BEYOND THE LEGEND, BEYOND ZELDA
- "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy"
Hamlet, Act 1, scene V
VOLUME I: The Red Thread of Fate
)) Chapter 1: To Stand Before Her ((
A female figure was standing, apparently alone, in a black void, which somehow clashed with the white and crystal clear hue of her aura. She was an outstandingly beautiful woman, whose looks could not belong to this world: pure marble colored skin, flowing golden tresses, slim and delicate figure whose only clothing was a form fitting white dress which covered even her ankles, and some jewelry to adorn her, a diadem on her forehead, a ring on each fourth finger, her front hair was tied in two parallel tails which reached her chest, her eyes were two pool of sapphire as clear as the sky and deeper than any ocean, ruby red lips curled up in a smile as she looked at her new guest.
She somehow sat down and showed her instrument, a harp shimmering of her own light to the point it seemed nothing more but a silhouette. The fact that the woman seemed not to be obscured by such light glint implied that she emitted a shrine on par if not superior than the one of her instrument.
The guest fascinated, lunged a hand in attempt to touch the magical harp, but the ethereal woman smiled and waved the hand away with a gentle gesture, as it was not the time yet. She strung a few chord, letting sounds whose purity could only be compared to laugther of children and started soon singing a gentle aria which made her guest relaxed enough to see another figure, not human, it looked more like a … small stub with a leaf for a face, only a pair of feet tall at best. It could have been mistaken of a Kikwi, if not for the fact that it looked more of a wooden substance. The comically small creature quickly pulled out a violin which, due to its size, was played like a cello, and quickly joined the woman's harp, quickly followed by a small, curiously green-haired child who was accompanying both musicians with a blue colored Ocarina.
At this the observer invited by the white woman, marveled by the concert, looked even further, was able to glimpse a thin and emancipated redhead figure dressed in purple who was playing a giant organ, next to him another small child figure which seemed more like a miniature scarecrow happily blowing in his trumpet filling more the air with even more music. Atop them, floating, a weird frog-like being who was waving a silver-colored baton, somehow summoning an imposing and otherworldly choir at each movement.
Before the guest could even react, more people joined at the imposing music, all led by the ethereal figure known by legends as Hylia the White Goddess. A short figure with pointy ears riding a unique wheeled vehicle was playing a flute, a large Goron beating a couple of drums, a fish-like person beating with small metallic stick a coral-made triangle somehow still able to tingle, a lonely figure dressed in blue tints using a leaf as an instrument, a golden hued wolf- like spirit howling, all of them creating the most aethereal and awe-inspiring atmosphere for the concert led by Her Grace... And all of this was unfolding before a human youth who could barely understand that was seeing somehow a glimpse through spaces and times, eyes twitching in fear and awe.
Hylia noticed this and smiled at her guest once more, this time her waving was an invite to join them. The youngling looked everywhere but then looked sorrowful at the White Goddess, for there was no instrument to play. The blonde spirit did not falter and gave the human a simple wordless answer, pointing with her stare at her guest's hand. The observer, figuring out what she meant, timidly clapped in an attempt to join, but shyness quickly overcame the frail spirit and looked down, thinking to have failed Hylia. Yet, the White Goddess simply let out what could be compared to a tingle of a silver bell, actually her voice when letting out a soft chuckle, and she looked at the youth as if it was her child.
Beyond.
At this the youth looked up in puzzlement and disbelief. What did Her Grace mean?
You have to go beyond.
Listen.
At this the concert of dozens of instruments played in all its glory, making a spectacle around the Skyloftian who could not help but feel tears running down. How could it be? The youth always thought to be unable to cry.
He got mesmerized in that melody and let his mind flow, only a gentle pat on the back from the White Goddess the last anchor to reality. And the crimson scarf tied to his neck was blowing in the wind generated by the melody of the mysterious figures led by Hylia in an angelic choir who will have lasted through the millennias.
Knight Academy's Dormitories, Skyloft, 2am, First day
The Skyloftian was softly woken up, realizing that he had forgotten to untie his scarf before going to bed, which was why he had felt it caressing his face during that unique dream. Not that he minded though, after having dreamed of Her Grace. It was really her, the goddess who had saved every Hylian by sending their city up in sky... was she not? It could not be just a dream right? Hopefully...
Beyond…. Cryptic yet truthful statement and word… I suppose, the figure thought repeating the words Hylia said as he caressed the garment around his neck, which held to him an infinite affective value, then he turned and lightly knocked on the wall next to him in a vain attempt to make his neighbor lower the volume of his tone-deaf aria played with a trombone. That, and not the triumphant concert, would have been his companion for that, from then on, sleepless night.
