of the birds to scatter off into the distance, leaving only him, Polaris, and a cloud of dust where Khur and Kazeem had formerly been.
He looked up in the sky with disgust as he watched the bird and the mage fly away into the distance. Damn cowards, he thought bitterly. But at least they had hopefully done their job. By his calculations, the recon team should have had plenty of time to finish their mission.
He looked off towards Khur again, upset and confused by what had happened.
"It's a shame," he said to Polaris, "that's the kind of ally we need in this war. But whatever happened to him, how he just...converted like that. It's not...natural."
Polaris nodded in agreement. "These Twili are dangerous beings with even more dangerous magic. We can never know what to expect from them, I guess."
Giga looked carefully over the sand and the fortress, reveling in the sheer destruction they had caused today. It had felt good, that was for sure.
"Should we wait for the others, or go? There's bound to be more Twili out soon if we don't hurry up, what do yo..."
But Giga's sentence was cut short by something he had just noticed lying on the ground near where Kazeem had been blasted back. It was invariably a rock, but Giga had seen this particular rock before. It had that mysterious sheen, that alluring luster, that mesmerizing glow. Giga slowly approached it, unsure if he was just seeing things.
"Polaris, look at this. It's...why i-it's the goronite! By the three, I don't believe this!" 
He carefully picked it up, knowing full well that he was holding one of the most malleable, yet strongest ores ever to be created. This was the rock of legends, the ultimate goal for any blacksmith. Giga was in absolute ecstasy just being in it's presence again. It may not have been a humongous sample, but it was something. He showed it to Polaris excitedly.
"This is it. This is what we came for." 
He paused for a moment, stupidly.
"So, what now?"
Polaris/ Afternoon/ Day 6
Emboldened by his new transformation, one that was supposed to be a small step in a series of larger steps on the path to what he was to become, Polaris strode forth in the wake of the massive frozen javelin which he had hurled towards the interloper fiend and the turncoat Rukh. Much to his surprise, and delight, his aim was true and the desired effect took place, the blow was mighty enough to not only get the attention of Kazeem, but to cause him to flee and resort to meaningless taunts as he did so. Knowing full well that the High Mage wanted him to pursue, Polaris scoffed at the idea.
"Another day fool. I no longer require the rod to harness the thunderous powers of the heavens, I just need to get to the vault." Polaris thought to himself. In the mere moments he had spent with the wizened old witch many things that were once clouded, just out of his grasp, had become clear as a bell to him, in his current state, there was a slight possibility that he could assist in overthrowing the heathen army, but if he traveled to the place of his ancestors and overcame the trials and tribulations set forth by them as a test to his character and mettle, he would become a force to be reckoned with, a force that could change the fate of the lands and alter the future of Hyrule. A grim smirk crept across the visage of the crimson skinned Red Ice General as he reached the Megagoron known to him only as Giga.
After exchanging pleasantries, it was Giga who first noticed the gleaming chunk of ore that lay, with a few other items, strewn across the sandy dunes, none of which interested Polaris. The only item of significance, at least to the General, was the Goronite that Giga obviously held in his gargantuan fist. Inspecting it, Polaris nodded his approval.
"So, what now?"
Polaris took in his surroundings and the current situation before responding, "Now? Now we fall back, those inside have had ample time to complete their mission, if they have not succeeded by now, then they're doomed to fail. Our task is complete, let us traverse to the fall back point."
Lynn Hothlight/Day 6/The Catacombs
Mirra and Horus tossed themselves from the ledge, falling to join the battle below with the newly recovered Morning's Edge. Lynn had no such wings to aid her in descent, and no will to die at the bottom of the chasm. Her task was too important to waste her life here. A loud crack resounding from the abyss, followed by rumblings and then silence. She looked down over the edge and saw nothing in the darkness. No pinpricks of light from Mirra or the enchanted Horus.
She was almost moved to concern for the group. Instead, she shrugged and turned inspecting the way ahead. Even were they to somehow survive whatever was happening below, they would die in these caverns unless an exit was found. Lynn moved forward into the caves, attempting to divine the way to the exit. As she traveled, she run her fingers along the wall, leaving behind a slight enchantment where she touched. Behind her was a faint glowing trail, like bioluminescent lichen, to show any survivors the way.
Kae/Clusterfrak/Day 6
Battle raged around her as Khur cursed her with making a choice. Elly had suffered critical wounds, and she was free-falling into a swarm of dark cuccos that most likely would shred her into a pile of viscera. Polaris may have been hurting, but he at least had a shot of defending himself. 
This was not an easy triage situation for Kae. She didn't have much time to decide, and there wouldn't be a chance to help both of them. 
The Scion decided to rescue Elly. She used some of the momentum from her transfiguration rote and glided through the air toward her friend. Moments before, her holy radiance caused these evil beasts to hemorrhage and rupture. Elly's shoulder was bleeding badly enough that Kae could see crimson droplets flying up ahead of her...
It wasn't long before Kae cradled Elly amidst the swarm of evil beasts. Of course they plucked and tore. She could feel her flesh being rent all over the upper part of her back, but they couldn't rend her ink lines; as her being was suffused with lunar radiance the birds died on contact with her (and especially the starmetal pigments). So not only was the Scion shielding Elly from being pecked to death, she was also protecting her from being covered in giblets, feathers, and bloody mist. 
Some birds just outright died. Others exploded. And some even vaporized due to exposure to Kae's transfigured form. 
Words could not describe how much pain the Scion suffered for Elly. But because of her sacrifice, Elly still lived. Kae knew she could find some sort of healing. Nothing was as bad as pain from her affliction. It heightened her threshold to an extent. 
Starborn Edge lie blade-first in the sand within reach. Kae could hear things happening around her, but she couldn't see too well with being surrounded by evil birds.
Dearest Nayru, this hurts! Polaris must be up to something, but I can't take too much more. Thank you for the protection. Allow us safe passage from this insanity, and please provide a way to mend our flesh.
The Scion was well-bloodied. She knew she wouldn't end this fight on a stretcher thanks to Elly reminding her to reign in her powers. At least this time, she used her head and not her heart to do battle. The Cuccos were pretty much gone by this point. Her pain heightened her emotions, and her emotions amplified her transfiguration just enough to limit impact to a scratch instead of a deep laceration.
With quickly crystallizing blood, Kae briefly wondered how her wounds would clot or heal over. Would they glow like her arm now? Time would tell. But for now, it was a matter of waiting to see what transpired. She had to protect a critically wounded Elly, and could not do much else to assist her friends.
"Friends, Elly is critical! I'm not holding up too well either...what do we do?"
Polaris/ Desert Province/ Day 6
"Friends, Elly is critical! I'm not holding up too well either...what do we do?"
Polaris halted, chastising himself for forgetting about the arrival of the Scion and her companion and, turning on his heels, strode towards the spot where Kae struggled to shield Elly from the onslaught of the dusk infused fowl. As he approached his allies, Polaris made quick work of the few remaining Kukkos with well aimed jets of red ice. It amused him to think that summoning the crimson element had been such a daunting task a few short days ago and that now it came to him with such ease. 
"Now," As he spoke, Polaris extended a hand to Kae and hefted her to a standing position, careful not to jostle Elly too much in the process. "Now we leave. Our task is complete. Even if it weren't I'd not risk staying in this Goddess forsaken place a moment longer, not with the bulk of the Twili army closing in on our position and our numbers thinned the way that they are." Shouldering the bulk of Elly's weight to ensure that Kae didn't over exert herself the trio made their way back towards the waiting Gigagoron. 
Thus encumbered the four of them made their way away from the desert fortress and the desert itself coming in close proximity to the well of the Great Fairy in doing so. They traveled toward a fall back point that none of them were sure existed, for now however, that didn't matter, only that they were moving again.
Kae and Elly/Desert/Day 6
Red mist was everywhere as past and present collided in her mind. Through the showers of bird gore, she saw Polaris do something absolutely spectacular, but only an outline could be made out before a stray spatter caught her in the eyes, temporarily blinding her.
On the ground she could make out a book poking out of the sand, which she slipped into the back of her belt as Polaris was making quick work of what was left.
"Thank you...and I agree, we must make haste. I fear it is not just my friend's body that is broken, but her mind too. Direct exposure to the Warp against an untrained mind."
The Scion was covered in feathers and gore. Her blade hovered near her left hip as they moved, hugging it as though it were clipped at its sleek crossguard. She whistled for their winged steed, and it reluctantly approached them from afar.
"Mirra provided this for Elly and I. We can place her on it when it gets here. Shouldn't be more than a minute. As for the fallback, there is an oasis, according to our intelligence. I'd scry for it, but that'd just kill me quicker. Here's hoping Jaden and the others made it out of there too."
Kae gritted her teeth and pressed on. The first thing she'd do after mending Elly up would be jump into the nearest pool of water and get this filth off of her. And that comfort drove her to push on even with the pain she had. Her wounds were clotting fairly quickly, but they were taking on a similar sheen to her celestial arm.
Elly's breathing was shallow, and Kae could look down into her shredded shoulder. It was still seeping. She reached into the satchel dangling from Elly's waist and pulled out some bandages, beginning to put some pressure on it. Sure, she was filthy, but stopping bleeding mattered first. Stemming infection could come at the spring.
[b]Jaden/Catacombs/Day 6[/b]
When they'd reached their apex and landed on a surface with integrity, Jaden peered around with his low light vision. He saw the wall shimmering, and what he had in focus had been phased out. 
[color=chocolate]"What's that on the wall? It's along a water line, and its source should give us some idea of where we'll end up. Everyone got their breath back?"[/color]
Mirra Lemeris / Twili Fortress Catacombs to Cave of Ordeals / Day 6
In the dim light of her aura, Mirra watched the battle unfold in the darkness below, and her heart swelled to see Darrel raise the Horizon Lash to fell the General. When they had put a stop to Grem, Horus obligingly flew Darrel and Jaden back up to the lip of the chasm, but for a moment there was no sign of Lynn Hothlight. Then, Jaden noticed a thin trail of light.
"What's that on the wall? It's along a water line, and its source should give us some idea of where we'll end up. Everyone got their breath back?"
Mirra looked where Jaden indicated, and indeed saw a small stream trickling along a tunnel leading away from the top of the chasm where they had left Grem.
"This stream should lead us to the Great Fairy Fountain, the font of all water in the Desert Province. That is where Rukh took me after the fall of Hyrule Castle..." Mirra's heart sank as she thought back to that bitter defeat, but she remembered the Fairy Queen's prophecy, and found courage again. "Jaden, my connection with Rukh has been intermittent due to the Twili's pall of Dusk, but for a moment I saw through his eyes that Kae and Elly had arrived at the battle outside. Can you communicate with the Scion, and tell her where to meet us?"
With that, Mirra started down the tunnel, the sunny ball of light surrounding her reflecting along the moist path to create a clearly lit trail for Horus, Darrel, and Jaden.
"Let us follow the path that Lynn has provided, and find healing at its end!"
IC: Khur / Leaving Desert Province / Twilight 6
Khur flapped his heavy wings methodically as Kazeem drove him out of the desert. The sun hung low on the horizon, casting a deep crimson glow over the rolling dunes. His mind was as blank as the dull skulls of the many Kukko that flapped around them like flies. He was a machine, a heartless instrumentality given over to the ends of whatever master should assume him. Blasted to pieces, and reconstituted in Dusk, his Celestium frame now obeyed the will of the High Mage without question.
He knew not where Kazeem was taking him, or rather, where he was taking Kazeem; the skilled sorcerer had established a hierarchy between their minds whereby Khur received commands without learning of their motive, unlike the free and equal communion he once shared with...who?
IC: Mirra Lemeris / Great Fairy Fountain / Sunset 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EarfJqv-vSg
Mirra breathed a sigh of relief as the cool air of the Fairy Fountain met her skin. She had caught up to Lynn, and now hovered over her shoulder. The two of them soon reached the edge of the Fairy Queen's pool, and Mirra darted ahead to hover over the water's center, where a steady circle of ripples echoed up from within. She looked up, and saw the remaining Allies--Giga, Kae, Elly, and Polaris--making their way down the wide spiral stairs that rifled the chasm of the Great Fairy's well. She was puzzled to see no sign of Rukh, and became worried when she could not sense him with her mind, but knew that her holy obligation was to heal these Allies before concerning herself with her own interests. She issued an oath to the Fairy under the waters, and beckoned the Alliance to gather around the pool in prayer.
"Allies, join me at the water's edge," she called, floating just above the heart of the pool. "Come forth, and be healed. Let those who bleed drip their blood in her waters, and be healed. Let those who ache rest their limbs in her waters, and be healed. Let those who mourn, fret, or agonize lay their very brow in her waters, and be healed of all anxiety. Issue forth your prayers to the Great Fairy Queen, and they will be answered." As the Alliance of the Breaking Day filed in to the Great Fairy Fountain, they formed a circle, standing shoulder to shoulder, and Mirra began her summons.
"Great Fairy, the Daybreak Alliance hath liberated the Sunrise Knight! He holds the Morning's Edge aloft, bound now with his Spirit to form the Horizon Lash, Lord Grem's bane! Seven warriors I bring to you, for the healing balm of your touch: Lynn Hothlight, sorceress of ice and light and renowned Sheikah; Jaden Bryseis, the rightful Chieftain of the Sheikah Tribe; the Rito Horus, without whose selfless bravery the Alliance would have fallen to Grem in the depths of his lair. And I present to you those who drew the Twili's ire, and put their lives at risk that the others might deliver the Sunrise Knight unmolested: Polaris, the Red Ice General and valiant nobleman of the Zora Tribe; Gigagoron, the vulcanian mastersmith of Din's own fire and bearer of the sacred Goronite; Kae Bryseis, Scion of Nayru and brother to Chief Jaden, and her companion Elly, a wise and temperate advisor to the Scion, and warrior in her own right."
A green light began to shimmer from beneath the rippling water's surface, and it reflected on the faces of the Allies gathered round. They closed their eyes and began to speak their own adorations in turn, each beseeching the Great Fairy's mercy on behalf of the others...
Kae and Elly/Cave Mouth/Day 6
"As I said, no map to my knowledge, but as this is one of the few visible caves in this area, this should be-"
The Scion was trying to figure out if this indeed was the hidden in plain sight cave that others spoke about out here. A sole refuge in an area where trust had a hard time existing. The Gerudo at their height were a near-perfect counterpoint to the Sheikah when it came to their stealthiness. Many of the Shadow Folk who had come out this way sought refuge here. But with Kae still on her first deployment, she could only work off of the words of others. And she was cut off when Elly started to stir, albeit briefly.
"Get us in...she'll save us...mind...raped..."
She could feel things tearing at Elly's mind that could never be wished on anyone. With Elly now draped across the back of their winged steed and stabilized to an extent, it was good to see her at least drifting in and out of consciousness, but horrible to hear her declare that her mind had been violated. 
The cave itself wasn't much to look at. It was drafty and great shelter to avoid extreme temperatures. But it was quite shallow. There wasn't much in there to give away that anything could exist other than a cleft capable of holding a handful of people, and it was quite the cleft. Kae was surprised that Giga could fit in here. 
Surveying the room quickly, the Scion darted her eyes around.
"If I were looking for a way to reveal hidden passageways, what would Jaden do?"
Closing her eyes and thinking for a moment, she kicked dust away with her left foot and hit it against a small pedestal. It looked like it had two other siblings arranged in a convenient triangle.
Suddenly, it hit her.
"This has been passed down through our people for a long time. When all else fails, use fire."
But she couldn't use her powers to do anything like that. And hitting the pedestals with her sword would only spark things unless she channeled energy through it.
"If anyone's able, we need to light all three of these torches in quick succession. I'll handle what I just saw on the floor in the middle."
Kae stooped down and brushed away more sand before seeing a faint outline of her people's crest. She took her finger and began to trace it with her celestial arm, leaving traces of sparkling dust behind. 
Horus/ Great Fairy Fountain/ Sunset 6
He tried to put his mind at ease for the first time since he had fallen from the heavens as they approached the Fountain. Even when in the presence of a pure deity such as the Great Fairy, he was wary of his surroundings. Everything had been going far too smoothly since they entered the Cave of Ordeals, and knowing how life had treated him lately, Horus anticipated a turn for the worse. Despite this, he smiled upon the pure water and radiant light before him, and forced his body to relax. He closed his eyes, and muttered his hopes and prayers as Mirra recited her end of the ritual, calling forth the cleansing powers of the Fairy. As the light shined brighter for the Fairy's arrival against his eyelids, he suddenly could only hear and feel darkness.
Grey and pink colors flashed through his mind, distorting and bending, in an almost soupy mixture. The colors solidified, and pulsed forth in his mind, almost like a heart beating, and finally took shapes the resembled that of a Hylian. The area around the grey and faded humanoid appeared to burn and rip away like cloth, bearing an ugly shade of orange and black, which became sky. The orange and black mixed together gradually downward, near the feet of the humanoid, finally resembling ground as the colors solidified and began to resemble a sickly black brick floor. The humanoid only then burned forth and became crystal clear in comparison to the distorting and melting ground and sky, revealing the Twili Witch he had encountered a mere night before. She moved her mouth, looking into the heavens as blackness burst forth from every orifice of her surroundings, gathering and growing in numbers at an almost incomprehensible rate. Fire burst forth from her hand, which she used to light ablaze what appeared to be a staff of a fallen civilian, then thrust it skyward. The colors then began to shrink along with her, solidifying into more intricate shapes than Horus could follow, until it resembled Castle Town. The green that resembled grass that surrounded the town rustled and pulsated, covered in what appeared to be black slugs, slithering forth at the speed of snakes slithering in a hurried manner. They climbed the walls and swam into the water below, unnoticed by all, for there was no one to do so.
