The Legendary 36 (Page 1)

This RP was untitled and launched on March 21st, 2006. Although it is exists in a Parallel universe, it is still the original intro story for Polaris and may serve as inspiration for any modern interpretation of his backstory.
The first few posts of Page 1 were reorganized here, but about halfway through, it returns to straight chronological order, based on date of post.
Click Here For Page 2
== 36 God Damn Pages ==
Ganondorf Dragmyre – Pre Ocarina of Time – Gerudo Fortress
A knock came at the door, the sounds of light impact against the heavy wrought iron echoing in the dimly lit chamber. Seconds passed slowly, tensely. She again rapped on the door with her knuckles, more insistently the second time. A cruel grin came to the face of the King of Thieves. He knew who waited on the opposite side of the threshold. He stood finally; turning from his lamp lit table, charts and scrolls strewn across it haphazardly, and strode across the room purposefully. His hand rose to the latch and he pulled the door open slowly, dramatically. In the corridor beyond waited his Captain. Her red hair was like fire, her fierce eyes bored into him. His expression did not change as he looked into that raptor gaze with only mild interest, he stood before her, filling the threshold, his black and gold silk robe was pulled open in the front, revealing a thick chest and stomach, corded muscles bulging beneath taut dark green skin. He made no effort to cover himself as they glared at each other for a moment that seemed to stretch on interminably. Finally she faltered and her gaze fell to the floor, no longer able to look into her master's eyes. Ganondorf moved slightly to the side and waved her in with a hand. She complied without a word, shuffling into his chamber. His eyes took in her every movement, the way she held herself, her mannerisms and quirks, he noticed how she jumped slightly when he slammed the heavy door shut behind her.
"My King, what is it you called me here for?" she asked in a weak voice that did not suit her. Ganondorf grinned wickedly; even the strongest quaked when they stood before him. The thought made him laugh quietly, a cold, mirthless laugh. Her eyes rose from the floor to regard him, her face was unreadable, but he didn't need expression to know that she was masking unease, even fear.
"Nabooru, on the morrow I leave for Hyrule to pay my respects to the King. I have sworn fealty and must honor that oath." he told her in a tone that should have made it clear beyond any doubt that did not humbly submit. He reached out a large hand and took her chin in it. He felt her tense almost imperceptibly at the touch; he knew that she was suppressing the urge to flinch. "I could not leave without bidding you a proper farewell. You know I hate to be apart from you."
"Your Majesty will be taking a large Gerudo honor guard with you. There will be no lack of willing women to satiate your... hungers." she replied carefully. Ganondorf could see her choosing her words painstakingly, so as not to ignite his anger. The grin faded and instead he directed at her a look of cold, uncaring calculation.
"You wound me, Nabooru. It is you I want. The others are merely things to occupy my time. It is you I must have." his eyes locked on hers and his big right hand gripped her arm tightly. "It is you I will have."
"If Your Majesty commands it." she uttered meekly, turning away from his gaze, but unable to free herself from his grip. He could have laughed, he knew her not to be so weak and submissive. He wanted her to struggle; he wanted the true Nabooru, not this pitiful specter. Perhaps he would have to make her get some of that backbone back. His hand slowly moved up her arm to her shoulder, to her soft, tender neck, and then to her cheek. Her skin was warm and inviting. She looked away to her right, staring at the wall with all of her will power. Within an instant he gripped her thick head of fiery red hair in his big fist.
"My Majesty does." And with that he thrust her against his table, sending the ancient texts he had been studying to the floor on the other side. The lamp teetered and nearly fell over, but Ganondorf directed his power at it, commanding it to remain upright, some of those papers were very old and very powerful, and the very act of setting fire to them could have dreadful consequences. Nabooru bounced off of the heavy wooden table and fell to the floor in a heap, clearly not wanting to get up for fear of further abuse. Unfortunately for her, she would not escape it no matter what she did. If she did not want to fight back, he would make sure that it made little difference to her whether she had or not. He covered the distance in a few strides of his long, powerful legs and, gripping her shoulders, lifted her once more to her feet. Locks of her disheveled red hair now fell across her face. He gripped her shoulders tightly and lifted her from the floor with little effort, letting her legs dangle uselessly for a moment before pitching her sideways, where she landed roughly on his stiff bed. Once again she did not move. She did not try to recover from his brutal assault. He stepped slowly up to the side of the bed and turned her onto her back. She looked up at him through the hair that fell over her face and eyes, she may act like a willing servant, but those eyes told of her true nature. With a single swipe of one of his hands, he tore open her jacket, exposing the flesh underneath. She made no move to cover herself. Another swipe and her pants were rent in a similar fashion. She lay there on her back and waited for what was to come as Ganondorf loomed over her. He jammed his knee in between her legs and forced them apart, she looked as though she were ready to get up and run screaming from the room, but she did not move. Even as he fell upon her, his thick fingers closing about her neck, she did not move, she did not recoil, she simply lay there, and let the King do as he wished.
Nabooru – After Ganon’s Defeat – Chamber of Sages
"I must go to him!" Nabooru called out desperately, her voice echoing endlessly throughout the Chamber of Sages. All about her, each standing on the platform bearing the sigil of their element, were her colleagues. Each now bore a grim expression, their gazes all fell upon her. She wanted to cry out at the injustice of it all.
"You are a Sage. Like it or not, you have moved beyond your old life." Rauru, the wise and elderly Sage of Light intoned sharply, his powerful eyes gleaming with his sheer conviction on the matter. Nabooru had always had the greatest respect for the man, he had been a Sage long before any of the rest, and yet in that one fiery instant she hated him, she wanted nothing more than to lash out at him with her power. "There can be no going back."
"But he is a male! No male Gerudo has been born within the one hundred year period since the beginnings of recorded history! Even now the people view him as a bringer of hope! They believe that in him is the chance to free themselves from the curse that for so long has plagued them! They believe that he could be their savior! He needs a mother to guide him!" she insisted. She looked from one to the next, each one glared back at her. She knew that she would find no understanding here, only judgment.
"Nabooru, I myself have a son, a son that believes me dead, as your son shall." Darunia told her in a soft voice that did not suit his powerfully muscled form. She looked to him and could see in his eyes a sorrow similar to that which she felt now so keenly, but she could also sense his resolve. "We cannot be what we wish we could be for them."
"And yet, the peoples need guidance." Saria spoke up. Her light, child like voice carried a tone of authority that was entirely unsuited for her. She turned to Rauru; her eyes filled with an insight that seemed alien to one of such youth, though all knew that Saria was much older than anyone else within the Chamber save perhaps Rauru himself. "Is that not correct? Do we as Sages not reserve the right to walk among them, to guide and protect them? Is that not simply a right, but a duty of the order of Sages as well?"
"It is indeed, dear one. It is indeed." Rauru turned to look once more into Nabooru's raptor eyes. His look was a sad one, but something in his face comforted Nabooru, allayed her fears. For the first time she trusted to hope. "You must go to your people. You must be known to them only as the Sage of Spirit, for in their minds, Nabooru is dead. Guide the boy, for as he grows he will take up the mantle of King, even as you have said. Teach him compassion; teach him kindness, for he will draw lightning from many sides. Many know him to be the son of Ganondorf, let him forge a new reputation for his family name, let him take the path of the righteous, and avoid the path of the corrupt. That is your duty, Nabooru, you must see it done. Do not fail us." The elder Sage swept his arm around at the rest, as if to encompass them all in the duty he had laid upon Nabooru's shoulders. "You all must go among your people. You must guide them down the paths to peace and prosperity, but heed well my words, never reveal your true identities to the living, for the consequences of such an act could be unthinkable."
Deonysius Dragmyre – 15 Years After Ocarina of Time – Gerudo Fortress
The library was a vast chamber; the walls were lined with tall shelves, each holding books and scrolls, many of them older than the very fortress that contained them. Tall, wide shelves also created a maze through the middle of the hall, and scattered here and there were long, dust covered tables. Sputtering torches hung from the walls in iron brackets, and above the tables, lamps hung from the rafters. Deonysius Dragmyre strode through the threshold into the musty vault. His intense gaze took in every detail, his powerful eyes moving this way and that, absorbing the scene with remarkable clarity. His flaming red hair was tied back in a ponytail that fell to the middle of his back. Framing a powerful jaw and thin lipped mouth was a short cropped beard of similar hue. He swept across the hall, walking with the grace of a lion on the prowl, his black robe billowing out behind him. He purposefully wound his way through the twisting paths between the book shelves, finally turning a corner to lay his eyes on the one he sought.
The Sage of Spirit stood before him expectantly, or what he imagined was expectantly. She was cloaked and cowled in robes of heavy black, concealing her countenance from him as usual. She bowed deeply to her King, as was customary, and he inclined his head in return. When she rose back to her feet, he spoke at last.
"Why did you call me down here so urgently, esteemed Sage?" he asked respectfully. From within the shadows of her cowl, the Sage of Spirit regarded him for a moment before replying.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry to call you away from your audiences, but I have stumbled upon a matter of some urgency of late and must share it with you." Deonysius' eyes narrowed, Sages seldom acted so openly, it was said to be their way to guide and advise, and if necessary, manipulate.
"You have my attention."
"Your Majesty, I have encountered a prophecy."
Deonysius froze. He knew that prophecy was a dangerous branch of magic, perhaps the most dangerous of all. He also knew from his studies that if the Sage needed to speak with him about it so urgently, it must in some way regard him. "And what does this prophecy have to do with me?" he asked cautiously.
"It is about your people."
"Please share the words with me if you will. I would hear them for myself." The Sage of Spirit cleared her authoritative feminine voice and recited.
The sky shall darken as the light of liberty dies.
The land shall fall under the oppressive shadow of war unlike any other.
In that war shall the aggressors be cast down in chains.
But those who thought victory was theirs will know the darkness as it descends upon them, heavier than a mountain and grinds the desert thieves to dust.''
Deonysius stood transfixed. He had studied the prophecies in the vault, and had never come across one such as this, it did not have the familiar feel on the tongue of one produced in the ancient dialects. He looked to the Sage, trying to penetrate the shadows concealing her face and gaze into her eyes.
"Where did this prophecy originate?" he asked her in a tone of command, a tone that he had been forced to adopt as he had grown into his throne. He could not read her expression, something he dearly disliked, and so instead was forced to wait for her reply so that he could weigh her words. She hesitated only an instant.
"I..." she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, he could tell from the way she sounded and what little of her body language he could perceive that she was struggling to maintain her composure. "I know the words because they are mine. I gave this prophecy... last night."
"I did not know that Sages bore the talent for prophecy." he muttered, more to himself than to her, but she responded anyway, her voice weak.
"Nor did I." He pulled up a heavy wooden chair, covered in the fur of a white wolfos, and sank into it. He needed to think a moment. He brought to the fore everything he could recall about his studies of prophecy. It was a complicated branch of magic, and those who lacked the talent or were not well versed in it stood little chance of understanding much of it. However, those with power such as his, and he was sure, the Sage's, did have certain insights.
“Prophecy is supposed to reveal itself unto the prophet not only in words, but in sights and images also, is this so?" he asked her, curious to try and understand fully the implications of what the prophecy foretold. He could understand the part about war coming, but the threat seemed to be greater than that, darker. He had gotten the sense merely from listening to those words that there was a far deeper meaning than what was conveyed by them. As he watched her with his intense gaze, she slowly nodded.
"I do not understand much of what I saw. Terrible images flashed through my mind, blinding me to all else. There was fighting all around at first, mounds of dead, but I could not make out who it was that was fighting. There were hundreds of scenes of death and destruction before everything changed. All of the sudden these faceless peoples were held in chains. Some burned, some drowned, and still others died of poison or were choked to death by living vines. Some were simply claimed by the shadow of death. But then the scenes changed again, and this time the people were not faceless specters, they were Gerudo. The sun was rising, looming over the horizon, over the land of Hyrule in its entirety, the light and the heat blazing. Our people recoiled from it, and all across the land, those faceless men and women all cringed too, at the sight of the rising sun, for as it rose into the sky, deep shadows swept across the sky and descended upon the land." He could see that she was trembling slightly. "It was a truly horrible vision, Your Majesty; I hope I do not live to see the truth in it."
"Worry not, esteemed Sage." Deonysius told her comfortingly, while within he steeled himself to do what had to be done. "It shall not come to pass. I will deny fate in this; no doom shall come to the Gerudo people whilst I am their King." He drew himself up from the chair. "You may leave me now. Go and see to my audiences, there are matters I find I must look into here in the vaults."
Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress
It had been several weeks since his fateful meeting with the Sage of Spirit in the library vaults, but the words of prophecy still burned hotly in Deonysius' mind. There were parts that seemed clear as day, and other parts that made no sense at all, prophecy was a dangerous and untested branch of magic, and he dared not trust even that which seemed the most obvious. One thing was certain to him though, the prophecy foretold danger to the people. Not just his people, the Gerudo, but all of the races of Hyrule. He had to stop it, there had to be a way.
He had sworn the Sage to silence in this matter. It had been clear that she had wished to advise him in some manner, but his command and her own unease with her foretelling of doom seemed to stay her hand. Still, she often came to him at times when he was alone, poring over many of the older texts that could be found within the vaults of his fortress. Sometimes she would come to help him, and at other times she would simply bring him something to drink. He thought her manner was odd for a Sage, and an advisor. He thought she acted more matronly than was usual for one of her status, but perhaps she simply saw the necessity in his research and wished to help him. After all, it had been she who had seen all the terrible images of the prophecy. He was simply acting on them as he thought he should. Whether set in stone or not, he could not abandon his people, and those of the rest of the land, to some terrible future without first trying to circumvent it.
This night the Sage was elsewhere, attending to the duties of her position. He had thought before when she had been spending so much time watching over him that she must be abdicating her sagely obligations, and had told her that he would have no part in it. She had sharply insisted that she had more than enough time in the day to attend to all her charges and that it was not his place to concern himself over how an anointed Sage spent her time, but to simply accept whatever advice or guidance she could offer.
He slammed the massive leather bound book closed, howling in frustration. He dipped his fingers into his pocket to caress the half of a pendent that had once hung around his mother’s neck. This was the only keepsake she had left him before she had died so many years ago in resistance to the very man that had planted Deonysius himself in her belly. He could dearly use her guidance now. No matter where he looked, he could find nothing. Nothing!
"What's the problem then, Your Majesty? What's the problem?" the dusty voice of one of the old hags that kept the books in the vaults asked. Without looking Deonysius could tell she was coming around the corner by the way her footsteps fell. He slid his chair back and all but leapt to his feet, turning on the old librarian in a rage caused by weeks of frustration and helplessness.
"There's nothing here! Thousands upon thousands of books in the archives and there's nothing!" He roared into her impossibly wrinkled face. She simply smiled up at him, though her smile seemed to carry with it a sense of intent, though what it could be he couldn't say. When he had stopped his rant she spoke.
"Are you sure you've checked everything?" she asked him politely, peering into his face with her ancient eyes.
