Standard warnings: language, violence, shexxx, and other mature themes of that nature.
Standard disclaimer: Don't own Legend of Zelda/Nintendo/much of anything. Just this story.
For anything more complicated, I refer you to the first chapter.
An Awakening of Sorts
That was nine years ago.
Apparently, I remained out for a few weeks; in her rush, Pari had over-powered the spell. When I woke it was in a dark, cool temple, very far from what I had called home. In fact, it was in the secretive, reclusive, hidden city of Amin-fär - the beautiful underground city of the Shadow Sheikah. In Hyrule, all Sheikah were "Shadow Folk"; here, it's a different story.
During the Great War1 of Hyrule, the Sheikahs, as a matter of course, aided the King and his troops in battle. As the war progressed, the death toll got higher and higher, and a resentment took hold in a small faction of the Sheikah ranks. This attitude was unprecedented - to resent the King, let alone imply abandonment, went against the entire Sheikah society and religion. The King worried at the growing resentment, and the result was the Great Betrayal, in which dozens of Sheikah were rounded up and brutally killed. This, ironically, galvanized the Sheikahs against the King. They used their combined magic (for then, all Sheikah were well-versed in both magic and combative skills) to create another realm and warp to it. The only remaining Sheikah were those recovering from grievous injury, unwittingly left behind, and a few who stubbornly stayed to protect the King. By the time I got to Hyrule, only Impa was left.
Generations later, in this new demension, enough Sheikah existed that different tribes began to form and establish their own cities. Now, there are four main city-tribes, two satellite tribes, and the "hidden" tribe I'm a member of. I used to live in the largest of the main city-tribes, Thaman. Thaman fears magic; it suppresses magic and oppresses those who perform it, at times killing those who gain too much skill. Amin-fär was formed by a persecuted group over 300 years ago. Almost every citizen of Amin-fär would be killed today if they lived in Thaman and were so open about their magical prowess.
As a society, they value magic in all of its forms. They are secretive, and stick to the shadows and caves of thier cities. The only use they have for conventional weapons is in long-range or silent close-combat weapons that can be used in assassin-type scenarios. Even thier appearance reflects this lifestyle; while most tribes have a 'look' to them, the citizens of Amin-fär have very distinct physical characteristics. They are smallish, in both height and physique, I suppose from living in hiding for so long. They are all pale-skinned, probably for the same reason. It is very rare for one to be out in the open world - only assasins and similar folk leave on a regular basis, and even then they are covered almost from head to toe. Most are dark-haired, although the tones range from an extreme dirty blonde to the darkest black. What I found to be the most fascinating about them, initially, was thier eyes. Deep purple was the base color, but beyond that they varied widely. You'd see deep purple with flecks of emerald, irises that were nearly pink, some deep maroon, some a more navy version of purple.
I really stick out here, in more ways than the physical. I was pretty much scared away from the larger forms of magic at twelve, but I still love to train with weapons. Here weapons-training is pretty rare; I usually have to spar with assasins. Sometimes I get to spar with the rare visitor, but rare it is. I think the last time was over three months ago. In addition, my bronze skin, Alizarin eyes, gold hair, and slightly taller height make me quite noticable among the more muted tones and pitite statures of my peers. I used to get stares, but they've gotten used to me, and I them.
The first person I met after I woke was Asho, now Haut-Pai (High Priest) of Amin-fär's main temple. He somehow got me to stop freaking out and told me, in that gentle, patient way of his, that they had forseen that I would perform a great act of magic. (I almost argued with him at this point - my Hyrule escapade was a complete accident - but he cut me off and went on.) They sent Pari to Thaman to watch over me and bring me back once this event occured. He's the only person that knows my true story.
I have never found out what happened in Hyrule after my speration from Zelda; sometimes I have dreams, but, you never know if those mean anything. Oftentimes they're quite mundane, sometimes they're replays of my past, and somtimes I'm in them. The last one I had was just me and Link, sitting on the banks of Lake Hylia, annoying the Tekkites on the water for laughs.
Since then I've sort of kept that promise I made, about not messing with magic. It's hard to do in Amin-fär, as all they do is magic. I also learned that the demension-hopping wasn't entirely my doing. Asho said that Impa must have had some sort of magical line out to pull in any Sheikah that boldly (or foolishly) left thier current realm. He didn't quite understand it and said it must have been a brilliant and complicated bit of magic, to which I replied that Impa was a brilliant and complicated woman. I didn't mention that Zelda had helped Impa with this spell. Something kept me from it. Maybe the fact that I had just met him...maybe I just didn't want to have to explain how powerful Zelda was, as the Seventh Sage.
Asho also didn't understand why Impa would want to summon a Sheikah to Hyrule's realm, until I explained that she was the only one left and that she needed some way to protect the princess. At first he was shocked that there were no Sheikah left; then what I said hit him and he was angry that she had basically forced me to perform a fusion (of sorts) with the princess. I defended her actions and tried to make him see it from her point of view - as well as telling him how valuable it was for me - but I still have an inkling he views her as in the wrong. I don't really care. It happened, and nothing can be done about it now.
I went to Palaese, a kind of school-magic-training hybrid, and lived in the main temple. Asho knew I was more mature than my age would imply, and let me more or less do as I pleased. In Palaese I had to learn some basic magic, which is part of the curriculum, and other than that I focused on astronomy, mathematics, physics, and poetry. I have a soft spot for poetry. The only magics I studied were music and teleportation spells. I was already good, and became so good at them that I was offered a job upon graduation, which I declined in favor of my current job. I also set up a complicated warp point to one of my favorite spots in the outside world. This is illegal - in order for the city to remain hidden and secure, people must have permission to leave, which is really hard to get - and only Asho knows about it. I think he knows that without this little bit of solitude I'd be forced to leave for good. Sometimes Amin-fär can be too much.
