(((OOC: A brief note for before I begin. This is the first topic of the Pyre Arc of my storyline known as The Twisted Realm or simply TTR. I'm looking for new people interested in joining, particularly Sakiko, Arrika, Kasei, Worru, Orpheous and Tayro. Not all of these people have to join, but I would prefer if a few of these regulars joined in the fun. Without further ado I'll begin...)))

~Early morning. The sun was just rising over the treetops of the Deku Woods to the east, sending its first rays over Hyrule Field. One could not say it was a glorious morning. Although there was some join to the first glimpse of the sun, it was slightly foggy, and quite cold. Typical, but still unenjoyable, morning weather for this time of year. From about the field, the typical early morning noises could be heard. The draw bridge was lowering, greeting anyone who survived the road at night, and future traveller that would look for the hospitality of the castle walls. In the distance, the sound of Cuccos could be heard, and the melody of early rising larks coming from the canopy of the nearby trees, across the empty stretch of field and roads known as the Crossroads.

Trudging along the road that led to the castle gates was a cloaked man, hood pulled up over his head. His head was down, so his face and hair were not visible, but his cloak was of a sandy brown color, perfect for blending into a desert landscape, but not so much for the green grasses of Hyrule field, and he wore a brown studded leather tunic, with dull red trim. Typical traveller's boots could be seen along with chainmail leggings, and hard leather greaves. No weapons were visible on the man, but with his cloak concealing most of his features and clothing, it was hard to tell if he was armed or not, but it seemed like he was from the desert, and it was nearly impossible to survive in such a inhospitable place without weapons, so one could assume that he carried them.

The man, was walking straight for the bridge, and the castle gate beyond them, obviously wearied from whatever journey he had just gone through. It seemed like he had been travelling all night, or so his stumbling stride suggested. From the looks of things, and the early hour he arrived, he didn't want any disturbances to bother him, indeed his forlorn look gave him a rather shady appperance.

When he reached the bridge, he did not immediately cross, but instead he stopped, and looked over at the guardhouse. After a moment of staring, he once again started forward, this time heading towards the guardhouse door. A single guard was standing in front of the building, and observed the sandy traveller warily, clearly not wanting any trouble.

"What are you doing out here at this time in the morning? Aren't 'cha gonna head inside the walls?"

"My destination lies not with a certain place, but with certain people. Do you know of any adventurers that might be willing to help me and my people, we are in need of assistance."

"Maybe if you could lower your hood and let me see your face I would be able to answer to the best of my ability."

"Right now I can not do that. One can never be too cautious these days, so I'm sure you understand my fear of revealing my identity. I will not enter the castle walls if necessary I was simply wondering if anyone would be able to help me out."

"Well, you could just probably wait out on the road in front of the gate. Some people will surely come through. Could be you'd find someone to your liking, eh?"

The hooded man nodded slowly, the movement barely perceptiable through his cloak, and then he turned and walked out onto the road, looking from side to side in the dim light of the morning sun. He did not have much time to spare, but this was probably the only way he'd ever find help. If it meant waiting out in the road for a few hours, it would be worth it if his cause was accomplished. If he could find no one to assist then maybe he would have to enter the castle, and spend another day searching but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Indeed, he prayed it wouldn't come to that because then it would be too late.~

"Gooood Moooorrrnnniiingggg Woooorrrlllldddd!!!!"

Zapheta yawned grandly, stretching her limbs as if she had the most refreshing sleep. But their awakening had been over an hour ago - Zeze was simply sleepwalking for the last few minutes. Sakiko grumbled, her silver hair tousled from the night before. She must've looked quite helpless - in state of a daze, fumbling along the path still reveling in the drowsiness of sleep. The bard winked at the unusually pale girl, and slapped her back cheerily.

"Come now, Saki, stop acting like a grumpy old toddler! It's way past wakey wakey time!"

