The endless march of Time continued on as Hyrule Field ran red with blood. Years of constant fighting and killing began to tear apart the land the Goddesses created so long ago.
The Servants of Majora acted in the background, assassinating key military leaders on both sides in order to bring an end to the mindless violence. Some Disciples botched these assassinations and were lost over the course of the conflict, their masks retrieved, and their bodies burned where they died, in order to leave no trace of their presence.
However, the sacrifices of these Disciples were not in vain, as eventually the Royal Army managed to defeat Ganondorf and return peace to the land.
Now, the Order could finally turn to completing their sacred task given to them at the beginning of Time itself. But, there are still some minor disruptions to be dealt with…..
As the sun rose over Hyrule one morning, the Sanctuary was completely quiet, save for the gentle tapping of footsteps against the stone floor. Two Disciples walked down the hall from the Watcher's Chamber. They turned into one of the side passageways with a look of disinterest on their faces. This hallway lead to a set of doors lined up along the walls. The Disciples opened one and walked in.
Inside, the room was circular, with a row of ten simple beds against the wall. In the middle of this room was a round table, but only one of the many stools surrounding it was occupied.
"Good morning, Toma" one of the Disciples said to the man at the table.
Toma looked up from the pancakes he was eating. "By the Consumer, you're really heading out this soon?"
The Disciple groaned "You know how the Watcher is. Always anxious. Can't let anyone else get to the seller first in the slightest chance that he happens to have the Prison on his hands."
Toma nodded. The ultimate goal of the Order was to find the Prison, the ancient Mask that Majora himself was sealed in centuries ago, in the hopes of releasing him. Because of how wide spread the Hylian Kingdom was, traders from the farthest reaches sent in brochures of a sort to Castle Town Market listing the items they had in stock. Whenever masks were mentioned on these lists, Disciples were dispatched in to see if these masks were possibly the fabled Prison. Every single time, these were all false alarms, and the Disciples returned empty-handed.
The other Disciple walked over to a chest at the foot of one of the beds and opened it. "Just you watch. We're going to walk all the way to the damn coast only to find out that this is just another wild Cucco chase" he complained as he took out a large knapsack.
"Well, Dante, at least you and Soshi get a chance to travel a bit instead of being cooped up in here" Toma responded, before taking another bite out of the pancakes.
Soshi looked down at the clothes he was wearing "I already feel hot in these" he said "It's going to be one hell of a long walk under the sun". Neither him nor Dante wore the traditional black robes of the Order. Instead, they wore brightly colored clothing of travelling merchants.
Dante tossed the knapsack to Soshi, and took another one out of the chest. "At least you're doing something actually important tonight" he said, slinging the knapsack over his shoulder.
Soshi looked over at Toma "Are you sure you can take her on alone?" he asked, with genuine concern.
"I've Released Sheikah before," Toma responded, not even looking up this time "and I won't be completely alone."
Dante raised an eyebrow "What? Oh, Deshi, right…." He looked around the room "where is he, anyway?"
"He's in the latrine, getting ready for the assignment" Toma answered.
Soshi reached into the knapsack and took out a small dagger. After twirling it a few times, he sheathed it into a scabbard hidden under his coat. "We should get going."
Dante turned to Toma, still sitting at the table "Alright, well, Majora guide you, Brother".
Toma nodded "Bask in the moonlight".
The two Disciples turned and walked out without another word.
After he was finished eating, Toma got up and walked to his own chest. After rummaging around inside for a moment, he found a leather harness and attached it to his right arm. Toma balled his hands into a fist, and flicked his wrist. A long blade shot out of the underside of the harness. He smiled, and released his fingers. As the blade retracted back into the opening, he heard footsteps against the stone floor outside. Toma turned to see an eleven year old Hylian boy dressed in simple clothes fidgeting in the doorway.
"Um….I guess I'm ready" he said, nervously running a hand through his brown hair.
