The Destiny Of Shadows
By Luckycharm88
Chapter One
The Boy That Cannot Be Seen
"Mama! Mama, papa's down the road! I saw him! He's coming!" sheik shouted between breaths, his scarlet eyes alight with excitement.
Sheik had grown up like any other child in kakariko village, playing with the chickens that were scattered all around town, climbing over gravestone and running away from dampé the grave keeper. Now bordering the age of five he was bursting with energy.
Kakariko village was the perfect place for sheik to grow up, because the legends of the sheikah were told often in town due to the origin of the town. There was one lone Sheikah woman that lived in the once all-Sheikah town. This woman was sheila's aunt, who she didn't know very well and didn't intend to get to know her. The woman was to bossy for Sheila, but Sheila knew that Sheik could learn a lot from the old Sheikah woman. He needed to learn all the sheikah legends that were passed down, sheikah to sheikah, and he needed to learn about is gifts.
Sheikah gifts were a strange subject that not many knew much about. There were he first level gifts that every sheikah has, such as flash-travel and the 'sight.' The second level gifts were more complicated they were unique to each person, which made them very hard to learn to control. The third level gift was not the knowledge of anyone not sheikah, a mystery to herself
Sheik's eager face glowed with youthful happiness; Sheila couldn't help but smile at her son. "Then why don't we go meet him, I'd imagine he has a lot of goods he's carrying"
When coming for his monthly visits Tobias pretended to be a traveling merchant. This alibi was solid because he always had fine goods for Sheila and sheik, along with a good sum of money. Her "marriage" to Tobias was merely assumed by all of the townsfolk. Being the wife of merchant Tobias was easier to explain than any other option.
Tobias' wife had never really forgiven him, but they hadn't expected her to. But she had been surprisingly lenient with them by letting them continue seeing each other. Sheila expected that she had given up on any semblance of romance with her husband. Though she felt guilty, Sheila would not let go of Tobias if she had any choice.
"Yeah! Lets go meet papa!" he shouted before yanking her out of the house and down the steps that lead to the main road in town. Tobias was making his was down the small hill that was after the entrance to town. He was sweating from climbing up the insane amount of steps that lead into the town. "Papa! I missed you!"
"Sheik! Looks at you, another scab? What have I told you about climbing on the gravestones?" he teased his son, as Sheila took his pack.
"'Don't disrespect the spirits resting place' but I haven't seen any ghosts yet so I don't have worry about getting eaten!" he retorted "besides was running from dampé! And it wasn't a gravestone it was a rock on the ground, not a gravestone!"
"Is that so?" he said as he picked up sheik and set him on his shoulders.
They walked up the remaining steps to their small house near the mouth of death mountain trail. Like the real family that they pretended to be.
To sheik this was all real. He really thought that papa was a merchant and that mama and him met at a festival in hyrule castle market place. And that papa traveled all over hyrule selling gems and jewelry. They would tell him when it was absolutely necessary for him to know.
And until then, they would pretend.
" I had no idea hat you were turning five, honest!"
Tobias was playing with his son while Sheila made dinner, like he did on all the nights that he spent in kakariko. Tomorrow is sheik's fifth birthday; it was not a coincidence that he came to visit so close to the date.
"Well I guess I'll have to find something to give you for your birthday," he said while shuffling around in his leather pack. "After all, you are going to be five! Ah! There it is!" his arm came out carrying a square case, made of black shiny leather. "This shall be your birthday present along with lessons on how to use it.
"What is it? Something dangerous, a cross bows? What is it?" he jumped up and down with excitement.
"You can't open it until tomorrow. After all it's your birthday present!" Tobias said.
Sheik pouted, hoping that he might get his way. But it was in vain; Tobias was not going to go back on his decision. He would just have to wait, pout or no.
Tobias was getting ready to leave early the next morning as always. His excuse for leaving to his house was hat he left to go hunting game in eh forests surrounding the castle, and returning after nighttime was unheard of. She was preparing to leave, now, before dawn.