"Yes! Yes I'm certain! I've sat down here for hours on end and I have nothing to show for it!" he bellowed, his words echoing through the dimly lit chamber. They carried with them such force that the dust rose from the shelves. He was giving in to the grips of despair, tears stood out in his eyes. What was he to do?
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance." he turned to the source of the voice to see the other librarian swoop in behind the first. They were mirror images of one another, both so ancient that they appeared as though they were already half dead. She pulled from her long dark robe the oldest book he had ever seen. It was a dull red leather bound book, nearly as thick as it was tall. Her bony finger ran along the pages and pulled it open to one almost exactly in the middle. On the worn page his eyes took in the spidery script of the oldest tongue of Hyrule, Ancient Hylian. The image of three triangles imprinted on the page in gold was surrounded by it. He had encountered the language before but reading it was difficult. He looked up into her eyes.
"Kotake, what is this?"
"Your Majesty, it is what you've been seeking." His eyes narrowed, he looked one more to the page, then back up into her eyes.
"The Triforce? That is your solution? You’re mad."
"The Triforce of Power, Your Majesty. Since your father was sealed away, the whole Triforce was split into its three supporting pieces." Koume replied.
"Taking even one individual piece of the Triforce is next to impossible. What you propose is madness, I am not the one meant to bear it."
"And so you would leave it in the covetous hands of your father when it could help protect your people?" Kotake demanded sharply. Deonysius felt his face heat at her words. His fist clenched.
"I will take your words under advisement, witch." his hands reached out and snapped up the massive book, tucking it under his muscular arm as he stormed from the vault, their words still ringing in his head. He needed the Sage.
Nabooru – Chamber of Sages
The Sage of Spirit stood atop the emblem of her element within the vast Chamber of Sages, watching, waiting. She had summoned the others some time ago, but each had business within their separate realms to attend to, and none could come immediately. She had expected such, however, now the time was long gone when they should have heeded her call. She grew restless as minutes stretched into hours for her as she stood alone in the dark.
"So quiet, my dear, so very quiet..." the deep, terrifyingly familiar voice whispered in her ear. She spun quickly, a blazing orb of energy materializing in her hand even as she found herself face to face with... a phantom.
"How could you..."
"Be here?" Ganondorf finished as he swept one transparent arm to indicate the Chamber of Sages. A sickening grin of amusement contorted his face. "This is a place of the Dark World, wench. My world. I wield the Triforce of Power; I can go anywhere I please."
His grin slowly faded. "Though I must admit, it's a great deal more difficult when you're all here, nearly impossible in fact." and then his smile returned, the disgusting, arrogant smile of a monster. "Nearly."
"You've watched us..."
"Very good." He said in a nauseatingly condescending tone. "Yes, since I first began gathering strength in this realm into which you banished me I've been watching you all. Though for the last decade and a half it's been terribly boring. Not like that first time." His incorporeal body turned away from her, his muscular arms clasped together behind his broad back. "So how fares my son?"
"He has grown into a good man. A good King." Nabooru told him venomously. She did not fear him, not here in the Chamber. By the way he had talked just moments ago she knew it was taking him a great deal of energy to enter here even as a specter, she could banish his spirit at will, and she intended to.
So why did she wait?
"I see."
"He is everything that you could never be." Nabooru finished. He turned his head slightly to look back at her over his shoulder.
"If that is so, than he cannot be half the King you make him out to be."
"He cares for our people. You never did."
"And so you come here this night to demand that you Sages join your wills and open the seal so that he can claim the Triforce of Power from me? It sounds as if his selflessness is already waning, my dear." Nabooru didn't know what to say. She had no idea how he knew such things, he was banished from the land of Hyrule, the land of the mortal.
"He does it to prevent the shroud of doom from descending upon the land. He seeks this power only to help the people."
"That will not last my dear. Once he has a taste of that power it will take him in, and he will only want more." Ganondorf laughed, that cold, mirthless laugh that still haunted her dreams, bringing forth terrible flashes of that night so long ago.
"You know nothing of righteousness; you were corrupted by greed and lust too long ago to remember." She brought her right hand forth, absorbing the ball of crackling energy she had forgotten about back into herself, feeling its warmth spread into her limbs. "Linger not in this place, you do not belong here." And with that she swept her hand through his middle, and his form began to fade, but even as it did he grinned at her darkly.
"He will know me Nabooru; he will come to see me in himself. It shall not last..." and then he was gone, and she was alone once more.
Nabooru – A Little Later – Chamber of Sages
"Nabooru?" the ancient voice of the Sage of Light asked as he popped into view in his rightful place. Nabooru's head shot up immediately, drawing her away from her thoughts.
"Rauru. I have been waiting here for some time now."
"I apologize, there has been quite a bit of business to attend to in my realm this night. The others should be along any moment." He replied apologetically. "Your summons didn't seem exactly urgent, so I decided to attend to matters there first before coming."
"If you think it best."
As the words were just out of her mouth, the forms of the others began materializing in their proper places, when they were all gathered, Nabooru spoke.
"I apologize if I have pulled you all away from pressing matters, such is not my intention. But I must bring before you a matter of even greater importance." She drew in a deep breath before continuing on. "I have given a prophecy. We must open the seal to the Sacred Realm."
The mouths of her fellow Sages literally hung open in shock. It was as clear as day to her that they could not believe what they had heard from her mouth, and they probably thought her mad for even suggesting it to them. The sages were the ones who had sworn to protect the seal after all. She waited for them to regain their composure; it was Impa who spoke first.
"Prophecy is an arcane area of magic. On the words of prophecy alone you would have us abdicate our most important duty and open the seal into the Sacred Realm. You would have us risk setting the King of Evil loose into the world once more, with the force of the Triforce of Power and the inherent magic of the world to back him? Have you gone mad in the last few weeks-" Rauru cut her off with a raised hand and settled a calm, unruffled gaze on Nabooru.
"Tell us of this prophecy." And so she did. She recited the words to them even as she had to her son, the King of the Desert. And when she finished, she related to them the gravity of the images that had accompanied the prophecy. None spoke as she told them everything; they merely stood and took it all in. When she was finished, Ruto put forth the query Nabooru most feared.
"In light of the seriousness of this foretelling, why would you have us open the seal and risk unleashing the one man in all the world who could potentially bring such a thing to be?"
Nabooru drew breath. "It is not about Ganondorf Dragmyre." Ruto looked as though she were about to argue, but Nabooru continued. "Mysterious as it may be, this is a prophecy, and I am the prophet. The prophet is afforded slightly more insight into the meaning then those who only hear the words. Ganondorf Dragmyre has no place in this doom I've Seen."
"You have not fully answered the question, Nabooru." Impa cut in harshly.
"I shared this information with the King of the Gerudo, as this vision of mine affected in large part his people, and mine. He believes, and I agree, that the Triforce of Power is the only viable source of protection against whatever darkness may loom over the horizon. That is why I propose that we open the seal, so that we might join our wills and take the Triforce of Power from the hand of the King of Evil."
The expressions on the faces of her fellow sages at that point turned dark. This time it was Darunia who spoke.
"You would have us risk a confrontation with the bearer of the Triforce of Power so that we could take it and give it to another covetous Gerudo King!" His voice boomed, echoing sinisterly through the Chamber of Sages.
"Deonysius is different! He is not his father, he is different! He is different!" she wailed at them desperately, Darunia's words had been like cold steel to her heart. Anyone who spared a glance could see that Deonysius Dragmyre did not live up to his namesake's reputation. Darunia's big mouth twisted into an ugly grimace as he glared at her, fire dancing in his eyes.
"Without unanimity, you are denied! And I will never support you in this! I will not be the accomplice to the rise of a second King of Evil! Ganondorf Dragmyre and the Triforce of Power shall remain safely beyond the seal! And I suggest you advise your young charge that he cast his gaze elsewhere, or he may well find himself joining his father!" Even before his words stopped echoing, Darunia faded and was gone. The other Sages looked at her for only an instant before they too faded and left her alone once more.
Nabooru – Gerudo Fortress
The haunting melodies of the pipe organ resonated through the still night air that rushed in through the open window as Deonysius' fingers joined with the massive instrument in musical harmony. His eyes were closed, his thick, muscular neck craned as though to gaze up at the high ceiling of his chamber. The wind rushed over his shirtless torso, cooling the sweat that clung to his dark green skin as he played, lost in the moment. The tune that filled her ears was dark, melancholy. Listening to it, Nabooru could feel a lump forming in her throat, that kind of sadness could not be conveyed simply by the organ, it was in the hands that played it. She waited at the door for a while, simply watching. She could not say how long she stood, transfixed by the music, but finally she seemed to draw up from her trance and decided that she could remain silent no longer.
"And when did you take up the organ, Your Majesty?" She asked as she walked forward from the door, leaving it ajar as she strode across the room to come to a halt a few paces behind Deonysius. He stopped playing immediately upon hearing her speak, turning to gaze up at her, his eyes narrow.
"I gave orders not to be disturbed." He didn't seem angry; he did not seem bothered in any way at all. He looked as though he was simply stating a fact.
"I'm aware of that." Nabooru replied, taking in her son's appearance for the first time. His long, fiery hair was disheveled and fell in a tangle over his face and neck. His muscles were rigid, tight. Sweat beaded on his face and chest despite the cool air blowing in from the window. He wore no boots and his simple black trousers were rumpled. "But you also gave orders for me to report upon return."
They had not truly been orders, nobody living issued orders to the sages. It had been more in the nature of a mandatory request, at least, that was how Nabooru preferred to think of it. She had complied, how could she not when she could see the sense in his proposition, the logic in it. Even though her calling said that she could not, she simply could not deny the merits of the plan that Deonysius had presented.
That her son had presented.
She rapidly changed between surges of fierce pride and deep dread at what the young king insisted was the only way to circumvent the prophecy that she had delivered.
"They refuse you." she told him before he had the chance to ask her what their answer had been. His look upon hearing her declaration was not one of anger as she thought might be the case. Instead it was a look of despair, of deep melancholy.
"Wise Sage, I find myself now in the position that I dreaded to be placed in." he began softly, his tone was heartbreaking. She wanted nothing more than to take him into her arms and hug him tight, to comfort his sadness, but she simply stood, looking down into his pained eyes as he addressed her in the only way he knew to. "I have a responsibility to my people above all else. I am not merely their ruler; I am their guardian, their protector. They must come first in my life."
He stood slowly, turning from the organ, walking away from the massive instrument and toward the window. She perceived the slightest shiver in him, be it from the cold or some other source, and he waved his hand, the window slamming shut at the silent command. "But so too are the Sages. They do as they feel they must to protect the people, as do I. I find myself at an intersection of faith, one in which I can either pursue that which my instincts tell me is the only path and possibly save my people, or do nothing as the Sages have suggested and risk the dark future that your prophecy has suggested."
Nabooru didn't know what exactly he was saying. She thought it remarkable just how much he had grown in the years that she had advised him, but now he seemed to have aged many years in a matter of weeks since that first ill fated meeting. He carried burdens now that then had not rested on his shoulders. Now he looked as though the fate of the world truly did rest on his shoulders, and the weight of it threatened to crush him.
"It seems that the Sages wish to deny me my only chance." he told her flatly, his powerful eyes, the eyes that had always been so chillingly familiar to her, now drilled into her mind with a gaze that spoke volumes about his resolve. "I must act as I feel I must. If the Sages will not open the seal willingly... I will make them open it."
Nabooru gasped and drew back with a horrified expression that Deonysius could not see through the shadows of her cowl. There had been no doubt in what he had said, there was not misinterpretation. He meant to do whatever had to be done to save his people, she was at once proud and repulsed by his utter conviction, but her feelings of revulsion were pushed aside.
"I am with you, Your Majesty. My loyalty is to the people, and I too will do whatever must be done to defend them." She slowly sank to a knee, showing deference to the King of the Gerudo, and in her mind, showing her love and support to her son.
Nabooru – Chamber of Sages… Again
"We have denied your request, Sage Nabooru."
Nabooru stood once more within the circle of the six Sages of Hyrule. She had called them together once again, as she had previously. She had been instructed to offer them with one last chance to willingly aid Deonysius before he was forced to act. She had come so that she might beg them to see the logic, the sense in his plans and convince them that his way was best. She wanted no confrontation between the Sages and her sorcerous son, for while there was no doubt in her mind who would emerge victorious from such a meeting, she took no joy in the knowledge. She looked to each of the Sages in turn, her eyes pleading.
"You do not understand, none of you do." she insisted. "Deonysius believes, and I agree, that this is the only way to be able to defy prophecy. Would you have the dark fate that I foretold descend upon the land and bring suffering and death to your peoples?"
"Deonysius is no Sage. He cannot have the wisdom to See as we do." Rauru intoned in a booming voice that filled the Chamber of Sages. "He cannot see all ends."
"Nor can we!" Nabooru pursued, leaping on the words of her fellow Sage in order to try to strengthen her argument which, she knew all too well, was pitifully weak. "We cannot See all that is! There are things that are beyond us. There are times when we must not be so blinded by our calling that we ignore logic and reason."
"Nabooru!" Darunia roared, his voice feral. "We will not be a party to this! You have had our answer."
Nabooru wanted to wail despairingly, but she could not, she was here for a reason. She could not let Deonysius use his power against them; she could not let him risk such a confrontation. His power was greater than she had ever perceived, but she feared for him still, she knew full well that the Sages were far from helpless. They commanded the elements, they had more tricks up their sleeves then he knew. She steeled herself for what she had to do next.
"If you will not join with me willingly to open the seal..." she swallowed hard, "then you will be made to do it. Deonysius will have your help; the choice is yours whether or not it will be as people free or as slaves to his magic."
The Chamber of Sages literally exploded with elemental fury as the Sages lashed out against her. Their powers assaulted a shield of crackling orange energy that they quickly determined as unassailable. Finally the terrible barrage ceased, though the tension within the Chamber was thicker than ever. They all looked at her with horrified expressions on their faces. There was no doubt that they believed what she had told them, she could tell by their bearing that they did. She was melancholy knowing that she had, with that declaration, alienated herself from them forever. Whether or not they went along with her son's request willingly, she would never again be regarded as one of them, she would be an outsider, an enemy, who just happened to bear the title of Sage.
"You are blinded!" Impa spat harshly, glaring at her as she regained her senses. "You would throw the world into the meat grinder for your bastard King!"
Nabooru had delivered the message she had known she would inevitably deliver. She could do no more but try and convince them to go along with it of their own accord.
"The plan is sound. Please, whether or not you like it, Deonysius will have your assistance. Do not resist him; do not put yourself against him. His gift is immense, greater even than his father's."
Saria, who was always the calmest, most collected of all the Sages, whatever the discussion, spoke suddenly, her voice surprisingly hard. "Nabooru, leave this place and go back to your King. You and he will find no help from us." Nabooru looked into the child's large eyes and then nodded sadly. There was but one choice left to them, the most terrible of all. 
"I believe he has already found a way."
Without another word, her form shimmered and was gone, leaving her words to echo in the heads of her fellow Sages.
