Arc 5 (Continental): Hearts, Minds, and Souls

[Mattwensley]

Cear Darrore

Cear ignored the direct query in favour of satisfying his own curiosity about this anomaly.

"أنت من أصل فارسي؟"

Cear asked in Gerudo, before switching to Low Hylian. "No, not quite right. Your hair is correct, and your skin is tanned. However, your eyes are not the correct colour. Ordonian, by the ears. Your skin is also used to the sun of the desert, but I can tell by the slight peeling in places that it is not by blood. I would say that you have been in the desert since you were... 6 years old?"

Still alive, although within reach of the whip. She did not intend on killing, at least immediately. She seemed of sound mind. This was either very fortunate or very much not.

[gaiachild]

Kurashi, the black tulip of the desert

Completely calm and with the same smile as before, Kurashi retracted her accusing finger, then raised her whip in a nonthreatening way and slowly, without any care or haste, removed the spiked ball of metal from its tip, throwing it to the side where it landed harmlessly in the sand.

CRACK

Almost to quickly for the naked eye to see, Kurashi stroke with the whip, its now more harmless tip hitting the point between nose and brow on Cear’s face. The impact broke the frame of his spectacles in two and left a small cut, not deep enough to do lasting hurt, but drawing blood.
“Silence, peasant!” she yelled, voice raised in affronted fury. “You are not worthy of demanding answer from your betters, least of all when ignorantly questioning their descendants. You owe the continued existence of your pitiful life only to the generosity of the black tulip, and you shall only talk when spoken to, and only with answers to her questions. So speak little man. Was it you who staged the ambush?”

[Agent 51]

Chief

"Of course you want to hire me! To say otherwise is simply haggling! There is a reason why I crashed through that particular glass pane, and it is not because the other ones were trapped like that one time. Let me tell you this much good sir, if you proclaim "Little Demons" are coming to kill you, do not rig your windows to fire crossbow bolts! Otherwise savvy businessmen like myself shall be hard pressed to lend you their services." He lifted a red rupee that still remained from his findings and dropped it into his "mouth", swallowing it. The lack of clothing made it so Deku either relied on hiding nooks or their own bodies for pockets.

"A fine down payment! I will need the same once my contract is up however."

[TheHylianJuggalo]

***Igotaros***

In due time, the two Ikanians had made their way across the gigantic, sprawling praries and the luscious Hyrule field within a short matter of hours. As was the code of the knights, conversation was kept brief, only exchanging minor plesantires bwtween kinsmen. The trio had made their way up through Vigjaro Valley, and the mouth of Snowpeak was in sight. The area was generally bland for a Hyrulean night, though stalhounds and wolfos packs could occasionally be seen wandering about. As the two and the mount made their way into the mountain pass, Igotaros caught notice that his companion had mentioned something about rumors from the local farmers.

"What rumors have you been hearing?"

As the other finished his response, Igotaros kicked right into another question without any emotional fluctuation.

"When do you think the war will end?"

[Mattwensley]

Cear Darrore

Kneeling in the sand, one shaking hand to his forehead, the other twitching as he contemplated reaching for the pistol crossbow on his belt. Peasant? From what Cear read, Gerudo didn't have much of a hierarchy. Egocentric. This could have advantages.

He narrowed his eyes. "I am the man who staged a successful ambush. You killed the men who made it a failed operation. Who are you, and what is your intention with me?"

[niveksirrah]

Zaven

Zaven Stalked through the desert, a ghost among the sand, he gave thanks once again for the full cloak the protected him from the worst of the sun and sand. Every now and again the wind would switch, and just for a moment he would pick up an odd sent, faint and old, then it was gone again. He put it to the back of his mind but remembered to put up a shadow mark every time he stopped.

His ears picked up something, faint at first but grown louder. Was that laughter? He picked up the pace while keeping his low profile, He was about to crest a dune when he stopped. He looked down as a man and woman faced each other. He listened to them speak for a moment. Interesting, They did not appear to be friends, and the man was spot on, she was no Gerudo, yet she used the name of the Darknuts. Then came the whip, cracking him in the face. Well now things really were getting Interesting, He pulled his book from his pack and again read a hand full of pages.

