*I did not get distracted playing FFXIV, I did not get distracted playing FFXIV...
Strength of the Shiekah
Chapter 21
The Yiga
It was a sunny day, a rarity in the mountains. Paya looked up at the blue sky as she followed the rest of her fellow Sheikah down the path to Kakariko graveyard. The last week seemed to have been filled with stormclouds, although no rain had fallen on Kakariko. She hoped that it wasn't an ill omen.
At least the blossoms were finally springing forth. The trees were filled with the little pink flowers, scattering petals in her wake as she listened to the chatter around her. She was glad at least some of her friends had returned to the village; security aside, she didn't feel as alone as she had before. She could hear Koko and Cottla giggling ahead of her as they danced around their father's feet.
They did not understand yet what a day of reverence this was.
The chatter began to quiet, just a little, when they reached the borders of the graveyard. Koko's eyes widened, and she stilled, reaching out for her father's hand. Cottla looked at her sister in innocent confusion, but said nothing. Behind her many of the elders waited, holding cherry blossom bunches, or baskets filled with candles and small offerings. Even the rag-tag bunch that her sister had sent to defend the village had come, standing tall with pride and dignity, or as least as much as a fidgety young man like Ananas could.
A gentle hand rested on her shoulder. "You can do this." Srawi whispered. She looked good in the battle garb of the village; dark blues and black armor allowing her to perfectly blend into the shadows should the need arise. The only thing that stood out was the glittering golden Royal Bow that she carried. Her hair was pulled back into a traditional bun, tied back with a pair of red sticks. The mask was pulled down as she was, technically, off duty.
"You think so?" Paya asked, holding the harp a little closer to her chest. Grandmother had said that it was grandfather Dago's most beloved instrument when he worked as a Poet for the royal family. She'd dug it out of an old chest when she was searching for the ancient songs Kass believed were hidden in Kakariko. "I-I still think Grandmother should have-"
"Impa more than trusts you enough to lead today's ceremonies." Srawi soothed. "And you are prefect for it."
Paya took a shaky breath. "If you think so." She said. "I… I'm just not sure I'm ready."
"You are."
Paya let out her long breath. "Ok. I can do this. I… Can do this."
"Go get them, Tiger." Srawi said with a grin, pushing her to the front of the crowd. Paya did her best not to stumble, gaining her footing as she turned to face the rest of the village.
These aren't strangers. They're your friends. Your Family. She reminded herself.
If only my real family could be here…
Paya did her best not to look nervous. "Brothers and Sisters of Kakariko." She began, trying to focus on anything but the people in front of her. "We are gathered at the gates of our families' eternal rest to pay honor to those who have pre-preceded before us." She hesitated as she stuttered over a word. Srawi gave a gentle 'keep going' gesture from the back of the crowd.
"Those we have come to pay homage to are not strangers. They are family, be they elders who passed peacefully when their time came, or loved ones who left us far too soon." She did her best not to stare at Dorian and his two children. "Even those who… who do not rest in the field of our ancestors, but fell unrecoverable in the field of battle have a place in our memory, and our hearts."
Even those who betrayed us. She thought sadly. Her sister had been devastated by Caoca's death. It was still hard to think of him as a deranged traitor, even if that was how he died.
"Let us go, and tend to the graves of our loved ones." Paya continued. "Let us show the same care and respect for our own that we do to the rest of Hyrule."
That last part was awkward. Paya thought to herself as she stepped aside, letting the people of Kakariko into the graveyard. It has been a century since we truly served Hyrule. But it was the traditional speech given on the Day of Rememberance. She could remember Grandmother giving the same speech since she was old enough to walk. She looked out over the hills, where the rest of Hyrule could be seen in the distance. Will we ever return to this ruined Kingdom?