The sky burned a bright red as the slugs increased in frequency, causing a huge contrast with the sky as their black bodies consumed the green of the grass, and the red of the water. The colors grew again as the Twili Witch burst forth from the cluster of colors, smiling gleefully at the darkness that surrounded her bloodstained body, which was revealed to be bare. They climbed up her form, covering the grey with blackness until only her eyes and mouth could be seen. She licked her lips sensually in the blackness as she spoke again, only Horus could hear it now.
"We shall now begin building, children. Every second counts..."
As her words echoed in Horus' mind, a black form burst forth from behind the witch, blotting out the red of the sky, leaving only its pure white eyes as light. Black inky wings burst from its back just before the image faded into nothing.
Horus' eyes snapped open. His smile was gone, along with his mental composure, but he moved with controlled precision, as if he rehearsed his actions. He looked down towards the water, which glowed a most healthy, pure hue. He glanced around at everyone, who still prayed. He reached for his empty bottle within his belt loop and popped the cork off. Without missing a beat, he raised his free hand into the air, as wind whirled about near the water, carrying some of the water skyward, into his hand. The water he had gathered formed a perfect sphere before he manipulated it into his bottle, which he closed once more.
"There's no time.' He thought to himself as he turned around, visually rediscovering the trail that had brought them to the fountain, 'I need to go...Now."
Without any regard for the concerns of others, he walked towards the staircase. He didn't know how, but he was going to get out of here, and he had to do it now.
Giga/Fountain/Sunset 6
Giga squeezed into the chamber with the others, all of whom had gathered around a pool of water in the middle of the room. The fairy was speaking, but Giga hardly noticed. His eyes were fixated on the chunk of ore he held in his palm. It gave off a light blue hue, a radiation that he could not turn his gaze from. He was oblivious to the introductions being made, to Horus flying away without explanation, and to the strange disturbance occurring in the fountain in front of him. He simply could not shake the feeling in his stomach, the feeling that his possessing this goronite meant that he had set loose a series of events that he could no longer turn back. And still he continued to stare.
Kae/Cave Mouth/Day 6
Stardust trickled away from the Weeping Eye and up each pedestal while Kae concentrated. She kept her fingers tracing one triangle, that which she believed to represent Wisdom, uttering something in the Old Tongue.
In systematic form, each torch sparked, igniting. Stone sunk into floor, revealing a descending spiral staircase. The Scion rose, coughing and trying to avoid retching any more than she had at the stench of being covered in cucco viscera.
Jaden, Elly, and Kae/Great Fairy Fountain/Day 6
"Incredible. I knew about the other way in, but this is going to require a redraft of our maps. And I've never been here before...it's beautiful!"
Normally he was good about keeping his thoughts to himself. But when things seem out of the ordinary, there are times when Jaden will tell anyone who's willing to listen exactly why they're off. 
He got that from his mother. 
As they filed in, he heard the door above them slide open, and saw familiar faces begin to make their way down. They smelled of harsh battle, and after Mirra introduced them to the Great Fairy, he caught a glimpse of his intended. This shocked him. Also catching him off guard was his sister not ending a battle incapacitated. But now was not the time for jokes. 
Jaden made his way over to his sister, who at the sight of Lynn was distracted in her own right.
"Sis, what happened to Elly? And what...no, I probably don't want to know."
Kae sighed and blushed, or what could be seen of blushing while covered in blood and guts. 
"A little banged up here. Worse than it looks for me. Elly...was doing her job...protecting me...hopefully the Great Fairy will heal her mind and body. One of our allies became possessed and violated her mind. I can't use healing magic, so all I could do was the basic mundane stuff...Jaden, I'm sorry!
The Scion buried her head in her hands as the mount Elly was laid upon walked between the two of them. 
"Let me take a look before the ritual starts. I apologize for my irreverence. And whoever was responsible for this will answer to me."
Kae saw Lynn over near the spring, and she wanted to greet her, but with how she looked and with the ritual about to begin, she felt it irreverent to do so. There had to be a way to clean herself up, as the stench continued to make her want to throw up.
For a moment, she felt irreverent in another way. This ritual would take valuable time. She was only bloodied, not near incapacitated. But then something in her mind reminded her that this ritual was for the good of all gathered, not just her. She'd just have to rush faster once they were able to talk amongst themselves. Who would she approach to bring along with her? Would a casting of the net be appropriate?
Her mind had to slow down in order to participate in this ritual. Whispering prayers in the old tongue, she lent her voice to the faithful chorus.
Jaden had a hard time focusing his mind too, but for a different reason. He didn't get many answers about what happened to Elly, and while he did not hold Kae responsible, he did want to introduce her assailant to Starcaller.
Elly showed no signs of coming to. She was breathing, but it was still shallow, and barely stable. Kae did a good enough job of stopping her bleeding, but the wound would need cleaning if this ritual didn't bring her back to a fighting fit condition. And Jaden stood vigil over her with a furious look on his face. He cast a brief glance at Kae, and she looked like the world's weight rested on her back. Covered in Nayru-knows-what and looking over at Lynn periodically amidst her prayers...
He made sure to say a few extra prayers for his sister. And after the ritual ended, he planned on speaking with Polaris again.
Mirra Lemeris / Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) / Twilight 6
The Allies were gathered, but uneasy. Their thoughts raced into many futures, as their destinies wove in and out of one another's. Mirra called out to their minds with her inner voice, and heard them reply in thought alone until all became quiet.
'O Great Queen of the Fairies, we gather to pray thy mercy...'
"O Great Queen of the Fairies, we gather to pray thy mercy..."
Mirra noticed that, though some prayed inwardly, or not at all, three of the Sheikah among them recited the call of her mind with dignity, in an almost inaudible whisper. They were the only voices she could hear. Lynn, Kae, and Jaden had all learned the power of prayer behind enemy lines, when a Sheikah must not be heard, but may not pass over in silence. Still, in their whispered prayers, Lynn and Kae seemed to weave the threads of a song, lifted on the steady breathing of Jaden, completing the chorus. When the Scion of Nayru's voice was lifted up, Mirra felt the essence of the Fairy Queen in her very soul. The Allies's ritual prayer had opened Mirra's body as a vessel, and the Great Fairy presented herself through her. Mirra rose higher above the center of the fountain as the waters began rippling outward in waves; her Fairy Mask slipped aside, and her thin body hung limp in the air.
'Faerie Mother, Goddess Daughter, we beseech you with our evening prayers...'
"Faerie Mother, Goddess Daughter, we beseech you with our evening prayers..."
Suddenly, Elly was lifted up from the winged mount she lay upon, and floated through the air until she came to rest in the waters of the Fairy Fountain, just under Mirra. An enchanted light sprang from the font of the Fairy's Tears, and began to churn the waters below. They opened up into a wide beam that engulfed Elly's body and then shot up to eclipse Mirra and bathe the chamber in light. Just as Elly's eyes began to open into the brilliance, a resounding feminine voice sprang from within the glowing light.
"Like the shadow on the moon, four Sheikah walk with four Hyruleans--the Zora, the Hylian, the Goron, and the Rito. So it is that the Sunrise Knight, with the Shadow at his left hand and the Daylight at his right, shall restore the balance of Darkness and Light, and banish the Dusk to the netherworld."
Kneeling at the lip of the fountain, Lynn Hothlight looked up at the pillar of light when she heard the woman's voice. She knew that high and mighty tone. She squinted into the blinding light, and her enchanted eyes made out the silhouette of a woman in the glowing cascades. Lynn saw the lank body twist in the air and flail its limbs, then lower down towards Elly. Mirra hung suspended in the air over Elly, her arms spread wide and face turned upward, neck limp and shoulders slack. And around them, a beacon of light shot from the heart of the Fairy's Fountain into the night sky above, searing the stars outside with a beam from the peak of the Queen's sacred mesa. As that light subsided, her vision was temporarily numbed, but she heard Elly breathing serenely nearby.
As Elly's body drifted out from the shining pillar to the lip of the fountain, the pillar itself resolved into a levitating figure of pure light. Mirra's Fairy Mask floated inches above her face, her eyes closed beneath its shadow, the godhead of the Great Fairy having assumed the throne of her mind. She hung in the air like a marionette, her feet swaying slowly, and then she began to whisper.
"Allies of the Breaking Day," she spoke, "heralds of the dawn...you have trekked many miles in these few nights and days of war..."
Mirra began to rotate in a circle slowly, her eyes closed and her head lilting as she recited the words, hands swaying side to side as if in a dance.
"Many paths have been followed to lead you here, all of you, into one united force..."
Mirra's hips began to rock more rapidly, her limbs twisting and her back contorting in ways that didn't seem possible for a Hylian. She thrust her hips like a belly-dancing Gerudo, and then, with her broken spine, the Great Fairy twisted the body of the Aviatrix around on itself, so that her back was turned to the Allies. The Fairy Mask rotated around her head until it faced them, two red jewels set above a pale half-moon drawn with a blood-red crescent. They could not see Mirra's face, but she registered no pain at the physical torture, overcome with spiritual bliss expressed in a smile, her breathing relaxed. She whispered into the sparkling walls of the unhewn fountain, and her voice echoed back to the Allies through her Fairy Mask.
"It is not by chance that you come together here, Allies, but by fate. The Goddesses placed me here in part so that we could meet. And it is thus by the covenant of fate that I now grant you some of my power..."
A peel of laughter leapt from the floating Mask, and a flash of light burst forth to engulf the Allies. As if wringing light out of Mirra's body, the Fairy Queen untwisted the young girl's torso to face her friends, and a cyclone of light swept out from her robes and seeped into the Allies' every crooked bone and vessel, restoring them to a renewed strength with the power of the Goddesses' Fountainhead. A clear and airy feeling buoyed up their weary hearts as this new light subsided, as if a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. The brilliant light merged with the Fairy Queen's laughter into a ringing as of bells, and then looking down at their hands, the Allies each found a bronze bracelet bound around their arms.
"Now you are all connected, in a chain of nine links. And when these nine bracelets are brought together, they will form a ring of light that no dark creature can escape. The forces of the abyss shall fear to tread where the Daybreak Alliance shines forth, and it shineth forth so long as the Allies stand united."
And then, as if her strings had been snapped, Mirra's head was tossed back and she dropped to the pool below. The light of the fountain began to fade, and the Allies audience with the Queen of the Fairies ended. Now, the only light was a thin column of starlight that fell through from the mesa wellhead at a slant, bouncing off the surface of the pool to faintly illuminate all from below.
Mirra groped around in the dim for her Fairy Mask. Without it, she was left in this useless body, dragging herself around on her knees. The Great Fairy had already made her bargain with Mirra when she beckoned her to this Desert a night ago, and this Mask was the result. For losing the Sun Shard to the fire lord Isaac, and unleashing the devil kept in Polaris's knife, Mirra would have to answer to a higher authority to regain her legs. At first, she could not see anything as she splashed around in the water, but then she noticed a dim light coming from her arm.
She looked up, and saw a similar light beginning to emanate from each of the Allies' arms. The light grew until the entire group seemed concealed within a shimmering Aura of Gold. With this tapestry surrounding them, Mirra could see her Fairy Mask floating in the water near Elly, where Kae and Lynn had moved to check on her.
"Scion," Mirra asked, whispering to the Bryseis sister, but averting her gaze to the shadow of her face in the water, "please, my Mask..." 
She held her hand out meekly to the Sheikah, and the bracelet wrapped around it glistened with the Aura that wafted through the air like dust.
[b][hl=#F0E68C][color=#1E90FF]Lynn Hothlight[/color][/hl]/Twilight 6/Great Fairy Fountain[/b]
Lynn stood among the Light Warriors, feeling slightly out of place. Her mission coincided with their only to a point. Hyrule had to be protected, and so far she had failed miserably in this endeavour. Her gaze scanned the fountain, alighting individually on each present. She felt a spiritual connection to each through the bracelet on her wrist, but she consciously fought this. No such emotions could throw her from her aims.
Kae stood beside her, the blood and offal cleansed from her body with the wash of Fairy Tears. Lynn managed a sad smile at this, thinking of how such filth would have disgraced the appearance-conscious sensibilities of her friend... and of how she had been hurt by Lynn's actions. Past the Scion, Lynn saw the disabled body of Mirra, dragging itself through the fount toward the pair.
"[color=seagreen]Scion,[/color]" Mirra whispered, her gaze falling ashamed to the waters, "[color=seagreen]please, my Mask...[/color]"
Her hand stretched out to Kae, her own bracelet glowing in reaction to the combined group. Lynn noticed the Mask floating in front of her. She leaned over and took it, glancing at Mirra.
"[hl=#F0E68C][color=#1E90FF]This is the Mask you desire, Messenger? Its powers grants you mobility, does it not? But, then, where is your partner and mount?[/color][/hl]"
She made no move to turn the Mask over to Mirra, instead turning it over in her hands.
Darrel Mytura – Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) – Sixth Night
As Mirra beckoned Kae to aid her in resuming her faerie form, Darrel stood for a time regarding the golden bracelet adorning his right wrist, seemingly united with the golden orange manacle that had once been crafted of Twili ore. One more weapon against the deepening dark, one more new aspect of what had once been just a sword. Light and spirit intermingled in him now, changing him. The range of energies that he could perceive and manipulate grew ever broader.
He could feel the sunrise, though still hour off, in a way that he’d never been able to before. All of the various magical elements that were converging around and within him changed him to his core. 
Duty weighed heavily on him now. Those assembled within the fountain had risked their lives to rescue him from captivity, feeling that he was in some way important. He could not ignore their sacrifices. With a deep breath, he drew himself up straight.
”Friends, allies, we have been chosen for an impossible task.” He spoke softly, but his voice was hard. ”We here assembled have been entrusted with the fate of Hyrule, and all those who dwell within her borders. We have been chosen to stand against a horde numbering tens or hundreds of thousands. We have been chosen to oppose dark warriors that have survived for centuries. There is no other force capable of defending this land, there is only us. There is only the Daybreak Alliance.
”I thank you for freeing me, and for placing your trust in me.” He drew a deep breath and his gaze grew stony. ”But precious time has been lost to us as a result. Items remain that are vital for the crafting of a weapon that can combat the growing darkness. Every moment we spend on other things is another moment wasted. The Daybreak Sword is of paramount importance, and that which remains must be acquired at all costs, lest Hyrule fall permanently under the umbra of evil and chaos.
“Some must embark for the south with all speed, but more importantly are those items that reside even now in unfriendly hands. You know the items I speak of, and you know the ones who possess them. These are terrible powers in the hands of terrible foes, and they will not be regained except at a terrible cost. Kinslayer and Hothnight are among the very worst of their ilk, and they will certainly remind us of why when we come for them.
“I will not give orders in this, no matter our situation. We are simple Light Warriors no longer. We are the Daybreak Alliance, and we will stand, must stand, as equals in this duty of ours.” Again he met the eyes of each of his compatriots, holding their gazes with his own for a brief instant before moving to the next. He didn’t know all of them well, but they were allies now in their task, and it was this fact that he acknowledged with his steely expression. ”I believe we should form into units and take those items first that will be easy to attain. Once we have them…”
Darrel glanced down at his wrist again, at the golden bracelet, and at the rune inscribed chain that now fixed itself to it, winding its way around his forearm and fist. Morning’s Edge, detached from the chains, rested in the scabbard at his waist, and as the bracelet gleamed with a golden aura, so too did the golden sunburst upon the blade’s pommel. They each had a bracelet now, and they worked in unison with the others.
”Once we have them,” he repeated in a low, quiet voice, ”we must come together once more. As has ever been the case, the dark warriors will demand all of our strength and all of our skill if they are to be beaten and their items retaken.”
He looked up from the bracelet again and his eyes were alight with cold fury. ”And this time, I mean to be sure that they never return. This time their defeats, their deaths, will be final. Whatever the cost.”
Gigagoron/Twilight 6/Great Fairy Fountain
Giga was taken aback by the initial shock of hearing a voice emanate out of the darkness. It did not seem to be coming from anywhere specific, rather, it was like a shroud, a soothing voice which encapsulated the allies entire beings. He had not been praying; it had always been hard for a relatively-outcast giant to find much room for faith. But he knew all the same that a certain higher force was at work here. Giga watched in awe as the sheikah woman was lifted like a young girl's cloth doll into the air and her body hung limp. 
When the light finally spewed forth from the mask onto the allies, Giga knew in that instant that he was meant to be here in this room, to hear the words being spoken, that perhaps even a giant could have a destiny. He felt the light cleanse every part of his being; the blood was washed away, the scratches miraculously healed, his fatigue vanished. In a fervent state, he bent down to test if his bare patch of skin on his right calf had also been healed. His heart sank when he discovered that it had not been; it seems some wounds just could never be healed.
But when the bracelet formed, Giga felt a different feeling: connectedness. He looked around the room at the others, all of whom had bracelets of their own now, and felt suddenly as if these were no longer complete strangers, as if he had known them his entire life. The aura given off gave hope to the giant, hope for the dawn, hope for the morrow. The goronite was warm in his hand.