Putting the book back into his pack he felt the wind shift again, and again that scent. I am being followed. Well Time enough to deal with that later, for now time to play the hero. He Stood up and called down to the two, the sun at his back showing nothing more than a silhouette. Cast a long shadow that reached down across them. "Well now this is an odd sight to find in the desert. I say sir are you in need of aid?" He was not using his own voice but that of a Ordonian accent, no need to give away more then he needed to.

[gaiachild]

Kurashi, the black tulip of the desert

CRACK

This time the whip rendered one of the two halves of the spectacles that had fallen from Cear’s face.
“You’d do well to learn your place, cur, especially if you want me to allow you to keep the other half of your crippled sight. No questions, if I don’t order you to ask them.”

Her tone becoming a bit more mellow, yet loosing nothing of its cutting edge, she continued:
“You are fortunate that the scion of the house of Taru would have come to that topic anyway. And indeed you should know who you are addressing.”
Placing her free hand on her chest, she assumed a position as if she was posing form someone to draw a painting of her. Scratch that, build a monument more likely.

“Your weak eyes have the honour of beholding Kurashi, black tulip of the desert, heiress of the Naru name and decorated warrior of the Cliff Lords empire, pride of the Gerudo, their loyal subjects.”

Seemingly having too much fun with the posturing, she stayed in position when continuing:
“Now the black tulip will admit, I am most curious. Your dastardly crime would have likely succeeded, had it not been for my presence. Certaily, those common grunts who dare call themselves guards are nearly as incompetent as the rabble you commanded. That you commanded the rabble effectively however shows that you are an exception under the filthy masses of the easterners, gifted with extraordinary ability that might rival those of the people of this great nation we are standing in.”

Finally stopping her posturing, she clasped her hands together like a little girl who had just gotten a new doll.
“And due to the shocking incompetence of my old servants, I have decided to allow you to working of the debt you owe the Cliff Lord empire through your insult by granting you the honor of serving me in their stead. Surely, your manners still leave much to be desired, but the sea will flood the desert before Kurashi, the black tulip of the Gerudo, isn’t able to tame some weak sighted savage. Ohohohohohohoho.”

Again moving into a pose, a straightened palm held vertically to the side of her mouth, Kurashi’s haughty laughter was sufficient to cause dread in every unfortunate soul nearby, while also hindering Kurashi from Hearing the words of the newest Arrival.

[Zectorman]

Sereno

Following him continued on for a few hours, and it was taxing for sure.....Trying everything I could not to be seen, heard, or smelled at this point seemed all but futile. If he was half as competent as he seemed thus far he would soon notice me. None the less, I kept up with the facade of stealth. Soon I saw he shift his direction though, he had seemed to pick up on something. At first I did not understand what but as I closed on him I heard what he had heard. Laughing. If not for the centuries of hearing Majora's laughter it would have sent a chill up my spine. I closed in on the same seen, far to the right of his target, almost on the other side of the dune. When I arrived to see what all the commotion was I, it surprised me to find two out of place individuals in what seemed to me to be a tense conversation. I was even more baffled when my target, who thus far had taken no interest in people, offered his services to the man. My best guess was that these two were countrymen of sorts. The man seemed rather calm, cold even in this desert. A very interesting character who did not seemed phased by either of these people who surrounded him. The other....a woman from what I could tell, now that was different. I could smell the taint of Majora on her. Dangerous, just from her appearance if anything.....Normally I would not bother with Majora spawn, but she was different. It would seem my patience with following this man had even payed off bigger than I would have hoped.

Sereno kept his head down as he positioned himself in the direction of the sun and hoped the man would not notice him as well. He hoped the bright glare of it would keep the others from glancing in his direction. It was a weak attempt at camouflage but he had little else to protect himself with. The night was his friend, making the sun his ally was....difficult. He kept silent, making sure not to move as he pondered the identities of these three......FOOL! That man should have just gone right down there and dueled the girl to the death! It is the only honorable way! shouted Rey in his mind. Those two look very interesting....Especially that woman....she reeks of the madness of Majora..... On Cazador's observation Sereno concurred. Fighting against and for Majora for all these years gave all Garo a nack for singling out those that have had dealing of one kind or another with the Chaos God. Sereno was taxed on who here was the most dangerous, he would have to try his best to keep his mind about him when surrounded by all these unknowns.....He listened in as they talked with one another, taking note of every word that passed between the three.