The Sages – Chamber of Sages
"What do we do?" Ruto asked, her voice full of panic and desperation, her eyes cast around the Chamber, lingering for only moments on the now empty seal that Nabooru had just moments ago stood on as she delivered her new master's terrible ultimatum.
"We are Sages! Get a hold of yourself! We are too strong to be compelled to do anything! It is a bluff to solicit our aid in this mad task of theirs!" Darunia roared angrily in Ruto's direction, though his words were meant for all of them to hear. They all seemed to consider that possibility for a moment until Rauru spoke.
"We all know that Nabooru does not lie, and she sees more of her son than we do, even if it is not enough to break whatever hold it is he has on her. I think that if she says he has found a way to force our hands, then he most likely has." Darunia snorted derisively. Rauru held up one wrinkled hand to call for silence. "Consider what she said, his power is greater even than his father's. Born of a powerful sorcerer and a potential Sage, a union that was so strong that it was able to circumvent the curse that was placed on their people long ago and yield a male child. His predecessors have all delved very deeply into the mysteries of magic, there are probably more magical secrets contained within their vaults and archives than anywhere else in the world. I fear that he very well may possess such a spell."
"We cannot allow him to breach the seal." Saria interjected, her powerful young eyes sweeping to each of the other Sage's faces in turn. "And if he does indeed possess such a spell, he may well be able to use it before we can stop him, or even divine for certain the truth of it. We cannot allow him to control us, the mere possibility that he could raises a very serious question, what do we do?"
There was silence all throughout the Chamber of Sages, tension hung in the air about them. Finally Impa spoke, her eyes cast to the platform atop which she stood, tracing the lines of the symbol of the shadow. "We all know what we must do... but I wish it were not so."
Something passed between the sages in that moment as her words reached their ears and filled their minds with a dark resolution to do whatever had to be done to insure the safety of the seal. They were the only way in, there wasn't a man alive in the land of Hyrule that could take out the Master Sword from its resting place within the Temple of Time, if they could be taken, they could be made to open the seal and unleash that which must remain locked away. Rauru, his eyes filled with tears, looked to each in turn.
"Go unto your realms, do what must be done, live as you would." He fought to swallow the lump in his throat. "Return here on the morrow and fulfill your duties as Sages."
Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress
"I failed." Nabooru choked past the lump in her throat as tears splashed down her dark cheeks. She prostrated herself before him in a show of dire shame. Deonysius gazed down at her blankly, he couldn't show her any emotion, he was steel, and his sheer conviction straightened his back, making him stand erect and strong. He wanted only to prevent the greater horror, but to do so it seemed he would be forced to commit the lesser himself.
"Stand, Sage." He told her in a flat tone, he was steel. "You have lost no honor in my eyes; you cannot revoke the free will of your fellow Sages." He took a deep breath, and his eyes surveyed her coldly.
"Unfortunately... I can. I must." The Sage's cowled head shot up, her eyes bored into him from the shadows of her hood. They were wide, stricken with horror.
"Your Majesty... you cannot do this! They are Sages, as am I. I beg you not to do this!" she pleaded desperately. Deonysius reached down, his big hand grasping her shoulder through her robe and lifting her to her feet so that she might face him as an equal in this matter, though the gesture meant little since he was far taller than her anyway.
"I offered them a choice. They refused to cooperate." He couldn't believe this was what it was going to come to, he wanted so bad not to hurt anyone, but he had no choice. "I cannot put the lives of a few above the lives of many, even the lives of Sages, especially not the lives of my own people. I have no other options."
Slowly, deliberately, he turned to face his Captain, Alviara. She looked at him with a blank expression similar to the one he wore, she knew what was coming.
"Alviara, send the assassins. Have them bring the medallions back to me as proof." she nodded and turned on her heel, marching from the room clutching her naginata tightly in her fist. As she disappeared out the door, the Sage of Spirit grasped his arms and spun him around.
"Assassins! You can't!" she wailed shrilly. Slowly he reached up and took hold of her wrists, removing them from his person. "You said you were going to make them help you! You didn't say you were going to kill them!"
"There is no choice. Even one such as I cannot control you Sages, your power is too great to allow such a thing, especially when you are gathered together." He took a deep breath and continued. "I have been searching the vaults for a way to do such a thing, and found nothing."
"But you said you could make the Sages help you! Killing them will only make it next to impossible to breach the barrier! It will be for naught!" He shook his head.
"No, it won't. I found something else. I told you that I would make the Sages help me, I did not indicate in any way that I meant these Sages." What he had found had been buried deep in the vaults, under heavy guard by spells and shields that it had taken far too much time and effort to penetrate, in a vault hidden from his knowledge, an archive of some of the most ancient and sacred texts to be found in Hyrule. It had given to him in a riddle the only possible way he might achieve what he desperately wanted not to have to achieve. After that he had returned to the mystical Book of Mudora, a book that had survived since the time of the ancient Hylia, written in Ancient Hylian. It was there in those pages that he had found the answer. He slowly walked over to his heavy wooden table and laid his big hand atop the worn leather bound book. "For me to do this, for me to have Sages that will rally to my cause... the ones who stand against me must die. Then I can bring forth the power of their elements and install them in new bearers, new Sages who will aid me."
"No! The Sages must be those who have earned the title! They must be those with the potential, not just in their physical selves, but in their minds as well! Creating Sages in those without the potential will be disastrous! They will abuse the power!" The Sage shrieked at him. Deonysius closed his eyes and sighed, this was the only Sage on his side, and he knew that he needed her to see his plan, but he didn't want to alienate her by killing all of her colleagues.
"Sage, listen to me. You will be the elder Sage; it will be to you to teach them to use that power for good, and not to do wrong with it, that is why I must have you with me in this. You can provide for them the guidance needed to become true Sages, instead of merely shadows of their predecessors, you can keep them from unleashing the horrors you have just described." He reached forward into her cowl and took her chin in his hand. "It will all begin with their ultimate act of love for the peoples of Hyrule. Opening the seal and allowing me to take the Triforce of Power that I might ever guard all the realms of this land against that which you foresaw."
Her chin trembled and slowly she nodded. In his mind Deonysius breathed a sigh of relief. He had meant those things he had told her, he did need her, and the new Sages would need her, but if he was forced to choose between her and his people, he would choose his people, as he had done when forced to choose between them and the lives of her fellow Sages. They had signed their death warrants, and before long they would be no more, and the powers of their elements would return to the ether to wait until they were called once more into the world of life.
The Queen of Hyrule – The Temple of Time
People cheered and waved as her horse trotted past, following the mounted guards as they picked a path through the crowds of people. She smiled and waved back at her loyal and admiring subjects. So loved was she by her people that they gathered in great hordes whenever she rode forth from her great royal keep to pay homage to their Ladies and seek counsel from the wise Sage of Light. Her Captain of the Guard rode at the front, his armor gleaming in the sunlight as he called for the people to move aside and allow their Queen to pass, that she might reach her destination safely and swiftly. They parted quickly as she neared, forming a winding path into the market, finally opening up into the courtyard of the Temple of Time, the monument of worship for all those of their faith. She rode into the open area, her guards encircling her protectively, and dismounted, patting his roan gelding affectionately before handing the reins to Duncan and walking up the steps to the great church. Their footsteps echoed softly as he walked into the vaulting stone chamber with six well armed and armored sentinels at his back. But what all their eyes fell upon brought deadening silence crashing down upon them as they were all of the sudden too horrified to speak. 
There, half holding itself up against the great stone altar was the body of the aged Sage of Light. His robes hung off him loosely; his eyes stared off at the wall. His mouth hung open as though he had been trying to utter some word or phrase that he had been unable to finish. Finally regaining some sense of consciousness, the Queen of Hyrule rushed forward, placing her hand atop the brow of the Sage. She nearly recoiled when she found that the skin was cold to her touch.
The Sage of Light was dead.
Link the Goron – Death Mountain
Link strode across the uppermost level of his cavernous mountain city home, looking down at the lower levels and the Gorons working and playing. He smiled faintly, recalling a time when he too had been one of those that had spent all their time rolling throughout the city. It had been too long since duty had fallen upon him, since his father had died in the brutal rein of Ganondorf and the horrible dragon Volvagia. He had been named the leader of their tribe, the Big Brother of the Gorons of Hyrule. His father had named him after a young man that had come into their realm quite suddenly one day long ago and vanquished the creatures that had kept them from excavating rocks from their most plentiful mines, the Dodongo's Cavern. He had named his son after a hero; there could have been no greater honor. And yet every day Link felt the crushing weight of that responsibility pressing in on him.
The terrible stress that came along with being relied upon to defend and protect his people was what led him to go and seek the refuge of the knowing Sage's wisdom. He had done so many times, sought the aid of that mysterious being that advised him in the ways to best serve the Gorons. He had taken a small chamber on the top level of their city, why Link could not say, as it was customary for those of high standing in their culture to live on the lowest level, where his father had lived, where he now lived. He reached the heavy stone door and pounded one heavy fist against it, producing a little melody that was the key to the chamber beyond. Within seconds of him taking his fist away, a terrible grating sound filled the cavern as it opened slowly, admitting Link into the dimly lit quarters of the Sage of Fire.
He walked in slowly, as he always did. The Sage often made him feel better, but he was still slightly nervous around the mysterious Goron. As the small entryway opened up into the small chamber, his eyes fell upon the figure that lay on its back, a mighty sword protruding from its chest. The arms and legs of the Sage were splayed out at odd angles. His robe was tangled around his right arm and his head, obscuring his visage. Link rushed to him, his feet splashing in pools of blood as he neared, falling to his knees beside his only friend and ally. His fist clutched the tangled robe in a terrible grip. Finally he threw back his head and bellowed, his voce echoing back beyond the threshold, carrying his howls into the vast city beyond that all might share his grief.
The Sheikah - …Somewhere
“She is dead then.” He asked in a gravely tone from within the deep, shadowed folds of his cowl. His eyes scanned everything as he took his place within the circle of men and women that had gathered. Each also wore a concealing robe as was their custom. One to the right of him slowly nodded her head in reply and he exhaled a sigh of weariness and deep melancholy. “Prepare the funeral pyre, and send emissaries to the other races. The death of a Sage is a dark portent that cannot be ignored. And somehow I get the feeling that it is not confined to our small domain.”
King Zora – Zora’s Domain
“Your Majesty.” A tall, thin Zora with teal tinged scales said with a bow as he entered the throne room of the Zora’s Domain. The corpulent King Zora sat on the edge of the tunnel that led out to the holy shrine of Lord Jabu Jabu, looking down upon the newly arrived messenger.
“What news have you, Valius? What have your seekers found?”
“The body of the Sage of Water was found in Lake Hylia, Your Majesty. The Tektites had already begun to feed on the body, but the Sage Medallion was easy to recognize.”
King Zora sat in silence a moment, letting the gravity of the messenger’s words sink in. The Sage of Water, already dead. First his daughter had died years before, and now this. The Zoras had suffered much in the last decades, and the death of their most powerful guardian only seemed to compound all that loss and sufferance into a single event. King Zora suddenly found a terrible rage rising up in him.
“How did she die?” It could not be a natural death, it just couldn’t, not to so young and powerful a Sage as she.
“A sword forged of red ice, Your Majesty. It was still in her breast when we arrived. She had been dead for several hours.”
“Red ice!” Only one man had ever conjured so unnatural an element as red ice against the Zoran peoples. That man was bound outside the walls of reality.
But his son ruled in the desert.
The Deku Tree – Kokiri Forest
The Deku Tree, vast and intimidating in its towering majesty stood deep within the ancient wood, its limbs climbing to dizzying heights, stretching out to shelter the Kokiri Forest within the shade of its immense branches. The face within the surface of the bark smiled its benediction down upon the two small children of the forest who now entered the clearing, their brightly hued little fairies buzzing around their heads in angst. Their faces were not pleasant and happy, but dark and grim, as though they carried the omen of truly vile news.
“Why dost thou come to me?” the great tree asked in a voice that shook the trees at the edge of the clearing. The two Kokiri fell to their knees, prostrating themselves before their creator. Their fairies froze in their incessant circling. The first Kokiri, a small girl with a head of full, sunny golden curls, rose to her feet to address the Deku Tree.
“Oh Mighty Deku Tree, I and Mido come before you today bearing tidings most grave.” She paused for a moment, her fairy, glowing a gentle pink, came forth to resume its orbit around her. “The Sage of Forest has fallen.”
For a moment no sound at all was made within the forest clearing, it was a silence so deep that the two Kokiri could quite audibly hear the beating of their little hearts. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees encircling them, and those of the great Deku Tree above them. The rapid, nearly imperceptible hum of the fairies’ wings was carried to their ears in the silence by the lightly blowing breeze.
“Of this I am already aware, my children.” The Deku Tree said at last. The two Kokiri were incredulous, the Deku Tree could not have known, they had been the first to find the body of the beautiful young Sage of Forest.
“How, Great Deku Tree? How could you possess this knowledge already? We came to you immediately upon the discovery of her body.”
“I know because she told me.” This time the young boy Kokiri stood and stepped forward.
“That makes no sense, Oh Mighty Deku Tree. How could she have told you she was to be murdered? She was a Sage, her power over the Forest was like unto yours, how could she have expected, let alone known, that she was to be slain?” his voice was that of a child, but his tone spoke of a towering arrogance within his soul.
“Because, my children; the Sage of Forest was not slain. She committed the deed herself.” The Deku Tree paused for a long moment as an icy gust blew through the meadow. “I sense a war is brewing in the land of Hyrule, I can feel its first chill winds blowing my branches even now.”
Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress
“You wished to treat with me and mine, so welcome to the Gerudo Fortress.” Deonysius addressed the emissaries of the other Hyrulean races cordially. None returned his pleasant greeting; instead each wore a grave expression as they seated themselves at the circular table he had provided for the meeting. Deonysius was the last to sit, and the way that he had arranged the chairs he now faced all four of them, as their chairs were all pushed to the opposite side of the table from where his was placed.
“We will have none of your pleasantries, Dragmyre. We come for a reason, as I’m sure you’ve gathered from the great host that even now camps within this very valley.” The Hylian ambassador replied darkly, his feelings of hate plainly evident in his open glare.
“Yes, I will admit I was wondering about that.”
“Silence.” The Goron ambassador growled. This time the ambassador for the Zoras spoke.
“On behalf of the King and the people whom I serve, I come here today to demand your immediate surrender.” The Zora intoned almost ceremonially as he waved his finned arm at Deonysius. The ruler of the desert reaches was about to speak when the chamber door was thrust open and in swept the Sage of Spirit. She stopped as her eyes fell upon the scene; all the races of Hyrule save for the Kokiri arrayed against her King. She simply stood, taken by surprise, unable to move. “And that of your Sage.”
“You’re fools.”
“Excuse me?” The ambassadors seemed taken aback by that simple statement. Deonysius slowly pushed his chair back and rose to his full height, nearly a head and a half taller then the long, lean Hylian.
“You’re fools meddling in affairs that you have no business interfering with. There are dark times for this land, and they’re looming just over the horizon, I can feel it. And this time there is no legendary hero who will rise up to take back the land, the only thing that can stop this threat is the sheer force of power.” All the braziers in the room roared up into great pillars of flame that surrounded them as Deonysius directed at the Hyruleans a gaze of pure ice. The slightest wave of his hand and the fires blew out, leaving them all in the dark.