Temple of Darkness, Sheikah's Head Quarters, 6am, First Day
Atop another island blessed with the power to float by the White Goddess herself, hidden by the arcane magic of shadows, there was a large imposing palace, the Temple of Darkness, where an ancient race had been surveying Skyloft well before its birth
Sometimes changes might go unnoticed before the eyes of commoners, yet there are always people with the duty to look over and register every change. So they knew what had happened 75 years ago, when the new incarnation of the Hero of Legend had finally gone into a duel against the Demon King and sealed his power and consciousness inside the Master Sword, ending his threat once for all.
This and the disappearance of Hylia's current incarnation had made the Sheikah, a legendary race renowned for its affiliation with Shadows and its duty to always look over Her Grace, register quite a number of changes, first of all in their very organization. Their goal had changed to protect Zelda, Hylia's reincarnation, to safeguard the children of the Goddess, common people, and the land of Skyloft. This shift of duties had been further remarked by their leader Impa's ascension to the heavens, for having served the Golden Goddesses' will for thousands of years, and the election of the new Sheikah in charge, Vina Dorenaz, a skilled Shadow folk who had been supported by everyone but the elder of the organization, Agahnim, a red cloaked Sheikah, who was hyperbolically said to be as old as Impa, known for his lust of power and his arrogant belief he alone, due to his old age and wisdom, knew the Her Grace's truest word.
Just like Impa, Lady Dorenaz had been blessed with a long lifespan, being over a century old and not looking past her mid-twenties, clearly shown by her slim youthful figure and her more feminine looks compared to her predecessor, long white, with a unique pink-ish hue, hair tied in two longs pigtails, a flowing blue kimono with red flowers and, of course, the Sheikah symbol, and jewelry adorned the same way, her eyes of a lighter hue of red, enough to be confused as pink. Different from Impa's was also her modus operandi. While the former leader was known for her rather direct approach in handling situation, Vina preferred to remain as a figure hidden in shadows, providing clues and indirectly helping they who need assistance from afar, preferring to use her subordinates to do her bidding as she held a more strategic position. She did intervene though with figures of high authority, most notably the new master of the Knight Academy, as Gaepora had passed on due to old age, and always tried to keep contact with either the Hero of Legend and Zelda, with varying degrees of success every time.
Vina looked around the room from she supervised the safeness of Hylia's children and was pleased to see that, the moment she used a crystal sphere to send a signal magic through a sphere, the incredibly useful Farore's wind, several Sheikah warped. The first to show up was, as typical of her, her second in command.
Indeed, Vina was, luckily for her, aided by a very loyal and powerful woman, Mazhar Davul. She was not a typical beauty, being a bit more rugged and tomboyish in appearance than most Sheikah, her ravine hair was long and always messy, her eye color leaning on dark orange.
On her side she carried always a pair of drums she used to relax herself when needed, and indeed, it was usual of her to play them when she was at the Temple of Darkness. She claimed the drums were used to honor a great hero who had killed a monster called Man Eater. She had a very loose appearance, her clothing, torn and tattered by both her difficult missions and her brutal fighting style, hada weird collar both at her necks and wrists and her skin looking dirty and dark. Despite this, she always kept a noble and superior attitude, only showing submission to Agahnim and Vina themselves.
While always stoic and calm, also due to the vow of silence she had taken a long time ago, Mazhar was known to be terrifyingly fierce when needed, having defeated in combat the traitor Sheikah known as Veritas, who had sold his soul to demons in exchange of powers and souls to consume. For all his troubles, Lady Duval sealed him in the underground of the Surface, but not before having brutally gouged out his cursed eye with her bare hands, even making a magic tool out of it, which one day would have been remembered as the greatest of the three treasures of Sheikah, the Eye of Truth.
While Mazhar sat next to Vina, placing her drums aside, the other Shadow Folks arrived. The second Sheikah to come was a blonde tan skinned youth with a black and silver variant of the Sheikah outfit, indicating he belonged to the Sheikah investigation division, whose unique possession was an enchanted flute shaped like a pipe.
Soon another flock of shadow folks came, led by Agahnim, who quietly sat into a corner; quietly waiting for every possible slip Vina would do which could be used against her in the far future, his pale white skin giving him an eerie look.
After a quick exchange of glares with her rival, Lady Dorenaz stood up from her throne, Mazhar's tribal music accompanying her steps as she came close and all the shadow folks bowed before her, not a thing which she was very enthusiast over, but as long as tradition kept a firm grip upon the society of Hylia's protector, she would have not minded, and answered all of them by curling her lips in a smile and making them all a gesture of welcome.