The mage threw a dark glare at her bubbling companion, almost tempted to swing her staff at her flaming red head. The bard glanced up, surprised to see a man hovering near the bridge. She narrowed her eyes, and murmured to Sakiko,

"Look... why's he standing there with that odd apparel of his? Some creep..."

Sakiko boxed Zeze's ears rather painfully, a grim expression on her face. She growled,

"You better watch what you say - don't start calling people you don't know creeps or whatnot. For all you know, that man there may think you're the creep."

Indeed, her statement had validity. Zeze had multiple earrings dangling on her ear, small silver studs, round hoops - everything. There was even a small dot of silver on her nose and her lip. Her naturally red hair was dyed with streaks of black and white, giving her a rather savage look. An altogether strange companion for the cold, aloof, pale mage as Sakiko. Zapheta shrugged good naturedly, and went up to the man clad in desert clothes.

"Howdy, there, stranger. Hadn't seen you around here! The name's Zeze, but if you feel yourself too dignified, you can call me Zapheta."

Sakiko stood with her arms folded, still grumpy from the lack of sleep - not that she wasn't grumpy even if it was late afternoon. She was silent, refusing to tell him her name. Zeze, a bit chagrined at Sakiko's silence, decided to introduce her friend herself.

"This here mute is Sakiko - don't be offended, she's always like that."

~The traveller noticed the pair, a moment before they noticed him. His eyes narrowed slightly as they approached, as the two of them, particularly the strange looking one, were making quite a bit of noise. The guard had told him that adventurers would be coming down this path, but if it all turned out like this, then maybe hope was already lost.

The desert man hoped, for a moment, that the two wouldn't notice him, but sure enough, one immediately looked up at him, dashing his hopes. It seemed that a bothersome encounter was imminent, and while any help was welcome, at the same time he didn't want the two to participate, or even know of his exsistance, so it might be necessary to kill them before things went to far. The desert man hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he would if the situation forced him too.

The two girls approached him, and one of them spoke, piercingly loud for such a quite morning, particularly to one so wearied from travel. "Howdy there stranger!" Under his hood, not visible to the pair, the man winced. This women was trying his patience, and he didn't know how long he could hold on until he got really mad. But then, some small ray of light shined on the situation.

"This here mute is Sakiko - don't be offended, she's always like that."

Sakiko! He had heard that name before. The general had spoke to him of many more experienced adventurers, one of whom he mentioned was named Sakiko. Although he trusted his general's judgement however, he wasn't sure about Sakiko's companion, so he came to a final desicion. Join Sakiko, and finish off the pesky one.

In a flash, he was flying forward, hood still on, and leapt into the air, pulling a dagger out of a concealed sheath, and then whipped it out of his cloak to slash at the bard, meaning to kill his target in one simple and agile strike. He didn't have time for a full out duel, and didn't want to attract the attention of the guards, who had only recently stopped watching him constantly, so he wanted this to be fast.~

A flash of silver zoomed through the air as Arrika, from her spot on top of the guardhouse, sent a dagger whizzing at the stranger's own blade with enough force that it was sure to knock it clean out of his hands. Knowing that intervening had just revealed her position to the guards she shadowmelded as she leaped down, ready to fight the stranger if Zeze or Sakiko was threatened again.

~The man's eyes narrowed as, halfway through his own attack, he spotted a flash off to the side, a projectile moving right towards him. Though he was curious as to who threw the weapon, for he did not think that the guards had spotted trouble yet, but instead of looking, his first instinct was to move out of the way of the weapon, and keep his own. He did so by ducking down to the ground, his cloak swirling around him as he jerked to the side. It would be two, possibly three on one, but he faced those odds before, and wasn't worried about it.