When it was done, Giga knew what he had to do. It had been him that had picked up the goronite, and now he had to return it. Giga knew how important such a commodity was to the his people, and it was theirs by rights. It was time for his return to Death Mountain. 
As the man whom the entire rescue had been for began speaking, Giga listened in silence, already knowing where his destiny would take him next. The Daybreak Sword. Yes, that was his to forge, his purpose. This was why he had been brought into this war, and he'd be damned if he didn't at least protect the item that he now currently held.
All roads led to Death Mountain.
Kae/GFF/Evening 6
She had gone over a day without sleeping. Her body ached and burned with every breath, every thought. Her mind had been racing with strategies and plans; wishes and whispers for those she loved and those she desired to remain strong in this conflict.
The Scion delved into her part of the prayer with a renewed fervor. A thought in the back of her mind reminded her of why these things were important, and not just for the sake of her restoration or the well being of her friends.
Even in times where she was tempted to think only of saving herself, there were others who stood with her. This was not her fight to handle alone. 
She could feel viscera and congealed blood lift from her as metal shavings to a magnet, and this relieved her. Sanctified radiance overtook her, and when she opened her eyes, Kae saw Elly mending also. Tears began to trickle as her prayers continued; her heart painfully pounding in her chest. She could feel the consistency of her blood further thicken, but did not think too deeply on it. 
Lynn was near her also; distractions tempted her so much at the time, but she shrugged them all off to continue in her devotion to the Three. Her heart pounded all the more. Heightened senses picked up much more thanks to being imbued. And Lynn's scent was something Kae could pick up even as feint as it was. 
When the ritual finished, she felt rested, and most importantly, mended. But where lacerations had existed with blood flowing and clumping in crystal lattice patterns now existed glowing reminders similar to that of her celestial arm. Her skin no longer healed as a mortal's, but it did not lose its elasticity.
The Scion noticed this when she looked at her right arm. Her abilities were not lessened, but she would need to touch up her ink patterns once things slowed down. 
Mirra's plea reached her ears, and as Kae let her tears flow freely, she began to stoop down for the mask. The Scion felt horrible for Mirra and what had happened to her, even though it was not fully understood. Her friend was without her companion, and in their suffering, they shared a bond of sorts. 
Lynn retrieved it faster than Kae could react, and while Kae thought very fondly of Lynn, her friend's question seemed slightly out of place. What was she doing? She didn't see what happened outside of the fortress. And of all the loyalties of anyone to doubt, why question the one who was the conduit of their mending? 
Kae didn't know whether to become indignant, embrace Lynn, or go to her knees once more and cry. 
She took a step forward and turned to Lynn, looking concerned but with a soft smile.
"I have unfortunate news of Rukh. Due to the profane artes of the Twili and their affinity for the Warp, one of their archmages exposed him to its profane energies and was able to gain control of him. He would not have harmed us otherwise. Mirra was saved in our courtyard battle by his hand, and due to that possession is why Elly ended up how she did, protecting me. That could have been me on the altar's spring if it weren't for her. And, unfortunately, I had to attack him in order to free Elly. They retreated toward Ordon. As for the mount, I know not of its location...Lynn...Mirra and I are not so different, nor is she different from you in desire to save this land from our enemies..."
The Scion took a few deep breaths, sobbing softly.
"This mask is the best chance she has...please...I want to help her...and I need to talk to everyone about something before we all depart..."
Looking over at Elly, she wanted to embrace her also, but so much was happening, and she could see Jaden sprinting over to gather her from the waters. She was in good hands.
[b]Jaden and Elly/GFF/Evening 6[/b]
Jaden had not been in a reverent setting like this for almost a year. His spiritual walk was more personalized and less organized, but he knew what to do and say, and it carried just as much weight even though he expressed it in his own way. 
He was used to many days without sleep, but battles this fierce in rapid succession were starting to take their toll. Mirra's gift to the Daybreak Alliance did much to get him where he felt more confident in his abilities.
Looking over at his sister, he felt bad for her. He didn't know everything, but he knew of her crazy heart and abnormal desires. That those abnormal desires brought out a side of her no one would ever expect. Scions were not forbidden to love or be loved, but he often questioned why she was that way.
As holy energies suffused him, he offered his own praises and prayers. That the other three Major Arcana would make themselves known to him. That he'd someday be able to lead his people. And that his intended would not pass away. He had one of those answered immediately, as he felt led to open his eyes a crack. Elly's form was bathed in light, and he could see through the flashes of things he'd not expected. He was healed in this way before...
[b]Elly's Mind-Prison[/b]
She'd been on a floating volcanic chunk of rock ever since pain overcame her. And in a flatland part of a stone-hewn courtyard she was contending with a demon of the Warp. Not physically, but mentally. There was much torment and anguish. And it felt like she'd been here for a fortnight. 
"They all left you to die. You're here because Kae left you to the birds of prey..."
[color=teal]"Bull$#@&! I did my damn job. If this is how I am destined to spend my eternity, so be it. If Kae can succeed in her mission, that is quite alright with me. Even if it means leaving Jaden alone...he knew the risks and took the same...at least I didn't ever have to hear of his death..."[/color]
Said demon had the perfect physical form except for its face. It was a pinnacle of male-chiseled perfection with a scarred and mutilated face. And it often tempted her with promises of power.
"I could save you, if only you submitted to the powers I serve...you could grant salvation to Hyrule...all I ask is your soul! Such potential you have, yet you hold yourself back with those cantrips and base martial arts...much more I have...how would you like to-"
[color=teal]"Shut up! I don't need any of your garbage to save Hyrule! Kae's going to find out I'm stuck in here and make you wish that whatever profane realm you came from never sent you here!"[/color]
This demon merely laughed at being interrupted, strutting about this courtyard with lashes of chaotic flame in each hand.
"Promises as empty as your Goddesses. You can't kill me. Your Scion can't kill me. Even now her body rots with a divine disease. There is no hope for her. Even the most devout uselessly martyr themselves. With the Warp, our shared suffering is bliss in the unending chaos! Give yourself to it!"
Elly stood there, boring her gaze into her tormentor's skull. 
[color=teal]"She'll come for me. Just you wait."[/color]
After covering its face with its palm, the demon began to walk over to her.
"If you die here, you die out there. And I would very much love to-"
A flood of divine music and prayer echoed throughout wherever Elly had found herself. At its sound, the demon shrieked and began to vaporize.
[color=teal]"Kae, I knew you wouldn't let me down..."[/color]
Her mind had been raped and her soul had been tortured with profane things of all sorts. But all it took to set her free was from on high.
She cursed at the demon as she felt herself coming to...
[b]Great Fairy's Fountain[/b]
When she fell into the spring, Jaden rose from his prayer and took off toward her. Love, which others who knew him didn't often see him display in such a manner, did exist in this warrior's heart. 
Jaden Bryseis had three things he needed the most in order to feel alive. And he'd often go to extreme ends to make sure that they'd happen. The first was a battle to fight. Whether of wit, arms, or politics, if he hadn't challenged himself, he felt as though he wasted a day. The second was an adventure to live. He took some of the most high-risk assignments he could in order to show he could handle almost anything. And the third, less-known, was a beauty to fight for. Some considered him very chauvinistic in his mid-teens. After his courtship to Elly Shea was arranged, he matured greatly. Any time she came back to camp hurt or ran into trouble, he sought out the source and dealt with it. He was very protective of her. She appreciated him, and also matured thanks to his exceptional companionship. The fact that he was powerless to defend her broke his heart. He had to make up for it without looking like a lovesick buffoon. 
Elly floated in the waters, her eyes flickering open and closed as she coughed. She could hear Jaden's footsteps; when he wasn't minding them he plodded like a staggering wild animal. She wondered if she had died for a moment, as where she'd been in her mind had been hell and didn't quite realize that her mind and body had separate realms for the while she was unconscious. 
[color=chocolate]"Elly!"[/color]
He wasn't normally like this. Ever. She had to be dead or close to it.
It was when he slipped into the spring and gently picked her up that she fully understood that this healing was quite real. He was soaked through, he didn't care, and he had that look on his face. He only had a soft look on his face when they were back home, or alone, or otherwise not in the company of so many, or even in a place like this. 
[color=teal]"I did my job, Jaden...thank the Three I'm not dead...thank the Three you're here..."[/color]
She shifted her weight to put her arms behind his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder. And he did the unexpected again. 
He kissed her.
They were both soaking wet, they were surrounded by their allies, and Elly had been taken so far out of her comfort zone that she wasn't quite sure what to do, so she relaxed as best she could, looking up at him slightly confused.
[color=chocolate]"When I heard about what happened..."[/color]
Elly shook her head and smirked.
[color=teal]"It's fine. Unlike you, even. But very much called for."[/color]
When Darrel cleared his throat and took up speaking, Jaden turned to listen, all while still supporting a giggling Elly. 
[i][color=teal]He'll be a good husband someday. I just hope we all live to see that future, and that there's a world left to defend.[/i][/color]
Polaris/ Great Fairy Fountain (Desert)/ Night 6
Polaris halfheartedly joined in on the prayer service, having lived as long as he had he knew better than to put too much faith into the Goddesses or even a lesser being like the Great Fairy. It was to his surprise then, when as the aches and pains of the battle were being washed away that a small golden bracelet materialized around his wrist. He listened as the Great Fairy, channeled through Mirra gave her speech and was surprised by the value and power of the gift bestowed upon those in attendance of the service. At least one good thing came of this. 
As Darrel spoke, the General fidgeted with his bracelet, adjusting it to his liking and admiring how it contrasted against his newly crimsoned scales. Once the Sunrise Knight's diction concluded, Polaris, eager to set out, made his way through the crowd until he was face to face with Mytura, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings between the Scion, Mirra and the Sheikah operative, Lynn, whom with all his being he felt it unwise to trust again so easily. There was a change in her, a wild light in her eyes that, although occasionally present in times past seemed to reside at the fore now. Not being one to judge, especially after what transpired with he and his silver dagger, Polaris pushed those thoughts aside as he addressed Darrel.
"It is good to see you free and well, your blade will be a welcome re-addition to the war effort." Polaris accentuated this statement with a bow. Pausing for a brief moment to allow his words to sink in, Polaris continued, "I feel that it is necessary to be honest and up front now, perhaps it was ingrained in my nature eons ago, perhaps it is a new quirk of personality, either way, I feel I must inform you and all here, that I will not immediately set forth in search of any more of the sacred ore's required to forge the magical blade." Feeling several eyes upon him, Polaris continued on, "I hope it is not foolish of me to embark upon a journey such as the one I am about to undertake, for I am conflicted, in my strategic mind I know that I am needed elsewhere, but in my heart I am buffeted by an overpowering yearning to visit the vault of my ancestors deep beneath the Zoras Domain. I know that, that place holds answers for me... and possibly much more. It is in some part because of that gut feeling, and moreso because of the changes wrought upon me that you so obviously see." Polaris gestured towards his complexion and the new color of his scales, "I must make haste to whatever trials await me at the place I once called home. It is for the sake of my sanity, my dragon and possibly even the fate of Hyrule that I deviate so far from what I'm sure is expected of me. However, I do not go without reason, if one who is fit to lead men, more specifically the warriors of my race, prior to facing the trials set forth by my ancestors, I shall go before King Zora himself and request as many of my races warriors as he can spare for the war effort, I ask for a leader because it is very possible, almost inevitable that I will not be the one to lead my brethren into battle, but someone else, at least in the beginning."
Having spoke his mind in front of Darrel and the rest of the Daybreak Alliance, Polaris waited silently for a response.
Darrel Mytura - Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) – Sixth Night
Darrel regarded the Zora General thoughtfully for a time, considering. It was not the ideal situation, in fact it was a direct deviation from what he had insisted must be done. And yet...
"As I said, General, I do not presume to give orders. If I am to be a leader of any kind it will be as chief among equals." He reaffirmed, holding the crimson Zora's eyes with his own. Not ideal, but perhaps useful nonetheless. "You have lived near as long as I, if not longer, and your name is as well known in the lore of Hyrule as mine. You are a warrior born, a creature of duty and responsibility even as I am, but we both understand that there are times when the heart comes into conflict with the head.
"Trust your instincts, General Polaris. I do." He took a deep breath, going over the scenarios in his mind of how they should proceed. With Polaris stricken temporarily from the roster of available warriors he had to adjust the possibilities slightly. "I stated that the Daybreak Sword was of paramount importance, but that did not mean that it is the sole matter to which we must attend. If you can gather Zora soldiers to our cause then your brief absence will be well worth it in the end, I think."
He turned his eyes to the rest, wondering if he might end up with half of their number to chase the materials that they had yet to procure. "What say the rest of you?"
Gigagoron/GFF/Night 6
Giga looked down upon the man asking the question. This was the man, he noted, that the entire rescue had been about. Him and his sword. Giga was still young and did not know much past what reached his ears high up on the mountain, but even still, he knew that this man was more than he seemed. He gave off a sort of aura, a certain mystique that gave him an air of prominence. Giga gulped hard before he spoke.
Uncurling his fist to expose the goronite, he boomed. "My lord, my name is Gigagoron, master smith of the gorons. My purpose here was to help procure my people's holiest item. If it's all the same to you, I would like to return the goronite to its home amongst my people. Of course, some will still be used to forge the sword.
And if everything goes to plan, our patriarch should be readying the troops as we speak. We gorons realize that we are in this just as much as you Hylians are.
After my errand, I would certainly like to help in the effort to retrieve the other necessary items. Although I should warn you, I'm not much help for any sort of stealth mission," he added with a smile.
IC: Mirra / Cave of Ordeals / Night 6
"They retreated toward Ordon."
As the Scion's words hit Mirra's ears, her heart sank. Like a stone tossed into water, sadness slowly weighed down into her neck, her shoulders, her chest. A shadow fell over her eyes as her long green hair drifted across her face. Rukh...possessed by the Warp?
Mirra could hardly process what Kae next said to Lynn. Her mind was absent from the problem of her own legs; she did not hear Kae ask Lynn to return her Mask, nor did she see the cold silence with which Lynn met her request, revealing nothing of her inner thoughts as she considered the Scion's appeal.
When Mirra finally looked up, the Scion seemed about to say something more, with a shadow across her face that Mirra knew mirrored her own. It was not the shadow of fear for her own death, but for the others who would be left behind were she to die. It was the shadow of love, and lit from below by the light of Kae's bracelet, it was as if Mirra saw in the Scion's eyes the look of one who had seen the world beyond death. A great burden weighed on the heart of Kae Bryseis, weakening her and straining her mind to its limit. She seemed about to divulge whatever evil it was that haunted her, but it was Darrel who spoke up first.
"I believe we should form into units and take those items first that will be easy to attain. Once we have them...," Darrel's bracelet of Light began to glow as it merged with his chains of Spirit, and a low hum emanated from the bracelets of all the Allies as they formed into a ring of light that surrounded them. "Once we have them, we must come together once more. As has ever been the case, the dark warriors will demand all of our strength and all of our skill if they are to be beaten and their items retaken."
When Darrel finished his speech, it was Polaris who broke the silence. Mirra was surprised to see the General still coated in the blood of dead Twili, even after the Fairy's healing, but as he moved into the slant of light provided by the stars above the well's mouth high above them, she saw that it was his very scales that had been infused with crimson. The scarlet scales of the Zora warrior glinted in the magic bracelet's Light.
"It is for the sake of my sanity, my dragon and possibly even the fate of Hyrule that I deviate so far from what I'm sure is expected of me."
The Sunrise Knight judiciously considered General Polaris's designs, then blessed them whole-heartedly and bid the Zora to recruit his brethren.
Next, Gigagoron raised a fist into the air, and opened his hand to reveal the shimmering Goronite, a great chunk of ore reduced to a weightless pebble in Giga's almighty arms. The Giant Goron stated his intention to return to his homeland, and like the Zora, fulfill his destiny. By the torchlight of the Goronite, Din's Own Fire, the people of Death Mountain would make war on the Interloper.
Both Polaris and Giga seemed eager to set out, but Mirra's head was still swimming with a grim uncertainty.
"Your Excellencies," she spoke, planting the Dominion Rod in the ground and pulling herself up slightly, "my Allies, it is only by uniting all the peoples of Hyrule that we shall be able to rebuke this assault on our Realm!" Her voice was weak, but determined. "Before he was taken, Rukh brought me here after the fall of Hyrule Castle, to this Fountain. It was here that the Queen of Fairies prophesied the liberation of the Sunrise Knight, and now, through the power of our Alliance, that prophecy is fulfilled! Do you understand? We can be the saviors of this Realm, but as Lord Mytura said..."
Mirra held up her hand, and a ripple of light spread from her wrist to touch the hand of every Ally. Her own bracelet curved along her elbow to adorn her upper arm and shoulder with its golden band.
"...There is only the Daybreak Alliance."
When she raised her arm in the air, her balance shifted on the Dominion Rod and Mirra fell on her side into the water. The Rod began to roll away from her, but she snatched out at it, falling on her ribcage and shoulder in the dive. She caught it, and lay in the pool prostrate, eight pairs of eyes watching her from the water's edge.
Mirra picked herself up once more, pushing up on her hands to look at them through drenched locks of hair. She avoided the gaze of Lynn. "Courage, my Allies! When we stand together--," she looked directly at Lynn, her eyes wide, and a note of panic in her voice, "--we have more Courage than all the Twili army combined!" Her heart pounded in her chest. She had lost Rukh. The Dominion Rod seemed to sizzle in her hand, crackling with an electricity that only she could feel. She looked from Lynn, holding her Fairy Mask idly, to Kae, her hands open to Lynn, but an ashen gloom in her eyes.