"Daddy, look at all the flowers!" Cottla exclaimed in the distance. Paya smiled and followed the rest of the elders into the village. Members of the Sheikah tribe had been buried her for centuries, as well as members of the Royal Family. There was even a place for the last King of Hyrule, though no body rested beneath its gravestone. The few Sheikah that had escaped the palace during the Calamity had barely done so with their lives; there was no chance of taking the dead King with them. There was an empty plot beside it, with no headstone or grave. Grandmother still holds hope that the Princess is holding back Ganon. Paya thought, looking at the untouched grass. But can she hold him off for much longer?
It wasn't like her to be plagued with doubt; not doubts like these, anyway. Her sister had fought them for years, even running away from the Sheikah when those doubts and the burden of impending leadership had proved too much to bear. Paya shifted uncomfortably. She hoped the same wouldn't come of her.
She wandered amongst the gravestones, watching the elders of Kakariko pay visits to the graves of their forebears, their brothers and sisters, their children; generations of the Sheikah long since past while they remained. Dorian was knelt down at a single, solitary gravestone. His daughters mimicked him, but it was still obvious that Cottla was confused. Koko was trying to hold back tears. She finally buried her head in her father's tunic, crying. Dorian only stared at the gravestone, barely holding back tears himself.
They'll never know a mother's love. Paya thought sadly, turning away. The Yiga made sure of that.
The Yiga.
The assassins had touched far too many gravestones in the Graveyard to bear thinking about. She looked at Srawi and the rest of her friends, gathered around a tall stone Monolith that stood at one end of the graveyard. It was a memorial dedicated to all Sheikah who fell in battle, never to be found.
"Do you think it still counts?" Kirshii asked, holding up a pair of candles. "Even if they didn't consider themselves Sheikah anymore?"
"I think it does." Apfael replied. "They're our brothers and sisters, no matter what side they're on."
"yeah, but…" Srawi began. "They willingly turned theirs backs on what made them Sheikah. I mean, so did we, but we eventually saw the error of our ways. They…"
"Do you think they would have turned back if they had the chance?" Kirshii replied. "I think Cacoa would have…"
"Caoca was only following Paz." Himberri replied shaking his head. "He never made a decision without her input."
"So you think he would have stayed in the Yiga if no one had pushed him to leave?" Ananas asked.
Himberri nodded silently. "He would not have been happy… but he would not have left, either."
"Well, what about Limet?" Kirshii asked. "I mean, she hated the idea of serving anyone, Ganon least of all…
"I was thinking about that, actually." Traube cut in. There was no real reason for him to be out of bed and at the Day of Rememberance other than pure stubbornness. He was supposed to be resting. "Pazzy told me that our Yiga names were just numeric designations, and I thought about who got what number. I think the numbers were based on how loyal we were to the Yiga. They must have thought Limet would be really loyal, and Caoca not so much."
"But Caoca still died trying to fight for their cause." Himberri pointed out. "As did Limet."
"You didn't like Limet because she was always picking on me." Kirshii pointed out. "And Traube hated how much Caoca clung to Paz."
"I did not!" Traube protested.
"Yes you did." Srawi, Kirshii and Apfael said in unison. Himberii nodded his head.
"O-okay.. maybe I did… a bit." Traube relented, flustered. "But only because I thought he was holding her back!"
"Suuure you did." Apfael replied, rolling his eyes.
"It's true!" Traube retorted. "She was… more alive than I'd seen her in years when I met her in the Forest of Time. I hadn't even seen her smile since we left Kakariko."
"Dude, we were all wearing masks. No one could see anyone elses' faces."
"That wasn't what I meant." Traube replied. "She was happier. I can't explain it. I don't want to say it was because she was free of Caoca, but…"
Paya let out a small cough. "I know you all mean well, but speculating on my sister's love life isn't why we're here today." She politely reminded them. "Traube, please stop digging yourself into a hole."
"Hi Paya!" Ananas said happily. "We're trying to decide if it's right to leave candles for Caoca and Limet, even though they didn't die as Sheikah."
Paya looked at Kirshii, who was awkwardly holding two unlit candles in her hands. "Well… They're still our friends and…" She stuttered, looking down at the candles.