Sheila was rising just now, with the solemn acknowledgement that she must get up, make breakfast and wake sheik. This was a pattern that was always followed, it help deal with the separation they must endure each time he visited. The first few times it was hard but it got easier with time.
He didn't want it to get easier, he wanted it to stop. He was making a plan, one that would give him the freedom to leave this place with Sheila and sheik. His family didn't need him, didn't love like this one. They only wanted his fortune and his status.
His status. That wasn't even his anyways. His family was descendants of the composers flat and sharp. Famous throughout all of hyrule. He hadn't gotten the trait that usually ran in males in his family. They were usually great musicians. Composers, virtuosos, and improvisers, but no, never him. He never succeeded in music. And as an only son he was a shame to the family.
He hoped that sheik would find some enjoyment in music as all the other men in his family did. It was tradition to introduce a boy to music on his fifth birthday. He intended to follow up on that tradition, by starting sheik off with the best tutor available for sheik.
"Papa! Can I have my present now? It's my birthday now, so I can have it right?" he said in one breath, as though he had been awake for hours.
"Happy birthday my son!" he said as a feeling of joy overtook him. He would bring music back to his family, with this beautiful child. He lifted sheik up into his arms, and gaze into his perfect crimson eyes. "Today you shall take your first step to manhood." He set sheik down on the chair in front of the table. He pushed the black leather case that had been on the table all night towards sheik. "Open it, it's yours"
Sheik had some trouble opening the three latches on three sides of the case, the other side held together by hinges. The case was made of tough leather, with a coat of arms branded on top. Sheik finally managed to get all of the clasps undone, and lifted the opening to the case. The interior of the case was laid with cushioned velvet of the deepest black. There were supports and ties to hold on to its treasure.
And what a treasure it was. A harp, in all its glory, lay in the box. The frames of the instrument were gold-plated platinum, and in the soft metal were engraved the same coat of arms on the box. The thin strings were loosened from travel, but still gleamed with a delicate shine. The whole presentation was ethereal.
"This is mine?" sheik said, mesmerized by the grand instrument. There was no way that he could have something so grand. It was not his station in life to have such expensive things. Why for him?
"It is yours, but not to use now, for when you are big enough to use it. For now you will learn on another instrument." Tobias told his son as he gazed on the instrument. " This instrument is my family heirloom." He paused as Sheila gasped in surprise. "Until you are worthy of this beauty, you must train with another harp. You will be great with this instrument I'm sure." He hugged his son before walking out the door, about to leave. Sheila followed him out the door, and closed it behind her.
"That harp! Why now? Its your families, we can't have it!" Sheila said in a worried tone, itching with anger. "It even has your family insignia on it, what if someone sees it?" they continued walking towards the steps
"It is tradition in my family to give the harp to the first son on his birthday, and legitimate or not I will not deprive sheik of his music!" Tobias spoke passionately, as he stopped in his tracks and faced her. "I want sheik to be happy and I think that having music would make him happy!"
"Well he is also starting his sheikah training tomorrow! How can he train in music and in sheikah arts at the same time, it is to much for a boy his age!"
"He must train in music, it is in his blood!"
"So is sheikah, in case you haven't noticed! His eyes are still red and blood!"
"Mama! Papa! Stop fighting!" sheik whined from the doorway. He didn't like his mama and papa fighting; it was scary, especially because it was over him. "I can do both mama, I can! And papa I do want to do music! So please stop!" he was near tears.
Sheila and Tobias looked guiltily at sheik, and then to each other. Sheila walked over to sheik and picked the petit boy up. She hugged him close, trying to stop his pain, when she felt Tobias also hug sheik from the other side.
"Sheik…"
No one knows who said it, but they both knew something wasn't right.
