||..—..||
|..Chapter Seven: The Path..|
By the time I reach the desert on Nurien, I discover Link to be a prisoner of the Gerudo. A Shadow Warrior could probably have easily slipped in past the guards, freed the Hero of Time, and slipped them both out again, but I do not think Link to be in any imminent danger, so I do not pursue a course of action to rescue him. It is not that I have complete faith in his abilities, but… He is the Hero of Time, after all.
Instead, I take this unexpected respite from tracking the Hylian down in the expanse of sand, as I had feared I would have had to do, to ride back to the camp Zelda and I made so many months ago. It was going on two weeks—possibly more—since last I reported to her, and I know she will be restless.
I spot the three small tents from atop a dune and pause momentarily before heading to them. I think I will leave out the part where the Gerudo warriors hold Link captive. Knowing Zelda, she would only rush to his aid when that is probably one of the worst things she could do. For her young years, the Queen is wise, yes, but she is also very rash when it comes to her emotions. She has much to learn and temper to be a gracious queen.
I spur my horse down the dune to the small camp, the noise calling Zelda out from her tend to see who draws near. I am pleased to see she wears her disguise. She lifts a hand to shield her eyes from the sun behind me, unable to clearly identify who I am. I stop a bit of distance away from the tents to show I come on friendly terms, and though the thought to bow comes to mind, I choose to ignore it. Finally, she recognises me.
"Sheik?" Zelda tentatively calls out. "When did you get a horse?"
I give Nurien his head and a nudge to the tents, allowing him to walk to them at his own pace.
"Just a few days ago," I reply. "Malon was kind enough to supply him to me."
Zelda has taken the cowl from her face by this point. With no one around but myself, the camel, and a few goats, she has taken to wearing simple desert clothing for travelling—when she is not masquerading as me—and allows her face to be uncovered most of the time. In all honesty, even if she were not to dress in my clothing, I do not think there would be many who would recognise the Queen of Hyrule in a common nomad's outfit, skin bronzed from the sun and sand. But only if they ignored the deep amethyst of her eyes: they would always by a giveaway, were it not for the glamour enchantment she cast on them. Those eyes narrowed at me at the mention of Malon's name.
"Malon? I thought you didn't want to be seen by anyone, let alone start conversing and making friends?"
I shrug. "I wouldn't call Malon a 'friend', per se—" Don't know what I want to call her, don't know what to think of her—"She owns Lon Lon Ranch with her father. Link's horse comes from her, as well, and if he is mounted, I need to be mounted to keep up with him," I explain. "And you, my Queen, need to keep your emotions under more control," I chide her.
"My—" She begins an outburst, but then realises what she is doing and catches herself. "Yes, sahair," she replies, bowing her head to me. Just as quickly, however, she lifts her head and is once more royalty rather than student.
"If Link has a horse now, why do you waste time to come back here?" she asks me.
"Because I can offer no assistance to him right now, and it is important I check in on you when I can. You must not slacken in your training."
"I see," is all she says.
I wait a moment longer to see if she says anything more, then dismount when she does not.. I lead Nurien to the supply of water we keep handy and replenish to let him drink his fill. I have not pushed him hard, but the heat of the desert created a light sheen of sweat across his fur. Remembering Malon's devotion to these creatures, I locate a scrap of cloth, dip it into the water, and rub down Nurien's coat with it. He gives a shudder of pleasure to my administration.
Zelda watches me curiously. I make no comment to her staring.
"I have never seen you so… attentive," she remarks finally. There is a slight catch to her voice that almost makes me want to turn around, but I do not stop in my task to address her. She is lonely for her people, I sense. Zelda, once tempered to the role, would probably make an excellent queen. She truly cares for her people and wishes to see them as a cohesive whole. But, I fear being out in the desert by herself is beginning to take its toll; I suspect she is starting to turn her affections to me. And any affections turned toward me are wasted.
"Malon seemed to care a lot about this horse," I reply, dipping the cloth in the water again to cool it. "I do not intend to mistreat him."