"Kae, what was it you were about to say?" Mirra asked, her eyes swelling with tears. A bitter mix of empathy and foreboding churned in her heart for the Scion. At the same time, the Dominion Rod seemed to pulsate with a magnetic longing for her Thunderbird, taken from her by the enemy. Mirra felt nauseous, unable to keep her balance. The glowing bands on her Allies' wrists all seemed to double and spin around each other in her field of vision. She shook her head, then looked back over at them.
"And where is Horus? When I entered his heart during the duel with Grem, I sensed a great dread in him, and I glimpsed a terrible evil besetting the Castle Ruins..."
Still seated in the center of the shallow Fairy Fountain, Mirra could see most of the Allies gathered at its edge, but could not see whether Horus was behind them. Had he departed for the Castle after all? Perhaps it was beyond Mirra's powers of exorcism alone to cleanse what ailed the winged man's soul...
Horus/Sunset/Fairy Fountain Stairs
His heart raced, his head ached, and his eyes burned from the voices as he continued his stride up the spiral staircase. He could still hear the chants and blessings from the party below, even as he ascended higher and higher. He had no time to think, as his thoughts were filled with those of the witch. His mind wrestled between the powerful desire for the destruction of the darkness, and the gleeful anticipation concerning the building of a Black Castle. Concentration was impossible, and even Horus had forgotten what thoughts belonged to whom. All he was sure of anymore, was that he needed to reach the town of the Hylians, the very one he attempted to defend the previous day. Before making it to what appeared to the exit, he had to at least stop one last time...to bid his allies farewell. 
He skid to a halt, nearly tripping on the steps, then walked over to the edge of the stairs, looking down upon the people he had helped. From where he was, they looked like ants, in a near perfect circle. He crouched down, looking closer as a bright light burst from what appeared to be Mirra. I grew brighter and brighter, lighting the darkness of the cave, illuminating every crevice and corner. Despite being so high, he could feel the warmth of the magic that was bursting forth.
He closed his eyes and sighed, rising to his feet. He looked to the exit, and continued forward. Before he could make more than three steps, a horrible burning, aching pain pierced into his brain, not unlike a dagger to the skull. As the room became white, he could only see black. He felt himself stumble and fall backward in the blackness, only losing consciousness upon cracking his head upon the stairs behind him.
Sha'Tive/Twilight/Castle Town Ruins
She could not open her eyes to it, but could feel the warmth of the sun blissfully. Her children pulsated and scurried about, restlessly waiting for further orders whilst searching for cold, dark shelter from the light. She floated a feet or two above the building she was lying upon, bathing her pale and black skin in the withering sunlight. Her arms were laid behind her head, legs crossed, her horizontal position suggesting she was lying on the sand of a nearby beach. She listened as her children whispered beckons and pleas to begin work, whilst the Rito under her command, the only one of her's that was still breathing, awaited patiently and without impatient thoughts. She could not see where he was due to her closed eyes, but she could indeed feel him, and he was close. She spoke at volumes loud enough for him to hear, wherever he was.
"I must make a promise, I suppose. You're the first one whom has accepted my embrace whilst still being in possession of a pulse.
She moved her neck, which cracked loudly from stiffness.
"Not unlike myself...' she chuckled, then felt her arm. Nothing could be felt in her arm at the moment. '...or not." She laughed jokingly.
"But seriously. A man such as yourself should have desires or needs. Considering the fact that you've been working for those of another without the privilege of free will, I'm certain you have at least a few to share."
She flipped over, lying one what appeared to be nothing, yet her breasts squished as if lying upon a solid surface.
"I know I do' she said with a smile. 'Think on it. The least I can do beforehand is to feed you like a king after this is all over. The Goddesses know when you have last eaten, but I sure don't."
Upon finishing, she could feel the cold of night fall. She open her eyes, which were slits, not unlike a cat. She rose to her feet and walked upon invisible stairs, descending down to the ground below, where her children climbed upon her with glee, small voices all around, asking if it was time. She nodded, which set off a chain reaction. Leech-like creatures crawled from every crevice, and formed into humanoid shapes. In an endless sea of blackness upon the ground, walls and roofs, everyone stood ready. She pointed at the very spot Isaac had stood during their encounter, which caused every creature nearby to swarm the area. Black goo and smoke covered the area, as the sounds of excited chatter and the bones of abominations breaking and creaking, building had begun. Sha'Tive looked over at the Rito, and smiled.
"The only way they can build, is with their own corpses, or with the brick around them. A bit macabre, yes...but at the rate they are already working, gleefully at that, it matters little. I'm afraid you can do little else in the building of this structure, unless you wish to collect bricks."
They stopped and watched on as the creatures worked, and a structure began to take shape. It wasn't until the structure was well more than twice their height, mere minutes later, that Sha'Tive spoke again.
"Lucifer...now that I think on it, I do actually have a much more important job for you, if you so choose to accept it. There is another one of your kind, far away, in the desert. He insists on the destruction of the likes of us, despite us merely trying to live as we are. His mind is clouded, and he may leave his allies behind. If he does indeed do this, he will be an easy one to add to our family once more. My warm embrace and welcome to the family isn't so easily cast away. He has grown prejudice against us, and must be merely disciplined for such thinking. His connection with us will make it child's play for you to find him. If you so choose to accept this task, feel free to take as many of my children with you to prepare."
She gestured her general surroundings before continuing.
"As you can see, there is plenty to go around."
Horus/Twilight/Fairy Fountain Stairs
His eyes snapped open. He felt a strange fuzziness in the back of his head, like a lost memory was trying to shine anew. As his vision returned to him, felt a horror unlike before he blacked out. Something in the back of his head made him realize that if he was to leave his allies behind, his actions would have been suicide. He slapped his head with his left hand, berating himself for even considering leaving his comrades in such a crucial time. It mattered not if he was in a blubbering, panicked stupor, he could not be giving up on what could be his only friends in a land of corruption and war. He scratched his head curiously, as slapping himself hurt a bit more than it should have. He looked at his hand in the darkness, and could see a ring and a bracelet upon it, both glowing a radiant gold.
"The mark of the Daybreak?"
He placed his hand back where it was, hanging right off the the edge of the stairs.
"Could it be...I was accepted despite my moment of cowardice in the presence of the fairy?"
He felt a sense of self importance of such caliber he was unfamiliar. He was among the Holy Warriors he had heard in fairytales now. He had no idea that it was actually real, and had been under the impression that his allies were merely healing themselves. An almost fatal mistake. He flipped over, looking down into the darkness. There was little radiance in the darkness, in comparison to before he blacked out, but he could still see everyone. His hearing returned to him soon after, just in time for him to hear a voice in the darkness.
"...-nd where is Horus? When I entered his heart during the duel with Grem, I sensed a great dread in him, and I glimpsed a terrible evil besetting the Castle Ruins..."
He looked at his ring and bracelet once more, and nodded. They now knew of why he had fled, so he had little reason to explain. He had realized though, with a clearer head that the events that unfolded in the Town were a lost cause as they were. There were far more important matters to attend to, among his allies below. Without a second thought, he jumped back down to the Fountain below, landing in the water with a splash. He erected his posture upon landing, and looked around.
"I must apologize for my sudden momentary exit, I was not thinking straight. Talk on, and at ease..."
He could feel the vibe of the room. He knew for a fact from the look of some faces, that the speech he had just invited was to be grim. He gulped quietly.
Lynn Hothlight/Twilight 6/FF
Lynn looked at both the carven face and wooden inside of the Mask in her hands. Were it not for the knowledge of the power that resided within the item, she would think it as mundane as any other child's toy. But such mistakes were of dire consequence in Hyrule, as history was wont to teach.
"I wonder, would half a mask turn the Envoy into half a fairy?" She made as though to put pressure on the Mask, but stopped when Mirra's and Kae's eyes widened in horror. "An experiment best left unconducted. I would not wish to further impede the Alliance. It serves no purpose..."
She tossed the Mask at Mirra and a splash of water sprayed in her when it hit the fount. "I suppose I should thank you, though, Envoy. It was your relentless hounding of me that led to the demonsoul of the Hated withdrawing by Garo's Light. Shame about your legs."
She then turned from the cripple and walked towards Mytura and the General. Briefly her gaze focused on Polaris, a glimmer of something uncouth behind her eyes. Then her head turned in address to the de facto leader of the Alliance.
"I will hunt down the Hated, and retrieve his Heart. Who better to find and counter him? We have become quite intimate, after all." She wondered how Kae would react to the comment. Not that it was of any import or impact.
Polaris/ Great Fairy Fountain/ Night 6
"Trust your instincts, General Polaris. I do.I stated that the Daybreak Sword was of paramount importance, but that did not mean that it is the sole matter to which we must attend. If you can gather Zora soldiers to our cause then your brief absence will be well worth it in the end, I think."
Polaris nodded, the way he performed the gesture was foreign to him, the motion was quick and decisive, almost avian in nature, like a bird snatching up a bug or worm. Polaris didn't expect it and wondered to himself what other changes the witch had made in him, his already heightened reflexes had somehow been improved upon with whatever transformation was being wrought upon his being. Focusing on the matter at hand, Polaris filed that away with the multitude other things he intended to querry the old woman about once he reached her.
"It pleases me to hear those words, I assure you that I'm not diverting my path for naught, there is much to gain from this venture. It has been some time since I've graced the halls of my king, if he can even be called that now, he is not the king I once knew, but I hear that he is equally as wise and just. I'm sure he'll be eager to once again prove the loyalty and devotion of the Zoran nation to preserving the greater good of ALL the races of Hyrule. If troops can be spared, we.. Polaris faltered when Lynn approached, cold gleam in her eyes, and appraised him as she walked by, it took a good deal of resolve, but Polaris did a decent job of disguising his distaste for her.. "will have them."
As Lynn spoke, Polaris turned his attention to the rest of the group, wincing as he noticed Mirra struggling to remain above water in the shallow pool of the fountain, using her Dominion Rod as a crutch she propped herself up and splashed and fumbled around, groping for her mask. Polaris felt obligated to help her, but first he had something to say, "Friends and allies!! Though I do not march directly with you towards the remaining ores, I will be with you all in heart! Know that I would not risk all that we are trying to accomplish by going off on a task of my own without good reason, any who wish to accompany me," Polaris' gaze shifted from each and everyone in attendance, lingering longer on some, such as Jaden clutching his betrothed tightly, moreso than others, "will be welcome, but the majority of you should focus on the ultimate goal of procuring the ore and passing it along to our forge master Giga, we will need as many as possible going after those precious metals, for as Darrel has already said, it will be a most dangerous task..which is why I intend to wait until the parties have been selected for each task before departing on my quest. In doing so, it will allow me to know where my skills will be best utilized in the future upon completion of my tasks and also where to send whatever troops I am able to get from my king. I would suggest that none leave this place before each of us know where the others are going. Intel is of the utmost importance in times like this. Thank you, I've nothing more to say at present."
Standing before this small group was so different from anything he'd done in the past, he'd commanded entire armies, whose numbers dwarfed their meager nine, hundreds of times over, yet here, surrounded by his peers, his equals, he felt almost foolish to think that he could influence them like he had his soldiers in the past. Before Darrel or anyone was given an opportunity to respond, Polaris heard Lynn, ignoring his words, address Darrel and offer to search out Taden...this gave him pause, as he strode towards the spot were Mirra still struggled he glanced back over his shoulder, hoping Darrel would object.
Wading out into the waters, Polaris scooped up the fairy mask and knelt beside Mirra, lifting her up and bracing her so that she would not fall again."My lady... Polaris paused and allowed Mirra to take her mask from his hands before proceeding, "I can assure you that if by chance I cross the path of the noble Thunderbird which bore you from the heavens, I will do all that is within my power to rid him of the taint that has temporarily overtaken him. Master Rukh is not himself, that much is clear, he did not submit willingly to the dusk, he fought valiantly by mine and Giga's side up until the end. It was indeed his actions, and ultimately his sacrifice that turned the tide of battle against the heathen sorcerer Kazeem. It was the unholy magic of the High Mage, Polaris spat the title like he was uttering an abominable curse, "that Rukh fell victim to, but I am certain this is a taint that can be cleansed...and if the Goddesses smile upon us, when Rukh and I cross paths Kazeem will still be with him...I dare not wish anymore suffering upon him than is necessary, but it would be a great bit of luck if Kazeem and I were to meet again. I dare not utter what will be done to him in the presence of a lady so fair, but I can assure you it will be all the worse for that bastard. Not only did he steal something of mine, he's harmed a friend..two friends actually."
With those last words, Polaris took Mirra's hands in his, steadying her before she toppled over once more. 
== Ken's Back ==
Senshi/Desert/Night 6
"There's down there." Senshi said pointed down into the deep passage they had found at the top of a rocky plateau.
"Down there?" the same skeptical tracker from early question mockingly. "The big scary Light Warriors are hiding in a little hole. Yeah I'll but th-" The soldier was cut short as pillar of light energy erupted from the hole knocking all present but the one immune to its effects on there asses.
"Well, from now on I suggest you listen to what I say. Unless of course the prospect of being dead amuses you. Which by all means I could use a new corpse puppet." Senshi said the head down into the cave laughing just slightly.
"Morbid bastard."
Kae/GFF/Evening 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdJ5L4-wJcU
One more potential disaster averted. After saving herself with some help, Kae resolved to get to the bottom of what was happening to her friend. It was always hard to predict what she would do, but Taden and whatever else had gotten into her compounded the issue.
Thankfully, Polaris was able to help her. Fear had paralyzed Kae once more, and she felt bad about not being able to react as quickly as she'd wanted to.
At the thought of being intimate with that primordial lich, the Scion visibly winced before her heart started pounding out of her chest. That thing on her mind...impending death within two days' time...it was time to reveal her plight.
"Kae, what was it you were about to say?"
Mirra knew. There was no mistaking it. They were almost kindred spirits in their suffering.
Kae walked closer to where Darrel was standing and did what she could to keep her composure.
"Allies of the Daybreak, I also will be unable to seek out the crafting elements for the sword, and I have some rather dire news. Because of my actions in the Battle for Castle Town, Din has accelerated a mild affliction she placed upon me. When I destroyed one of Quell's ice pillars, instead of having a month to live with no cure, I now only have two days' time to seek out a way to stem it, or I will die."
Visibly upset, it was difficult to hold it together. Somehow, it was done. She shifted her gaze to her friends and other allies as she spoke, not holding eye contact with anyone for too long at this point.
"In my prayers I have received a vision, and this vision has led me to plan something incredibly dangerous. I cannot do it alone, and one of you very well may hold the key to my salvation. I promise you that if we succeed, full effort will go toward assisting those who accompany me as well as completion of the sword. I swear that if I was able to go headlong into tracking down blessings I would do so. But my death would not only set back this Alliance, it would set my people and the Three back quite a bit also. I alone hold the historical lore of the Sheikah to the extent that my mentor did. She did a good job of writing records down, but death came to her before that could be completed."
It was at this point that Elly asked Jaden to put her down, and they both walked over to stand next to her. Jaden put his arm around her, and Elly hugged her before standing at her left.
"This is what I ask and propose: a trip to the Sacred Realm and the Light Temple. We seek an audience with Rauru. The Light Medallion will either cure me or stave off my affliction long enough to see the end of this war. I will then appeal to Din to lift the curse under Full Moon's Light. How we get there will be slightly difficult. I need to find a Moon Pearl, and then a Moon Gate. With how the planes and cosmos have shifted thanks to Hylian faithlessness, a Planar Codex will most likely also be needed-"
She sensed planar energies nearby, throwing her concentration off...
"All who are willing to assist me in this endeavor, please talk with me after we head out. I know where the general direction of a Moon Pearl is thanks to the vision, but that's all I've got to go on. And if anyone knows anything about the Planes and might happen to have the Codex needed to align our destination, that would be quite a blessing."
She held up her arm and aligned it to the skies, pointing to a glowing star near her wrist.
"If you knew exactly when your death would come, you'd be just as frenzied as me. And this plan would seem quite sane. Unfortunately, the Moon Pearl is in the heart of enemy territory. Unless otherwise counter-proposed, we go to Ordon first. I ask many difficult things of you all, but please, if you are willing, join me."
Her gaze shifted to those she was closest to. Jaden, Lynn, Elly, Polaris. Many already had chosen their destinations and purposes. She wasn't going to try to sway them outright.
Elly stepped forward briefly as the Scion held her head in her hands.
"Kae, are you kidding? I told you I wasn't leaving your side on this one."
She looked over at Jaden and nodded.
"Who's with me?"
Mirra / Desert / Night 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7-sHYn56ac
A wave of goosebumps ran up Mirra's arms as Horus splashed back down to the Fountain. "I must apologize for my sudden momentary exit..."
Despite her paralysis, Mirra's mind could still reach out into space. 'Horus, I sense a great struggle in you. The forces of this war play out in your mind as fiercely as in the Realm beyond. But look around you...'
Mirra turned from the dampened avian to Lynn, who tossed the Fairy Mask at her knees, splashing her a second time. Mirra's long hair clung to her shoulders and neck.
"I suppose I should thank you, though, Envoy. It was your relentless hounding of me that led to the demonsoul of the Hated withdrawing by Garo's Light. Shame about your legs."