“In short gentlemen, I refuse your demand. My guards will escort you out now.”
Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress Under Seige
“Update, Captain Alviara?” Deonysius asked politely as he swept into the makeshift war room, leading the Sage of Spirit in his wake. The Gerudo woman leapt immediately from her chair and into desperate explanation.
“So far the Hyruleans have fallen back to their encampment and are holding their positions, but it’s only a matter of time before they marshal their forces for another assault. We were barely able to repel them the last few times, and they haven’t committed their full force to the field yet.” Alviara said in a rush.
“How are the defenses holding? I understand that the barricade in the front courtyard has held so far, what makes you think that we can’t continue to hold it?”
“Your Majesty, the barricade was shoddily crafted in the first place, it has only held this long because we’ve been able to convince them to retreat instead of spending their numbers on breaching it. If they bring their full force to bear they’ll easily be able to overwhelm the outer defenses and still have the numbers to storm the fortress.”
“You make it sound as if this is a hopeless battle.” Said Deonysius as he walked over and picked up one of the many reports lying on the large, roughly hewn wooden table, scanning it briefly before setting it back down and walking over to the open window, crossing his arms behind his back and looking out into the starry night sky. “Would you like me to give myself over to them, now that you know what it is we are faced with? It could end this war before it begins. Would you like me to surrender?”
“Never, your Majesty. The Gerudo people need you more then ever. You cannot simply abandon us, you must lead us.” Another of the several Gerudo women in the chamber inserted fervently. Deonysius couldn’t help but smile a bleak smile.
“Good. I’m going to need your dedication to our cause if we are to survive this.”
“Lord Deonysius, it is well known that you are a powerful sorcerer, possibly greater even then your… predecessor. You need to use your power; you can drive off the Hyrulean horde all by yourself!”
“He could, but to do such a thing would be a betrayal of those who were not blessed with such a gift. Those with magic bear an inherent responsibility not to use that power against those who have no manner of defense against such a thing.” The Sage of Spirit informed them all. “I myself worked to teach your King that very principle, magic cannot be used in such a manner, even if it means losing this battle.”
“However, I have responsibilities that supersede such ethical principles, and while it pains me to say this, the safety and sovereignty of my people must be foremost in my heart and mind.” Deonysius turned from the window, his face grim. “If it comes to a point where there is no longer a choice but to unleash my powers against the Hyruleans, I’m afraid I will have to do so. I hope against hope that it does not come to such a thing, but if it does, I will act.”
“You cannot! To abuse your power in such a way is against everything I’ve taught you!”
“My dear Sage, you have been a good advisor, and a good friend, and you taught me many things. It was you yourself that impressed upon me the necessity of putting my people before myself. You cannot know how it would hurt me to use my power in such a way after all the lessons you’ve taught me, but I will see my people safe no matter the price I have to pay.”
Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Fortress Under Seige
“They’re inside the fortress!”
“Fight for your lives!”
Desperate cries rang through the corridors, accompanied by the constant ringing of steel on steel as the Gerudo attempted to form some sort of defense against the Hyrulean forces now rampaging through the halls.
Deonysius could hear the calls as he sat contritely in the war room. The Sage had departed some time ago to meditate and left him to sit alone in the dimly lit chamber, listening to the sounds of the battle raging around him. He knew that the time for action was rapidly approaching; he knew that the sooner he intervened, the more Gerudo would live to tell the tale of this day to future generation.
“Rally! Rally and drive them out!” some Gerudo shouted wildly in the corridor beyond the heavy iron door that barred entry into the chamber. A valiant effort, but Deonysius knew that the defenses would fail utterly if he did not act soon, he was the only one that could rally the Gerudo now.
The sounds of combat outside began to fade, and he knew that his people were dying. He could no longer sit idly by and hope that events would sort themselves out without him.
It was time.
He pushed his chair back and climbed slowly to his feet. The sounds of fighting were now all but gone in the corridor beyond, all he could hear was a number of men talking in Hylian accents. The murderers of his people, killers who had come for wanton slaughter.
“Mother, I never knew you, but forgive me.” He muttered.
If they wanted a slaughter, he’d give them one. One gesture and the door was blown off its hinges and through the far wall. Deonysius stepped out of the war room into a shocked silence as Hylian soldiers stood staring at him with numb surprise. Five of them stood in the corridor over several Gerudo corpses. There were three on his left, two on his right.
He didn’t care.
Violent detonations filled the hall, spelling the ends of all five in fire and blood. He stood still, his breathing heavy as blood lust seethed in his veins like liquid fire. He had killed with magic for the first time, a thing that the Sage had warned him about. She had told him that to kill with magic was to open oneself up to all of his or her darkest impulses. She had told him that it took great strength of character to resist them. But Deonysius couldn’t waste time fighting back those darker pieces of himself, he needed them if he was going to drive the Hyrulean butchers out of his domain.
Deonysius Dragmyre – Gerudo Valley
“Secure the bridge Alviara.” Deonysius instructed his captain as the last remaining Hyruleans managed to escape across it back into Hyrule proper. The handsome young Gerudo woman nodded and then waved her hand forward, signaling their soldiers forward. As the last Gorons rolled out of view of the desert people’s army Deonysius breathed a silent sigh of relief and turned around to look inward at his own domain. The ground was littered with bodies, male and female, and of every race. The fighting had been quite brutal, and Deonysius had been the most ruthless of anyone on the field of engage
== Relative Obscurity ==
IC: Morton Waypost/Day 1/Lost Woods 
In the forests of Hyrule there live many creatures. Some are little more than rodents, and some are such fierce predators that even experienced hunters avoid them.
And then there are the children, and the troublemakers. Long has it been a legend that should any sentient creature wander into the Lost Woods of Hyrule, it may be doomed to become what is known as a Skull Kid, the petty thief, and troublemaker of the forest.
None know this better than the Kokiri themselves, and they often consider themselves experts on the Lost Woods, fearlessly wandering its passages, always returning to their home in time to avoid the spell of the Skull Kid.
One such child did not manage to avoid this spell. His name is long forgotten, as his history before becoming cursed. Morton Waypost is no normal cursed creature; he is rejected by both Kokiri and Skull Kid alike. Half Kokiri, Half Skull kid, his transformation is one of mystery.
Though only a mystery to those who meet him. Morton has never shared the secrets behind his sad half transformation, out of respect for those that tried to save him. He fears he can never return to Kokiri Forest, and he has never dared leave the Lost Woods.
Instead, he visits only the ones who tried to cure him, and doing so, has made a few friends, who like him, keep themselves cloaked and hidden from the world outside, the world above.
“…If I ever want to restore my body to its proper form, I’m going to have to leave this forest.” Morton sighed, and took his first fateful steps outside the Lost Woods. Entering into Hyrule field, Morton grimaced, not knowing just what he would encounter, for he had never seen nor experienced the outside world.
== The First of the Unseen ==
Aedor Isharan - Ruins of Castle Town - Morning One
The sun had yet to rise over the mountains in the east and bathe the now desolate land of Hyrule in its gentle warmth when Aedor came awake with a start, his breathing heavy, and a cold sweat making his linen tunic stick to his skin. He was a bit disoriented at first, but he could have swore that it was a voice that had woken him, a voice that seemed so very familiar, but one that seemed to slip away from him when he tried to recall it. Such things had been happening more often of late, ever since he had... fallen. He shook his head and brushed his disheveled, glossy black hair out of his face, then pulled himself up into a sitting position and surveyed his surroundings.
He had taken to living in an abandoned cellar (albeit one that was largely open to the elements), and it was one of the few places in the once great capital that wasn't in danger of collapsing if met by a light breeze. He wasn't especially keen on being buried in rubble, so he had elected that a subterranean camp was probably best, and then he had stumbled upon his present basement, and here he was. The mortar was crumbling and the wood was splintered, but it was stable enough to suit him. The cellar even had room for his mighty war horse, Imaran, a massive dark gray charger. Imaran still stood untethered near the far wall where he had been when Aedor has drifted off to sleep on the rough pallet that he now used for a bed.
"Morning, boy." Aedor muttered, tossing back his tattered wool blanket and clamboring to his feet. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stumbled over to a bucket that he had found near the granite steps. The destruction of castle town had opened a hole in the roof above the bucket, and now it was almost full of rain water, which he collected in his cupped hands and splashed on his face. Feeling somewhat refreshed he walked back across the dirt floor of the cellar and began to gird himself once more in his armor. He slid into his heavy gray trousers and then pulled his mail shirt on over his sweat soaked tunic, which promised to make him highly uncomfortable throughout the day. He slipped his feet into his rough leather boots and then set the greaves against his shins and tied the leather straps tightly around his calves. His breastplate and gauntlets hung from his saddle, which sat against the far wall near Imaran. Clad now in steel he led his steed up out of the shelter, and strapped the saddle onto Imaran's back in the dull gray of dawn. Once he had girded himself in his thick iron breastplate, he climbed up into the saddle and rested the reigns on his lap while he pulled on and tightened his gauntlets. His sword was tied securely to the side of his saddle already, and he breathed deep the morning air as the sun rose majestically to shine down upon the miserable ruin of Castle Town as though it was still a shining beacon of humanity rather then the delapitated ghost town that it had become. His expression became grave, and the words of his oath came once more to the surface of his mind. His fists tightened around the reigns until they trembled, and he departed from the market with a purpose.
Aedor Isharan – Kakariko Village – Childhood Flashback
“Aedor, hurry up now boy! Sir Kartin is waiting on you!”
His pace quickened as he was beckoned by his mother, though with the heavy pack on his shoulders he found it difficult to increase his speed. Before long however he was running across the grassy expanse as fast as he could, barely skidding to a halt before he crashed headlong in the tree that stood just before the Steps of Kakariko that led out into the vast rolling plains of Hyrule Field. Standing there, leaning with one hand against the rough bark of the tree and the other holding the reins of two horses was the largest man young Aedor had ever laid eyes on. The brute of a man stood nearly a head taller then his own father Aedes and encased in steel that was so worn from use that it had lost all shine and luster, and looked all the more threatening for it. A thick black mustache covered his upper lip and his black hair was matted and greasy. The beast of a man surveyed Aedor with a scowl for a moment before turning his scowl on Aedes.
“He’s a bit scrawny, Aedes.” The big knight asserted gruffly. Aedor was crestfallen, he had only just met the man who was supposed to be his mentor for the next several years according to his parents, and already the man disapproved of him.
“He’s very young, Rolin. He’ll sprout eventually; people tend to do that as they get older.”
“Yeah yeah, I’m sure he’ll do just fine. I’ll have him the finest knight in Hyrule in no time.” Rolin replied. He finally returned his gaze to Aedor. “You’re my page now boy. I know your father told you the basics, but I’ll fill you in on the particulars once we’re off. You’d best say your goodbyes for now; I don’t expect we’ll be returning her for some time.”
Aedor responded immediately by dropping his pack and literally leaping into his mother’s arms, wrapping his arms tightly around her neck and clinging to her.
“I’ll miss you momma.” He whispered over and over again as he buried his face in her shoulder. She clung to him just as tightly, and he could feel the moisture of her tears on his cheek. Finally she let him go and he turned to his father, who knelt and gave him a somewhat briefer embrace then his mother had, then held Aedor out at arm’s length and looked him in the eye.
“Now son, I want you to work hard for Sir Kartin. Rolin is a brute, but he’s one of the best Knights you’ll ever meet. Be watchful and learn from him, do as he does and you’ll learn what you need to learn. Be brave, Aedor, you’re stepping into a whole new world.”
Aedor Isharan - Hyrule Field (The Bridge) - Morning One
The memories of that fateful morning all came rushing in on Aedor in a torrent of emotion. That day had changed his life, the day that had set him on the path to Knighthood. If he had never left home, if he had never become page to Sir Rolin Kartin, much might have been different for him. And yet he did not linger on such thoughts, he lived very much in the present, and had little patience for 'what ifs' and 'maybes'. He had stopped his ride at the bridge in order to allow Imaran a drink from the river that flowed down into Hyrule Field from the realm of the Zoras. He filled his waterskins with the cool river water and hung them from his saddle, then unhooked Mynegon's scabbard and fastened the sword at his hip. He felt more comfortable with the familiar weight of the sword, and rested his left palm on its pommel.
Always so ready to use that fancy sword of yours...
Aedor spun immediately, his eyes everywhere, trying to locate the source of the voice he had heard. He saw nothing, but he knew that the voice was one that he should recall. Once he had determined that there was nobody nearby he let out a sigh and slumped down on the stone rail of the bridge. What was going on? Why was he hearing that voice and why couldn't he remember who it belonged to?
== Lost Participants ==
Rato Filvin/Outcast village/morning 1
He was swimming through a tunnel.At least,he thought it was a tunnel,it was darker though,than any tunnel he had seen in his life. Suddenly seven forms sprang up and started spinning around him like rotating octopus tentacles.Suddenly,a horrific chanting began as they orbited him faster and faster,rising in pitch until it was like an unholy crescendo of voices,each blending into the others until they were as one.In a flash of light,the dream changed into an abovewater scene of flames and destruction.And right in the middle of the chaos,in the center of a drained Lake Hylia,was outcast village ablaze with fire.
"NO!"
Rato,a young zora named for the now dead sage of water,sat up in his bed as he awakened from the troubled dream that he had been reliving each night for a week now.
"oh",The troubled boy looked around his room,"just that dream again." 
Scanning the room again,he took in the comforting silence that enveloped him.Gazing at his handmade ocarina,he started to drift back to sleep...
Rami Webber/Kokiri Forest/Morning 1
Rami awoke to find the sun was shining directly in his eyes through his window. Groaning, he attempted to ignore it and fall back asleep, but, in the end, all of these attempts were in vain. Finally, he jumped out of his hammock, and began to get dressed. After he put on his robes and his hat Rami began to water his plants, which needed the sunlight that annoyed him so. If it wasn't for the fact that the plants were essential to some of his potions he would have put something up to cover the windows a longtime ago. He started to leave his large tree stump home just then, but he then remembered to grab his hat and put it on.
Once he got outside it was immediately apparent that it wasn't only sunny, but it was also pretty hot and arid. Many of the kokiri working around the village were sweating profusely and breathing heavily. There were some clouds in the sky though, so hopefully they would see some rain. Thanks to the recent streak of heat and dryness, many of the crops grown in the village were dying. To make up for this the kokiri had decided that they would send someone to kakariko village to buy or trade for some crops, but they weren`t keeping there hopes up, as food was most likely hard to find any crops after the attack on hyrule castle. To decide who would go the kokiri drew the name of a kokiri randomly, unfortunately Rami`s name was the one drawn. He already had all of his supplies so he grabbed the small pull-cart they had built and set out for kakariko village.