Slashing upwards with his dagger, he sliced once again at Zeze, this time hoping that his blade would strike true. It would be quite unfortunate if this gave the woman a chance to realize what was happening and put up a defence, but that would only be e prolonging the inevitable. The man was a master at his art, and had been trained by the best. Even though he wasn't on his favorite terrain, sand, he could still fight better with a blade than most others, particularly a short one, like the jagged knife he was using now. He didn't notice however that Arrika had dissapeared and then closed the distance with the three of them and was ready to fight, so he made no other preparations for attack or defence.~

The sun had only barely risen in the west. It was so low in the sky that the world seemed drenched in a bright shade of orange. It was truly a peacefull sight. One obscured by the commotion at the castle gates.

Kasei D. Gobi was, just now, appearing out of a groove of trees to the south. In his mouth was a half-finished cigarrete, by his side was his scimitar, a weapon of the gerudos that he was quite proficient with.

(Come to think of it, Kasei's dressed a lot like the Gerudo. Just find a picture of Crim from .Hack/sign. He's like that, even in winter. It's because he grew up in the desert.)

Knowing him, he had probably been watching the encounter the whole time. Probably before the skirmish started, even. Either way, he was now very interested. This was something he would need to intervene in, and intervene he will do.

The man had made a foolish mistake by not doing anything to prepare himself. Foolish, due to the fact that he was now encircled in a ring of thin flames, inside with the stranger was another man, Kasei. "My my, isn't it cowardly to attack a girl? Don't ya have the guts to take on man?" The Rebel Flame asked, scimitar in hand. "Come. I will show you how to fight."

~The traveller smiled as the newcomer appeared, and a ring of flames surrounded them. His attack had been thwarted again, but he wasn't worried. Indeed, things were turning out quite well, although it seemed to be otherwise. Adventurer after adventurer was popping up, all decent fighters who were exactly who he was searching for. This man fit the description of Kasei, another one of the people that his general had mentioned, so his mission was well on the way to being accomplished. The cloaked man simply smirked at Kasei's challenge, and spoke.

"This is no time for us to fight. If you wish to try your blade against mine, do it later, but for now, I have other business for you. Indeed, I was wondering if you, Arrika and Sakiko would join me to complete a dangerous task that is necessary for the survival of my people..."

In a flash, and a small burst of sand he dissapeared suddenly, and reappeared behind Zeze, dagger drawn and pressed against the woman's neck.

"This one however I don't think has what it takes to come along with us, and unless she shows some exceptional skill, I don't think she needs to come along. Indeed, it would be better if she would forget about seeing me. Of course if she could be of some use, she could accompany us..."

"The rest of you..." The man once again dissapeared in a burst of sand, and reappeared in front of the company, dagger now put away in its concealed sheath.

"I hope that you have the time to listen to what I have to say...

To the north-west, in Tantari Desert, there lies a fortress, the headquarters for a band of sheikah once part of a huge thieves guild. I am apart of that thieves guild, but those sheikah have betrayed us, and moved throughout Hyrule causing chaos. Indeed, they imprisoned one named Pyre, if that name is familiar to any of you. My people want revenge against those sheikah, but we can't manage alone. If any of you adventurers could lend a hand, it would be a great help. I appologize for my rudeness in suddenly attacking your friend," he addressed Sakiko, "but it was necessary to impress upon her the dangers of what you would face if you were to accept, and test her to see if she was worthy of joining. That objective was thwarted, but not I see there is no other way but to state it verbally. This is no task for the weak, and so I seek your help, but cowards should not follow me to where I go. If any of you are interested in accompanying me into this fortress to destroy the sheikah, I would extend the gratitude of my people.... the gerudo."

The man pulled back his hood to show dark olive skin, with short flaming red hair, and red eyes. On his forhead was a red tatoo bearing the symbol of the Gerudo (Onox's symbol.) It seemed that he was indeed a member of the Gerudo tribe but there was one problem. That tribe is made entirely of women, and if this man was truly what he stated to be, then he would be none other than the next King. Whether that is true or not remained to be seen, but to see a male gerudo would certainly be a shock, even to an uneducated person. Despite this surprise, the adventurers now had a choice. They could choose to join this strange man who had just attacked on in their midst a moment ago, and then suddenly asked for their help, or they could choose to walk away, probably unscathed, but no promise could be made.~

(((OOC: Sorry this post is so bad. It's an important post, but I'm too tired to really do it well. Once again, I apologize...