[teixeira]

Gaius

Gaius froze at the sound of another. Silence resumed for a moment, he wasn't sure if his hunger was getting to him. After several days of relative silence, a girl approached him out of nowhere. It wasn't a lizalfos, either. Gaius turned his head slowly and sure enough, there she was. The first person he had heard from in nearly a week, and probably his only chance of finally getting out of the forest. Gaius finally turned to face her after the short pause and offered a subtle wave before speaking. "In a manner of speaking, yes" he shouted. His voice echoed through the forest with an innate strength about it that went beyond sheer volume, unsettling the wildlife. Upon noticing the woman's withdrawn demeanor, Gaius was reluctant to approach her. "Wandering into the woods might have been a silly idea, after all."

[PhilAO]

Sepkinor

"Goddesses dammnit!" Sepkinor exclaimed, and snatched his pack out of the Chief's arms. His face looked furious for a second, his eyes flashed, and a relative calm overtook him. He clasped his hands in front of his face, and exhaled. "I have work to do. I'm going to go do it, and you're not coming. You got your money, now move on. Or else we'll have trouble." Sepkinor drew his knife to punctuate this. The blade was short for a straight fight, but perfect for the type of kills Sepkinor was usually forced to do, and plenty long for the short Deku. Sepkinor was bluffing. He had no intention of drawing attention to himself by murdering the Deku Scrub, though he was entirely sure he was capable of it. With that he gathered his belongings and left his room, hoping the Chief would finally realize he wasn't wanted.

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Tavia

Well, the large fellow wasn't hostile. That much was a relief. His shouting was more than likely going to attract attention from wildlife though. Many a Wolfos would be drawn to such bold prey. True, his deep voice would be enough to scare off many of the smaller or more isolated creatures, but Wolfos had a tendency to hunt in packs and actually preferred larger prey. Tavia quiverred when he shouted, not out of fear but out of shock. The sudden force of his voice clashed against the silence that had previously taken hold over the area. Luckily for him, he looked the type who could handle himself in a fight.

Tavia listened intently -- it was difficult not to, actually -- to the man's words. He was lost; that much was apparent. Aside from that, his words gave little other information. Noticing his reluctance, she stepped forward.

"I'm Tavia. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister. If you wish to leave these woods, I would be happy to escort you out, but..." she gestured to the woods, which were now alive with the sounds of howling Wolfos and screeching Keese, "...we will have to wait for them to calm themselves. If you are in a hurry, we will have to fight our way out. For now, I would suggest you get some rest while we wait."

Without exactly waiting for a reply, she began scanning the area for anything that could be used for a makeshift camp. Scattered twigs could be used for a fire, and there were plenty of fruits dangling from the treetops. The trees themselves would have to serve as sufficient cover for now. It would be best not to venture too far with the hostile creatures on the prowl.

[SilverLich]

Jakadan

Perhaps it was due to the fact that he had been trapped in Termina, but Jakadan found the plains of Hyrule oddly beautiful. Ikana was mostly canyons and mountains, so there was little in the way of fields or plains he had seen, and he couldn't help but marvel at the land around him as he and the hollow knight traveled to the mountain. Despite the wars and battles that had gone through these lands, they still retained a sense of beauty to them. He was drawn out from his thoughts by a question as to what rumors he had heard.

"Perhaps rumors isn't the right word to use for their talk" he answered, thinking more carefully of the things he had heard. "I've heard so many things about the other races and kingdoms that have come and gone that I don't even know what is the truth, and what may simply be embellishment, one of the reasons I've gone out on this mission of mine, to discover what the truth is, and what we will need to prepare for if we must fight them." And as if he knew when he would end his answer, he asked a second question, one that would be even harder to answer.

"Truth be told, I don't know, the land is vast, and we are strangers in a land we once knew as familiar. We only have so many allies, if any at all, and our enemies are vast and numerous, but I believe that one day, we can show them the truth we ourselves discovered too late, before they find themselves broken by it."