A shudder ran down Mirra's spine, bringing a dull pain to her legs, at the mention of that night. In this very Desert, as the sun set last night, Lynn had slaughtered the Gerudo, freed the King of Thieves, and stolen a Light Spirit's Blessing, all under Taden's power. And in this very Fountain, as the sun rose this morning, Rukh sacrificed the visor that would have protected him from Kazeem's Warp in order for the Fairy Queen to concoct Mirra's Mask. Before she could respond to Lynn, the Sheikah walked away towards Darrel, who was listening to Polaris with the others. She called out to Lynn's back.
"Do not underestimate the Demon Hothnight, Lynn. His fractured soul is indeed sealed within you by Garo's Blessing. But now, we cannot join that element of the Daybreak Sword with the others without giving you over to him once more." Mirra's voice began to rise until it echoed up the chasm. "Are you so blind? Did you think the Hated did not predict that you would drink the Blessing he made you steal? In trapping him within yourself, it is the Hated who has entrapped you."
The Aviatrix turned back to look into Horus's eyes. 'Don't you see? Yours is not the only soul with this fate. The Interloper War is being fought in its Heroes' hearts!'
Next it came to Polaris to confess that he must make a spiritual journey of his own, voyaging to the vault of his ancestors for the sake of both his sanity and the sanctity of the Realm. But before embarking, his strategic mind took precautions. "I would suggest that none leave this place before each of us know where the others are going." The others seemed to agree. When he was done, Lynn stated her own intentions.
"I will hunt down the Hated, and retrieve his Heart. Who better to find and counter him? We have become quite intimate, after all."
Polaris seemed disturbed by Lynn's vitriol, but he sidestepped her and went to assist Mirra, leaving Darrel to question the vengeful Sheiakh. Polaris picked up Mirra's mask and placed it in her lap, putting an arm around her shoulders to support her. As Mirra studied her Mask, Polaris made her a promise. "My lady... I can assure you that if by chance I cross the path of the noble Thunderbird which bore you from the heavens, I will do all that is within my power to rid him of the taint that has temporarily overtaken him."
"With friends as loyal as you, Polaris, I am sure his affliction will indeed be temporary. But General, sir," Mirra responded quietly, "I tell you, we left chance behind a long time ago."
Mirra bent down and cupped the thin alloyed mask in her hands, as if drinking from her palms, then looked up at Horus once more. The mirrored surface of the Mask caught the starlight from above, and refracted in Mirra's smiling eyes. 'Listen, Horus, the future is bright! Whatever evil lurks in that blackened Castle, we will face it together, as One. You don't have to face it alone anymore. Whatever happens, one of us will always be with you.'
Mirra pressed the Mask to her face, and a burst of light shot up through the chasmic fountain to the stars above. When it cleared, Mirra was a small, golden fairy again. Horus stood near her, damp up to his waist. Polaris was nearby, Mirra's light shining on his crimson scales. At the edge of the fountain, Lynn Hothlight and Darrel both listened to Kae, who stood alongside her brother, Giga, and Elly. The Scion explained that she would need a Moon Pearl and Gate, as well as a Planar Codex, to access the Sacred Realm and seek the Light Medallion from His Holiness Rauru.
At Kae's mention of the Light Temple, the Guardian of the Sacred Realm felt destiny calling her name.
"Unfortunately, the Moon Pearl is in the heart of enemy territory. Unless otherwise counter-proposed, we go to Ordon first. I ask many difficult things of you all, but please, if you are willing, join me."
***Elly leapt to her Scion's side. "Who's with me?" she chimed.
Mirra's heart leapt in her chest, but she stalled. She wanted to join Kae, but like Polaris, she wanted to know everyone's plans before the Alliance parted ways. Horus was drawn to the Castle in the heart of Lanayru, as was Lynn, for Taden lingered there still. Giga would roll on to Death Mountain, to the east in Eldin, and return the Goronite. Polaris would race to Eldin as well, to Zora's Domain in the north, at the wellspring of all Hyrule's waters. Kae would go south, to the Faron marsh and the valleys of Ordon, and Elly would surely join her. All six would have to trek past Lake Hylia into Hyrule Field, before heading South to the Wood, or North to the Castle and Eldin Province beyond.
That just left three. Of the nine Allies, only Jaden, Darrel, and Mirra had not committed to an objective. Uniting the Zora monarchy and the Goron council with their cause could not wait--Polaris and Giga had to go, and with support if possible. Likewise, Kae's very life depended on an audience with Rauru, and Elly could not be asked to leave her side at this critical hour. But for Lynn and Horus to go to the Castle alone?
Mirra circled the air thoughtfully as the Allies considered their strategy. She asked herself what Rukh would say if he were here. And then she knew. Mirra floated to the edge of the pool where Darrel, Jaden, Elly, Kae, and Lynn were gathered under Giga. Horus and Polaris walked over to join them. The Alliance formed into a circle, and the ring of light formed around their golden bands. The light surrounding them congealed into an orb of Golden Power that fully encompassed the united Alliance.
"No Ally should face their fate alone. I will go with the Scion. My healing arts and knowledge of the Sacred Realm will be of use to her as she confronts her affliction. I can only hope to find some clue of Rukh's whereabouts in Ordon where Kazeem has fled, and I too must plead with the Sage of Light for a cure to my own curse. Sir Mytura, Chief Bryseis, we currently have four missions forming. Kae, Elly, and I go south to Ordon; the others go north, Lynn and Horus to investigate the Castle, Polaris and Giga to their homelands in Eldin. Our compatriots from last night's battle also toil in Faron and the Caravan to Eldin, waiting to join our newfound Alliance. It is for you to decide within yourselves where you are most needed in Hyrule's darkest hour."
"My Allies, whatever forks may lie in the road ahead, I have faith that it will lead us back to together soon. The Breaking Day will light our path, and the Aura of Dawn will mark our passing when we meet. If I may propose a rendezvous, I suggest we make for Kakariko after our respective goals are achieved, and wait for everyone there. If there are no objections..."
Mirra floated from the group to the mouth of a cavern at the back of the Fountain, illuminating its high archway, large enough even for Giga to move through at a stoop. "...Darrel, show us the way."
As the spherical aura continued to shine, Mirra could sense it waning precipitously near Lynn and Horus. A shadow lingered over their hearts that hindered their communion with the others. As she waited at the mouth of the exit tunnel, Mirra spoke to Darrel privately, through telepathy.
'Listen to me, Darrel. Unless we learn to trust one another, this war is lost. If Lynn or Horus try to separate from the group when you reach the Castle, I want you to let them go. And don't let any of the others stand in their way. Each goes to face an evil that has invaded their very heart, casting a shadow where Light should shine. In the depths of those Ruins, let them show one another the meaning of Light...'
Senshi/Fountain/Night 6
Senshi and his escorts made there way done the long series of chambers. A single individual threaten to discover them but Senshi used his Dark Power to clock the group in the shadows, allowing the person to pass them by without conflict.
The five arrived at the bottom but were blocked off by a force field of pure light. Senshi was initially content using this as an excuse to allow them to escape and by himself more time for his plans. However, that quickly changed when he over heard Kae's description of the curse the goddesses had placed on her. Things had now developed to the point where he could no longer act as a double agent. He'd had to fix this directly and just hope Misha would understand why he gave her that water. He once again removed his necklace and used his powers to open a way through the barrier.
"So, it's playing out exactly how I said it would, didn't it Mytura." Senshi's voice called out from the shadowed entrance to the Great Fairy Fountain. "When I first saw that you had brought these kids to Hyrule Castle, reforming the Light Warriors. I told you history would repeat itself. The Dark Warriors would return, Hyrule would be in ruins, and those kids would suffer just like every last one of us had before them.
Senshi stepped out from the shadows alone, have had the other for hold back for a moment. His gaze of honest anger of what he had just overhear from Kae was hidden hidden by his hood though he was sure Darrel would know his sincerity. "You were suppose to be a leader to them you know. That's what I told you, you were responsible. You were suppose to keep this kind of thing from happening to them, but look what happened. Now, it goes a step farther then that doesn't Mytura. Doesn't Brysies' and Annie's situation seem familiar to you. Oh sure there are a few details changed and Hothnight play an extra roll, but it still so similar it painful to me. Of course I knew it would, I knew from the moment I knew Annei's reason from wanting to keep Hothnight's powers. I did try to stop it, to save her like I was saved. To protect Brysies to make up for may failure to do so with... Well that doesn't matter at this moment. See if I had my way I'd be assaulting the Goddesses themselves over this but I'm not in a position to act of my own accord."
Three of the four trackers emerged from behind Senshi as he drew his fiery sword. "You see I got caught repeating a bit of history as well, and as such I'm going to have to drag you back to the Twili."
The three trackers readied there weapons and prepared to pounce on the Sunrise Knight but Senshi had them stand fast. "I'll deal with him, you three keep the other occupied. I'm sure you'll be able to keep a couple of children off my back until I'm done." The three tracker charged towards there targets, aiming for Lynn, Kae and Polaris the Goron particularly.
"We'll lets get this done with?" Senshi said before before charging at Darrel. He stopped short to execute a quick spin to force the Knight movement and keep away any of the other lights that were less occupied. "<Let's give them a bit of a show shall we?>" Senshi said directly into Darrel mind as the flash of light from his flaming spin illuminated a brief smirk.
Darrel Mytura – Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) – Sixth Night
With the words of Mirra Lemeris ringing like bells in the vaults of his mind, and those of Shinigami echoing in his ears, the Sunrise Knight turned to face the traitor. The weight of responsibility pressed down upon his shoulders and, broad as those shoulders might be, threatened to grind him into the earth.
“You were supposed to be a leader to them you know. That's what I told you. You were responsible. You were supposed to keep this kind of thing from happening to them, but look what happened.” Each word felt like a blow, and with each word the burden of command grew greater still. He’d let them down. He should have led them, should have been the pillar of strength to which they could look for guidance and instruction. He should have been a man that they could follow, and who could protect them from the dangers within as much as those from without.
Now though, as the voice of Mirra still reverberated in his thoughts, he knew that he had failed in that. To be the leader that was needed, he needed to stand aside and let them face dowm their demons.
Just as he needed to face his own.
As Senshi charged, hurling himself forward behind the flaming blade, Darrel moved aside. The Dawn Bracelet adorning his wrist gleamed gold as his fist closed around the hilt of Morning’s Edge, brushing over the sunburst on its pommel in the act. Jaw muscles flexing, eyes cast downward even as he moved back away from his reluctant adversary, he pulled it free of the scabbard with a white hot hiss.
”Let’s give them a bit of a show, shall we?”
He looked up at last, and his eyes met those of the traitor.
”You’re right.” He said, his voice barely rising above a whisper. ”No matter what excuses might be offered, the result is the same. I failed, I allowed those in my charge to be compromised, and myself to be captured.”
They came together briefly as flaming steel met gleaming. Sword strokes were exchanged in a savage flurry, yielding flashes and splashes of sparks and embers each time blade met blade. Grim of expression and dark of intent were they as their blades sought purchase in each other’s flesh, but found none. The exchange was brief but violent, but they broke contact shortly thereafter and circled as though they were wolves in the wood, trailing the tips of their dreadful steel in the dirt as they watched and waited.
”What is, is. I cannot change what has already transpired, but I can try to do what must be done from here on.” His voice did not rise to a shout, nor did it ring with emotion. As his eyes stared into the shadows of Shinigami’s cowl he spoke in a tone of icy resolve. Muscles flexed to unbearable, trembling tightness as the power that had so long been held at bay by dark Twili craft came awake in him, bidden forth by his need. The blade glared ever brighter, the chains wound about his fist and arm as well, and the Dawn Bracelet, overtaken by a radiant orange and gold aura of spirit, light and sun. Like a howling tempest the different incandescent energies spiraled together through him, intermingling, threatening to scour him away as they raged, desperate for release. He raised the point of his sword from the dirt and held it aloft before him toward his hooded foe. ”I will not go back.”
From the tip of his blade the energies discharged, erupting at Senshi in a devastating bar of raw, blazing energy. It was not the necromancer, though, who bore the brunt of his terrible power, but the dirt and rock beneath his boots. As the energy struck home in the earth it erupted outward in a concussive detonation that trembled the floor, the walls, and the ceiling of the cavernous fountain.
The Sunrise Knight looked on as the explosion caused the earth to groan and shudder. He looked on, and he waited.
Giga/GFF/Night 6
The dimly lit room seemed aroused as, as if out of a dream, sudden fighting erupted from all sides. The two men in the middle, powerful and concentrating, set the centerpiece of a battle that was soon around the entire room. The three Twili that this newcomer had brought with him seemed content to let their leader fight while they occupied himself and the other seven Light Warriors. Their exit would have to wait, it seemed.
Giga took note of the Twili's actions. They were bigger, more experienced perhaps, than those he had fought yesterday, and each carried a long black sword that did not look like anything wrought in the world of light. But there was something about the ring created by his and his allies' bracelets that seemed to slow them down. Their charge was sluggish and predictable, almost as if they had had the energy sucked out of them. 
As one jumped up to slash at Kae, Giga intercepted him in midair with a mighty and lumbering swing of his palm. The soldier went flying into the nearby wall and was slow to get back up. "No good Twilight scum," Giga spat.
This took the other two by surprise. They held back for a moment, content to analyze the situation before making another mistake like that. Giga stared on, him and Kae and Lynn all standing in between the Twili attackers and the rest of the Dawnbringers.
Suddenly, all motion was stopped as Darrel's energy hit the ground and shook the cavern for a few second. Dust and sediment fell from the ceiling as all present regained their footing.
The three Twili were biding their time, perhaps only a few seconds longer before they would strike. In the momentary ceasefire, Giga realized that he could end this fight right here and now. One ground pound and this cavern would likely be coming down on all of them. He held off for now, content to utilize that as a backup plan should something go awry.
For now he would fight.
Horus/GFF/Night 6
Suddenly, chaos. Horus squinted as the bright orange glow of Darrel's attacker glowed brightly from his swords, as if ablaze. He looked around quickly, recounting heads, looking for a weakness among his allies. Due to being the largest creature in the area, his eyes came to Giga first. He examined the goron as he swatted away a Twili, whom hit the wall behind him, hard. The impact had appeared to shake his entire being as he fell in a heap on the ground. Horus' foot slid forth as the Twili began to rise to his feet, as he launched himself forward, wind swirling around behind him, propelling him forward as he surfed on the water of the fountain. As he reached the edge of the water, he jumped, again using his wind, but not his wings, to gain altitude. Within the air, he flew a mere foot above the enormous Goron's head, facing the Twili, with bow and arrow in hand and ready. He fired once...twice...three times. before he had even passed over Giga.
As he landed at the end of his jump, he skid to a halt, looking at the Twili, then at Giga. The Twili struggled as the arrows, which glowed a bright gold in the dark, harmlessly pinned him to the wall. Horus, with his attention now on the other Twili, turned his head quickly towards them. He stopped, furrowing his brow, and looking back at Giga, whom was facing away from him. He examined the goron once again, stopping at his calf.
"Well, that's curious...' he thought to himself, 'A fleshy spot on a Goron?"
Without taking a step, he propelled himself forward, sliding upon the ground on his feet, and skidding to a halt behind Giga. He sprouted his proud, enormous wings from his back, which faintly glowed a magnificent pure white. They both spread out, not only out of instinct, but to also cover the weak spot of Giga, pretending to merely be watching his back. Feathers flew near and around him in a perfect circle, following the strong wind he had summoned as a force field. Horus hunched over, in an almost primal stance, and drew his daggers.
Senshi/Fountain/Night 6
"...but I can try to do what must be done from here on.” Darrel replayed to Senshi's charges, showing resolution to fix the problems at hand.
"Well that's good-" Senshi started to respond but was cut short as Darrel continued there bout. Darrel's Spirit Blade erupted beneath Senshi's feet, blasting a whole the the ground and throwing Senshi back. The knock back served as a blessing though as it allowed Senshi to grab on to the edge of the freshly made pit. He quickly pulled himself up, and thanks to to moment reprieve that distance granted he was able to take note of the trouble the trackers were having. 
"That idiot, who attacks a Goron head on? Well I suppose I have no choice." The area around Senshi free hand began darken as he began to fill the room with his dark power. The shire quantity of light magic filling the cave prevented his power from darkening anything more then a few inches from his left hand, but the it was still doing its job lessening the burden the the three twili. Now in better control of there sense the other two disanganged from there targets to assist there injure ally.
"That bunch ended up learning I could do that," Senshi said turning his attention back the Darrel. "I meant to keep that power a secret from the Twili for the time being, but once they have the chance to report back the Twili will probably want to make full use of it. Anyone no time to worry about things I'm sure will never come to pass. Back to the matter at hand, see I'm glad to here how willing you are two fix those two." Senshi leaped across the pit, landing a few feet to the said of Darrel and striking his sword into the ground. A shock wave of fire spread out from him in all direction halted only by the walls, water and pit. "<...because it will make it much easier for me to do so now that you've said that.>"
Polaris/ Great Fairy Fountain/ Night 6
With friends as loyal as you, Polaris, I am sure his affliction will indeed be temporary. But General, sir," Mirra responded quietly, "I tell you, we left chance behind a long time ago."
The way she said that gave Polaris pause, Mirra always seemed to know a bit more than she let on, as he strode over to re-join the group, Polaris wondered how long it would be before the Thunderbird and he crossed paths and who would be seeking out whom.