Toma smiled "Relax. This is a going to be great day for you" he said as he got up and rested a hand on Deshi's shoulder.
Deshi looked up at Toma "But… what if I accidentally reveal us? Or what if I mess up the Releasing? Or what if…" he stammered.
Toma smiled again "The Watcher wouldn't have made an exception if he didn't think you were ready for it" he reassured the boy "Plus, I'll be with you, Majora will be with you, and hey, the Hero of Men might be with you as well, seeing as how today is a celebration partly in his honor".
Deshi looked down "But….."
"You will do fine" Toma said, gently lifting the boy's chin up "We'll walk there, you can have some fun at the Festival for the day, we'll Release the target, and we'll return for your Initiation. Nothing will go wrong, I promise".
Deshi nervously nodded, and thought quickly about the ceremony awaiting him that night. The Initiation was a grueling ritual during which an Initiate of the Order was locked in a small room for three entire days with little food or water. During that time, the Initiate would carve his or her own mask out of wood, and meditate on the holy texts of Majora. At the end of the third day, the door would be opened, and the Initiate would go through one final ceremony in which they would become a full-fledged Disciple of the Order. Deshi would be the first child to go through the ritual in centuries, and needless to say, many other Disciples, especially Toma, were nervous about how he would fare.
But the Five Exiles dictated that it must be done that way, and so it was, no exceptions.
Deshi took a deep breath "Alright. Let's go".
Toma changed into simple peasant clothing himself and hid his mask underneath a coat, and the two left the Sanctuary on foot. It was a beautiful summer morning in Hyrule as the two servants of Majora walked across the green grass of the Field. After about an hour of walking, they reached the gates of Castle Town.
A large group of people were walking through the gate, laughing and singing as they passed beneath the portcullis. Toma and Deshi quietly slipped into this crowd, and followed them inside.
The Market was filled with activity. Streamers and colorful banners hung from the buildings, stalls were all over the place offering products or games to the massive crowd of people in the square, and a band was playing a light, joyful tune from a small stage in the center.
Toma grimaced slightly, as he surveyed the scene. He personally found the Picori Festival to be rather ironic, as the Goddess-worshipping Hylians simultaneously celebrated both one of the Order's greatest triumphs, and one of its biggest embarrassments every year, without even knowing it.
Meanwhile, Deshi's eyes were darting around the plaza in wonder, taking in all the sights and sounds. Toma tapped his shoulder "Go ahead, and have fun. I have to get something done anyway."
Deshi looked up at his guardian with a gigantic grin"Thank you!" he exclaimed as he darted off into the crowd.
Toma shook his head slightly and smiled, before making his way through the people toward the Bazaar.
Deshi walked through the crowd, excitedly looking around for something to do. He passed by an old man who looked like he could keel over and die any second telling the legends of the Hero of Men, and the Hero of the Picori. Deshi ignored him, for he knew the legends already. Well, the true history of the legends, anyway.
Deshi noticed a few kids running into an open doorway. He looked up at a sign above it, read "Shooting Gallery" aloud to himself. He shrugged and walked through the door.
Inside, there was a bit of a line at the counter composed of kids either slightly younger or older than him. Deshi got on the back as a young boy with black hair and a stupid smile picked up a slingshot off the counter and walked over to the firing range. Deshi smiled, remembering all the time he spent at the Sanctuary's own range practicing with a slingshot. He was still not large enough to wield one of the Order's new crossbows, and found using a bow and arrow to be somewhat awkward to use, so Yuma, the Order's blacksmith and weapons designer, made him a small slingshot and some iron balls to practice with.
Deshi was happy to report that after weeks of practice, he would be able to successfully Release a man from a few yards away, by firing an iron ball straight through his throat or eye socket.
Deshi studied the pattern that the targets appeared in as the kid in front fumbled and utterly failed to hit any of them. He threw down the slingshot and started crying. The man behind the counter leaned forward "Hey, kid" he said, slightly annoyed "if you're not going to try again, please step aside so everyone else can try."