[DiddlyDark]

Phi

The Harlequin, having dusted himself off, took the time to check over his belongings. Everything, including the goose, appeared to be in order, and Julio waited patiently to the side. While the goose could be carried under his arm, Phi needed both of his upper appendages so that he may control the direction of his noble steed without difficulty. However, an adult goose was far too large to fit within his pocket, and the Harlequin was fairly certain the bird would object to being stuffed inside a saddle bag. There was also the matter of leaving, prior to the arrival of any law enforcement, if possible. While the majority of the onlookers saw the event as a form of entertainment, the merchants he had robbed might have a different opinion on the matter, being the fun haters that they are.

This brought Phi to a simple conclusion, resulting in the goose being placed atop his head. To ensure that the bird did not attempt to murder him in a manner similar to the swans, Phi spoke calmly to the avian. "First, my good bird friend, may I call you Francis, for the sake of convenience? The goose honked, possibly in agreement. "Wonderful. Now then, Francis, I apologize for interrupting what must have been a most wonderful dream, and I hope you will eventually forgive me as time goes on. But... Phi stopped, and took notice of one of the merchants he had robbed conversing with a guard, whereupon the guard looked in his general direction. "Now is not the time to discuss this any further. For now, we ride! Julio!"

Julio had already turned to face the guard by time Phi was done talking. Leaping atop the mule, the Harlequin kicked Julio into a canter. However, the guard was armed with a spear, and spears have quite a notorious reputation for causing grievous harm to equines. Phi, unsurprisingly, was already prepared for this situation. Stopping Julio directly in front of the guard, the Harlequin fished a smoke bomb out of his pocket, and threw it in the guard's face. It didn't explode, but the man toppled over and landed on his rump, which worked just as well. Phi then turned to face the merchant, and smirked underneath the mask. "If only to keep you off my back, I shall reimburse you." Fishing a black rupee out from one of the saddle bags, Phi dropped it into the merchant's hand, and kicked Julio into motion. As they made their way out the north gate, Phi chose a destination.

"How about we make our way over to the wonderful snowy land of Snowpeak? I've heard that the food there is delicious." As Julio and Francis were incapable of intelligent speech, they only managed a honk and a neigh. Phi took those sounds as a yes.

[Windrider37]

Rail had easily climbed the wall, and soon found the lever responsible for opening the gate. He was trying his hardest to ignore the various dead as the gates opened, and Sierra led the villagers inside. as soon as the last one was inside, he shut the gate, and barred it.He sighed, noting the terrible shape of the town, and the staggering amount of bodies...and yet, now these souls at least had a home. "Sierra, i will depart for Death Mountain Immediatly. Perhaps i can get help for your people, but after that, i can't stay around much longer.As a servant for Hyrule, they will begin to note my absence, and possibly declare treason, especially after this. So farewell, we shall hopefulyl meet again." he said, vaulting over the wall.He landed hard and rolled to break his fall, and set off at a run towards the forest, before Sierra even had a chance to say anything. She sighed, and began ordering the villagers to look for any food that was still edible.They ought to be well fed before they started rebuilding and clearing out the dead, as well as scavenging weapons and armor.

[Wakerz140]

Balorun

Magic. Figures. The ice was strong but not strong enough for him, tensing and twisting he was able to shatter the ice binding him. He turned to look at the wizened man, eyes narrowing to offset the light. "I do not care if we broke your laws. If you kept better spiritual watch on your citizens we would not have had to do this. I gave your kin every chance to cooperate, but he refused. You are holding up the work of the Fierce Deity and I will not tolerate and more delays." during the last sentence he raised his crossbow to the old man. "I am tired of this. You will not get in our way again or you will die."

[Attaxer]

Freya Valleja

As the duel broke out Freya slunk away. Clambering atop a building to get a better vantage point. The Duel was taking place some ten meters out from her current position. She could more than make that distance. With lance in hand she waited for the perfect opportunity, the boot was upon Beric's chest and she was about to leap when the Lord himself showed up in a brilliant glare. When it had become to bright she shielded her eyes and looked up again as the Darknut wrenched free of the ice.