When Senshi and his crew crashed the meeting, Polaris was readying himself to fend off the Twili trackers, that was until Giga swatted the first one from the air like a gnat, sending the interloper careening into the wall with a muffled thump and sliding down to the floor in a heap. Before Polaris could make a move, a resounding blast of spirit energy courtesy of Darrel blew a massive crater in the floor knocking Senshi backwards where he was barely able to grasp the edge and pull himself back up. As things began to settle, dust and debris fell down causing a kind of cloudy haze to settle in the atmosphere. Polaris watched as a fissure spread from the edge of the hole towards the fountain, splitting the banks and spreading up through the stonework that held the water in it's pool, causing the contents of the holy spring to rush out in a miniature tidal wave.
The wave was bearing down on Darrel and Senshi, quenching a small portion of Senshi's fire shockwave, before Polaris threw up his hands effectively halting the crushing wall of water, mere feet from the two aged combatants, the waters shadow fell over the two of them, but they remained dry. Holding the liquid in place as he advanced, Polaris stepped into the wave and corkscrewed upwards to the climax of the white cap, the entirety of it freezing solid as he did so. The two trackers who were rushing at Lynn and Kae, veered towards their fallen comrade, and also to Polaris' surprise, Horus who had already tackled him. "Oh no you don't." Polaris said through clenched teeth, before diving off of the frozen wave, propelling himself to speeds he wouldn't normally be able to obtain by blasting off from the ice. Polaris crashed into the nearest tracker, slamming him into his compatriot, and sending the three of them splaying across the ground. As he pulled himself to his feet, Polaris' hands and forearms were encapsulated from finger tip to elbow in red ice. 
The tracker nearest him lunged forward, blade slicing through the air with cruel intentions. Polaris would've been cleaved in two had he not brought his red ice covered forearm up in time to parry the blow. He followed it up with a well aimed kick to the sternum, sending the grunt stumbling and gasping backwards. As they re-set themselves, Polaris waited for them to advance, and also for the rest of his companions to join in the fray.
Darrel Mytura – Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) – Sixth Night
A towering wave of fire roared outward from Senshi’s sword as he slammed it into the rock floor beneath their boots. Bracing himself, Darrel prepared to hurl himself through the inferno at full speed, but was surprised when Polaris’ timely intervention weakened the strength of the blaze. Howling flames swept over him and he could feel the searing of flesh in places, but centuries of struggle against the fiery arts of Isaac Telmar had given him the strength to persevere in the face of near immolation. The conflagration burned painfully, but he had suffered much worse. In truth he should have been thankful that Senshi had assaulted him in the manner he chose. It was a reminder of what he had yet to finish.
”.. .because it will make it much easier for me to do so now that you've said that.” Senshi’s voice echoed again in his mind. Darrel was still not sure exactly where Senshi stood, but he believed at least for the time being that he had placed himself in a precarious situation. Senshi seemed to be walking a tightrope, doing his best to offer subtle hints while openly fighting for the Interlopers. As the rest of his companions fought the Twili trackers, Darrel hoped that they had picked up on the hint as to Senshi’s intentions.
In the meantime, despite where the necromancer’s allegiances truly lay, he fought beneath a Twili banner, and so forced Darrel’s hand. He shifted Morning’s Edge to his left hand as the chains wrapped around his right fist and arm began to unwind until they hung from the manacle that had been overtaken by the golden hued Dawn Bracelet.
”You made a mistake coming here, Shinigami.” Darrel said even as he brought the end link of the chains up in front of his face in one hand, the pommel of his sword in the other. They shined briefly with a radiance that blinded those who looked on to the process, but when Darrel lowered his hand the hilt of his mighty blade was fused in the links of chains imbued with his power. The blade swung freely as Darrel grasped the chains in both fists, and all shone with a dark burnt orange glare.
The Horizon Lash.
”I’m tired of playing games. I just escaped captivity at the hands of those who battered and beat at me, tortured me, assaulted my body and mind. I’m not going back and I think you know that. So considering the numbers don’t exactly weigh in your favor, I’m not sure what you expect to gain here.” Even as he gently swung the blade at the end of his lash he looked to those allies of his that may have stood aside for the sake of propriety. “There’s no use in being polite, people. This is war, and we’re being attacked by an enemy soldier.”
He deliberately met Senshi’s eye and finished: ”Feel free to jump on in.”
Even as the words left his mouth he was swinging the chains up over his head and whipping them forward. Senshi was swift enough to jump to the side of the blade and chain as the blade embedded itself in a large rock, some distance behind that had been deposited there by Darrel's earlier explosion. The link from him, through the chains and the blade of Morning's Edge, fed energy into the stone, infusing it with power that it could not contain. With a grin, Darrel pulled mightily on the length of chains, pulling the blade and the radiant stone along behind toward Senshi's back.
Kae and Elly/GFF/Night 6
Shortly after her speech, there was still a good bit of conversing about where everyone would be going. Kae was grateful to have the support of Mirra in her endeavor. Elly wasn't planning on going anywhere else. Lynn...was still enraptured by that insidious primordial thing at war with her soul...who else would answer the call?
Jaden was undecided. She wasn't sure if he'd help her or not. Considering all that was going on in Hyrule, someone had to stay behind and help Darrel and Polaris get things done against the Twili. There was no offense here. His calling wasn't the same as hers at this time. Someday they'd be able to work together directly. But that would not be within the next 72 hours barring absolute calamity.
Which was not too far away.
With four Twili scouts in tow, Senshi walked into the Great Fairy Fountain with an air of confidence unbefitting the situation. He'd walked into a hornet's nest and kicked it over, thinking he could handle all nine members of the Daybreak.
Kae wanted to pull out all the stops on this situation, but the mortality of her condition reminded her to keep that in check. She wanted to say something, but instead left the length of rope necessary to reveal the allegiance of the traitor.
In her mind, no one could ever force her to be employed by an enemy. She'd rather die than turn her back on her country, no matter what was at stake.
The Scion saw her brother begin to circle in a tactical fashion. He had not been present at the first Light Warrior Council; Senshi had no idea who he was. Elly moved closer to her friend, doing everything she could to keep her protected. Defensive positions were taken as Starborn Edge flashed to Kae's hand. Elly drew her twin kukri. They were expecting to engage in bloody melee before their attacker was diverted. Elly gave Kae a look of assurance and peeled off to assist Polaris in dealing with auxiliaries.
Instead of directly engaging, Kae decided to call upon the Triune to bestow their blessed Valor upon the Daybreak Alliance. She lifted her voice and kept her blade ready, but remained withdrawn.
ooc: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6oM1iLJH6k
Beseeching the Three for their Divine Mercy, she allowed herself once more to be the conduit thereof. Even in her state of penitence, she believed that Nayru would not forsake her or her friends in this time of need.
[b]Jaden/GFF/Night 6[/b]
Where would he go? That was a question that nagged at Jaden for a good while. What was his role in this war? People were already treating him like the acting Chieftain of his people. This bestowed even more responsibility. It also allowed their true leader to remain hidden in the shadows. He would be proud of this clever action provided said power was not used improperly.
He felt called to go with his hero and role model, but his sister's plight also weighed on his mind. If something were to happen to her and he was not able to assist, he would never be able to live with that mistake of a choice. 
But Jaden was not able to declare his intent before the assembly was disrupted by a heavily armored man accompanied by Twili soldiers. They looked like stealth and shock ops. This was a kill or capture unit. And he had no intention of anyone being lost or killed in action unless they were of the other faction.
Jaden held his tongue, but noticed that few were paying attention to him. They favored Kae, obviously, and Lynn. And for other reasons, Giga. 
His tactics were simple in this situation. Unless this man had immense power that could eclipse nine Daybreak allies, most factors favored the Hylian forces assembled here. And the best way to scatter an enemy's forces is to take out the leader. 
He circled with Starcaller drawn and one of his morningstars in his off-hand. Activating Defiance Aura, Jaden moved to flank and charged to intercept upon Darrel's invitation. After all, there was no need to be polite, and the Twili needed to be taught a lesson after all the victories they'd taken in the past day. 
A battle cry echoed throughout the Fountain grounds in ancient Sheikah, praising the Defiant for his battle prowess. With haste, Jaden quickly closed in on Senshi's position and moved to strike with his blade at flank.
Senshi/Great Fairy Fountain/Night 6
Darrel made his intentions clear as their blades crashed in a blinding fury. Either unaware or not caring of Senshi's hidden intention he wasn't going to pull any punches, and it showed. Using just his flaming sword Senshi was having to hard of a time keeping up with the ages old knight to respond. Making matter worse for him was keeping his concentration split so he can keep an eye on what his escorts where doing. It was this slip focus that would cost him as the bolder Darrel threw slammed into his back knocking him half way across the room and causing him to drop his sword. The flaming sword landed in in the edge of the fairy fountain, the blade submerged enough to slow fill the room with steam but with enough of the blade still exposed to the air the the flames could constantly try to restore themselves.
"A mistake, Darrel?" He said after slowing lifting himself up to his knees, stopping to cough up some blood. "I've made a whole hell of a lot of mistakes. Hell they're pretty damn famous in our circle. This is far from one of them though." He cough up blood once more as he got back up to his feet. He wiped way the blood dripping from his mouth and continued his declaration. "No, this is where I finally start doing things right."
Before he could take a single step he felt a killing intent coming from behind him so strong even his weaken mind was keen to it. He quickly spun around lifting his left arm. A metal clang rang out and the Sheikah's sword struck the darkness encompassing Senshi's left hand. Quickly before the Sheikah could attack with his other weapon Senshi pushed away the sword and pointed his some how metallic fist at the new Light Warrior head. An over-sides arrow head attacked to a chain fired out from the darkness, yet despite begging at point blank range, just missed. The chain-link spear flew up into the ceiling sticking something hiding in the steam just above Kae. The Chain quickly retracted and the fourth Twili that had stay back early fell to the ground stunned, his head slitting open as he landed on the hard rock floor.
"About time that one showed up." Senshi smirked as he fell to his knees exhausted. He removed his hood and replaced the necklace the binded his power. He held up his now unshourded left hand relieving the hookshot he had taken from the Castle Vault days ago. "I never let them know about this little thing. Know if you guys can hurry up and kill those guys so I can get back to trying to save Lynn and Kae.
Mirra Lemeris (in Fairy form) / Desert Fairy Fountain / Night 6
"Now if you guys can hurry up and kill those guys so I can get back to trying to save Lynn and Kae..."
Mirra zipped from the entrance to the cave leading out of the Fountain into the melee. She hovered over Darrel's shoulder as he looked down at the kneeling Senshi, and saw Giga, Polaris, and Horus containing the three remaining Twili on the other side of the room. Kae stood in a corner with Elly praying the Goddesses' mercy, and indeed Mirra felt the graces of Courage and Wisdom coursing through her more brightly. She summoned the Wisdom to see unclouded by emotion, and the Courage to tell her friends what they didn't want to hear. The man's Anti-Light spell stung into her mind, piercing the veil of the Dawn Aura with an unholy sorcery. She recognized him from the Battle for Hyrule Castle, where he had also tried to use the powers of Darkness to aid the forces of Light, by healing Mirra of her injuries from the explosion that unleashed Taden Hothnight. That plan had turned out about as well as this latest one.
She wanted to lecture the double-agent for letting his own sense of shame and regret interfere with the Alliance's mission, for letting his own self-pity lead him into the depths of black magic, where no good deed goes unpunished. But the liberated Sunrise Knight was on the warpath, and the Alliance must speak with one voice. So she did not speak at all.
'Darrel, look at him,' Mirra sent to Darrel's mind. 'The man is on his knees. I more than anyone have reason to loathe this deceptive bastard, for he is the reason Rukh brought me to this place. The poison of his dark magic is the reason I wear this Fairy Mask. He is the reason Rukh was captured by the Twili! And yet, were it not for fate bringing me to this Fountain, you would still be languishing in that torture chamber. You see? One can never know the designs of the Goddesses, nor name them good and evil. For some reason, Senshi refuses to accept this, but he is not loyal to Grem. He tried to save me with his Shadow magic, just like he's trying to save Kae and Lynn by siding with the Twili, but he does not see that his use of the dark artes will only lead to more suffering--that is all they exist in this world to accomplish. We have to bring him back into the Light, and help him do what must be done to rid himself of the guilt that weighs so heavy on his mortal heart.'
Mirra floated through the air from Darrel's shoulder and landed near Senshi's. She expanded her own Dawn Aura to encompass him, enduring the pain, sharp yet dull, of his unholy magicks conflicting with her Sun essence. She drew heavily on the grace of Farore invoked by Kae's summons when she faced the Sunrise Knight, praying to Goddess of Courage as she put herself between the Horizon Lash drawn against the misguided necromancer whom she both feared and hoped for. In the back of her mind, it was almost as if she could hear Rukh encouraging her, but she knew that was impossible now.
'Trust me, Darrel. Command him to kill these three Twili himself, and to tell us the whole truth. Confer with the others if you doubt me, but I can see into this man's heart. He frets for Lynn and Kae, but there is more to it than that. As our leader, you must assume the worst about him in order to protect us, but as an empath, I know when someone is acting out of love.'
Senshi/GFF/Night 6
Of all things a fairy zipped over the Senshi and for reasons he couldn't possibly understand, shielding him from any farther attacks. The fairy seem to stair at Darrel saying nothing, but you don't grow up with a mother like his without knows what was going on here. He calmed his mind and began to focus on Darrel's and the fairies mind, both to find out what was being sad about them and the teach them all a very important lesson about telepathy he had drilled into him rather painfully from a young age. It wasn't secure.
Though physically beaten and his powers still only partially restored, being unable to move made focusing much easier and he as still able to pick up parts of what was being said, though instantly he wished he hadn't. He missed the first part of what was said but it was still clear to him that this fairy was the women he killed while trying to save the previous night. The implication of that, and how it would effect what he was about to save weren't things he took into account when he created this plan. It could cause the others to doubt his ability to pull it off, no it made him doubt his ability to do so. It was only because he knew this new path was the only why he could redeem himself in his own mind, and because it was the path he should have always been on that gave him the will to press forward with it.
Senshi finally decided to break the silence, "ok before anyone says anything else, there are three very important things I need to say. First, never assume someone can't listen into telepathic communications. Even marginally proficient psychics can easy drop if they know how. It's why I use it sparingly and speak just as cryptically with it as a do with out. It's also part of why I've always focus most of my own ability on creating a mental barrier and why I recommend those of you capable to learn to do the same."
"Second, if I could kill those four I would have already. They didn't know about the hookshot but my two real weapons are know to the Twili and they'd wounds they'd leave would let the Twili know I'm helping you guys. The reasons why I can't afford for that the happen should already be apparent to all of you if someone did what I told and passed a long a message I gave her to Phoenix," he said briefly looking over a Kae.
"Lastly," he briefly paused and looked towards to fairy that was shielding him, his mask of confidence giving way to an expression and tone of remorse. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, I truly am. I really was trying to save you, I even sacrificed some of my own life force to do so. I don't know why it failed, I assume it's because I was trying to use my scythe in a way I've never attempted before a failed from lack of competency. I know there's nothing I can do to make things right and I don't say any of this expecting forgiveness or anything other then you complete hatred for me. I say this because it means what I am about to declare will be by all rights offensive to you and I am not ignorant of that fact. Despite this this is the path I must take."
He paused briefly to let his words sink in with the others and to briefly gather his own thoughts. "Some of you already know this but my father was one of the first Light Warriors. Hell if you ask him sometimes he'll claim they were named after him because of his sword but that's a complete lie so don't believe him. My point I grew up around the greatest hero's this land has ever known. I was raised, nurtured and trained by them. They were my protectors, my family and my role models, and I wanted to be just like them. When I reach adulthood I finally thought I'd have my chance. Another battle broke out in Hyrule and I ran head first towards it. The problem was I was young and stupid and only focused on making myself a hero. I also wanted to make damn sure I did so by my own merit and not because of who I was related to so I hid my face, and created a fake persona. My true sin though was thinking being a hero meant being "the" hero. I refused to work with the other Light Warriors, all knew ones at the time, and went off on my own. I failed to realize all those Light Warriors I idealized as a child were never fighting to be hero's to but to protect something else. Eventually a young mage join those new Light Warriors. A charismatic silver haired teen with complete mastery of ice. What I would have known that they could have that I was really Taden Hothnight, just in a new "good" persona. A persona that lasted about a long as of you could guess, and if he had been acting like the big brother I'm suppose to be and not some glory hogging jackass then maybe none of that would have happen to..." He stopped himself realizing his emotions were getting the better of him and would throw what needed to be said off track.
"The end result if Taden hurt someone I love so it could push his new persona over the edge letting his true self regain control. It was something I could have prevented and I knew it, but I was to immature to admit it. I didn't want to admit it was my actions that caused my failure and I didn't want to blame Taden because I feared hating him and become his toy as a result. Instead I blamed the other Light Warriors for not looking after her and I blamed what I claimed was my own lack of power. My attempt to rectify the latter is what lead me to become cursed and possessed, a situation that I'm sure sounds familiar to many of you here. As for the former, I found myself constantly looking down on the Light Warriors, counting their sins and failure, mine included, and always pointing out why they shouldn't exist. Though misguided as my reason for doing so were, what I realized as a result was not wrong, and it has lead me to take actions that that I do regret by know where right. It also made me realize the curse that so many of us have had to bare. So many Light Warriors, for all there sacrifice, for all they've done for this world, have been rewarded with nothing but pain and suffering, and I'm tied of it. Finally I saw those to girls, I saw who similar there plights were to the to people I've failed the most in my life and I finally realized what I should have been doing my whole life. I am not going to let another generation suffer like all the past ones had. I will not like Taden, the Fulmens, a Ma, Grem, or anyone one else cause any of you to suffer the way we all have in the past. If I must be struck by a thousand arrows, have my soul banished to hell, or go to war with the Goddess themselves, I will look after you all the way I should have always been doing. Whether you want me to or not."