Rami Webber/Hyrule Field/Morning 1
The first thing he noticed as he made his way out of the forest was that, though it was just as dry, it was cooler out here than in the forest. Pulling the cart behind him, he made his way through the war damaged countryside, he was astounded by the damage, apparently some of the field had been razed and some had even been salted afterwards, as he could make out some of the larger pieces of salt on the ground. Normally if a kokiri ventured out of the forest they would be attacked by some of the monsters and most likely would not make it back to the forest, but apparantly the majority of the monsters had migrated, or maybe they`re just hiding, making it easier to stalk their prey...Rami quickly stopped thinking about that, but in the back of his mind he was being slightly more cautious. Around this time he made it over the bridge that went over the river, along the way he saw a tall hylian man in chainmail near a beast of a horse that most have been nearly, if not defiantly, twice as tall as himself. He tried not to stare as he made his way to the steps, and made his way up the chipped steps, pulling the cart up the individual steps.
== Missed Potential ==
Baequi/Morning/The Lost Woods
As typical of the mornings following his departure from Hyrule Town, Baequi found himself seated on a log in the Lost Woods with one of many anicent Hylian texts resting open in his hands. For some reason, however, he was having great difficulty in concentrating on his reading today. After glancing over a particular passage for the eleventh time, Baequi still could not extract any meaning from it; his mind was obviously elsewhere. With a deep breath, Baequi finally gave up and placed the book gently on the forest ground beside the other texts he owned. Now free to do as it pleased, Baequi's mind began to wander aimlessly... 
Was this the best path he could have chosen?... It had to be. Men were vicious, even cruel. When the world is in such a chaotic state, there can be no better life than that of seclusion. But still. How can someone rid himself of selfishness if he chooses to ignore society and hence the people suffering within it?
These thoughts penetrated Baequi's heart. Although he came to the Lost Woods in search of inner peace, Baequi understood that such tranquility could only be fully realized by returning to society to spread his wisdom. Now was not the time to return, however; his mind was far from being eased. To calm his soul, he had realized that he needed to unite it with nature. The Ancient texts in his possession had taught him to communicate with the surrounding vegetation, but that was not enough... He needed to understand nature's very essence. But how was one to go about doing that?
Overwhelmed with a sudden stroke of genius, Baequi browsed through the books laid neatly beside his feet until he finally rested his gaze on one entitiled, "Book of Lore: The Temples of Hyrule." Rapidly scanning the book, Baequi finally stopped at a page which consisted of the following text: 
Deep within the vast forest, there lays a lone temple sustained by vines and shrubs,
Deep within the lone temple, there lays an ancient room locked away by the magic of the woods,
Deep within the ancient room, there lays an illuminous chest chiseled away by time,
Deep within the illuminous chest lays an ancient book which bestows animation upon the most silent of essences. 
Unable to comprehend of how he could have overlooked such a passage in his course of study, Baequi's mind leapt...
Could 'the most silent of essences' be a reference to nature? Could this seemingly mythical book be a tool of salvation? Even such, how can one even know this passage to be true? After all, the passage is within a book of lore. But then again, lore is often based upon real things." 
Unsure of what to make of the passage, Baequi knew of only one way to appease his curiosity. And so, after months of living in the Lost Woods, Baequi finally left his niche in the forest and found himself headed towards Hyrule Field in search of an individual who could guide him to the Forest Temple.
Morton: Hyrule Field-Lost Woods Entrance/Day 1
Morton felt somewhat uneasy as he took his first steps out onto Hyrule Field. He had viewed its grassy plains from tree-tops before, but had never once seen it from the ground. He felt rather overwhelmed by just how far it stretched, and part of his mind urged him to head back into the forest.
"...Can't do that though." Morton grimaced and looked back at the entrance one last time, and was surprised to see a man appear. Morton made sure he was covered by his cloak, and then slowly approached the man. "Where are you headed stranger?" Morton asked, intending to tag along and use this man to learn more about the land.
== Peeps Get Angsty ==
Denzel, Ranch
Denzel threw his pitchfork into a nearby stack of hay, making it scatter everywhere along the floor. Yet again, he was angry and had enough of the constant controlling from the new Ranch Leader, Eric. It was more of the same: Take this here, pick that up. He knew that he was very capable of leading the ranch himself. It's not like the Leader was doing a very good job of leading, anyway.
He booted the door in and knocked over the bucket of warm milk on his way up the stairs. He wanted to quit, but there wasn't much money going on around here. Even after saving for much a long while, he still didn't have enough to go into such an early retirement. All he had was what was saved in his bank account, which was a small sack under his bed. He was told to keep all his money in a bank account, but didn't. He didn't want to go all the way to town just so he could remove it.
As he reached under his bed to grab the sack, Eric barged in. A look of brutal anger caused his face to be beet red. After a quick exchange of looks, Eric snapped. 
"Again?! AGAIN?! Who do you think you are!? Do you run this place?!"
Denzel stared at him in stone silence, and Eric went off again.
"Well?! I don't even think you know how do do this job! The only reason you got it was because the old leader was an incompetent fool who couldn't do a thing. I look at you, and see the same thing!"
Within a few seconds after he arose from his crouching position, Eric found himself tossed into a neaby dresser. Denzel let himself out of the room, and went off to sleep in the feild for a night.
The next morning, Eric awoke, not expecting to find Denzel around. He didn't. As he tended to his usual morning routine, the cows, the horses, he went to the Cucco coop and an immidiate look of discust went upon his face. There was one thing different about all of them.
They didn't have a head.
Eric nearly fainted, and could only manage to mutter the words "This man..."
[hr]
Denzel awoke in Zora's Domain, his back aching from a long night. He winced as he got up, not wanting to. He didn't remember a thing from the ordeal last night aside from he wasn't at the ranch, and had a bag of rupees with him. As he walked around, trying to relax his muscles, he saw someone walking towards him from the distance.
"Great" he thought. The last thing he wanted to see was a person.
But to his luck it was no person, but rather a kind Zora fresh out of the water, most likely fresh from a swim or a caught fish.
"Ho!" it said.
Denzel let out a grunt, but decided not to come off as a jerk. "Hi," he muttered. "Name's Denzel. Yours?" But as he said that... he sensed something very wrong in it's tone of voice.
"H--help..."[/color]
Shahrek Glowans-Gerudo Desert-Morning-Day 1.
"Hey Mom!"
"I always tell you to call me Leeda, my Child"
"You always do, mom". The young tall boy had taken out the bandages of his face and was smiling at the old Gerudo Witch. His blue eyes glittered beautifully, and so did his white teeth. Leeda smiled back. 
"It's been weeks since i last saw you, I was scared something might have happened to you. You are kind of reckless recently." 
"I've only been hunting and getting some gifts for you and Mom Areeda... I would have got here yesterday, but you had clients, and I mustn't visit when you have clients. I brought you a rabbit by the way"
"Well, at least you still play by the rules I see. How's my sister?"
"Mom Areeda is fine... I have to go to Kakariko Village to get something for her. I hate that place... Always so full of people... Anyways I'll se you mom, i'm off to town. Don't worry about me, I'l be fine."
Shahrek replaced the bandages in his mouth, verified his bottles, quiver and bow, and left the hut.
Aedor Isharan - Kakariko Village - Morning One
After the passage of the diminutive Kokiri pulling the cart, Aedor had practically leapt into Imaran's saddle. His charger tore up the sod as he galloped toward the stairs into what had now become the haven for the Hylian refugees. The rush of wind whipped at his hand and tangled it into an even greater mess as man and horse all but flew up the steps and leapt into the sheltered village of Kakariko. With ease he closed the distance between himself and the cart pulling Kokiri child, and once he had overtaken him, Aedor pulled on the reigns hard and Imaran came to a quick halt. He looked down at the young forest lad, clad in robes of canary and sable.
"'Tis not safe for one so miniscule as yourself to travel unaccompanied these days. I know not what a child of the forest seeks in the village of Kakariko, for much is amiss in the land and the ranch that was once the primary source of food for the Hylian people has been wrested from them. The desert thieves take every crop and every cow and spirit them away to their fortress in the desert and leave nothing, not so much as a cucco for the ancestral people of this land. The Hylians will starve before long if that source of food is not retaken." Aedor announced. He swung himself down out of the saddle and landed on his feet with a steely crash in front of the Kokiri.
"I shall escort you, young one, in hopes that you may acquire what your people require. My name is Sir Aedor Isharan, a Knight of the land. And by what cognomen might I call you?"
Shahrek Glowans-Hyrule Field, close to the Lost Woods-Afternoon-Day 1.
In a pretty good mood he left Leeda's hut and crossed the desert. He was going through his favorite path of the field of hyrule, walking next to the borders. As he passed throgh the entrance to the lost woods, he saw a Young Boy... Was it a young Boy really?... and a man... a Sheikah, he thought... He cemouflaged with the field, fearing to be found, and watched the strange couple. Hyrule field was always empty, so finding a sheikah and someone else was indeed something strange.
"Where are you headed stranger?" the young boy asked, in a voice that sounded unfitting... So the sheikah and the boy didn't know each other. I'll investigate a little bit, Shahrek said to himself, and stood hidden, watching and listening.
Rucius Ironbreath/Gerudo Desert/Day 1
----------------------------------------
Leaving the Oasis where the abandonded Spirit Temple stood, Rucius thought of what had occured in the past few years. It had been ten years since he had taken up the mantle of traveling smith. He had wandered Hyrule in its entireity, and when he had seen everything, he had persuaded the Gerudo to let him out their desert gate. Since then, he had seen many things, but it was time to return.
Even if She had not come to him in a dream, he had been on his way back. Even for one such as he, there was a home waiting for him. And since that dream, he had more than a home to come back to. He had a task. 
Rucius sometimes wondered if it truely had been Her in his dream. He had more dreams than he could bear in the past ten years, so why was this one special? What had brought him home? Even for one of the Three, that was much to ask of him. He was only a lowly smith, as skilled as he was with his hammer and anvil. Still he answered the call. 
The desert was a beautiful place. Like his mountain home, it was said to be beloved to Her. A Goron such as himself would be happy to live here, assuming one could get the best rocks from home delievered regularly. It was pleasantly warm and dry, unlike much of the rest of Hyrule, which had the disturbing habit of being cold and wet. Too bad the Gerudo monopolized it for themselves.
Up ahead, he spotted the Desert Gate. Once he passed there, he would truely be in Hyrule again. He would complete his task, and then maybe come back to the desert. No one used the Spirit Temple, it seemed. It wouldn't make a bad home for a Goron.
He walked up to the Gate, to the sentry tower. The sentry, had apparently spotted him some time ago, and stared in abject amazement. He supposed few Gorons came through the Gate, and even fewer going in his direction. 
"Mind opening the gate and letting an old Goron through, missy?"
Talai Nocturna - Gerudo Fortress - Day 1
For once she had a chance to avoid being out on a patrol when the sun came up. Someone took her place tonight after a rough ride on the outskirts of Hyrule Field where many night creatures had swarmed her horse and threw her from it. However, she did survive the encounter, but with no memory of it. Some of her fellow military had found her unconscious this morning, and she had many cuts and bruises, surrounded by piles of fur and bones. She was raving like a lunatic when she came to in the bunk, waking other sleeping troops up, who shouted their choice half-awake murmurs at her to tell her to go back to sleep.
"Where's Andi? Where's my horse? Why did I end up here?" Drenched in sweat also, she rolled over to find her gear sticking out from under the bunk. But the fact that she couldn't remember anything bothered her. "Not again..." The pain wasn't anything she wasn't familiar to, and no doubt she'd just shrug it off and go deal with further patrols of Hyrule Field once the medical staff cleared her to go out. Going back to sleep wasn't an option, either. Once she woke up, that was it. It was hard enough to fall asleep, let alone at dawn.
"You must have had quite a night, Sergeant Nocturna. They found you in a pile of bones and fur near the outskirts of the field. Are you sure you don't remember?" The doctor looked her over further at around 9am, and her findings were nothing beyond the normal wear and tear of Talai's patrols. This happened far too often and her commanding officers put her on these patrols to make sure that her bizarre quirks didn't cause a detriment or two to the other troops. It also kept things from getting into the Valley that weren't supposed to be there. She'd gone through 3 horses in the past year though, with one dead and two that ran away in fright.
"I am sure I don't remember, doctor. If I could, I would, and I wish I didn't have to end up in the infirmary four or five times a month. Can I go out again tonight though? The King needs people like me to keep our borders clear." 
The doctor reluctantly agreed, even though Talai had a few broken ribs and a bruised knee among other cuts and minor injuries. After a light breakfast and some socialization as time allowed, she rode off from the Fortress to the Field after picking up a boomerang from the armory. She needed something else to have an edge on surprise attackers and a boomerang would allow for a non-lethal solution and possible arrest method. 
Her horse was still very uneasy with her. This was the seventh time it had bucked her off, but Talai insisted on keeping it instead of getting a replacement. It wasn't too bad of a morning either. Her stomach was full, her mind was somewhat clear, and there wasn't anything in her line of sight that would require her attention. Just a peaceful morning ride, for once, as she approached the area of the Field around Lake Hylia.
Baequi/Hyrule Field right outside of the Lost Woods/Afternoon of Day 1
It was an arduous task to navigate onself through the Lost Woods, but Baequi was able to manage it; months in the forest had allowed him to grow familiar with its various landmarks. As he stepped into the clearing of Hyrule Field, Baequi noticed that the air was not as pristene as it used to be and that the trees seemed far fewer in number. Could this be a symbol of society's current state, he questioned. If so, then man's savagery remained just as it always had: uncontained. 
Realizing that it was already midafternoon, Baequi thought it best to continue onward into the field and he would had clearly done such if it hadn't been for a sudden voice emanating from behind him.
"Where are you headed stranger?"
Turning around, Baequi found himself standing in front of a cloaked figure whose stature resembled very much that of a Kokiri. He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "It is not safe for a Kokiri such as yourself to leave the forest...," Baequi finally replied, ignoring the question which was asked of him. "But then again," he continued after better examining the silhouette of the figure's face, "you aren't like any of the other Kokiris, are you?" Feeling that his question may prompt needless conversation if interpreted as anything but rhetorical, Baequi hastily added, "Don't worry. I care not about the circumstances of your life nor about that of any others for that matter." The stranger was obviously taken aback by his remark, but Baequi gave no heed to it. The people of this world, he had concluded awhile back, were not worth talking to until he had acheived inner peace.
And so, with a slight nod of his head as a goodbye, Baequi continued into Hyrule Field. He had only gotten five steps from the stranger, however, when he stopped rather abruptly. Perhaps this person could be of some help, Baequi thought. He is, after all, a Kokiri... or at least he resembles one. Turning around to face the stranger again, Baequi lowered the hood of his own cloak, revealing his identitiy to be that of a Shiekah. "By chance," he asked the stranger, "are you familiar with the Lost Woods; that is, can you navigate it?" 
Denzel Zora's Domain
The Zora began to sputter and cough, but soon stopped. Denzel leaned over him to see if he was breathing, and it was. He shook him, and it awoke, startled.
"What.. who!?"