Zelda says nothing more, but I can almost feel unsaid words hanging in the air. She moves back toward the tents when it becomes apparent I have nothing more to say.
I murmur words to Nurien in Sheikahn until he seems content in temperature. I tie his reigns to one of the posts that hold the water reservoir and walk to my tent to wash the dirt of desert and travel from my face and hands. Zelda is not in sight, so I assume she has gone into her tent. We have three tents set up in our little camp—the queen's, mind, and a slightly larger tent between our individual ones we use for meals and discussion. Each of our personal tents is smaller—large enough only for one, maybe two people to inhabit comfortable. The communal one could fit five. I do not know what Zelda has in her tent, but I am a creature of simple lifestyle, and so have a bedroll, washbasin with a small mirror, and my travelling pack within mine. After entering, I close the tent entranceway and slip the knobs through their hoops to more or less lock it for privacy. I see that Zelda is starting a fire as the sun dips below the dune I rode down earlier, and start to unwrap my cowl. I take the headwrap from my head, as well, and strip off my clothing and armour to my waist. A long, thin scar traces its way across my chest, wrapping around the right side of my ribcage and abdomen. It is not so fresh that I take much notice of its presence, but my fingers involuntarily scrape along the thickest and deepest part of it, which runs along my bottom rib. It came from a fight that I do not take pride in, nor care to remember, from a time I do not care to dwell on. I have a few fresh cuts and bruises here and there, but nothing that will not heal on its own. I remember and silently thank the old man who helped me in Kakariko. My back feels perfectly fine due to his mending abilities.
I kneel before the washbasin and fill it with water from my canteen. An unprovoked smile draws my mouth as I dip my hand into the cool water. It feels just as refreshing on my face, tiny droplets falling down my shoulders and chest from where they cling to my hair. I am completely entranced by the sensations and close my eyes, unawares of my surroundings for once. I let my guard down because I feel safe and I trust.
An audible sucking in of breath snaps my eyes open and whips my body around, fingers wrapping around the blade I have next to me on the ground. I hiss out a vile string of words in my native tongue and let go of the dagger at my side.
"How dare you," I say in Hylian through clenched teeth.
Zelda stares at my halfway crouched position with wide eyes, the tent flap locks deftly undone to create a sliver of an opening.
"Sheik," she finally says, quiet. "I… I didn't know—"
"Didn't know I wanted privacy? You undid the locks, sahair." I am furious. She has seen my face. "You knew," I accused her. "You knew the privacy of my people."
Her face flushes. She stammers for a moment, then gets out, "I didn't know you were so handsome…"
My eyes flash and the control I maintain over my emotions slips entirely away. I rise to my feet and advance on her, snarling. "You have broken a sacred tradition, an unwritten law of the Sheikah warriors, and all you muse about is my face?" Zelda seems to snap out of whatever trance she had gone into and becomes aware of the anger directed at her.
"Well, I meant to harm," she begins.
"Whatever your intentions, you have caused it. Get out of my tent."
She is taken aback. "Sheik, I never meant—"
My eyes narrow. "Get. Out."
I see her visibly stiffen and raise her chin. Her voice becomes more authoritative.
"You cannot order the Queen of Hyrule to leave, Sheik." She looks me directly in the eye, as if daring my to defy her.
I have no objections right now in doing so.
"You will leave this tent, Queen Zelda, or you will find yourself removed."
"Are—are you threatening me?"
I do not say anything. Images of having to wrestle the young queen bodily out of my tent flash through my mind. Of such a conflict occurring that bridges I might need later would be closed to me, burned in one heated moment of betrayal and anger. So, instead, I turn and gather my things. I pull my clothing and armour back on, replace my cowl and headwrap. Zelda watches me silently al the while. She still sands in my way when I turn to exit the tent.
"Sheik, what are you doing?"
"You no longer require my services, Queen Zelda," I say, my voice calm once more.