As the blonde youth came forth before the new Sheikah leader, he greeted her once more and stated in a protocol procedure: "Thorne Datoru of the Investigation unit, here to deliver the report about the happenings on the Surface, Lady Dorenaz"
Vina interested, nodded, and answered with a calm voice asserting superiority: "Please, do tell"
"As we speak, two more group of people have been leaving the Island in the sky" – the investigator stated – "the first is a ship merchant, confident to be able to become wealthy by exchanging trades with the Parallela tribe and a new underwater race which has been appearing more and more around the sea. Although, from some rumor we have found partially worth of note, it seems more like that his real purpose is not to become rich as much as to escape from the girlfriend he had supposed to marry next week. Somehow, he also convinced a few people to follow him and they are currently travelling with a ship called after him. Another instance of people leaving to the surface which seemed rather… outstanding, belonged to a rather short and stubby man in his late thirties, who somehow left with a series of balloons, apparently in hopes to find the fabled 'Fairy Boys' which are said to be living in the core of the forest"
The Leader of the Sheikah raised a brow at this new. She was told by the Goddesses that Skyloft was destined to be abandoned one day, but still, people's quirky nature never ceased to surprise her. She indeed had been hoping that people would have rather followed Link's noble desire of adventure or knowledge… but such, with its faults and praises, was mankind. She could not help but inwardly chuckled as Mazhar's music helped her meditate.
"Anything else remarkable?" she further questioned Thorne.
The younger Sheikah thought for a while, enough that Lady Dorenaz considering using the second of the three great treasures , until she could hear him muttering: "Aside from the Great Spirit Levias soon going to pass close by, actually, I have found something which might be considered rather strange…"
"And might it be?" the leader asked, her interest picked.
"These three weeks, at night, I have been noticing the number of Poes has sizeably decreased" - Throne answered, further elaborating what it meant as he saw Vina's raised eyebrow –I" know, at first we thought it might have been the Collector's work, but usually, while we usually report an average of ten sighting of these ghost per night, there have been days their number could be counted on one hand. Of further notice is the fact the sightings have all been nearby Skyloft"
It then concluded with a bow and proceeded to listen to Vina's consideration about such. The woman stood silent for a while, first glaring back at Agahnim's challenging stare, then facing Mazhar, who had raised her head to look at her leader, actually sending her a telepathic message.
"You are right Mazhar" – she stated with a nod – "Thorne, my second thinks that the Poes might be hiding in Skyloft, do you exclude such from what you have seen?"
The younger investigator quickly shook his head and replied: "It might be possible"
"Then it's settled" – Vina quipped back to the group – "Mazhar, gather a squad and investigate for the next 24 hours Skyloft and its surroundings. Bring with you the Eye, in case the Poes are using their invisibility to hide in the dark or are possessing common people. If you find anything suspicious, report to me immediately. And if any Skyloftian falls victim to a Poe, eradicate the menace as soon as possible before their presence might end up to spread all over the city"
At this, the raven-haired second in command bowed her head and stood up strapping her drum on her back and narrowing her eyes, quickly pointed at two Sheikah to come with her. The first was Thorne himself, being the one who had reported such oddities in the Surface, then another girl. This one was a teenage, with black long hair tied in a pony tail with a small horn symbol and dressed in a purple attire with a red eye, as her chest had a sizeable cleavage to enhance her hourglass figure.
"Who? Me?" - The Sheikah, known as Gwen, asked in surprise at Mazhar– "YAY! I promise to…."
Instead, Thorne simply stated a: "It's an honor to work with you, Lady Davul, I will…"
Before they both could continue, the drum bearer shut them up by snapping her fingers before their eyes, a sign to draw attention back to her, and a warning not to do such again. After all, they were Sheikah, they who hid in the shadows … They strike hard, and fade into the night…. and the rest was silence.
In the meanwhile, Agahnim bit his lips in defeat. Alas, this course of actions was pretty much the same he would have taken himself if such report was given. He hated to admit but, once more, Vina had proven to be a skilled leader. As Lady Davul conjured with her arcane spells the Eye of Truth, the trio of Shadow folks sat together in a corner and, as soon as their Leader dismissed the meeting, they left the palace, heading out for the new adventure.
Now alone, Vina sighed deeply, silently thanking the goddesses once more of their clemency toward Hylia's children. Once more, what might have been a minor problem was to be solved swiftly with a protocol procedure. Everything, both in the brightest light and in the deepest shadow was working smoothly and the will of the Golden Goddesses was being carried flawlessly. She smiled at herself, glad to be a leader worth Impa.
DISCLAIMER:
The hystory of Zelda, Skyloft, Hyrule and Termina, alongside its characters and setting are (c) Nintendo
Vina Dorenaz is (c) Super-Zelda-Fanatic
Thorne is (c) LuvIsAThing
Gwen is (c) Kitoma Foxx
Veritas is (c) Theodore Hastings
Main character and the story are all (c) Xantospoc
Thanks you all for having read this fic, read and review please. See ya for the next chapter :)