He paused once again to let his words set in and reset his voice that had gradually raised in volume of the course of his declaration. "Now originally my plan was to deal with Lynn first, but either of my plan to help her was keep my from getting Kae into the Sacred Realm which from what I managed to over here I a much more pressing matter. The good news is getting The Door of Time open and the Master Sword drawn won't be a problem. However I've seen her drawn the Sword twice and not once open the portal, and I can't help but guess the reason why is the three little stone that were always missing. So, can any of you get the Zora Sapphire and Goron Ruby?"
Darrel Mytura – Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) – Sixth Night
Darrel looked across at Shinigami, sheltered in the warm, protective light cast off by the faerie body of Mirra Lemeris. The fairy body that Shinigami had forced her to assume. He stood still, listened carefully, and considered from all angles. He fluctuated between deep pity and rising anger seemingly by the sentence, and yet he remained silent until the man finished.
”Do not presume to lecture me, Shinigami.” Darrel said firmly, not with the iron edge that his voice usually possessed, but not exactly warm and friendly either. He was never certain how to deal with situations such as these. Shinigami had betrayed them, or so it had seemed. Now he betrayed the Interlopers. Could Darrel trust this man with the lives of those within the Daybreak Alliance? Was any potential future reward worth the risks, immediate and future? Shinigami seemed to take it for granted that Darrel would accept him, but how could he when it might mean the lives of himself and his allies if they were wrong?
”And do not speak of those here assembled as though they are children, either. Some are as old as you, or older, and even those that are not are due more respect than you offer.” He stood at the precipice, he knew that his allies, most of them anyway, would accept his position on this matter, and even those who did not would live with his decision anyway. He drew a deep breath. ”We do not need you to watch over us or protect us, and to assume otherwise is arrogance of the highest order. You are useless to us unless you can shed the burdens and prejudices of your past and stand with us.”
He ignored for now the matter of the Sacred Realm. Kae was the divine instrument, and matters involving the Goddesses and the higher planes were her province. He could deal only in matters concerning the world in which they lived.
”So you mislead them to protect another?” He came to it at last, the matter most immediately at hand. He could not simply give Senshi Ma his trust, not after all that had transpired. He had other lives to think of, beyond simply his own, and Senshi would have to understand that. ”There is another solution, unless you are too concerned with getting your hands dirty, which is one thing I will never believe about you.
“If you are so afraid of being identified by the wounds you leave upon their bodies,” he took a deep breath and held Senshi’s eyes with his own raptor gaze, ”Then leave no bodies behind.”
His eyes flickered up to his allies. The Twili would not leave the fountain alive, that had already been determined. They had no means to save themselves from the forces arrayed against them. It was only a matter of how the deed would be done.
Senshi/GGF/Night 6
"Yes they do!" Senshi fired back against Darrel's claim that these new light warriors didn't need someone to look after them. "You, Chamder, and from what I can tell Polaris may be exceptions but everyone else here is there real age. They're kids, some not even 20. Some may be soldiers but we both know that's not the same as being a Light Warrior. They will suffer the same way so many of us have in the past and I do not intent to let that happen again. It's not about me being arrogant, it's not about looking down on them. I just don't want to seem any of them have to go through what we've had to."
"As for misleading them, I've told nothing but the truth this entire..." He stopped himself realize he was about to fall into his old habits. "No I guess I can't really say that. I always tell half the truth and let everyone else make assumptions about the rest. I could justify it but at the end of the day I do that to lead them to false conclusions. Some times it was to pass messages in secret, like the message I pass along to Kae at the castle or the reason I never used my scythe while fighting you, but more often then not its too keep my true intentions secret. I guess that's pretty damn selfish of me isn't it."
Senshi took a moment to reflect on his own words. It was true the some times there were reasons for he secret, such as when he his the Sage of Storm coin, but most of the time it was just him trying to stay distant from the others. If anything he was just forcing people to think he was a bastard out of pure habit, but then again that's what he was trying to change now. "Ok, I don't know how you think I can eradicate a body but whatever, that doesn't matter. You want to morons dead by my hand lend me a knife. I'll cut there thoughts and drop them down that pit you were nice enough to create. That shouldn't make you trust me though, hell you know me well enough to know that. The thing is, I don't really want you to. Playing both sides and always getting someone to trust you on both, that's a game to much like one Taden likes to play and that's not something I want to be. No, no matter what you decide here I want you all to look at me with suspicion. Always look at me like the guy who switched sides twice and may do it again when its convenient. I just want you all to know that regardless of what games I play, my goal will always be what I just stated. To make sure none of you have to suffer like any of us have in the past."
Mirra Lemeris / Desert Province / Late Night 6
Mirra felt Senshi groping through her mind, eavesdropping on her telepathy with Darrel. 'In the absence of trust, you resort to listening at keyholes,' she whispered into him. She continued to speak into his mind after he testified to the Light Warriors.
'It would be an honor to welcome you into the Alliance, Senshi, but even if we all were to embrace you without suspicion, you cannot wear the Band of Dawn until you remember how to trust. The truth is, I have already forgiven you for what happened last night, in the Courtyard. You were forgiven long before it came to pass. And I have forgiven myself. I do not let Taden's Ghost haunt me.'
Mirra floated away from Senshi, taking her protective aura with her. 'Can you say the same?' 
She rose nine feet in the air and cast a light down on Senshi's hooded face, reflecting against the waters to show his hidden eyes. The others were gathered around them, their weapons drawn against the three Twili trackers huddled nearby. Mirra spread her beam of light until their deadly arms glistened with gold, then called out in a full voice, the first she had spoken since Senshi had arrived.
"My Allies, who will give this man their blade?"
Lynn Hothlight/GFF/Night 6 (before Senshi's rant)
For the most part, Lynn held back from the sudden brawl, contended with observing as things progressed, knowing that her erstwhile allies were assured a victory with the odds arrayed against them. Polaris caught her eye when he exerted his influence over the fountain's very waters to extinguish Senshi's flamewave. The Zora General launched himself into all three Twili troopers. His arms wreathed themselves in red ice, just in time to block a blow from a recovered Interloper. Polaris sent the aggressor flying backward with a stern kick.
Lynn took the moment to rush forward into the fray, her swords silently surrendering the safety of their sheaths. A wave of confidence washed over her, a familiar feeling she associated immediately with Kae's abilities, joined two steps later by a burst of power in her physicality that she did not recognize. Nonetheless, the aid was appreciated. Calling on these new reserves of power she launched herself into the air, spinning mid-leap and soaring over Polaris' head.
In passing the Zora she struck at him lightning quick with both blades, stabbing in arc forward with intent to leave a two gaping holes through his chest, one giving way into his frozen heart. She landed atop the Twili Polaris had kicked back, her twin blades piercing straight through his chest to bury into the solid rock underneath. This magical boost to her strength was substantial, indeed, and she wrenched the weapons upward, leaving the Twili to gurgle out the last of his life as his blood filled his lungs.
She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, hoping her eyes to catch a similar sight in the Zora General.
Horus/GFF/Night 6
As the conversation went on among their attackers, Darrel and Mirra, it became apparent that there was little cause for alarm anymore for the time being. He rose to stand up straight, wind slowing to a stop, as his wings folded at rest once more on his back. He fought a small headache as he paced aimlessly around the room, barely listening to the conversation. Bits and pieces of the negotiations before him were absorbed, as almost all of his thoughts were replaced with Sha'Tive's. Horus, in attempt to feign normality, stood at a ready position, with his hands behind his back and his eyes closed, focusing on what could only be described as a cluster**** in his brain. The thoughts suddenly dispersed and disappeared, and his focus was renewed in the physical world just in time to hear Mirra ask of something that struck Horus as rather strange.
"My Allies, who will give this man their blade?" the fairy requested.
Without his eyes leaving the attacker that had been speaking to Mirra, Horus swiftly unsheathed one of his daggers, and tossed it towards the man, whom was strangely familiar, but names failed him. The airborne dagger whizzed through the air, coming to a sudden halt, impaled into the earth at the man's feet. In the time it had taken the dagger to make its trip, Horus had his bow ready, aimed at the man before him. His hawk-like eyes scanned the man's movements as he remained motionless, with only the bow quivering in the wind.
"Have fun with that, whoever you are." Horus said in an oddly cold manner, glancing at the dagger, and back at the man.
Polaris/ Great Fairies Fountain/ Night 6 (after Lynn tries to ke-bab Polaris)
As the soldier stumbled backwards clutching at his chest, muffled footsteps and the faint swish swish of fluttering clothing behind him caught Polaris' attention. Intrigued he chanced a quick backward glance. Nothing there. As he turned back towards his prey it was the unfriendly glint of a pair of matte black blades that he saw. With both weapons swooping towards his breast in a tight arc it was all Polaris could do to keep from being skewered straight through the heart. Spinning to the side, he managed to avoid one of the swords entirely, the other not so much. The cold steel swept along his side slicing through flesh just as silently and quickly as it had the air leaving a formidable gash extending from just below his right collar bone and curving across his tattooed chest. Grimacing from the sudden burst of pain the general fought back a curse as he lost his footing and toppled to the ground. Throughout the ordeal he managed to hold his tongue, determined that he wouldn't give his cowardly assailant the satisfaction of hearing an exclamation of pain.
Looking up from where he lay, Polaris saw Lynn astride the soldier he'd kicked where just moments before she was nowhere near the fighting. Grunting as he scrambled back to his feet Polaris was about to search out his attacker in order to bring him low, when Lynn tore her twin blades from the soldiers corpse and looked back at him with an eager, almost expectant look on her face. Realization flooded through him. He need look no further, it was she who was to blame. 
Polaris knew all too well the games Lynn played, he knew that if he attacked her, she'd feign ignorance and most likely try to place him as the instigator in front of all the others. There would be questions asked and accusations thrown around, with what was transpiring with Senshi, they REALLY didn't need yet another distraction. The wise choice would be to bide his time and look for an opportunity at retribution later on, but as he looked down at the cut she'd given him watching as the rivulets of blood solidified already freeze drying his wound, all thoughts of subtlety went out the window. "I've had enough of your games whench!" As he said this, the red ice that covered his arms fell to the ground writhing like twin crimson serpents and darted towards her fangs bared. Pulling the thunderbirds feather that Mirra had given him the night before from his pouch he remembered how Mirra had said that it would increase the speed, balance and leaping abilities of whomever possessed it. Polaris had much more malicious intentions for its use than that, clutching the jagged piece of metal in his hand he removed the barriers from his mind and allowed his magic to flow freely through it until a long hand and a half blade of solid red ice took shape around it, the quill buried in the hilt.
Twirling the weapon through the air Polaris was pleased by the red aura that it created surrounding him entirely. Feeling faster than ever before Polaris advanced, his scales now blood red in the swords glow.
Giga/GFF/Night 6
OoC:So all that Polaris/Lynn stuff happens while there is still fighting going on, right? Are we just gonna assume that everyone else doesn't see what happens between those two?
IC:
Giga sighed as he realized that, at least for the moment, the fighting had ceased. Him and four allies had the two of the remaining Twili left, while the other was still off by himself giving a wary eye to his leader, the one everyone seemed to know so well. Horus slid off his leg and Giga gave him a knowing smile, a symbol of trust, but it seems Horus' thoughts were elsewhere as he gave just as much attention to him as he did to everyone else: none.
His attention was grabbed as the man Darrel had been referring to as Senshi began to speak. He spoke of telepathy, hookshots, Light Warriors, very old age and centuries-old mistakes he was trying to amend for. 
And all at once, Giga realized exactly what he had gotten himself into. These were warriors, some of them the finest in all of Hyrule's history, trained in war and combat, to defend the weak and destroy evil. They knew why they were here, were confident in their abilities. In the last day, he had picked up that Polaris was some sort of general, that Lynn had been infused by benevolent forces, that Kae was a Scion, that Jaden was a Sheikah chieftain, that Mirra was some sort of divine envoy, that Darrel was one of the greatest of these "Light Warriors" to ever have lived, and though Horus had remained mysteriously silent on his past, it wouldn't have surprised Giga to find out that he was some sort of demon-controlled ice-mage-specter, but that was just crazy talk. 
Who was he compared to such men? How did he even get here, into this place, into this situation. It was luck and size, hell the only reason he had been allowed into that meeting was probably because he was with Daurubia. Now what did he have? He was barely over 20, while some of these others could be over 2000 for all he knew.
He looked down at his bracelet as it pulsated lightly, a symbol of chance that he was even here in the first place. It struck him suddenly that this Senshi was right, he was not fully aware of what he had gotten himself into. He was a Light Warrior now, by chance or by destiny, the responsibility was his, and this bracelet wrapped around his arm would never let him forget it.
There was no turning back now. Before his purpose had been singular: forge the Hylian's sword. Now he had a new job, and one far more dangerous: he must fight.
He reentered the conversation at the sound of the Goron Sapphire. He honestly did not know where that item of antiquity had gone, but thought silently that Gor Dal likely did back home. They continued with their quips, neither one truly making much sense and neither one seeming to gain an advantage over the other, all the while the two Twili were looking over at their fallen ally, scared out of their minds of the realization that their own leader seemed poised to kill them and then dispose of the bodies.
He had nothing to do or say as he watched Horus throw Senshi a knife and then pull his bow out aimed directly towards the man. Horus obviously had trust issues, but then again, no one else here seemed to trust this man so perhaps it was wise. Wanting to speed up the process, Giga reached down and shoved both the Twili through the air to land with a thud face-down at Senshi's feet.
He supposed it was time for this man to show where his loyalties lied.
Darrel Mytura - Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) - Sixth Night
"I'm not sure your help or guardianship is wanted, Shinigami, or could be trusted if it was." Darrel said coolly as Giga deposited the remaining Interlopers at the necromancer's feet. Darrel held his blade up, pointing it toward the other. "I don't think you fully understand the situation here. At present, we’re not on the same side, and that is your doing. Right now the question is not whether you can help our cause.
"We're trying to determine whether or not we dare let you live to betray us a second time.”
He looked down at the Twili subdued at Senshi’s feet. Even this would not be enough to judge him loyal or trustworthy.
”I’m sorry for your friend, I truly am. I know what it is to be held in the grasp of Lord Grem, but if it comes to it the life of one is hardly worth the entire realm, the entire world.” He leaned closer, his expression resolute. ”The hero in me died when my wife died. Now I do what must be done, and sometimes in war the individual must be sacrificed for the preservation of the many.
“In short I don’t care if what happens here this night puts your friend at risk. You came to us, and you brought these Twili with you. We will not do your dirty work for you. You led these Interlopers to their deaths and their blood will be on your hands, or I'll send them back to the Twili army alive to report your treachery directly to Lord Grem himself.”
Two Ill-fated Twili/GFF/Night 6
The giant goron shoved the remaining pair forward so they fell at the triple-crosser's feet. The previously captured Mytura ordered a show from the traitor, demanding he slay them both, as the only living members of the Twili task force.
One man managed to barely lift his head to look up at Senshi after Darrel finished his little rant. Fear and sadness touched his face. The way these Hylians wielded elemental magic was like nothing he had ever seen, being raised in the Dusk-infused kingdoms of the Twili. These people were problems for the magicians, or entire divisions, not one tactical team, let alone a single foot-soldier.
"Please... I'm just following orders. I have a wife and kids to support back in the homeland, my soldier's wages are all they have. I just do what I'm told! I don't hate you Hylians, I don't want to destroy your land. I follow orders! Please... I never wanted to invade, I signed up in the army to defend the Dusk Throne and to feed my family, not to slaughter another nation!" His rant was punctuated with breaks as he fought back tears and collected his thoughts, mind on the wife he expected to never kiss again and the sons he expected to never raise. At the end of it, he broke down and began to sob.
His partner, however, pulled himself from the ground to stand and meet death with some dignity. "Go ahead!" he shouted at Senshi, present his chest for the dagger's blade. "You Hylians are all monsters. Look at this, executing two prisoners of war in cold blood? I've not heard of Lord Grem ever committing such an atrocity! Go ahead, you bastards, I'll die knowing that good will prevail over evil! So, go ahead! Do it!" He gestured to the loud-mouthed Twili dead from Senshi's hookshot. "Prove him right!"
Lynn Hothlight/GFF/Night 6 (still earlier)
Polaris bled from his chest a quickly freezing slurry, but was otherwise not as damaged as she had intended. However, the look of anger on his face misplaced her disappointment with concern. His angry voice added worry. "I've had enough of your games wench!" The ice sheathing his forearms fell free, transmuting into red ice snakes which slithered forward to attack her. She met each with a wakazashi as they struck, slicing them in half.