"What are you talking about? Of course I—"
I continue, ignoring her words. "You know more than a sufficient amount to avoid being seen by the wrong people and can hold your own in battle, though I hope it does not come to that." I glance at her face, which is still filled with shock. My eyes are cold. "Rayahnta, kershii, Queen Zelda." I push past her out of the tent, and she does nothing to stop me. Nurien, I notice, is looking directly at me. The argument must have caught his attention.
I go to the communal tent and gather a few fresh canteens and dried meats and fruits before placing my gear onto Nurien's saddle and untying his reigns. Zelda has left what was my tent to watch me go—or try and stop me, I neither know nor care. I blatantly ignore all the words and pleas she voices to me as I go back to my tent to break it down. It does not take me long, but I feel as though the minutes drag out as she watches me, every so often pleading again for me to stay. Once finished, I fasten the rolled tent with the rest of my things and swing up into the saddle, pulling my cowl over my nose. I leave the camp without sparing another glance at Zelda. Once out of view and assured Zelda was not following, I reign in Nurien and dismount. Taking a few moments to alter a few scraps of cloth and some leather strings, I fashion a sort of mask to cover Nurien's noise from the dust storms I know we would encounter. There is not much can do for his eyes, but I can at least protect his nose. I remount the dark horse and continue on our way. Link might have escaped the Gerudos by this point, but I have no way of telling. I am tempted travel to a small oasis I know of, having been robbed my few days of respite by Zelda, but a sense of urgency and a gnawing duty makes me aim Nurien toward the Gerudo Fortress. I must know more about them, and find out what I can of the shadow Gerudo warriors.
As I ride, I try to not allow my thoughts to drift to Zelda and her betrayal of my trust. Royalty or not, what she did has no excuse and no forgiving. I will continue to do my duty to Hyrule, but I know I will not find my atonement through Zelda any longer. I will find another way.
||..—..||
The rise of the moon brings me within sight of the Gerudo Fortress walls. Half made of stone, half carved from rock, I deem it easy to scale and enter. The patrols the woman march is plainly seen and very regular; they do not expect anyone to attack them, let alone a single intruder. Certainly not a shadow walker.
I walk Nurien along the inside of a canyon's walls before releasing him. The trail will eventually lead back to Hyrule if he must leave the desert, as I am hesitant to tie him to a rock where he might not be able to free himself from if a dust storm comes, of if something happens and I cannot release him. I trust in Malon's talent with horses and pray he will be near if and when I need him. I rub his neck and scratch where his jaw meets his neck, causing him to crane his great head outward, his eyes half closing. I speak to him in Sheikah, telling him what I am going to do and for him to stay close by if he wishes. I take a few items from my pack with me, in case I am gone a long while—or in case I return to find Nurien gone. Nurien watches me as I head back the way we had just come, hugging the canyon wall opposite. I glance back to see him cock one of his back hooves and smile slightly. It looks as if he'd stay. Satisfied with that thought, I return my attention to the task at hand. The Goddesses are with me tonight, I find myself thinking. The moon slides behind wisps of cloud, casting shadows that I can blend into seamlessly. I do not check my weapons to make sure they are secure; I know that they are. I do, however, tighten my headwrap and make sure my cowl in is place. I scale some of the cliff near the closest wall, pause to make certain they have not spotted me, then begin to go sideways toward the fortress.
None of the guards notice me. None of them even look in my direction. I am across the wall and into a window without any of them so much as batting an eye. Once inside, their guards are even more lax. I sneak behind a guard until she stops to chat with another guard about the new prisoner they captured. Some Hylian who had already tried to escape twice. My eyes perk at this information—that has to be Link. I slip away from them and always turn left until I start seeing rooms I recognise, then piece together the layout from that. From what I remember of the outside, what I think is their jail is located on the opposite end to where I am. Three voices draw near to my location, and I realise I let my guard down due to the lack of competent guard rotations. There is nowhere to hide behind where I am crouched by the doorway—I must go outside and risk that or guarantee being seen inside here. My eyes flick back to the growing voices and then to the dark outside. I will take my chances out there. Darting out the door and staying as close to the ground and wall as I can, I move quickly. There are crates lying strewn about, providing small but adequate cover. Certainly enough for what I require at the moment. I duck behind two that are lying next to each other just as three women emerge from the doorway I was occupying moments before. They are unaware of my presence and walk right by me. I sneer under my cowl. They don't even bother to look around as they walk. The Gerudo seem to be utterly confident in themselves and their fortress, a Sheikah sahair could get by them.