The boy stuck his tongue out at the owner and ran out, nearly ramming into a girl coming inside. She looked irritated for a second, but walked inside and got into line behind Deshi, who hadn't noticed anything, as he watched the targets pop up. He was determined to show these Tormentor-worshipping fools how a servant of the Consumer acts.
Toma strolled into the Bazaar and walked up to the shopkeeper behind the counter"Are your Moon Tears in stock?"
The shopkeeper's eyes darted around the room at the other patrons milling around looking at products. "Uh, I don't know. Why don't you come into the back and we'll look together, sir."
Toma nodded and opened a door next to the counter. On the other side the shopkeeper came around to meet him.
"Glory to Majora" the shopkeeper whispered.
"Praise be his holy name" Toma responded.
The two walked down a short corridor into a small storage room. Amongst the large amount of boxes and crates in this room, a Hylian woman wearing the traditional armor of the Sheikah was leaning tapping her foot and whistling a tune. She stopped whistling as the two men walked into the room. "Nice to see you again, Toma" she said.
"Likewise, Ainu"
Ainu clasped her hands together "So, is the plan still the same?"
Toma nodded "Pretty much. You're going to infiltrate the Castle, convince the target that you're one of her kind, and lure her out into the back alleys of town. There, I will pounce her from behind, Release her, and put an end to the entire damn race once and for all. Simple" he explained.
"Okay, well, there's two problems with that plan" Ainu said, holding up a finger "Number one, I don't really physically look like a Sheikah."
"Wait a minute," the shopkeeper said as he pulled a bottle filled with some kind of soupy red liquid out of his pocket. "This should turn your irises red".
Ainu carefully took the potion and stared at it "What is it?"
"The guy who sold it told me that its Red Chuchu mixed with a Tektite eye"
Instinctively, Ainu's face curled up into a scowl "Is it permanent?"
The shopkeeper shrugged "I didn't think to ask".
Ainu glared at him as she stuffed the potion into a pocket on her armor "Alright, well, there's still the fact that this Sheikah will not leave the presence of Princess Zelda, under any circumstances."
"That's why I brought Deshi" Toma said with a smug expression "he's going to distract her while we conduct our 'business' with her guardian."
Ainu raised an eyebrow "Are you sure? He's kind of….um….awkward"
"I am confident that he will do fine" Toma stated, a bit exasperated "Maybe his 'awkwardness', will be a good distraction."
Ainu sighed "Well, if you say so."
"Then that settles it" Toma said, as he turned around "the sun is going to set soon. I better find him."
"Alright, see you later, I guess" Ainu said, leaning against a large crate.
Toma and the shopkeeper walked back to the front of the Bazaar. As Toma was about to walk back out into the Market place the shopkeeper called out to him "I hope you found what you were looking for sir! Happy Picori day!"
Toma stepped out into the sunlight; he saw Deshi walk out of a building across the square, carrying what looked to be a small bag. Toma made his way through the crowds over to Deshi and tapped him on the shoulder. The boy turned around with a gigantic grin on his face. "Oh, Toma, I was just going to look for you!" he exclaimed.
Toma pointed at the bag he was carrying "So, what's in there?"
Deshi held the bag up with pride and shook it enough so that both could hear the tinkling of gems "Rupees from the Shooting Gallery," he said with a beaming smile "I won them for breaking the record for best score of all time! I guess all that target range time Yuma really paid off, huh?"
Toma couldn't help but give a small smile as well "Great work, Deshi."
The boy nodded and stuffed the bag into his pocket. "So why did you come find me?" he asked.
Toma made a beckoning motion for his finger "Come, we have to get ready for the assignment".
Deshi sighed. "Alright, let's go" he said, slightly disappointed.
The two followers of Majora turned and walked through the reveling Goddess-worshippers and back to the Bazaar.