So for six years, sheik studied music and the sheikah arts diligently. When he used to play, he would practice or study with his Aunt. When he used to bother his mother, he would practice one of the many instruments he was mastering or his train his voice. He was very focused, but still lively.
He excelled in his lessons more everyday. He was known as the prodigy of kakariko, at the age of eleven. No one wanted to force him, but no one wanted to stop him. He was the perfect child, quiet, sweet, and a hard worker. He was the envy of the town.
"Mama," sheik stuck his head through the doorway. He was small for his age, with a delicate frame. He was picked on once, for being a "momma's boy" but his self-defenses was solid, he was never picked on again. "I'm going to Aunt Minna's for training until dinner, I'll be back before sundown."
"That's fine sheik." Sheila spoke quietly, not looking up from her sewing. After she settled into Kakariko all those years ago, she took up sewing to pass the time and to make some money on the side. Not really needing to work because of her monthly allowance, she often made clothes for sheik even though he didn't grow that much. She was very proud of sheik, being the mother of the newest edition to the dying Sheikah race brought a lot of pride. She made him traditional Sheikah garments out of dark blues and blacks.
Between Sheikah training every day and practice, Sheik was very busy. Sheik studied music on his own most of the time. Going to Hyrule Castle Market once a month for a few days to get tutoring on his music was the only way he could get the best quality lessons. But for Sheikah training he didn't have to leave the village.
Sheik hurried over to the sheikah side of town. Aunt Minna was very old and never left her house, even to train him. She lived in a small house next to impa's large house, which had been built for Impa after she started to guard the princess. She was a rather bitter old lady but she had a soft spot for sheik.
"Aunt Minna!" sheik ducked into the small house, "what are we going to study today?" he sounded hopeful for something else
"Meditation of course. You already know basic flash travel. So what you need is a good long meditation" baa-Chan said, the same as always. He had been meditating for at least a month now.
Sheik inwardly groaned, "Aunt Minna I have no idea what I'm looking for. All I'm seeing is the back of my eyelids."
"All the better for you to look at them, so you will know when something else appears" she always said that, but he never had any idea what she meant.
"You'll know when you see it, trust in your eyes, they wont fail you, even at my age, I can trust them with my life." She said in her raspy voice.
"But my eyes are just like everyone else's, just a different color." He said with clear doubt in his voice, but still sat on the lone floor pillow.
"Just meditate. Clear your mind of all doubts, they won help you find what you seek", she rasped from her chair across the room. "You are looking for 'the sight'"
Sheik closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, witch was a very hard thing to do. As he was always busy and focused, it was a challenge to be focused on nothing. But he tried his hardest like he did with everything that he did.
'Nothing…nothing…please…nothing' he tried to concentrate on those words.
"You concentrating on something… I can almost hear you pacing with your mind… slowdown and clear your mind. "
He slowed his mind down and slid into nothing, time flowed by like an endless river. It was the comfortable state that he always reached but never went past it. So he concentrated on the darkness that surrounded him. He didn't know how long it took but eventually the dark was no longer nothing but dark something. He searched and searched for something…anything understandable. He was deaf, blind and unfeeling, but he knew that there was something there, something.
It was then that he gave a reaching feeling with all of his being. His eyes shot open and he fell on his back out of the sitting position he was in on the cushion. He had lost all sense of self as his eyes glowed with a shine like rubies. His fair features were twisted in agony as he writhed on the floor.
Aunt Minna for once got out of her chair and sat on the abandoned cushion, and held the twitching, whimpering boy' head in her lap. She gathered the vial that she left on the table for this moment.
Blood dripped from eyes the same shade.
"You must bleed for your bloody eyes"
The next morning sheik woke up mysteriously in his own bed, with his head sorer than ever before. He blinked his eyes out of habit, before shutting them quickly. They didn't feel strained; they felt like they had been stabbed with fire.
"Mama? What happened? I remember being a Aunt Minna's training and…" Sheik groaned out as he tried to comprehend what was happening.