The crossbow was very intricately designed. Odd markings upon it that pointed to more curious origins. She rose to her feet and place them underneath her well, knowing fully that her actions here could make or break the rest of this altercation. She kicked off the side of the buiding, bringin her lance down underneath her she shot down with full force to the Darknut. This attack was meant to kill, unlike many of her normal strikes. The Dragoon fought enemies below them. They were vertical combatants. This descent was what she was born to do. The lance paved the way as she was on target to pierce the flesh of the currently engaged Darknut.

[teixeira]

Gaius

"Gaius, the pleasure is all mine." he said, gesturing to himself.

Faron's inhabitants were certainly starting to brighten up his week. Gaius immediately wandered over to an uprooted tree, drew his blade and plunged it directly into the ground to mark where he would eventually sit. A hearty chuckle echoed in the back of his throat as he walked back over to Tavia, pulling a fruit from inside of his armor. "I can assure you that I've nowhere to be, Tavia. No need to be overzealous." He said, lowering his voice to the best of his efforts as he offered her the fruit. Gaius may have taken the situation too lightly, but he had met minimal blockades over the past few days and had nothing to worry about.

Regardless, the sudden uproar of larger creatures sent a chill down his spine. He hadn't had a reason to make any noise recently. That may have been the reason there were so few large creatures in his path.

The regret he had developed became prominent, Gaius just wanted to get out of the woods as quickly as possible. The woods made him uneasy, and the ever-growing sense of danger began to take hold of his mind with a seemingly defenseless woman at his side. Even though he was in a predicament of his own, he had placed yet another burden upon himself. If another were to die for him, the woods might just become his grave. "I wouldn't want to burden you, after all."

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Tavia

The Kokiri accepted the fruit without hesitation. She sat down beneath a tree near the one Gaius had occupied and bit into the succulent morsel. Admittedly, it had been ages since anyone had offered her anything freely. The last place she would've expected to find a measure of civility was from an outsider whose homeland was literally on the other end of the world. A mix of curiosity and a willingness to pass the time got the best of her.

"So tell me about yourself, Gaius. What's someone like you doing wandering in the middle of these dark forests all by yourself? This land isn't exactly the friendliest of places."

Tavia looked to the sky as she spoke, her voice carrying with it a quiet knowing and a hint of personal connection.

I exiled myself to this place in ages past. I came here to hone my senses, and to retreat from those who could never understand. When I returned, I was a revolutionary. When I returned, I was something different from what they were. Fate brings me here again on my journeys. The universe has a certain rhyme and rhythm to it, never letting anyone truly let go of the past in the pursuit of what is to come.

[teixeira]

Gaius

Gaius scratched the corner of his chin as he pondered. Why was he in Faron woods? How long has it been since he set an actual destination? The answer eluded him, but he had to say something and it wasn't in him to lie. "That's a very good question, but I'm afraid I don't really have an answer for you." Gaius trailed off as he caught a glimpse of his blade. "Truth is, I didn't really have a destination when I decided to wander into this ungodly place. I never do, so I suppose you could say I'm always lost." he muttered, trailing into a fit of controlled laughter. His nose twitched for a moment, but Gaius continued.

"There's nothing special about me, unless you admire fur." Gaius pulled a finger through the thick fur on his muzzle and smiled. "I've got lots of that."

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Tavia

Tavia let out a brief laugh after the Darknut's last statement. More interesting to her though was his answer. She had never been a wanderer. Throughout most her long life, she always had a goal in mind wherever she went. Even her stay in Faron could be attributed to the fulfilling of some abstract inner desire. It was almost ominous how everyone seemed to lack clarity of purpose. A man without direction was nothing but a walking corpse, no more than a Stalfos. Yet, it was a reality many of the living faced. To live is to experience confusion of purpose, yet this confusion makes us little more than dead. This statement was a paradox. All truth is a paradox.

"The body lost can always be found. So too can the mind. You just need to ask yourself the right questions." Now, she was looking directly at him, her voice becoming more serious. "What do you want?"

When I first laid eyes upon Gaius, I thought it would only take a few minutes and I could figure out exactly who he was and what he was doing here. Strangely, these were questions he was incapable of answering. Stranger still was that there was still something behind the armor that I envied. There was something in his soul that I wanted to reach out, grasp, and make my own. Behind the ignorance, there was a font of wisdom. I just had to dig deeper.