And it is then that the full weight the black Gerudo warriors could represent hits me. If those women truly are to these guards what the Sheikah were to the Royal Hylian Family… Even the Hero of Time might not be able to stop Gannondorf. They must be stopped. I know I have one more warping song to teach Link at the Goddess in the Sand, but after that I must leave the rest of what needs to be done to Zelda. Thankfully, she already knows this; we laid down the plan for the Hero of Time and how we would go about helping him—mainly to coordinate Zelda going unnoticed by Gannondorf or his minions—long ago. I do not need to seek her out again, after what she has done, to inform her. It is then I realise I have not told her of the black Gerudo. I did not have the chance to launch into a full report before she violated sacred tradition and my trust. I will tell Link, however, and hope that he has the opportunity to pass the information along to her. But first, I must find Link and tell him.
I move quickly, for I do not want to waste time and risk the clouds moving from the moon and losing the cover they provide. It only takes me a few minutes to evade the few guards remaining between the tall jail tower and myself, and to scale the side to a small opening I can see from the base. I slide inside and hang from the sill momentarily, taking the time to scan the cell beneath me.
A loud thump sounds directly beside me and startles me enough that the grip of one of my hands slips. Despite my love of climbing and no fear of heights, my stomach clenches for a few instants. Glancing over to discover the source of the sound, I find myself face to face with a hookshot. That confirmed my suspicions that Link was down there. I look up at the sill again and swing my arm up to grab the ledge, pulling myself up in the process. Unfortunately, Link is pulling himself up via the hookshot at the same time, and the wooden sill was not intended for the weight of two grown men hanging off it. I wince as I hear the first crack, and have only a second's worth of registering that I am going to fall very soon, before just that happens. Link hits the cell floor first, not having been very far off the ground yet, and has the misfortune of acting as a landing pad for me.
"Are you all right?" I ask him as he grunts and begins to detangle his limbs from mine.
"Sheik? What in Din's name are you doing here? Falling on me, no less?" Link's voice is surprised. We both manage to roll away from each other and get to our feet. He draws the hookshot back into its holder, pulling off the broken piece of wood still stuck to the end.
"The falling was unintentional," I reply. "I came here to warn you of a growing threat."
"Yeah, Gannondorf, I know," Link begins.
I shake my head. "No, it's more than that. I have reason to believe Gannondorf is trying to mirror the Royal Family by creating Gerudo shadow warriors."
Link appears slightly shocked, but keeps it calm, all the same. "To fight in his armies?"
"At times, yes. But not mostly."
Link looks at me. The five temples he has already cleansed have aged him greatly—in body as well as in spirit and mind.
"What does it mean, Sheik? Cut to the chase."
"Link, what do you know of the Sheikah?" I ask him instead.
He glances about, as if ashamed. "Not much," he admits. "Just whatever I've heard from you and a few others."
"Then, to be brief, the Sheikah were once the shadow warriors of Hyrule. We are a cousin race to yours, and so had agreed to help the former King of Hyrule during the Hyrulean Civil War, where most of my people died." I pause for a moment.
"Sheik, I'm sorry—" Link starts again, but I hold up my hand to silence him.
"That is not my point. Even before that, we Sheikah served as infiltrators, dark sorcerers, illusionists, shadow assassins… but most importantly, shadow warriors. We move unseen, we strike in the dark when no one can see but us. Lies and hidden truths are illuminated to us." I look him directly in the eyes, crimson clashing with cerulean. "All the tasks and duties unfit for the light of day or so-called 'cultured' civilisations, those were the tasks Hylians gave the Sheikah. We did your dirty work. And we excelled at it."