Sheila bustled into his corner. His corner was a space separated from the main room by one wall and a curtain. There was only one bedroom in their house, and that was Sheila's and Tobias'. Sheik had slept there since he was a child and saw no reason to move.
"She told me that your sheikah eyes just came in," Sheila said with pure joy, "I'm so proud of you sheik! Now you can carry on the sheikah line just like you wanted to! It's all so perfect!" she hugged him so hard he thought he lost all his air.
'This is what I want isn't it? To be recognized?'
Sheila spoiled her child all morning. So naturally he didn't notice the change.
When sheik left the house to go get his mother water from the well he wasn't expecting what he saw. The pain had faded by the time he had to leave the house. So he wasn't expecting to learn anything new until his eyes fully healed.
He had been walking down the steps, a wooden pail in hand when he turned the corner as usual. When he saw the well he was scared out of his mind by what he saw, or at least what he could make of what he was seeing. The well was leaking. A sort of glowing grey-blue fog seemed to be melting off of its normally slick stone. Before seeing it this way he had always wondered what the sign in front of it had meant. But it was obvious that there was something hidden about the well.
As calm as he could, he crept over to Aunt Minna's hut-like house. The second he entered he was surprised to see her doing something other than reading a book. She was embroidering, on what he could not tell.
He stuttered out, "Aunt Minna, what is that around the well? It was-"
"Glowing? Melting? It has been since before you were born sheik." Aunt Minna said grimly. "It's cursed."
"Cursed? Who cursed it? Why? It's a well!" sheik said surprised by this fact. He had been drinking from this well since from when he was a toddler. He had lived in kakariko his whole life.
"It's not who, it's what. There are things living at the bottom that are very dangerous that might hurt someone." She whispered sadly, "it's best left untouched until someone comes around that can kill the monsters inside and rid it of its evil."
"There is no one who can save the well?" he sounded worried
"Child, it is just a well! It will not hurt anyone any time soon." She continued to embroider the mess of cloth in her lap.
"What is that anyways?" sheik asked sitting on his cushion.
"It's your late birthday present." She said. This surprised sheik because she had never given him anything before. "It's the only one you will ever get from me. It will match those Sheikah-Style suits your mother works so hard on, not to mention help you with your training."
"More training? But just got my eyes, I won't need more training yet will I?" he sounded more exhausted than he really was
"Of course you will…you 'just got your eyes' and you're ready to give up?" she contradicted him. "Ah! All done." She bit the string after hastily teeing it. "It should fit you for a while. I made sure it would have a lot of growing room."
It was a tunic with a high collar made of rough cotton. Aunt Minna's embroidery was perfect, the blues and reds were evenly woven together. The red was an eye with a large tear, and the blue surrounded the design.
"Now that you have your eyes you can where this with pride. I will make sure it won't be destroyed." She said proudly.
"But Aunt Minna, it's just cloth, how can it never break?" sheik asked in confusion.
"That's my second gift, sheik. I can't protect things, people, and places. But I can't fight things very well, like I could when I was younger." She said proudly. "I was just as strong as my daughter, Impa, thirty years ago."
"That's a long time ago, Aunt Minna!" he said, mildly surprised. "But what's my second gift? How did you know yours?"
"You have to find that out on your own. All I can tell you is that it will come to you when you most want it and it will be unique to you, it will be made to suit you alone."
"Something that's only mine." Sheik whimpered to himself.
BOOM
It was that sound that woke sheik in the middle of the night. It sounded like breaking stones and…
He heard screams. He smelt burning. There was a sizzle on the air. An altogether eerie feeling hit him.
Something was terribly wrong.
He rose out of bed and pulled on the first clothes he could find. He was about to walk out the door when he heard horse hoofs coming down the steps from Death Mountain. He didn't move an inch until the sound faded out.
He opened the door slowly and peeked out. He choked on his own air. He saw something he hoped to forget. The guard that took the night shift at death mountain gate, he was burned into something that didn't even look like it was ever human.