Paya smiled gently. "I think," She said, reaching up and setting a gentle hand on Kirshii's shoulder. "That we should honor them as the brother and sister they were, rather than the enemies they became. Is that good enough for everyone?"
The rest of the Sheikah exchanged a few glances. "I would say so." Apfael said finally.
"Good." Paya replied. "I will be at the Cherry Tree when you are done."
She put her hands back around the harp and walked away, lost in thought enough she only heard a faint scrap of the conversation that continued, something that sounded like "Did anyone bring a match?"
It had been an idea she had fought with for years, after they had all run away; would they still be honored as Sheikah if they died before coming home? It had pained her to think that she would lose her friends-her sister- forever if they perished before realizing their mistake. She refused to think that any of them had no second thoughts. From what she understood of events, both Caoca and Limet had died before her sister had begun her rallying cry. Would they have left had they been given the chance to escape?
She still didn't have a good answer.
It didn't take her long to reach the Cherry Tree in the center of the graveyard. While there were multiple trees filled with the pink blossoms, there was only one that counted as the Cherry Tree to generations of Sheikah. It stood over a small koi pond, older than any other tree around. A few koi swam lazily close to the surface, casting ripples in the water. Paya sat at the base of the cherry tree, resting the harp against her side as she idly plucked the strings, casting a sweet, slow melody across the gravestones.
"What'cha doin, Miss Paya?" A small voice asked. Paya looked up to see Cottla, watching her with interest. "That's a pretty song!"
"You think? Why thank you." Paya said, smiling at her. "It's a song my Grandfather wrote. He's buried under that cherry tree over there." She's said, nodding at a cherry tree that stood a short distance away. "It was one of the last songs he wrote."
"Can you sing it for me?" Cottla asked, eyes bright. "Please?"
"I can try." Paya replied. "But the song was never finished. Grandfather never told anyone where the second half of the song was."
"Then sing the half you know!" Cottla said, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
Paya smiled gently. "Okay." She said. She put her fingers back to the strings of the harp, this time with purpose as she let her Grandfather's music flow across the graveyard.
From the day we sealed the Sacred gate
To when our kingdom meets its fate
Find us, the wise, the warriors we
Defending our home to eternity
We stand on watch, our eye unclosed
And leave for our young this story told
Our honor and trust shall not be rend
Our families both loyal until the end
For Our promise unmarred by tears or pain
Was founded upon that lonely plane
May those who search soon come to find
Our Histr'y and Hyrule's intertwined
Cottla sat in front of her, in awe. "Wow. That was so pretty!" She exclaimed.
"It was." A voice behind her said. "Pity it was the last song you will ever hear."
Paya's head shot up. Where there had been no one standing before was now a Yiga assassin, his sickle raised. Cottla screamed in terror, hunching down into a ball. Paya was able to keep enough of a sense of mind to reach forward and pull the child away, out of reach of the falling sickle.
Cottla's screams raised alarms all over the graveyard; it also became the signal for the Yiga to strike. Red-clothed assassins appeared from nowhere, striking with deadly intent. The smoke from the candles of rememberance was joined by the screams of the elders as they scrambled to avoid joining their loved ones. The Company sprung to action, but they were swiftly overwhelmed by Footsoldiers on all sides. Paya put herself between Cottla and the assassin in front of her, breathing heavily.
She could hear the grin, tainted with venom, in the asassin's voice as he laughed. "How noble. A true Sheikah to the very end."
There has to be something I can do. Paya thought desperately. If only the others had some cover.
She looked to the heavens. There wasn't a cloud to be seen, yet her hands itched to pull the strings of the harp in her hands. She wasn't sure what pushed her to do it; desperation, some half-remembered memory of a long-forgotten tune-but something pulled her fingers to the strings and pulled a melody from the depths of time.
Almost instantly rain began to fall. The clear heavens were transformed in the blink of an eye to ominous thunderheads. Within seconds everyone on the impromptu battlefield was drenched. It was just enough of an opening for Paya to shove the oncoming assassin into the pond and pull Cottla away. They fled through the tombstones, Cottla clinging desperately to her hand as they sought shelter.