Link shifts uncomfortably. "I never—" he tries again.
"Link," I say fiercely, catching his attention again, "you're not understanding what I'm saying. What happened to the Sheikah before does not matter right now. Listen to me again: Gannondorf is creating shadow Gerudo warriors."
His eyes widen as the information finally sinks in.
"Oh, no," he breathes. "We have to stop him!"
"Yes—we were going to do that, anyway. It's just now the stakes are higher." I try to not see the image of what might happen to Malon if Gannondorf's shadow Gerudo succeed in becoming a force of their own. "There are already bands of them—have been for some time now, apparently." The old man's words of seeing them and their symbol over two decades ago come to my mind. "I fear it is far too late to nip them in the bud; they have been around too long at this point. Gannondorf has been planning this for a long time."
"What can we do?" Link asks. I am taken aback by the tone of his question—he has complete and utter faith and trust in me.
"We can't do anything with as little information as we have now. We need to find out more about them." I pause. "That is actually the main reason why I am here—to learn more about these shadow Gerudo if I can."
Link does not appear to take offence to the implication that I did not come here to rescue him. He merely nods.
"I have already engaged a few of them some time ago," I continue, "and they were well-seasoned warriors. A man in Kakariko knew of them from at least two decades ago, when a group of them slaughtered an entire village." Link's lips curl in disgust. "As I said, Gannondorf has been planning this for a long time."
"How do we go about finding more information about these warriors?"
"Let me worry about that. You continue on as you have been; Gannondorf himself must still be stopped. These shadow Gerudo will not go away simply because their leader has been defeated, however. There will be plenty to deal with after you have stopped him." I glance up at the window, noting the level of darkness, then return my gaze to Link. "The more quickly you can escape from here and continue on, the better."
He gives me an incredulous glance. "Exactly my thought before the window ledge broke."
I look up. "Rafters are sturdier," I tell him, then make my way up the tall cell to the window by vaulting from the floor to the wall to the broken ledge. I grasp hold of the top of the frame, still intact, and swing myself through it. I can here Link say something to himself, followed by the sound of his hookshot sinking into the thick wood of the rafters.
Satisfied with that I see in Link now, I am more confident in his abilities than before. I now have no qualms whatsoever leaving him to continue while I pursue information. Now the only task immediately before me is to scour the entire fortress for anything I can glean.
..—..
I slip from shadow to shadow in the ever-lessening night, epitome of my race's legacy. I pause wherever there are voices, or if more than one guard is nearby me. Soon, I have completely memorised their Fortress layout, and am piecing the bits of information I have heard thus far into a cohesive whole in my mind. There is, unfortunately, very little talk of the shadow Gerudo. What there is an abundance of talk about, however, is of their leader, Nabooru, and how she travelled to the temple of the Goddess in the Sand several weeks ago, and has not been seen or heard from since. All the Gerudo are worried about her absence, but cannot spare a search party due to the skeleton crew guarding the Fortress now. It makes me look down on them a little less to hear this excuse for a guard placement is not their norm. It seems the majority of their warriors are with their king, Gannondorf. The only mention of the shadow Gerudo are two guards speaking in hushed voices, even though there is no one to be seen around them. They mention a band of Midirii—I assume that is the name the Gerudo have given their shadow warriors—that is out searching for the former Princess Zelda. Despite her persona betrayal to me, I still do not wish harm upon her, and fear twists my gut until I hear the guards mention them looking last in Kakariko Village. I relax slightly. The desert would certainly not be among the first places that come to mind to search for Zelda, though it does explain the burning of Kakariko. It has been by the grace of the Goddesses that Zelda ended up with me, and that I almost always stay on the move. I instilled that in her early on, after Gannondorf assassinated her father and took control of the kingdom, and I am glad that I did.
After taking as much time as I allow myself to be within the Fortress itself, I go outside via a nearby doorway and discover the sky greying with pre-dawn light. I have paid less attention to the passing of time than I thought, and now hurry back to where I left Nurien. My exit warrants no detection, the same as my entrance. The dark horse is where I left him, eyes half-closed in sleep. His ears flick back as I approach and I run a hand along his neck, circling around in front of him.