The Zora scambled around furiosly, and as Denzel stood up it took off into the river and wasn't seen again. "So much for other people." Denzel thought. He ventured back into Hyrule Field, still angry that he had nothing to show for a wasted night. In the distance he saw two people breaking from a conversation, and approached one, the other still not far away. It was shrouded in a hood, so he tapped whoever it was on the shoulder, hoping to get some info on any jobs or deeds to be done. He needed money... and a place to get settled.
"Hey!" he started to either of the fellows "I need money. Think you could help a guy out?"
Hal'rion/edge of lost woods/Day 1
The sound of a horses galloping through the thin grass was trapped in the sinking valley. Heavy armor on the rider increased the force each gallop, but the black horse didn’t seem to mind. Dark grey hair flowed from the animal’s head, reminding Hal’rion of how human the horse truly was. 
Black Thunder, Hal’s horse, had always been obedient to its master. Never disobeying and moving with the swiftness of a bird flying through the sky, or a fish through the ocean. This was there sky. This was there ocean, and more than just pearls were scattered across the floor. 
Still, such places had there sharks, and while Hal considered himself better than the average hawk, he knew there were others who were masters of the land, and that they would not hesitate to prove that to Hal or anyone else in a moment’s notice. 
A low rumble resonated from inside Thunder’s throat as Hal gently pulled on the reigns, bringing the horse to a stop. Hal stared forward at the terrain. 
The valley sunk steeply down before becoming flat again at the edge of a small forest. Yellow grass flowed throughout the plain, never growing above an inch or two. Small signs of wild game were visible, but Hal expected most of the animals were in the forest. 
What captured Hal’s notice was a small camp set up at the edge of the forest. A fire pit, surrounded by grey stones that were similar to the one’s scattered across the plain, burned weakly. An off green tent was set up next to the fire, but it looked nothing more than a large piece of cloth thrown over a few long pieces of wood. 
Three men hung around the camp. The first wore torn peasants clothes and laid next to the fire. He wore his deep, brown hair long and had a short sword hanging from his side. The second seemed like much more of a threat. His body was covered with chain mail as well as a metal shoulder and shin pieces. He held a javelin at his side and stood above the peasant and watched the fire. 
Finally, the third man would be what Hal had to worry about. His clothes were no better than the peasants and he had an unkept beard with small signs of grey running through the light brown. He watched the fire from a distance, leaning against a large tree. A bow rested next to his leg and several arrows were visible from behind the man’s back. 
Hal’rion watched patiently, waiting for the sun began dip beneath the horizon. Then the men would huddle close to the fire for warmth, yet would not keep there guard up as if there were no sun in the sky. Than he would strike. 
Morton: Hyrule Field/Afternoon 1
Morton smiled at the question and responded immediately.
"You couldn't find a more skilled expert at navigating the Lost Woods, I've lived there all my life." The man perked up at Morton's response. "What exactly do you need?"
"There is someplace I must find in the Lost Woods." The man replied. Morton considered the reply, and decided that it couldn't hurt to help someone out before he went off exploring. He was somewhat put off by the state of Hyrule field anyway, finding it impressively large, but eerily empty. He considered the man's response, and figured it would be appropriate to introduce himself before asking any more questions.
"...Well, I can find it. The name's Morton." Morton said, extending his right arm - it being the only one to still resemble a Kokiri's arm.
Denzel: Day 1: Hyrule Field
"Good to meet you. Name's Denzel. I want to get enough money to settle down somewhere... and am very good with arrows... slingshots... anything. I hope to impress someone within an army enough to hold a job, but, as you can see, I am near empty with money as of now. I hear the Kokiri within the woods are skilled with such objects, but they aren't the easiest to find. If you were to assist me, I'd be happy to give you some of what I already have."
Denzel opened the sack to show the pitiful amount of rupees within. This was possibly the most words he had strung together in his whole life, and was glad to see someone that wasn't as arguementitive as many others in the world.
He looked down at the scrawny being, and said "I haven't been far in my life. I want that to change."
They began to walk towards the woods, Denzel hoping for something he hadn't had in a long time: A friendship, no matter how temporary it may be.
Morton: Lost Woods Entrance/Afternoon 1
Morton shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the Kokiri. He pondered how to reply to a man that essentially was asking for guidance to the forest, while another wanted guidance through the Lost Woods to some unspecified location.
"Well, I'm afraid the Kokiri aren't really allowed to let outsiders into the forest..." Morton grimaced. "That isn't to say we are selfish." Morton cringed as he referred to himself as a Kokiri, but quickly hid the expression. "It's just that for as long as Kokiri have lived, a very select few are allowed in the forest, by decree of the Great Deku Tree." Morton was struggling to come up with the information, for in actuality he remembered very little about Kokiri Forest itself. His home was the Lost Woods and its many twisting paths.
"I have no issues with you accompanying myself and..." Morton pasued. "What was your name again?" He asked the other man.
"The name's Baequi."
"Yes, myself and Baequi. We are headed through the Lost Woods, Baequi was wondering if I knew them well. You never did say why that was, care to explain?" Morton inquired of Baequi.
Viridio Tan (The Musician)/Zora's River/Morning One
"Riii!"
"Ribbit!"
Tum tum.
"Riiiii!"
"'bit!"
Tum tum.
"Rii rii rii rii"
"Riib..."
Tum tum tum tum tu-tu-tu-tum tum tu!
...
"RIBBIT!"
Viridio put his drum away and thanked the frogs of the river. The five of them being the last real musicians of Hyrule in this troubling time was a relief to Viridio, and he often came back to Zora's River just to do concert with them. They were a little limited in their singing potential, but he didn't mind much. Music was music.
"Virrrridyo!" one of the frogs stopped him before he could get up. "Beforrre you leaf, can you play ush a song?"
"A song? Sure. What song?" Viridio replied, and was soon greeted by a volley of suggestions.
"'On the Riverrrbank'!"
"'Sweet Waterrrr'!"
"Anything!"
"'Deep and Wide!'"
"'Open Skies'!"
"Use your harrrp!"
"No, the quena!"
"The drum!"
"'Wonderful Days'!"
"Make one up of yourrr own!"
Viridio sat for a moment, and then decided on something short and sweet. "Here," he said contently as he pulled out his harp and plucked a few beginning notes, "I found a new one that I really like, so I'll see what you guys think." A chorus of agreement came from the frogs and Viridio thoughtfully began the song, starting out slowly and mournfully.
"I saw a field far and wide
The reached beyond the mortal plane,
and when my eyne could see no more
I saw instead the endless pain
Of ages past where blood was spilt
And now the warriors are sleeping
beneath the ground while lovers die
and the roaming dead are weeping, 
Forever lost are they
and forever dead are they
And though the thought is a sin,
I know their deaths were all in vain.
Forever lost are they!
And never shall they see their young,
Forever dead are they!
There never was a battle won."
Oromias / Zora's River / Day One / Some time between morning and afternoon. 
Oromias swam through the cold water inside Zora’s Domain. For a minute he thought he was really winning. As if an answer, three Zora children zoomed passed him with a splash of water and laughter. Oromias looked around and saw the children swimming in circles around him, they were toying with him! He was out here sweating his brains out, and they were toying with him. Oromias finally gave up to the fatigue gnawing on his legs. He swam over to the edge of the lake and picked himself up on to the ground. As heard as he tried, he couldn’t learn how to swim like them. He thought that there must be some logical way of learning this technic. But even his massive amount of knowledge could not find a way to learn how to swim faster. “Haha! We win again!” yelled the children as they swam past. With a soft smile, he splashed them and said, “Get out here, you little rascals.” Oromias then got up and rubbed his head in confusion. Then sighed, smiled, and started walking up the stairs.
As Ormoias made his way through the public lunch room, he could hear voices, shouts, and the clinging sound of silverware. He stared down at his plate to find half a piece of fish and some vegetables. Their supplies were withering faster then they could grow them. The Zora’s had always been independent, but with no imports at all, it was very hard for them to keep their supplies in tact. Fish was the only thing keeping them alive, but who knew how that would last. Without an ocean, their fish was limited. As he put down his light tray he could here the murmurs of others. “Did you hear about Fisher?” said someone. “Who is Fisher?” said another. “Fisher, the dude who could catch a fish in one bite, well I guess he was out catching fish and he accidentally swallowed one hole, almost choking to death. He passed out and when he awoke, he saw a huge Hylian monster. He said it almost ate him alive! Huge monster with teeth as large as....” Then words drained out of Ormoias’s head as he thought how foolish these Zora’s are. He heard another Zora, this time from his left say, “I’m telling you, we should fry Lord Jabu-Jabu! He could feed us all for months!” 
Ormoias, having finished his meal, decided to go out for some air. When out of the domain, he climbed to the top of the cave the Zora’s home sat inside. As he walked he saw a Zora, singing to some frogs. The sight was comforting. He waved to the Zora, not sure if he saw. He stopped at the edge where he could practically see all of Hyrule. He spotted a few people chatting on their way to the Lost Woods. He made nothing of it. Then he laid on his back, and smiled at the beautiful sky that seemed to be smiling back. 
Talai Nocturna - Hyrule Field - Noon 1
"Another fine day in Hyrule. Nothing here...lunch break...then another patrol near Kokiri, and hope I can make it back before the sun sets."
It indeed was rather quiet near Hylia. Pardoning the war-torn landscape, it was surprising that everything was still so quiet. Perhaps too quiet? Not bothersome enough for Talai. The riding was hard on her with the broken ribs, which she wrapped up nice and tight, but still had that annoying sharp pain that was associated with the ribs. Control over the horse didn't get easier with the bruised knee either. 
Her horse still was unwary about her on the way to the fortress, and as always, the drawbridge scared it. She managed to keep it from going wild again, and got it over and through, checking in with her replacement, who rode out immediately. Then, it was back to the Fortress to re-dress her injuries via readjustment of the wrappings and then off to the Kokiri area to check on that end of things to make sure nothing was out of order. 
Gerudo Fortress - Afternoon 1
The doctor still wondered why Talai would go out again for a second run. "You really should take it easy, Sergeant. Why are you going out again?" Talai shrugged and smirked.
"Well, it beats being out at night, and I'd rather be tired now than later. Besides, the best way to forget about the ribs is to do what I love, and that's ride." The doctor reluctantly agreed but told her not to engage any possible threats alone. Her instructions were simple. Report unusual sightings, but do not engage opposition. 
The ride back out had a much calmer horse actually listening to its rider. Oats tend to do that. But the fact that it was too quiet even on the way out of the valley unnerved Talai. Her eyes were scanning the horizon as best as they were able, and from the looks of things, clear riding all the way out. 
Hyrule Field - Afternoon 1
Her knee was swelling again...but she was shrugging it off more than she should, and she couldn't shrug it off anymore, either. When she got to her destination, she found a log, dismounted, and propped herself up against a log to pull up her pantleg and take a look at it.
"Completely bruised through..." She readjusted the wrapping and limped back up to her horse, hopping on and making a perimeter sweep of the area. Something just didn't seem right, but she kept riding on, using the horse to keep her knee propped up. "And they want me to go in there...I prefer the desert, but if they ask, I shall obey."
She headed in through the large, hollowed out log entrance at that point. "Beautiful, though the desert has a beauty much better..."
Baequi/Hyrule Field outside the Lost Woods/ Midafternoon Day 1
Although there was an almost innocent tone in Morton's voice, Baequi preferred to keep the aspects of his own life secret from others. And so, Baequi, not wanting to reveal too much, calmly replied, "I only wish to be guided to the Sacred Meadow... there needn't be anything else for you to know." Judging from the sudden slouch in Morton's posture following his last words, Baequi was certain that Morton's face, if it was visible, would have revealed a sullen expression. Perhaps there was no harm in revealing his intentions to Morton, thought Baequi as he turned to glare at the vast stretch of field which lay ahead of him. After all, he seemed "different" enough from the rest of society. 
Breaking the silence, Baequi finally added, "If your curiosity is too much to bear, however, I welcome you to follow me in my endeavors."
Morton nodded. "I must confess," Baequi continued, "that I don't have any rupees to pay for your guidance. I do, however, have some medicinal herbs that will surely be of some value in any Hyrule market."
With his last words, Baequi stepped back into the forest. 
Angered at how Baequi ignored his presence, Denzel quickly remarked, "And what of me, Shiekah?" 
"Accompany us if you wish," echoed a voice from the forest, "but unlike Morton's life, I shall bear no responsibility for yours."
Turning to Morton, Denzel remarked, "I guess he assumes that you accepted his request. He's probably waiting for you in there."
"So it appears...," replied Morton.
Both then glanced into the Lost Woods... It was now up to them to follow Baequi.
Shahrek Glowans-Hyrule Field- Late afternoon- Day 1.
After listening to the conversation for a while, seeing Morton, Baequi and the newly arrived Denzel. They were headed to the lost woods. "It's getting late... There's no way i'm sleeping in those woods". After a while, he unmade the camouflage and kept walking... He had already wasted a lot of time watching the strangers, and if he didn't hurry he wouldn't get to Kakariko Village on time. He went on, and by night he was on Kakariko Village. "Wow, it isn't so crowded... It's later than i thought... anyways, i like it better this way...". The sky was almost black, no stars were to be seen yet, and the dim light of the moon wasn't enough to really see anything. He went into the Witch's store, to get the medicine for his mother. 
"I'm here to get the painkillers" he said to the old potion maker. 
"Yes, Shahrek, got them right here. Say, young lad, how's Areeda?" Added maliciously the old hag. This was a subtle way to remind Shahrek that he still was in a hard position. Aranis, the potion maker, was the only one besides Leeda, Areeda and hymself, who knew about the raising of Shahrek, and if she were to tell anything to the king, or any gerudo at all, his mothers would be in trouble. Shahrek's expression changed, and the smile in Aranis' expression widened. "I need you to get me something important this time. There's a rumor that there's a strange cave which just appeared near the Zora's city... I want you to investigate it, and bring me anything that can be useful for me here... You may keep gems and any valuables you find, just bring me any book and sampes of whatever creatures you encounter."
"As usual." He said, taking the painkillers and leaving. He then walked through the town, thinking about what to do...
Morton: Lost Woods/Afternoon 1
Morton could feel Baequi warming up to him a little. However, he knew the man was still apprehensive about revealing his reasons for going to the Sacred Meadow. Morton himself had only visited the place once, but knew Kokiri sometimes went there, so he was hesitant.
"I cannot say yet whether I will accompany you, but so far you have given me no reason to distrust you. Thus, I will gladly lead you there, and consider your offer of accompaniment once there." Morton motioned Denzel to follow him, and then re-entered the forest, catching up to Baequi. "Of course, it's this way." Morton smirked and turned left, the opposite direction from where Baequi was facing.
Denzel: Lost Woods: Day 1
Denzel aimlessly followed at the back of the pack, waiting to arrive upon his destination. After a short while, he turned to Morton.
"How long?"
"Oh, not very" Morton quickly replied.
After they went through a couple more paths, Denzel finally saw what he saught after: a makeshift bow and arrows, both together and broken surrounding it. "One moment!" he yelled over to Morton and Baequi.