How? The thought raced through Paya's mind as she ducked behind a large tombstone. How could a song bring rain on a clear day? It's not as if it was…
Magic.
Her ancestors were said to have wielded magic, far back in the ancient days, before they even developed the techniques that birthed the Divine Beasts and the Guardians. Her grandfather had talked about it often, strumming the harp as he sat with her under the Memory tree.
"There's an old, old legend that sleeps within this harp." He'd told her one day. "Did you know our ancestors could use magic? They used this harp to summon the very elements from the earth, using songs that cried out to the essence of Hyrule in petition for aid. This harp is said to be the most revered of them all, although its time is long since past. Still… I've always wondered if that magic could be awoken again, with the right song."
But… that was just a bunch of random notes. Wasn't it? Paya though as she and Cottla hunched behind a tombstone. That can't have been one of the ancient songs.
She looked at the harp, its worn wood having long since lost its golden glow. The strings had been replaced more often than Hyrule had kings, and the padded grip shows the marks of numerous previous owners. It didn't look like a harp of legend in the slightest. Yet the rain still fell.
"Miss Paya, what do we do?" Cottla asked, clinging to her sleeve and pulling her out of her reverie. "I'm scared!"
So am I. Paya thought. But scared isn't going to get us out of this. She looked to the sky, still pouring with rain. Sister, lend me just a little bit of your courage.
"We need to find your father." She said, reaching down and scooping the child into her arms. Their chances of survival were far better with warriors at their side. She carefully peeked around the edge of the tombstone. The sounds of battle were all around her, yet she found a relative moment of calm. She tried to steady her breath. She wasn't a fighter. We may be safer here…
The earth shook.
Paya fought for balance on the balls of her feet as sounds of explosions filled the air. She peed around another tombstone to look out over Hyrule. It was filled with Red light, great beams of energy filling the air as the Divine Beasts fired upon Hyrule Castle.
It's begun. The bottom almost dropped out of her stomach. Be careful, Link.
Cottla screamed. Paya turned around to see a monster, a hideous geist with purple-flame eyes and wicked talons. Her scream soon joined Cottla's as she stumbled out from behind the tombstone and into the rest of the graveyard. Pure adrenaline overtook the fear that threatened to bind her legs, the few vestiges of warrior training her sister had forced her to take overriding instinct. But she had no weapon, no courage. All she could do was run.
She soon found herself back at the pond, now swarmed with Sheikah and Yiga alike. A gruff hand grabbed the back of her tunic and thrust her forward, into the small circle of Sheikah that had found themselves cornered at the tree. She buried Cottla in her arms and tried to do a head count. The Company had set themselves in an uneasy defensive circle around the elders, who were bleeding out on all sides and collapsed on the ground. Traube was among them, holding his sides and gasping for breath. He looked unnervingly pale. Dorian was standing his ground next to Srawi, one arm out to protect Koko from the Yiga that shuffled around them. Their enemies were a sea of red, or so it seemed, dotted here and there with the mysterious ghosts whose eyes burned into her soul.
Paya took a ragged breath, sinking to her knees as she held Cottla close. This was no place for her, or for children. But she might be joining her ancestors soon enough.
"Paya, are you okay?" Srawi asked, not taking her eyes off the advancing soldiers.
"I'm… I'm okay." Paya breathed. Koko left her father and ran into her arms, joining her sister.
"Surrender, traitors." One of the soldiers in front of them said, thrusting his sickle forth. "And we might make your deaths swift."
"I'm scared." Koko whimpered, burying her face in Paya's tunic. "I want to go home!"
One of the Yiga laughed. "There is no home for you anymore." He cackled. "Only the grave."
There has to be something I can do…
She watched the rain spatter off the Yiga's masks, noticing for the first time that they too, were well-scored with the marks of battle. Some of the weaker ones were hiding in the back, where their injuries almost didn't show.
"It's a good thing we stopped that ambush." Traube panted, collapsing beside her. "Or there'd be a lot more of them. Think… think the rain helped too. They don't fight so well when it's wet."