"Only one more place to go," I tell him in Sheikah, "and then we will leave the desert." As I swing up into the saddle, part of me feels I should be the better man and warn Zelda those called Midirii are in search of her… but the majority of me never wants her in my line of sight again.
Sighing, I spur Nurien into motion and head toward Zelda's camp. "Two more places," I correct myself to Nurien. Though I have come to dislike the vessel, I must remain true to my duty to the kingdom and the Goddesses, as it now may threaten her life even more immediately than Gannondorf's ever-looming presence through the land. I do not look forward to the confrontation. To delay as much as I am willing, I ride perhaps halfway to where I know Zelda's camp to be, and then make my own. I feed and water Nurien, then brush him down slightly before replacing the cloth over his nose. That done, I set up my tent and go inside, turning out my bedroll and debating if I am tired enough to skip my washing ritual for the evening.
I hear the sound of the tent burlap being pushed aside and half my brain goes to Zelda while the other half goes on the defensive. My eyes lock onto those of the intruder and I laugh, getting to my feet. I walk over to the large dark head of Nurien, who has nosed his way partially inside to stare straight at me. I look around the tent. So long as he doesn't walk near the outer perimeter with his head fully raised or rear up at all, I figure there was enough room to accommodate both of us. I push the tent flap aside to allow the rest of the big horse entry.
I watch him cautiously as he stands in the middle of the tent, flicking his tail a few times as he looks from side to side. To my delight, he folds his legs beneath him and drops to the ground, a light cloud of dust rising around him.
"I think Malon chose well, after all, when she handed me your reigns," I tell him, moving my bedroll to be parallel to the horse. I do not bother with a fire, and quickly drift to sleep after lying down my head.
By late morning, I have everything packed tightly and fastened to Nurien's saddle. There is no need for me to run what words I will say through my mind; I know I will speak with as much brevity as I possibly can. Not only do I wish to linger as little as feasible in Zelda's company, I must also reach the Goddess in the Sand to meet Link there and teach him the final warping song. The thought sobers me, for I find myself looking forward to playing music with Link. As much as I long for Gannondorf to be dealt with a gone, I regret the music with him has to come to an end. I feel something stir within me, an aching that seems too big to fit inside my body, and the joints of my fingers long to curl around my lyre and strum the strings. The feel of the saddle and Nurien beneath it fade from my senses as the familiar sensation of the Goddesses' power floods me.
Euphoria tingles my every nerve into almost oversensitivity and I can feel every part of me filled with vibration, down to my very core. I do not hear their voices so much as feel the impressions they wish to convey upon me. Talk is far too simple a concept for when the Goddesses communicate with mortals. Why they have chosen me, a Sheikah, the outcast race, to communicate with is far beyond my understanding, but I care not as rapture encases me. They implore me to release myself into this last song, for it is one of the most powerful. It cannot fail. They call me by my true name and fill my mind and soul with the complete path of my destiny, my purpose in life and in this war. They do not show me the future; merely illuminate the path I was born to walk. The path that I am needed to walk for this world to survive in any sense of the word. I hear the strains of melody in my mind, feel them burned into my soul. And then it fades, the Goddesses gone.
Nurien has stopped, but I give him a nudge with my knees and he sets out again, this time at a trot. This confrontation with Zelda must happen, and it is better done sooner rather than not. My hands ache to play the last song accompanied by an ocarina.
A/N: Slight AU 'cause Sheik is his own character and I'm taking some liberties with other things in the story to make it fun and exciting. Nurien is mine, however.
Augh. This is all I have to say about this recurring theme of me failing to update. Honestly, I didn't really have any ideas for this chapter for a while… I hope it came out all right. As it seems to happen with all the chapters I get stuck on, I sit on them for a while (a rather long while, it unfortunately seems), and then work on them like mad because I have copious amounts of ideas.
Sheikah Language: Rayahnta Kershii - Reign Long