As he leaned over to pick them up, he saw that the bow might not last very long, but was still usable. He picked up an arrow and tested his shot against a nearby branch sticking out of a tree. It scimmed the top, causing the branch to rustle a tad. It had been a while. He threw the bow over his back and arrows in with the sack containing the rupees.
He rushed back up to the others with a small smirk on his face. Things were finally looking up! 
"I'll, uhm, see you around." He turned to leave, but remembered something. He took the arrows out of his sack and threw some rupees on the ground. "Your reward" he said. "Now... carry on"
Denzel honestly didn't know where to go, what to do. These people were his lifeline for now, and he knew it.
== Introductions Are Nearly Over ==
Lorelia Ennah / Kakariko Village / Noontime 1
Lorelia Ennah stared out at the community of Kakariko Village bustling through the streets. How she long to joined them in their humdrum activites. How she pined after the interaction they were afforded in everday life. She let out a sigh, imagining what life for those normal people would be like. It must be fun, she thought.
"Lorelia Ennah! Get away from that window!" a female voice shouted form behind her.
With a start, Lorelia scrambled away from the slightly warped glass, stumbling as her feet interfered with each other's motions. A solid 'thump!' verified her rump's firm contact with the floor.
"Ow... Mother!" she squeaked, seeing her mother stalk towards her. "I'm sorry, Mother! No one saw me, I swear! I just was looking, thinking it'd be nice to join them!" She began to crawl back from her still approching mother.
"You know you can't, it's useless to waste away time imagining on something that will never happen. You remember what used to happen when you went out, how the people hated you. How you were nearly killed by that mob."
Lorelia's eyes began to tear, and her vision blurred. Why did life have to be this way. What had she done against the Goddesses? "It's not fair! They don't know me."
Her mother kneeled beside her and gently stroked her hair. "I know, dear. If they did, they couldn't be so mean to such a sweet girl. But they just don't understand."
Lorelia was feeling typically angered at her mother. "But they'll never get to learn who I really am if I'm just stuck in this damn house all the time! I want to leave. I want to be accepted! ANd this house doesn't help me with either!"
Her mother glared at her, with that angered spite she often had when Lorelia was acting rebellious. "You, young lady," she growled, pointing her finger close to Lorelia's face, "are way out of line, here. Those people out there, everyone in Hyrule, has been through so much with the war, the last thing we need is to be bothered by... by social unrest from you."
"So that's all I am to you? Not a daughter, not a Hylian, but social unrest?"
Her mother looked genuinely hurt. "No! No, Dear, no. You're my little daughter Lorelia, and I love you. I don't want you to be hurt."
Lorelia jumped to her feet. "You don't love me. You love those people out there," she cried, throwing a pointing finger to the window and Kakariko outside. "And if you so want me to be out of this damn culture, then fine. I'll leave you and spare you the social unrest. But I swear to you, Mother, that I will be accepted by your precious soceity. No matter what I have to do to change, I will be normal!"
She rushed off to her room, throwing what small amounts of spare clothing and other supplies she would need into a small pack. This she threw over her back, the straps resting firmly on her shoulders. She took the belt weapons her father had trained her to use in self defense and paused momentarily.
A cry came from the room she vacated, "Lorelia! Don't you leave me! It's dangerous out there for you! Come back and let us keep you safe!"
To this Lorelia let fly from her mouth the most uncouth words she could conjure from her vocabulary, hoping to, and succeeding in, stunning her mother into inaction. Continuing swiftly to the front door, she called back, "Tell Father I am sorry to leave him. I'll return once I can be accepted by you and your people."
Under her breath she added, "I am most sorry to leave him with a bitch like you."
With this, she stormed out of the house and into the world that hated her. Fearing the same people who had years earlier attempted to lynch her merely for her abnormal appearance she grabbed as she left a cowled cloak, concealing that of her white skin that was still visible from her regular clothing, as well as her ghostly hair and unsettling eyes. Thusly garmented, she entered the crowds of Kakariko, blending with the milling workers and leaving her mother's presence for what may have been forever.
Aedor Isharan - Kakariko Village - Afternoon One
The Kokiri it seemed was a mute, or simply did not wish to reply, and so Aedor had wheeled his horse and rode into bustling avenues of Kakariko. The place was full to bursting with refugees and the stench of desperate living filled his nostrils. It tore at his heart to see the people of a once proud kingdom living like animals, starving and weak. The houses were too few in Kakariko to house all of the Hylians that had fled there, and so camps of ragged looking tents were set up everywhere. As he rode by he could see the displeasure in the eyes of those that had lived in Kakariko their entire lives that they were being disrupted by these filthy exiles, and the haunting look of hunger lingered on the faces of resident and refugee alike. It made him melancholy to see such pain, fear, and distrust in the eyes of his countrymen.
He was drawn from his musings by the sudden hurried exit of a small cloaked figure from one of the dwellings in the village. She appeared to be carrying some kind of pack over her shoulder, and he could only assume that she was planning on departing into Hyrule. The Kokiri hadn't seen fit to accept (or even acknowledge for that matter) his proposal, but perhaps she might. He assumed by the relatively small stature that it was a woman or perhaps a young lad, it didn't really matter though, neither should have been preparing to venture out into Hyrule these days, not without an escort. And so he trotted Imaran up beside her.
"The sun is high and the winds are warm, but still you go forth cloaked and cowled as though against the elements. But I fear that it is not the howling gales nor torrential rains that one must guard against, and I do not see the crease of steel against that cape you wear. Perhaps I might prevail upon you to accept my services, such as they are, as a guard and companion in these troubled times, miss."
Morton: Lost Woods/Afternoon 1
Morton studied Denzel's face for a moment. The man seemed uneasy about heading off on his own.
"Oh...no thank you, I have no need for money." Morton handed the rupees back to Denzel. "I appreciate the gesture though - there is no need to pay me for this endeavor." Morton lead them further through the woods, knowing that they would soon be at the Sacred Meadow. In reality it was not far from the entrance of the Lost Woods, but the woods were so twisty that there was only one true path that would not lead an explorer back to the entrance. 
"We'll be there within the hour, just try to keep up - there are wolfos in this area and they don't take well to intruders." Morton kept his guard up. He could easily escape to the treetops from the wolfos, but now he was toting strangers, and he was not keenly aware of their own abilities. Morton knew that if a wolfos attacked, hiding was not an option, but neither was running. Unfortunately for him, he held no weapons of his own to use.
Hal'rion/Edge of Lost Woods/Sunset 1
The sun dipped slowly behind the green trees of the Lost Woods. The white clouds were painted orange like a canvas with the sun as its painter. The pale, brown grass was transformed into thousands of blades of gold. 
Hal watched behind a small tree, the first of many as the plain slowly turned into the forest. The camp members slowly huddled closer to the fire, basking in its warmth. Some threw more wood in the fire, drawing as much warmth as they could from the small flame, anticipating the cold of the night. 
When the archer finally set his bow down to warm his hands against the growing flame, Hal acted. He pulled on Black Thunder’s reigns and instantly knew what its master intended. The horse darted forward towards the group. Hal’rion pushed his head down low enough that Thunder’s long flowing hair brushed against his helmet. He positioned his spear in front of him so that it would pierce anyone who got in his way. 
It took a moment for the party to realize the threat. They glanced at them curiously until they realized that he was attacking. The man closest to Hal withdrew his sword, but not fast enough. Hal wiped forth the back end of the spear. The weapon smashed into the man’s breast bone and tossed him aside. 
While the archer was still knotting an arrow, Hal brought his spear above his head and threw. The weapon hit dead on. The shorter blade piered the man’s chest, while the long one stabbed through his arm. Instincitvly, the archer flinched from the pain, however, when he moved his arm, the blade sliced through his arm while the other blade held its postion. The archer held his arm as still as possible, leaving him defenseless.
The third man withdrew his sword and charged at Hal after he dismounted from Thunder. Hal withdrew his dagar, his opponents sword cutting across Hal’rion’s armor and part of his flesh, revealing a red line of blood on his arm. 
Hal countered the rushed attack and stabbed the dagar into the man’s side. He removed the blade from the man’s side. His opponent pressed his hand to his wound, trying in vain to stop the flow of blood. In a quick motion Hal beheaded his opponent. 
He didn’t even notice the archer till the sound of his blade cutting through the air reached his ears. In a moment, Hal’rion knew the blow would be fatal. The realization of death was swift, and Hal was angered knowing his last memory would be of fear. 
When death didn’t come, Hal turned around. The sight of Black Thunder pinning the archer to the ground with her powerful legs brought forth a sigh of relief from Hal. In a moment, he cut the man’s throat and the small skirmish was over. 
Hal quickly looked through the men’s supplies and came across food and water. One thing that caught Hal’s attention was a torn piece of paper he found on one of the men. He unscrambled it and noticed it was a piece of a map. Hal would have thrown it aside until he saw the words in the key ‘powerful magic.’ 
Rami Webber/Hyrule Field-Kakariko Village Bridge-Entrance/Morning 1 going to Afternoon 1
'''
The man Rami had just seen came riding up on his monstrous beast of a horse and began speaking to him, apparently the hylians and sheikahs of Kakariko Village were in just as bad luck as the kokiri of his village. He introduced himself as Sir Aedor Isharan and asked what he may call Rami after asking him if Rami would like to accompany him. Before Rami spoke he thought to himself, he was impressed of this mans knighthood, though he himself had never seen one before even his people, though secluded as they may be, had heard the stories of the brave knights of Hyrule. He had heard the stories of their deeds in his actual youth, as compared to the eternal youth he would experience the rest of his life, but this was the first time he had ever seen one in person. All of that, when coupled with his ever intimidating horse, was quite enough to make most kokiri become stunned in silence, but finally he collected himself and spoke up, "My name is Rami, Rami Webber of the Kokiri Tribe, I would be honored to have someone like yourself lead me." The man spoke up again, "Very well then forest youth, let us go to the hamlet," he then climbed back on to his steed and began to ascend to Kakariko steps with Rami trailing behind him with his cart.
While entering the city he was suprised to see the amount of people there, some of whom were injured or tired, the majority of the town was covered in a sea of tents, in addition to the permanent buildings that appeared practically untouched by the war. Rami had planned to possibly con someone or pull a hoax in order to get the food that he needed, but in this dire setting, he didn't think he could muster the nerve to disturb or take advantage these war-ravaged people. He kept on following the knight and pulled his cart quickly in order to keep up, he introduced himself to a woman in a cloak that concealed the majority of her person. he offered her his assistance as well.
Laura Pathfinder/The Lost Woods/Afternoon/Day 1
As Laura saw the gate infront of her to the Forest Meadow, she finally smiled. She wanted a challenge, and wolfos seemed like a perfect way to test her archery. There was no reason for her to kill them, but there was no reason at all not too, so with that she drew the slender wood of a goose feathered arrow out of her quiver and knocked it on her bowstring of a long, powerful bow. With expert grace she pulled the string back to her neck, and waited. Four wolfos erupted from the gritty earth in a sudden earsplitting roar and charged toward her in a defiant manner.
She let loose an arrow from her bow, and it flew true. The arrow crashed into the fiend's neck, and blood more red than the magma of a volcano spewed out of it. Quickly, she nocked another arrow and let it loose, this time getting the same effect from a wolfos not too far away, except this time the arrow pierced directly into the creatures heart. Another arrow, another wolfos flew to the ground. One more to kill, it sprinted toward her full speed, it was nearing. There was no time for her to nock another arrow, so she slung her bow on her back and with a sudden strength drew a knife from her waist.
The creature dove at her in a perplexuating manner, but nimbly she dodged the blow as her arm flew down with her dagger, slashing a tear in the creatures flesh. The second the blade impacted the fur of the animal, it changed pace and dove at her again, and she had to time to dodge. Instead, she found herself flying to the ground at a speed which seemed death inflicting. Pouring her soul into a void, she summoned a flop of wind to push her upward and to soothe har fall on the decaying grass.
The creature barred its own teeth at her, and for once she was afraid. But as she jumped up, she pushed the creature on its back and kicked it directly in the head. A satisfying crunch! filled the air as its skull gave away to her majestic features. Then, as abruptly as the battle had began, it had ended. She walked toward the corpses of the other three wolves and withdrew her arrows from them. They had been specially crafted, and she had no desire to buy new ones.
The metal gate flew open, and she strode through. Summoning a gust of wind once again, she jumped upwards and propelled a sudden fury of air to knock her even farther. Where she had jumped was a ledge of sorts, above the battleground. She draped her black cloak around her and lay down.
"Someone will come." she thought, And that someone is bound to has rupees."
And with that thought, she pulled out a smille slice of bread and ate it rather hungrily. When they came, they would give her some money or have an arrow in their head.
Baequi/Sacred Meadow/ Close to Dusk Day 1
"This is it... the Sacred Meadow," Morton said rather nervously.
It was more beautiful than Baequi could have imagined. A vast stretch of green splattered with the occasional giant trees laid before him and magnificent specks glided softly in the gentle gusts of wind. "It's breathtaking," replied Denzel, obviously also aware of the beauty surrounding them.
"Morton, your guidance is invaluable," Baequi finally said as a speck landed on his shoulder. As he turned toward Morton, however, he realized that the cloaked "Kokiri's" mind was elsewhere. Curious as to what it was that had grabbed Morton's attention, Baequi gazed to his left only to see four Wolfos bodies laying still on the ground in the distance.
"I knew it was a bit odd when we had encountered no wolfos on our journey here," finally responded Morton. "But who could have done this... and why?" Denzel jumped in. 
Sensing possible danger, Baequi rested his hands on an adjacent tree as an arrow was slowly aimed at his head from afar. Closing his eyes, Baequi could feel his spirit becoming linked with that of the tree. Reveal to me your memories, Baequi silently thought. Show me what I wish to know. Morton and Denzel continued to talk, but Baequi's mind was too far to take in any of the words they spoke. Images of wolfos running through the field encompassed his mind as the image of a cloaked figure flashed before him. He witnessed the scene unravel... the stranger had killed three of the wolfos with relative ease, but had struggled to kill the last one. But what happened to the stranger? Baequi dove further into the memories of the tree. He saw the figure jump onto a cliff, where she then laid herself down, aiming her bow at the very position in which they now stood. A thought suddenly flooded his mind... She's still there! 
Opening his eyes with a sudden shock, Baequi vanished on the spot as an arrow soared into the tree where he stood only a moment ago. Morton instinctively jumped back as Denzel quickly loaded his bow. Crouching on the ground, Denzel drew the string back and scanned his surroundings for the attacker, but he could see no one. A sudden burst of magic emanating from the thin air right adjacent to them soared to the top of one of the adjacent cliffs as a cloaked figure subsequently fell onto the ground in the distance.
Baequi reappeared in the spot in which the ball of magic originated. "We must hurry," he remarked rather quickly. "I could only shock her and it would be quite a mistake to grant her enough time to regain her bearings... and bow." Baequi started towards the mysterious figure, and so it was now up to Morton and Denzel to decide whether they should do the same. 