Paya looked to the heavens. An Idea came to mind, fleeting before terror pushed it away. Yet it persisted.
The Rain..
She looked down at the children clinging to her, then up at the Yiga. Carefully, trying not to jostle the girls, she put her harp to her waist and began to pluck the strings. No ancient melody came this time; only the song her grandfather had entrusted to her.
From the day we sealed the Sacred gate
To when our kingdom meets its fate
Find us, the wise, the warriors we
Defending our home to eternity
We stand on watch, our eye unclosed
And leave for our young this story told
Our honor and trust shall not be rend
Our families both loyal until the end
For Our promise unmarred by tears or pain
Was founded upon that lonely plane
May those who search soon come to find
Our Histr'y and Hyrule's intertwined
The melody faded, the last notes echoing off the tombstones before silence one again fell. No one had moved, but the music had touched all.
"What was that? A final requiem?" A Yiga near the front laughed. "How fitting! A final reminder of the broken promises of the Sheikah."
The Yiga began to laugh, sickles coming to bear as the soldiers readied for a new attack to wipe their enemies out, once and for all.
The laughter faded as another melody began to echo amoungst the tombstones.
We Cry, our pain and our sadness lies
In the tear that marks our solemn eye
Of red, ever watching this land we swore
To guard, to protect by bow or sword
Our blades, sharpened by time and test
Of skill and strength, protecting the crest
That marks the strength of the kingdom's free
And the sacred power, lost to all but three
Who rise, and rise, bound by the fates to fight
Evermore, lest Hyrule is lost to the endless night
Of Demise, So let our Cry ring out to the world
And our enemies tremble at banner unfurled
The Strength of the Sheikah will not unwind
Our Histr'y and Hyrule's Intertwined
"I know that voice." One of the Yiga growled, crouching lower into a defensive position. "That's the traitor!"
The melody faded, yet tension hung in the air as friend and foe alike waited with bated breath. Something stirred within Paya, a connection that had been tested and tempered over nearly eighteen years. A connection bound in fire that could never be broken.
She stood, unshaking, putting her fingers back to the strings with newfound confidence. She felt the unheard music crescendo within her as she sang out, her voice joining with the disembodied one that echoed throughout the graveyard, and within her soul.
From the day we sealed the Sacred gate / We Cry, our pain and our sadness lies in the
To when our kingdom meets its fate / tear that marks our solemn eye of red, ever watching
Find us, the wise, the warriors we / this land we swore to guard, to protect
Defending our home to eternity / by bow and sword and blade, sharpened by time
We stand on watch, our eye unclosed / and test of skill and strength protecting the crest
And leave for our young this story told / That marks the strength of the Kingdom's free
Our honor and trust shall not be rend / And the sacred power lost to all but three
Our families both loyal until the end / Who rise, and rise bound by the fates to fight
For Our promise unmarred by tears or pain / Evermore, lest all is lost to the endless night
Was founded upon that lonely plane / of Demise, so let our cry ring out to the word,
And our enemies tremble at banner unfurled
May those who search soon come to find / The Strength of the Sheikah will not unwind
Our Histr'y and Hyrule's Intertwined
KRACK-OOOOM
Lightning struck the earth between the haggard Sheikah and the Opposing Yiga. The ground shook, sending troops on both sides off balance. Paya fell to her knees, clutching the harp to her chest. There was a burst of light, blue and warm before vanishing with the lightning. She looked up carefully, to see a new figure standing between her and the Yiga.
She was tall, with a cream cloak and a long, conical hat not unlike the one her grandmother wore, trimmed with red and a large Sheikh Eye. The armor she wore seemed to glow with the ancient energy of the Guardians, leather and cloth coming together in a perfect harmony. Her weapon unsheathed, lax yet poised for battle. And in her other hand, a small golden compass that was carefully clicked shut.
Her back was to the Sheikah, but Paya still knew her, from the grip on the Naginata to the graceful poise. She called out with joy and relief.
"Impaz!"