Sheik took a deep breath before turning the knob and pushing open the wooden door. Impa's house had always been a bit of a refuge for various individuals. Sheik had never minded, he loved seeing people from outside Kakariko and hearing their stories. However, it also meant that he had no idea who would be inside. What had strangers done to Impa's home after four years?
The room looked relatively the same as he remembered. Bookshelves still lines one wall, maps and notes pinned up on the others. Even the cow still chewed sullenly in it's cage. The difference, of course, were the two brightly dressed men, one in red and one in blue, snoring softly by the table. The one in red was lying on a bedroll quite comfortably while the blue was on a chair, head resting on the table which was strewn with playing cards.
Silently, Sheik ascended to the balcony level. The bed up there was unoccupied. Sheik shrugged off his pack by the bed and looked down at the house once more. It seemed the respect for Impa's home remained; none of the shelves or chests were disturbed. The Sheikah eye still stared from the wall, a constant reminder of whom this house belonged to. Sheik lay on the bed. He wasn't tired and Kaepora Gaebora's words still circled his mind. There was also something bothering him. The Shadow Temple.
Sheikah were supposed to receive a sort of rite of passage in the temple when they turned thirteen. Obviously, Sheik had been unable to since he and Impa were hiding far from Kakariko. The exact rites weren't common knowledge and it had been Impa's responsibility to perform them to Sheik. But, of course, now she was gone. However, Sheik was back in Kakariko, with access to the his ancestral temple. Maybe there was still a way...
Sheik got up and went to one of the bookshelves. The books were mainly histories, of Hyrule or Kakariko, and few dated back to before the Sheikah shared Kakariko. There were a couple manuals on fighting forms and weaponry that Sheik set aside for later. Besides those, the bookshelves were no help.
There were two chests, Sheik started with the bigger one. It creaked slightly, and the man in red shifted in his sleep but didn't wake up. Sheik was grateful, he wasn't ready to talk to any of the residents of Kakariko, new or old, quite yet. The chest was mostly clothes, some were his from younger days, others Impa's. But he knew they'd be there. Underneath, however, were scrolls he never cared to open. Slowly, as to avoid loud rustling or damage to the paper, Sheik unrolled a few scrolls. There were family trees. Records of the Sheikah dating far back to before the Hyrule Civil War. Peeking at each scroll, he found they were all family records. The scrolls kept noisily trying to close, so Sheik didn't fight them and set them aside one by one. They were important Sheikah records, but not what he was looking for.
It took a good while to carefully unpack and repack the large chest. He looked at the smaller one, but remembered it contained only spare blankets and kitchenware. He'd really thought there'd be some record of the Sheikah rite of passage amidst those old scrolls. Then again, they were holy to the Sheikah, and even generous Impa, wouldn't leave them somewhere easily accessed. Then why leave the genealogical scrolls to be found? Sheik stared at the chest, the Sheikah eye engraved on it's lid, a bit worn from age. He thought of what he knew about hiding important things. There was a method he'd been taught to keeping things safe from robbers. After finding something of value, often a person will mark the place they found it as 'searched' and move on, giving no second thought. A good trick was to leave things of great value hidden in the same location as something of small value, albeit better hidden. The scrolls he'd found were valuable Sheikah information but nothing Impa probably didn't have second copies of. They were informative and secretive (as most Sheikah records are) but not holy.
After double checking that the two colorfully dressed men were soundly asleep, Sheik reexamined the large chest. He ran his fingers all along the chest but found nothing strange; no secret knobs or hidden writing. Growing a bit impatient and frustrated, he grabbed the handles of the chest and, as slowly as possible, turned it on it's side. Dust balls clung to the edge of the chest as it lay on it's side. The bottom's wood was darker from less sun exposure as was the floor where it had sat. Sheik struggled silently for a moment to avoid sneezing in the small dust cloud he had created. After composing himself, he ran his fingers along the bottom of the chest, he grinned when he felt a small engraving. It was about a half inch in diameter, a tiny Sheikah eye. It could easily be take for the crafter's mark for someone unfamiliar with the symbol's origin. Sheik felt the hairline circle around the symbol, and took one of the fine throwing needles from where they were hidden in a special sheath in his sleeve. It moments., the symbol popped off. Sheik put his finger in the hole and gave the bottom of the chest a small tug.
With a muffled pop a section of the bottom fell off. Sheik caught it before it hit the ground, and glanced at the sleeping men again. Still dead to the world. Sheik removed the papers that had been hidden in the compartment. It was a carefully tied bundle of writings. On closer inspection, most of the writing was on vellum. Sheik held them gingerly, aware that these were the true Sheikah records. There were journal pages or cramped writing. Sheik could see words like 'war', 'Interlopers', and 'Great King of Hyrule'. Some of the pages had coppery stains on them and it took a sleepy murmur from the man in blue to convince him to set it aside and not read the whole thing right there. A half burned parchment caught his eye, it was a music score. Most of the music was burned or faded, only a few notes here and there would be recognized. There were also faded notes in what looked like two different hands, covering what remained of the sheet. The title was the most clear, 'The Noctur- of Shad-'. There were also three clear lines above the title, in the note-takers' writing: 'Sun and Moon and Shadow', 'The Sun Song', and 'The Composer Brothers'.
The Composer Brothers, where have I heard of them? Sheik thought, really wishing the sheet was intact. He knew this had to be the song connected to the Sage of Shadow and the Shadow Temple. He set the paper aside and continued looking. The vellum sheets contained writing about many rituals, many sealing rituals of some kind. One was recent and bore Impa's name. It contained an account of her fight with a Phantom Shadow Beast, by the name of Bongo Bongo. There was a sketch of a fearsome read eye above to giant unattached hands. Along with a the sealing ritual used, Impa wrote where it was sealed-the Kakariko Well. Sheik traced his fingers over the familiar writing, remembering the brave and sure Sheikah woman. Also among the papers, was a list of prayers. Sheik found one for the burial of Sheikah, and remembered when it was read when his own parents passed. He took time to memorize it, determined to perform it for Impa.
At last, he found an envelope with the words: 'The Temple of Shadows'. There was also a message inscribed on the front,
Contained within are the burdens and secrets of the Sheikah Tribe. To be carried by all those Sheikah who have reached the age of thirteen. To understand the Shadow of our people. Beware to those who look upon these writings outside of this duty. Some secrets are consuming and keep themselves.
This is what he had looked for. This was the Sheikah's, the Shadow Tribe's, legacy.