Lorelia Ennah / Kakariko Village / Afternoon 1
Lorelia ignored the horse as it suddenly came up beside her, keeping step with her slow pace. Who was this man, and why was he drawing attention to her? Didn't he know that attention could be deadly for her at this point? As he spoke, she stopped moving, hoping somehow this would make him leave her alone. When he paused for her response, she began a fluid motion that had become engrained into her mucles.
A knife slid from its hiding place underneath her raiments, easily gripped for the briefest of seconds in her hand before flying straight toward the horse-rider. It connected most solidly with the leather of the man's belt, penetrating the thick material and remaining stuck to his waist without fully breaking through to the clothing or armor underneath.
"As you can see, none even have noticed this attack. I am more than able to handle myself, and quite frankly my choice of clothing is no matter to you."
She eyed towards his crotch briefly and added, "And I didn't have to miss your more vital bits with that knife."
She glared a bit at him, then suddenly hid her face deeper in her hood, realizing that from his higher vantage point on his horse, he could very likely easily see her face and the features that had, for so many years, sentenced her to years of solitude, as well as a threatened existence.
Michael Five/ Kakariko Village/ afternoon.
'''
Humans. The word had once given Michael so much pride. It made him feel like he actually belonged somewhere, amongst great power, wisdom, and courage. But now, he despised even the thought of Hyrulians.
Just his luck, all the jobs the dessert thieves gave him were to operate amongst the humans...act as one of their own, and try to find out as much about them as possible. Michael was never a real people person. In fact, if it weren't for the large amounts of animals in Kakariko village, he wouldn't have accepted the job.
As he looked around him, he noticed that humans hadn't changed much since they're homes were crushed. They still fought with one another, they still were angry, and they all boasted about their strength, but would flee instead of fighting. You would think during a war they would assemble for their lands pride. Oh well, better for Michael anyway.
Climbing a tree to get a better view, Michael was disgusted to see that the entire population of the now destroyed Market had moved into the forest. From the shops to the beggars. Then he saw it: His mission.
A large diamond statue, depicting the beauty of the three goddesses. It was a huge statue, hardly one he could sneak out of inside his pocket. A distraction was in order. 
Walking calmly towards the stand that had the statue. He leaned against the shop casually, and waited until the vendor had his back turned. Then, he picked up one of the smaller diamonds and slipped it into an innocent shoppers pocket. Waiting long enough until the shopper was nearly out of sight, Michael yelled loudly: "GUARDS! THAT MAN STOLE A DIAMOND!"
Aedor Isharan - Kakariko Village - Afternoon 1
"So you are without honor." Aedor asserted darkly as he slowly climbed down from Imaran and plucked the dagger from his belt. He had not been at all worried about the attack, he was clad all in steal, including over those more sensitive of areas for a man. "Why do you hide yourself within that cowl of yours?" He approached her slowly, flipping the knife she had thrown at him so that he now held it by the blade.
"Why do you cower like a dog?" he came to a halt directly in front of the girl, for having heard her speak he was certain of her gender. He reached forward, grabbed one of her wrists, turned her hand palm up and deposited the dagger in it. He could tell that she was very uncertain of what to do. "I believe this blade belongs to you miss. Why don't you try sticking it in someone who has actually deserved such?"
Aedor half turned, but changed his mind at the last second, turned back to the girl casually and slammed one steel plated gauntlet into her concealed face. She fell back against an aged vagabond, stepping on the hem of her cloak as she fell and pulling down the hood that had covered her. Aedor now saw that what she was concealing was her complexion.
"As you have thus far proven yourself to be without honor, I felt no reason why I should not retaliate against your... display. But now I see that you are the tainted freak that has lived in the village of my birth for as long as I can remember. I have heard tales of mobs that nearly killed you but never succeeded." he spat his vituperation to her. "I had no quarrel with you even if my parents might have, I deigned to stand by the code of the knight and value your life as that of a Hylian. But you have chosen the path of the spiteful wench."
He turned and started to walk back to his horse. Instead of climbing back into his saddle though, once he reached he he laid one hand on the Imaran's flank and turned back to the girl to see that she had hastily concealed herself once more in her obscuring raiments.
"I have crossed a line that I should not have crossed in striking you and I would prefer not to have to cross it again. However, if you continue to act in this manner I will have to assume that you to be dangerous, and thus will have to act for the good of our society, troubled as it is already with the recent events of this country."
Morton: Dusk 1/Sacred Meadow
Morton saw arrow wounds in the Wolfos, and felt a twinge of anger, but he knew the creatures lived around the Sacred Meadow. They had probably defended their territory against this new enemey, and lost to what seemed to be an extremely skilled archer who was also likely fighting only in self-defense. Morton launched himself up a tree trunk, climbing it in seconds, having had so much practice in all his years in the forest. As he climbied up the tree, he spotted two child-like figures towards the entrance of the meadow.
"What the...?" Morton froze in place and covered himself in his cloak. He realized he was seeing two Kokiri, both of whom quickly dashed out of the Meadow upon seeing the multiple people inside it. Morton instantly realized how foolish he was to allow others into this place. It was too late now though, and he certainly couldn't banish them.
Laura Pathfinder/The Lost Woods/Afternoon/Day 1 
A shock of magic impacted Laura, and she flew back a matter of a few feet. Quickly she scrambled and stood up, and nocked an arrow in her bow. Instead of shooting at the figure that possesed a fair amound of combat knowledge, she pointed her bow at the fool who had climbed the tree. He was a rather easy target, and she had no intention to miss this shot, at all.
"Stop! You make another move, and the fool is dead." She cried out in a sudden fearfulness, "Either give me some rupees, and I leave, or there'll be an arrow in his neck." And with that though, she summoned a gust of wind and pushed it in the area that the Sheikah was. 20mph winds folded onto him, and she heard an "oomph!" as he hit the ground.
Aislinn - Hyrule Field - Flashback
The silence was soothing. Crickets winnowed out a soft minuet in the distance, but stopped upon Aislinn's heavy footfalls. Danger was palpable in the air, and they should've sensed it. Wisps of smoke belabored through the Hylian night from the previous town they had torched; it still wafted on trails of the wind with the scent of freshly burnt flesh clinging to it. Death Mountain rose from the horizon like sharpened teeth, but that could've been a million miles away.
Aislinn pressed his back against the looming house. It was cold, and he wanted a smoke. A windowsill was perched above him, and he craned his neck toward it. He saw two children, a boy and a girl, depositing plates and silverware on the table. The girl had pigtails, long and thick, and a button was missing from her pink blouse. The boy was rough, stolid, with blue corduroys and a tan svelte shirt that was fading. Both were dark skinned, dark haired, dirt swiped across their grainy faces and palms, and smiling, and they reminded Aislinn of the kids he had always wanted to have someday, if he ever escaped the damned war. Too bad they would probably be dead by the time it was all over.
Officer Anson was stationed across the door from him, and he hoped to have an ale with him as soon as this little operation was in the books. Aislinn motioned the rest of the contingency around the back and waited until they were in position. The night was cold, and the silence was soothing, and if Aislinn wasn't dead by the end of the day he would probably take his own life. He stuck out three of his fingers and started his silent countdown to one. At the end of the third finger, the silence was no more.
Aislinn burst through the door as his cape furrowed out behind him. His fellow officers crashed through the windows and sealed off all the exits. Plates snapped to the ground and shattered upon the hard wood, and the two children froze to the floorboards, crying. Their father immediately went for a sword, but there was already a black figure looming in front of the weapon case. A hand grabbed him on the shoulder and yanked him into one of the few chairs that still stood upright.
"Where is she?" Aislinn said.
"My wife?" he responded.
Aislinn began pacing. "Mrs. Amunet Weatherby, aka the Black Widow. She served ten years among the Gerudo Elite and helped design the new additions to the eastern wall of Gerudo Fortress. Five years ago she disappeared, and if I may say so, Mr. Weatherby, it is very hard to disappear, even for those who don't want to be found. So if you don't Amunet to become a widowed prostitute selling her body on the streets of Hyrule Castle just to put food in the mouths of her children..." He leaned in closer and whispered. "...I suggest you tell me where she is."
He tried to launch himself at Aislinn, but he shoved him in the chest and sent him back down. "Will you tell your two children to stop crying?" They were bunched up in the corner, hugging each other, tears gathering in a pool on the floor at their feet. "SHUT UP!!!" he ordered. He unsheathed his sword and pressed the sharpened tip to the edge of Mr. Weatherby's throat. It drew a hint of blood.
"Jeremy...Lynn...please..." He turned his attention to Aislinn. "Can I go over to them?"
"If you do, I can promise you won't be returning with one of your ears." Fear flashed across the face of Mr. Weatherby.
Suddenly the billowing of hooves echoed from the distance; they growled and groaned until they eventually came to a halt in front of the house. Horses neighed and men dismounted from where they were perched upon the saddles of their steads. Aislinn could see nothing through the impending darkness, and all grew to an uneasy hush until a group of men came through the door. The leader was imposing, had terrific stature, and was balding like an eagle, and he was flanked on all sides by Hylian officers, each one of them at least six inches shorter than he was.
Aislinn approached him. "This is my operation, Commander."
"It was your operation. The situation has changed. It appears that the cat has caught the mouse."
"Amunet!" Mr. Weatherby cried.
"Do you want to see her?"
"Yes, please, take me to Kakariko."
"Perhaps I wasn't making myself entirely clear. We hadn't caught her...yet. But we will thanks to your contributions. Torch the house. Kill the children."
"No!"
"Commander," Aislinn said, "This is outside of our jurisdiction. Stop this at once!"
"My orders are from the General. I am acting only for the good of Hyrule."
"No good will come from this. This...this is senseless."
"Then you shall have the honor of killing our guest here."
"Go to hell."
"You have equal stakes in this attrocity, as you call it. Now kill him or I'll kill you."
Ainslinn had the sudden will to live again, even if it was at the expense of another. Mayhem sprouted from the house; the children were sobbing as they were being dragged to the back of the house, and Aislinn had little doubt they even knew what was going on. Their father was shouting, then crying, then shouting again, even long after his children had been silenced. Aislinn gripped both hands around the hilt of his blade until his knuckles turned white. He stood over the downcast head of Mr. Weatherby, and cooly and silenty slit his throat. His body slumped to the ground, and his blood ran all over the dirty wood and seeped into the floorboards.
"It was all an accident," the Commander said. "Stove caught on fire. Your part in this is done, Aislinn. You can go on and pretend this was nothing more than a dream."
Aislinn - Kakariko Village - Day 1
The morning sun rose above the spinning windmill in Kakariko, and the wind was soft, soft like the coat on a newborn chick. He sat on his porch and watched the cat tails caress the wooden scaffolding and fall away. From time to time a woman passed, or a carpenter with a birch plank slung over his shoulder, but Kakariko was mostly barren, even in that lively moment. The world was silent and cold, and the nightmare from the previous night still clung fresh in his mind, but it was nothing more than a dream...
Viridio Tan/Zora's River-Hyrule Field/Day One
Viridio stretched his arms to the sky and looked around him. The sky was a fluffy blue and the ground was furiously green. Burns pockmarked the distant landscape, and the occasional bit of debris from the ravages of war were scattered across the fields. Distantly he could spot the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town, burned black and stained almost red. Trees around him flourished, while others closer to where the carnage had occured were nothing more than twigs that jutted from the ground. It would take a long time to restore the beauty here, but nature could do it. Viridio could help. 
But he wouldn't. Not until the fires had ended and fighting had ceased. He was not going to stand by and give the furnaces of war more firewood; however, it still pained him to see such destruction...
Viridio walked up to a tree and sat beneath it, enjoying the shade. Pulling out his harp, he slowly began to strum and to think of where to go next and what to see.
Morton: Sacred Meadow/Dusk 1
Morton was not afraid. He watched as his opponent focused on him, and he was not surprised. The fact that he had lived in a forest for so long had provided him plenty of knowledge on Archers, and when cornered they often would go for the fastest solution. An archer was a man or woman of stealth and surprise, they waited and watched. This woman was revealed through her own ignorance of leaving her victims lying out in the open.
"You would shoot me over a few rupees?" Morton inquired. The woman tensed up, looking as if she was about to fire the arrow. Morton threw back his hood, revealing his fool Kokiri face. "You would shoot a Kokiri for some loose change?" Morton's tone changed to that of anger. The woman looked like she was going to speak, but Morton kept talking, stopping her. "Why don't you attack? Shoot me!" Morton acted like he was about to run, but then threw up his left arm, covering part of his neck and face. He heard the sound of an arrow being let loose, and he reeled hard from the impact of the projectile in his arm. He gripped the tree with his remaining arm, and lowered it. In a flash, Morton was out of the tree and onto the same ledge as the woman. He ran up close, the arrow still sticking out of his arm, and pulled his left arm out of the cloak.
"Your arrow is made for injuring flesh, not bone." Morton snarled, showing that the arrow was merely stuck in his bony left arm, which was completely transformed like a Skull Kid's. He ripped it out and held it to the woman's neck. "Name please. Of course, if you move...there will be an arrow in your neck." Morton had undergone a total mood change, becoming dark and violent.
Lorelia Ennah / Kakariko Village / Afternoon 1
Lorelia stood before this man, hiding once more inside the hood of her cloak. As he spoke she slid the knife he had returned to her back into its resting place beneath her clothing. She gingerly touched her fingers to her nose, wincing at even that brief contact. As she drew back her hand, she saw blood. She wondered if perhaps he had broken her nose, or merely caused the bleeding.
"You," she finally spoke, "speag ob dis 'sociedy'? You'w a bastawd, juss like eberyone else..."
She again wiped the bloos from her nose. She was certain now that it was broken from the impact with his armored arm. And not only was he armored and mounted, but now he knew her secret. He knew what she was, who she was.
She looked up at him, realizing that in some odd manner, he both endangered her life and had the ability to preserve it in that one bit of knowledge. Her expression somehow reflected this mind-set.
"P-plwease," she begged him, "d-don' tell anybody."
Aedor Isharan - Kakariko Village - Afternoon One
Aedor watched her closely as she returned her dagger to her belt and assessed the damage done to her nose. It pained him that he had been so rough with her, such was never his wish, but clearly it had done some good. She was no longer attacking him, and apparently she seemed to think that he held some power over her now. It amazed him how little she knew of the Knightly Code. Of course the knights had been a dying breed for many years in Hyrule, men of honor who swore oaths to lord and land. They were supposed to be chivalrous and brave, men of confidence and consequence.
"I never felt any interest in divulging your secrets, milady. Think back to my original proposition and you'll recall that I only wished to aid you." Aedor told her sadly. "Mayhaps we can return to my initial suggestion. If you find yourself so worried about the reactions of the Hylians of Kakariko, then let us depart. I personally find life under the yolk of the mad Gerudo King to be less than thrilling, and perhaps you might wish to bring those daggers along and join me, for I intend to make them pay in blood for what they stole." His fingers closed around Mynegon's hilt and gripped it tightly, then he turned his head to look at the young Kokiri child. "You have been conspicuously silent my young friend, what say you about striking back? I fear that even the forest sanctuary shall be brought to its knees by these Gerudo butchers, lest we who remain put forth our efforts to resist the poison of tyranny."