Dramatis Lyricae
Part One: Nocturne
By Indigo Lafayette
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Don't believe the life you have
Will be the only one
You have to let your body sleep
To let your soul live on.
~~ Metallica, 'Sabbra Cadabra'
(*)
Something is dreadfully wrong. I feel it in my blood as I am awakened in the dead of night by dreams of the beast within the well. It has been awakened, somehow, someway. I feel the call of the spirits, those of the underworld, known to the Sheikah as the Mwrana'Dhal; The Ancestors who Watch. I feel them calling my name, calling out to beseech my service to inter the shadow beast once more.
Yet I know I cannot leave. Not with my ward, my duty still awaiting the time when she can return to her birthright and wrest it from the hands of that Gerudo bastard, Gannondorf. He has no right to claim Hyrule, nor does he have any right to the Triforce. True, though in the legends anyone can go after the Triforce if that one has the keys, but someone who gained access through treachery does not deserve the power of the goddesses.
I can tell that the Legend of the Split has come to pass. Gannondorf seeks power which he can add to his own, but he lacks wisdom, and certainly lacks courage. The elements within must be balanced in order to gain the True Force, to truly rule all in harmony with the spirits. The Splice has come to pass, because I see a wisdom in the Princess that I have rarely seen in people twice and thrice her age. Not that Zelda is not an intelligent girl; She has always been one with a good head upon her shoulders. However, she now sees insights into things that I rarely find unless I am focussed on the same thing for a longer period of time.
I can only hope that the boy who opened the Door of Time was indeed kept, as the legends say, within the Sacred Realm until which point he can wield the Master Sword as Hero of Time. These seven years have been a hard time on Princess Zelda, yet she has done admirably well posing as my daughter. She has learned the way of the Sheikah, and I am deeply proud of her. I would be equally proud if she truly were my flesh and blood.
With this running through my mind, I look in on the sleeping princess. She has become a fine woman, a true beauty. Her wiry frame is not at all unaesthetic, and she carries that frame with all the confidence and courage a Sheikah warrior would. She is more than a warrior….she is, in every way possible, the Queen she is destined to become. She has her destiny ahead of her, just as I have mine, and Link has his. As she sleeps, I understand this all to clearly.
My destiny lies within the inner reaches of the Shadow Temple. The spirits of that place are calling to me, stronger now, and I must heed them. I was told as a child that following the call of the spirits would give me the power to triumph over everything I was put up against, but ignoring them would make me weak enough to fall to the smallest of creatures. I have kept this edict in the front of my mind always, and I hope that I have imparted that important lesson to Zelda. As I leave our dwelling deep in the forests beyond Lake Hylia, I look up at the clear, star-filled skies. This is the night, I realize, that Zelda will decide she must leave as well. I understand this, just as I understand the call of the Temple.
Destiny has called, and I will not ignore it. To do so would be ludicrous, as well as impossible. Mounting my horse, I check if my provisions are adequate for the journey to Kakariko. They are, as I suspected. I feel the anxiety of leaving Zelda creep into my gut, but I ignore it; Zelda is quite capable of defending herself. I would not leave if I did not think otherwise.
As I ride off towards Lake Hylia, I pull up my veil, shadowing all but the upper portion of my face. The eyes of a Sheikah are red to warn of the danger we represent. The fear of the darkness is one that we use to our advantage, and seeing a pair of red eyes in the shadows is enough to make even the strongest of men question their prowess. It is by this use of people's natural wariness of the dark that we, the Sheikah, the People of Shadow, survive.
Where there is light, there is shadow….and I will guard the light of the world to the extent of my abilities.
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Hope you enjoyed! ~~Indigo