Everyone post once more, and if any newcomers come along, they can just pick up where we start, but I want to get this sucker roll'n. I'll wait for everyone to reply than post one last post...)))

Zeze was absolutely furious.

She had been too shocked throught the series of attempts to do anything, and the bard seriously considered running down the man this instant. However, her fury calmed in a second. Spitting on the dusty road with a scowl, she yelled,

"Heh, as if I would join a cold muderer like yourself!"

Without another word, she turned on her heels, and dashed away, a large cloud of dust hanging behind her. Sakiko sighed, but she could not join her companion. True, she was angry that the man attempted to kill Zapheta, but he had given her a fair enough reason not to attack him immediately. Besides, she was not someone who'd lose their nerve so quickly. She was hooked by the mission of the man - she definitely needed another mission to keep her life interesting. The mage slowly folded her arms across her chest, a very subtle smile creeping unto her lips. Her character of this mysterious man was questionable - but he did seem sincere in this rescue mission. And surrounded by those she knew - Arrika and Kasei - perhaps even more would join, the pale girl decided that this was too precious a chance to give up.

"If you won't kill us in our sleep, I'll be willing enough to help."

She stared directly into his eyes - red against gray - her face still and serious. She wanted him to meet her gaze - for some very unnerving reason, she believed that if he was to do so, he'd have at least a portion of her trust.

"What is the name that you go by, stranger?"

Kasei was wide-eyed as the man flashed passed him. As the man reapeared after his outrageous request, he got only one answer from Kasei; a rather large flame around him. "You threaten one who cannot defend herself, and then come and make such a request. You must not know the meaning of suicide, my freind." Kasei said, not showing any care about the gerudo. After all, he didn't. No emotions meant that they meant nothing to him. Unless he was told to, he would not lift a finger to help them. (Then again, some of his most powerfull attacks don't need a finger XD)

Arrika chuckled a bit before lowering her garrote, which she had already drawn in preparation for strangling the stranger, who was apparently... half-Gerudo?! But this was an opportunity too perfect to miss; if she could have the favor of even a few of the elite desert fighters, it could possibly help in the long run.

"Thieves guild?" Arrika said. "I've heard of them..."

A male Gerudo? This trip will be... interesting. Because trouble and adventure is sure to follow the king of the desert tribe...

The Sheikah thief grinned impulsively. "Why not?"

~The man once again smiled to himself. Those that had agreed seemed quite capable of fighting, and had the spirit to face the dangers they would be going up against. Even those that had rejected his request, seemed able to be swayed to his cause, and had plenty of the willpower needed to break into a well guarded Sheikah fortress, and come out alive.

"You people are mostly of a goodly bent and that probably turned some away from my appearance and occupation, in addition to my hostile greeting, but with Pyralin kidnapped, and the harm these Sheikah are doing to common people, I'll think you'll be able to over come your misgivings. Arrika and Sakiko, those who have already decided to come along, my name is Varen Dragmire. Kasei, I hope you will choose to follow us instead of stay behind, but the choice is yours not mine, we will not wait for you."

With that said, he nodded to those standing around him, turned around, and walked off away from the castle gates. The morning was growing later, and the sun was now slightly above the ground, the hour no longer so early. Indeed, some merchants and people could be seen walking down the road, and approaching from inside the castle. Varen however, didn't take the road, but walked off to the northwest into Hyrule Field, and towards the harsh expanse of Tantari Desert. All was going well, and at this rate, it would not take long to exact the revenge he desired upon the Sheikah traitors.~

(((OOC: The next post is up in the western portion of Tantari and it's called the Black Fortress. This post is done.)))