She faced Polaris as he bore down on her with a glowing red sword. "I can still feel you, Polaris. We are still connected, through him." Her voice was low, permitting only Polaris to hear it. "The corruption will end. A cancer must be removed. A tumor needs excised; a boil lanced. A gangrenous limb is amputated. You are a blight on Hyrule, and I am going to administer the cure."
Suddenly, she noticed that the halved ice-snakes had grown a head or tail as needed. She now faced four smaller ice-snakes, and Polaris still threatened her with his boreal sword. 
"Kae!" she shouted, gaining the Scion's attention. "Polaris! I can feel the lich's pull upon him still! Stop him!"
As she spoke to Kae, she watched Senshi's hookshot pull a freshly made Twili corpse from the shadows.
Horus/GFF/Night 6
As the Twili spoke, Horus' grip on his bow loosened. With his mind momentarily free of the witch, he was thinking clearer than before, as the Twili's words sobered him up to what was about to unfold before him. He had no idea that an actual execution was about to be done here, and the fact that the Twili were merely doing their jobs only made it harder for Horus to resist speaking up. He looked at himself, realizing that he still wore the make-up on his body. He himself appeared as a Twili, all thanks to one. 
Then it hit him.
His only friend was a Twili. What right did he have to be prejudice against them? His only excuse was mere rumors about the death of his parents, possibly being the fault of the Twili. But he had no true evidence, and his reasons for hating them were flimsy and baseless...Yet, he had already killed at least a dozen of them since his arrival from the skies the previous morning. Horus had no idea if the others shared his conflict, but if they did, he would be the first to speak it.
"Wait!" He barked at the man whom held his dagger.
"Let me speak to him. I have a question." Horus said, moving fast enough to beat the man to the punch if the execution was to continue.
He looked into the Twili's eyes, not with hatred, but with open-minded curiosity. He quickly scanned the man head-to-toe, before looking back into his eyes, then spoke. His tone was quiet enough for only the Twili to hear; nearly whispering.
"Have you heard anything about an undercover Twili cleric, who goes by the name...Isaac?"
Senshi/GFF/Night 6
<You're words are kinder then I deserve. Though if the band you speak of is what creates this barrier then it's best that I wasn't able to receive it, as I possessed powers that neutralist light. As for my history with Taden, in truth I wish I could say the same. For years I told myself I would not give into the hate a felt for him as to avoid becoming his pawn. Unfortunately such feeling can not simply be suppressed and it just caused my anger to be misplaced. Regardless what I came here to do was not because of Taden, I merely wish to avoid history from repeating itself with a new generation of victims.>
Senshi picked up the dagger that was lent to him giving paused to listen to Darrel's rants. The knight had taken a stance Senshi did not expect from him but sounded familiar enough to let him know that he was going to have to be a little more forceful. "You know I've heard a stance like that before Darrel, it was when I was a small child. One of the Light Warriors couldn't help but see the others a soldiers and measure the sacrifices against the needs of the war. And sure why not, most of those here are Shiekah, the other I'm considered with is technically a soldier despite her young age so they're all expendable if it means saving some kings ass right. Well back then that Light Warrior always had another calling him out for it and since I always looked up to the latter I know well enough to call bull. These aren't toy soldiers and you damn well know it. How his what's happening to Lynn or Kae helping the greater good. How is what happened to Ayala, or your family for the sake of the many. Don't youdare try to rationalize whats happening to any of the Light Warriors past or present just because you've become a cynical bastard. You said you're willing to do what's necessary well so am I. The difference while's your goal is to win a damn war mine is to look after people. My methods may seem shady some times but we both know its because I'm working for the best possible outcome. And as much as it pains me to admit it, what I did back in the incident with the Oracle was the right thing."
"Besides you clearly don't understand what's going on here. I'm not asking for permission. I will be helping them, I will be looked out for them. If there is a sacrifice to be made it will be mine and no one else. I came here to inform you of my intentions only because doing these things from the shadows would be much more difficult. If I am to be rejected then it is to the Shadows I will return but my intentions will remain unchanged. Besides you're wrong about needing my help. Kae needs to get into the Sacred Realm, and while you may not be away of it, the ocarina that's been sitting in the castle vault the past few hundred years was the one Saria made. Zelda allowed me to keep the other one." Having said he piece he turned to the two Twili that the Goron was nice enough to carry over to him, but before acting stopped to rant some more.
"You know what, **** it, you're wrong. I didn't betray a single damn person here. In the single day I was working under the Twili not once did I act again any of the Light Warriors. Hell I even managed to acquire one of the Light Blessing and deliver it and the spirit ore to Phoenix. Then in the middle of that battle I damn near died trying to stop Taden and Kinslayer. Everything I did yesterday was for the sake of the people here. As for bringing these Twili against you. They were hunting you down anyway, I used them as a means to find you while dropping myself off the Twili's radar for a while. The four of them combined aren't enough to match any one of you. Besides if I had truly come here with hostile intent why would I attack you while anything except this!" Senshi pull a small metal shard from his pouch, and formed it into the Scythe of Shadow. A weapon that he intentionally neglected to use against the Spirit Knight despite the elemental advantage it would have provide him.
He turned his attentions back to the Twili, one pleading for his life and the other seemingly trying to guilt him. The second claiming it his actions would only prove there vocal companion right. Senshi responded without even taking the time needing to blink, "he was right. It's not personal though, I'm simply willing to do what's needed to protect those I care about. If I'm damned as a result, well I deserve worse the hell anyway. Though thank you for confirming a theory I had about your culture." He moved to slit the firsts throat but was stopped when the one who let him the dagger pushed him the side. The slight stumble send a sharp pain down Senshi injured back causing him to let own a forcefully muffled groan and miss what the reason the Light Warrior had knocked him to the side. "Damn it, what the hell was that for?"
Darrel Mytura – Great Fairy Fountain (Desert) – Sixth Night
Darrel sighed wearily at Senshi’s passionate rebuttal. Perhaps he was right, perhaps Darrel had grown too hard, too cynical and jaded. He hadn’t always felt as he did now, but it was difficult to maintain the same belief in and hope for humanity when one’s eyes beheld, over and over, the horrors that Darrel’s had. It was not easy to maintain one’s sense of the inherent nobility of people when the losses piled higher and higher with each passing year and every effort to fight back against evil devastated the land seemingly beyond its capacity to recover. It was not easy when in the very best of times the forces of darkness could find their way to the woman he’d loved more than life simply to hurt him. 
He exhaled and held up one hand slowly to stay Senshi’s own, realizing in that moment that Horus had already moved to intercept.
”You may well be right about me, Shinigami. Perhaps I have lived too long and grown too cold.” He admitted at last in a voice so quiet that those around him would have to strain to hear. He suddenly felt very tired, sapped of the strength of will that his anger had given him. He detached the sword from the end of the lash, sheathed it, and then wound the chains back around his fist and forearm. ”And if you can be right about me then perhaps these Twili, too, can be right about us.
“We have some time here yet. Perhaps we need to discuss the fate of these Interlopers further. They are not Maydni, nor are they Lord Grem.” He looked from where the two Twili stood awaiting their sentence and then back to Senshi. ”I will do what I have to do for victory in this struggle if all else fails, but perhaps the situation is not yet so dire as it seemed looking out from behind the bars of a Twili cell.”
Kae/GFF/Night 6
There were many options that others proposed to assist her in her journey. 
Senshi was attempting to redeem himself, and Kae was at least relieved at that, but from what she knew and what she had theorized about breaching the veil, it would simply take too much time to do what he had suggested. Also, if the Door of Time opened, she could be playing right into Twili hands with that. 
She had to use something that the heretics could not in order to breach. And she'd only need one or two items with her plan instead of having to run all across Hyrule to get them. The Scion, even with sufficient help, did not think it possible to do in two days' time.
"Regarding the heretics doomed to death, deal with them swiftly. Their hand has been dealt and they are beyond redemption. While I do appreciate the plan you've proposed, there are too many factors involved to succeed within the time I've got left. My plan is very high-risk, but it will get my team into the Sacred Realm a lot faster. Who knows what will need to be done in there to accomplish our objectives? Time is not on my side, and I don't have time to bleed-"
Suddenly, Lynn was calling for her help as it seemed that Polaris and she had gotten into an altercation. Considering all that had happened, she buried her face in her hands for a moment and cried out for mercy from her Patroness.
"Blessed Nayru, give me the discernment necessary!"
She didn't know what to believe, and while Lynn's plea did seem sincere, it shocked her that friends would fight one another. What could have sparked this?
Elly shouted at Kae as she moved toward the scuffle to stop what she was doing, but the Scion waved her off. She took off full speed to stand between both Polaris and Lynn.
"Lynn, you know I'd come to your side in just about anything, but you have no idea how much it hurts me to see you two fighting! I don't care who's tainted by what in this case. I'm $@&!ing dying, damnit! And if I succumb to this, I want to go out knowing that there will still be a Hyrule left for those who come afterward!"
Kae's glance turned to both of them for a moment, and then switched frequently as she was talking. Her tone was emphatic, quick-paced, and laced with pain. Elly covered her face with her palm and began to also move toward Kae. Jaden kept his distance from the middle, but advanced toward Polaris. He noticed that his hero was wounded with a fair bit of seriousness.
"Not only does this risk the integrity of our alliance, but it also plays right into the hands of our enemies. They're not decimating one another. If we're tainted, we should use that taint and turn it into a strength until we're able to cure it! If we kill each other off, we're doing their job for them. Save your differences for after the war's been won. There's too much at stake to kill each other now! I don't care who's at fault for this...but if either of you wish to continue, you'll have to strike me down to do so."
Her being became suffused with lunar energies to aid in her defense as she whispered a brief prayer for providence. This was a risky gambit, and in Elly's eyes it was downright foolish. With Kae two days away from death's doorstep, she seemed like quite the fatalist.
"General! You're wounded. What is going on here?"
Jaden interjected while still keeping a healthy distance. There was much to observe and he had to assess threats, especially since his sister put herself at risk.
IC: Mirra Lemeris / Desert Province / Late Night 6
Mirra called down to Horus from her perch above the Allies' heads.
'Listen to the Scion, Horus. This is war. If we let them live, this one will continue following orders, and that one will continue his crusade against us. Even if they were our prisoners, and not aggressors, we have seen how the Interlopers treat their captives. If you want to interrogate them, proceed. Otherwise, do not lend Senshi your knife only to hinder him in its use.'
Suddenly, Kae leapt between Polaris and Lynn, creating a second stand-off just after Darrel and Senshi's had been defused. It didn't take Mirra long to deduce what had happened. She left Darrel to deal with Senshi and Horus, then called out to Polaris from across the chamber, zooming to his side to float by his shoulder.
'You have nothing to hide, Polaris. Do not let the Hated provoke you; even now he wears Lynn's body like a cloak. If you attack her, Jaden and Kae are under oath to defend her, and right now that could mean Kae's life. Let Garo's Blessing do its work, keeping him locked inside her. Lynn is not herself, and she won't be until she is purged of the Hated as you were purged last night. Taking up arms against one another is precisely what he wants.'
Mirra turned from Polaris to Kae as she started glowing with a lunar aura. Even in her state, the Scion was brave enough to put herself between two of her closest Allies to protect them from each other.
"Be careful, Kae. And that goes for everyone. Be wary of this Sheikah," she said, raising her voice so the others could hear.
"When Rukh and I were at the Arbiter's Grounds, we saw Taden use Lynn to steal Garo's Blessing, and Rukh saw her imbibe it over Lake Hylia to imprison him in her subconscious. He lingers yet underneath the surface, but she is still our Ally. Even if we can't know who speaks from her mouth, we have to assume that Lynn Annei is in there somewhere. We have to protect her from herself--for Annei, and for the Alliance."
Mirra trained her aura into a beam falling directly on Lynn, as she had with Senshi moments earlier.
"I say we kill these Twili, then someone stays behind here with Lynn until sunrise, when Taden's influence will be weakest. Whoever stays behind to guard Lynn should escort her to Kakariko, where Laynnei and the others can keep her safe during the night, using Light magic when the sun isn't out. Giga, are you not bound for Eldin? If you will agree to accompany me, I can use my Sun power to keep Taden at bay, and together we can take Lynn into Kakariko, where she can be protected until the Daybreak Sword is ready. Senshi, I know you have pressing matters at hand, but would you consider joining us to help locate Laynnei? Her Light magic will be essential to keeping Lynn safe from Taden. Kae can proceed to the Sacred Realm, Polaris can go on to Zora's Domain, and everyone else can continue to Faron with Darrel unless they're needed elsewhere. We've wasted enough time in this cave! It's time to move out!"
Horus/GFF/Night 6
Horus looked up, listening to Mirra, whom flew high above. As she spoke, her words were nearly drowned out by a loud snorting noise. Horus looked forward again, as the Twili has his head tilt backward. The Twili threw his head forward, spitting a large ball of mucus and saliva right at Horus' face. Horus ducked just fast enough to dodge it, as the spit landed near Senshi's foot. Horus rose back up, glaring at the Twili.
"Well, I tried." He walked towards the scuffle that was erupting among his teammates, but stopped and looked over his shoulder to speak into the ear of the Twili.
"I would've let you live and got you out of here...' He looked at Senshi, and made an apologetic gesture, before looking back at the Twili with a sneer '...Guess not."
He walked forward a few feet, then stopped to listen to Mirra once more. As she finished, he approached Giga, then jumped up onto his back, like a perch. He knew Giga was big enough for it not to be an issue. He waited for Mirra to finish before speaking.
"I have matters to attend to back in Hyrule Castle Town, but by the looks of what I've seen in visions, It would be best that I not stray from the team. I'm ready to help whomever it would benefit most." as he finished, he looked down at Giga's calf with a look of concern. He leaned forward and spoke to Giga, into his ear.
"That looks like a rather glaring weakspot, friend. The least I could do is disguise it."
He looked at his own hand for a moment, which still had the paint Cid had applied to make him look Twili. He could only imagine the rest of him appeared Twili as well.
"I have some of the same paint I wear that will match the color of your flesh. Even the paint that covers my body remains fresh and new looking, despite the elements it has endured..."
Polaris/ Great Fairy's Fountain/ Late Night 6
Nearly blinded by pain and the rage it spawned, Polaris advanced at a measured pace his scales aglow, only one goal in mind. To put the scheming spawn of Hothnight in her rightful place underfoot and if fate smiled upon him and none interceded on her behalf, under ground. Of course this was not to be. Almost on cue, Lynn called upon the aid of Nayru's chosen.
"Kae! Polaris! I can feel the lich's pull upon him still! Stop him!"
Shaking his head, Polaris halted his death march and waited for the admonishments to come. And it didn't take long for Kae to intervene, still seething, Polaris flipped his sword into the air, releasing the magicks that animated it. As he did so, the crimson ice melted away and he snatched the feather from the air and stowed it in his pouch before the glow that suffused him began to fade. Polaris listened to much of what Kae said with a look of impassivity on his visage, briefly wavering when she spoke of her impending doom, but ultimately he settled back to an impassive stare. Before he even had the chance to think about responding to Kae's speech, Jaden came forward, and noticing the wound that arced across his hero's chest, beckoned to Polaris from a distance.
"General! You're wounded. What is going on here?"
Pausing to collect his thoughts Polaris responded in an even tone. "It...it is nothing that will hamper me. Upon reflection, it was probably an accident. I'm sure.." Polaris' gaze now fell directly on Lynn, "..it won't happen again." Next it was Mirra's turn to weigh in and Polaris sighed as she flitted forward and spoke to the gathering crowd, he knew she was right, but that didn't make him want to listen anymore, if anything, it became more difficult to acknowledge the truth in her words. He too had been an unwitting pawn in Tadens grand chess match and he despised him for that. Where there was once remorse for the heinous crimes he committed under the influence of the aeromancer, a burning desire to set things right took form and he nodded affectionately at the little fairy flitting around his head.
Snapping his fingers, the 4 serpents still circling Lynn dissolved into a cloud of red mist that snaked its way to the ceiling above before dissipating entirely. "Lady Mirra...Kae...you both speak the truth, infighting will get us nowhere and for my part in this, I apologize for the unrest it has sowed, I...over reacted. Lynn, I know the thoughts swirling through your mind as well as you do, the urges, the provocations that are nigh untameable at times. But I also know Lynn Annei and the proud and noble Sheikah you once were. You must resist the curse placed upon you, for only then will you be on the path to cleansing yourself of the blight that has forced itself upon your soul. It can be tamed, cleansed even. If you're willing."
Striding away from the scene at hand, Polaris came up beside Darrel and Senshi, placing a cold hand upon Darrels shoulder he cast his gaze towards the interloper soldiers that had accompanied Shinigami, "As for the fates of these sorry two, I can't help but agree with Mirra and Kae, their deaths, families or not, atrocity or not, is warranted if for nothing more than they've witnessed too much and would be a liability to our plans if they were given free reign. Kill them, or spare them if you wish, but do not permit them to return to their posts among our enemies. The atrocities of war are many on both sides of this conflict and will continue to mount until the final battle ends for good or ill. Do not forget that the gem of the land, Hyrule Castle and the city surrounding it lay in ruins." Removing his hand from Darrels shoulder Polaris made his way to the exit, halting before leaving, "Any who wish to accompany me, I am eager to set out. Now. So make haste. And Senshi... for what it's worth," Their conversation from the day before flashed through Polaris' memory, "I always knew you would do what was right in the end."
With that Polaris exited the cavern. Once outside, he slumped against the wall and tended to his wound.
__FORCETOC__