Sheik was terrified.
But even his fright wasn't enough to make him stop from seeing what was disturbing the village. He needed to go get Aunt Minna and warn her. Mama wouldn't be able to help anyways, who ever it was, wasn't going to come back this way.
So sheik crept out of the house and down the stairs. He jumped onto the houses roof that was at the base of the steps. He climbed up so he could see over to the middle of town. There was a man on a black stallion. The man was wearing a dark cloak that covered most of his face. He was very tall and very buff. He trotted into the graveyard.
The second he was out of sight, sheik was dashing to Aunt Minna's house, stumbling up the stairs. Sheik shut the door behind him the second he got in, and ran over to her bedside.
"Aunt Minna!" he whispered as load as possible, shaking her shoulder, raising her from her sleep. "There's a strange man in the graveyard! He killed the guard at the mountain gate! We have to hide! Before he gets us!"
Aunt Minna woke up the second he said graveyard. She knew the great sheikah secret that laid in the graveyard. She had to save the village, no matter what!
"Sheik you need to run and hide in the skulltula house, it's the last place he would look for you. You cannot be seen! Don't worry, all will be well in the end, I'll keep every one safe. I promise." She pushed him out of the house with out even waiting for him to say anything.
He stumbled all the way to the skulltula house and slid into the creepy house.
Aunt Minna had told him that the skulltla's that lived in the house were actually people that were cursed, and that they would never hurt anyone.
He stared worriedly out the small crack in the door, looking at Aunt Minna's house from behind. He heard a hard gallop coming from the graveyard. He was surprised when he heard the gallop come to a halt. He heard yelling coming from the man on the horse. He didn't hear Aunt Minna saying anything. The man didn't stop yelling.
Evil laughter
BOOM
As the 'boom' hit, Aunt Minna's hut exploded.
He didn't know what was gong on but he knew something was very wrong, so he cried. Trying to keep all these feelings in was useless. He sobbed silently, not sure if he was just worried or mourning.
And then there was the galloping again, but this time it rode out of town. No sign of coming back.
Sheik peeked out of the house, and once he was sure 'he' was gone. He ran to where Aunt Minna's house used to be.
There was a large space on the ground where grass had been burned to less than ashes. All he could find in the blood soaked soil was burnt wood and a tunic. The very same tunic that Aunt Minna had finished making and embroidering the day before. It wasn't destroyed just like Aunt Minna said it wouldn't be. It was frayed around the arms and the waist but it was still very much intact.
He held the slightly damaged cloth to his chest as he knelled in the spot where her hut used to be, and cried. The sobs came out like hiccups and the tightening in his chest felt like he was dying. His tears were once again red, only shades lighter than the burned blood splattered around him.
Aunt Minna didn't lie, she protected everybody, she protected the village, but she forgot herself.
As he sobbed he picked himself up, and walked over to the well, which was still glowing a blues and grays.
Coming from the windmill e head the faint notes of a long familiar song. The sound always haunted this side of town, yet he wanted it to stop. It hurt him to think that things could stay the same after this. He looked down to the well. 'Was she protecting this? This curse to our village? What a waste! Why Aunt Minna? Why can't someone come and fix the curse placed on this village? Why us? Why Aunt Minna?'
Sheik screamed with the most rage and pain he had ever felt in his life.
Deep inside him, something broke, and a rush of power rushed forward. The power spilled from his vocals as he lamented his beloved tutor with the song of storms. He could control the song as much as he could control his own body, it bent to his will. It twisted and changed to a minor key. He folds it molding to his emotions. Rain stared to fall in time with his own tears.
As the rain to fell from the sky, the song, the windmill and the well entwined, magically connected forever by the pain of tears.
Sheik's voice cracked as the rain poured down from above. He fell into the fresh mud in front of the well, spent from using the energy he didn't know existed. The world went black, like falling asleep, but too fast.