This is actually where I am right now: drying off, perched on jutting rock some fifteen feet over the ocean. The moon is obscured by clouds; a cool fall breeze flutters through my wet hair and wraps around my bare chest. I guess I'm paranoid - there's no way anyone's going to get here, let alone see me - but I always leave my pants on during nighttime ocean swims like this.
The cold is so relaxing and stimulating all at once. I just sit and think, mulling over things, life, whatever comes through my mind. Asho has been kind of worried about me lately, and I can't help but dwell upon our earlier conversation.
Sunset, that evening, in the main temple
"Sheik, I know you're very successful as far as your career goes...but you know there's more to life than that."
I glance over at him, take in his scrutinizing gaze, and go back to looking out of the temple balcony to the dazzling city below. He makes a noise of impatience, and I know he's starting to get annoyed with me - he's usually the most patient person you'll ever meet.
I lean against the doorframe, feigning nonchalance, closing off my emotions. "Yes. I'm not quite sure what you're getting to."
He shifted in his chair. "It's just that your life seems...I don't know..."
"Solitary?" I offer tonelessly.
"Well...yes. I guess that's it. I mean..."
"I socialize with you and with whoever I need to at my job, and other than that I stay cooped up in my apartment, or hidden away here in the temple, or outside where no one else is?"
Now he looks genuinely uncomfortable, and I almost laugh. I guess he can tell from my eye, somehow (I still wear a face cover, and all the head wrap ever did was keep my unruly hair somewhat out of the way), that I'm smiling, because he shoots me a rueful grin.
"That sounds harsh."
"It's true."
A slight lull.
"It just seems like you've closed yourself off after Viker -"
"It's not Viker," I interrupt, annoyed. If it's about anything, it's about Link.
A pause - I fear for a moment I actually offended him, but then he quietly asks, "Is it about Hyrule?"
I just look out, up past the beautiful waterfall that cascades down the front wall of the city, in front of the temple, to see the red of the sunset sky issuing forth from the hole in the cieling some 200 feet above. It's breathtaking every time.
"Ronhär," he calls, softly, addressing me by my 'real' name, assuredly interrupting me from my reverie.
Hyrule.
"I just feel seperated from everyone here," I vented, suprised at myself. "I mean..."
He indicated that I should go on, smiling solemnly - how did he do that anyway?
I sighed. "I'm not sure. I just always have felt that way...first, I was seven years older than anyone knew; second, I wasn't from Amin-fär...third, I felt like I was from another time completely...another demension, really - "
"Hyrule kind of became home...?"
"As much of a home as I've ever had," I snorted.
"That's not true," came his soft reply. "For a long time, even, you seemed very at home here."
"But still different," I countered.
"Rah," he smiled, using his pet name for me, "I'm afraid you're going to be different no matter where you are."
I scowled.
He chuckled. "You're usually not this moody. At least outwardly."
I sent him a glare; trying to provoke me like that.
"Hah!" He threw up a fist in victory. For having such a serious occupation, he sure was childlike sometimes. I had to smile.
"I guess I just miss it sometimes." Not really the place, my brain countered, but the people.
"Aah," Asho nodded - understanding, but not really.
Back to present!
I finish drying and go home to sit on the deck of my apartment. All of the houses in the city face inwards, towards the lake in the bottom of the cavern. The lights from the rising buildings, storys upon storys carved out of the sheer cliff walls surrounding the basin, twinkle in the black glass of the lake surface.
Even my house 2 feels like it's missing a person, or people. It's in a prime location - full view of the lake and most of the city, on the 5R terrace - it's two stories, which is hard to come by here, and it was given to me by the city. I love it...however, it is much too large for one person. Two would be just right. The extra bedroom is instead lined with books, all read at least once over. I decided to go down and pick one out for tonight, as I'm kind of an insomniac. I never have been able to sleep well. It probably started in the Dark Years, in Hyrule, and it's a habit that won't seem to go away. On the bright side, this, combined with my maturity, allowed me to progress through school and training at an amazing pace. I had an official job as the main city architect by my twentieth birthday, a little over a year ago.
Sitting down on the terrace again, I admire it for a moment. It's a creation all my own, softly lit, beautifully crafted - simple but with a sense of the ethreal. It's small, and above is the level 6 terrace, which is mostly comprised of mansions. The space was supposed to be (yet another) bedroom with a small balcony, but I didn't see the need and knocked out the outer wall, moving it back some ten feet. That was a feat in itself - every structure in Amin-fär is either carved out of stone or made of stone blocks. Most of the terrace is obscured from public view, a hole within a block of similar townhomes, with about three feet that stick out above the street level. Oftentimes, I'll sit here all night, reading books or simply observing the city.
Which is what I'll do tonight.
NOTES!
1 In this, the Great War was ancient. Which may or may not go against fandom-cannon. (Hah, fandom-cannon. I like that concept.)
2 Houses in Amin-fär are kind of like conventional townhouses...you know...all connected to each other and opening out into the street.
Ronhär - like "Rahn + hair" (Same for "fär" - amin + fair)
And, um, I know the city description doesn't make much sense...I'll scan some drawings in or something. O.o