OOC: I have a long way to write to catch myself up. But I intend to do it. Bear with the post as I try to cover.
IC: Miles away, in the southern reaches of Papara, where the desert started to reach the mountain, there lay a fishing village. As one could imagine, they made their living not through the fishing industry, but through the shipping industry. While they themselves did not have the resources to sail the great-like sea, the village itself was a hive of activity in the busy season, and where there is sailors, there is way to make money off those sailors. Living expenses, port taxes, last minute food stuffs, boat repair, all of these were daily charges one could see in this village. The village's main food supply however, as is assumable, was fish. The name of the village was Ralrun. And it seemed that they were close to applying for a township.
In Ralrun's large inn, the Bobbing Line, there was a guest who wasn't a sailor, nor was he a local. This made him perpetually odd. Ralrun had seen it's fair share of traveler's, but it was rare to see one that stayed for as long as the guest at the Bobbing Line. However, the guest was kind. He helped the village with things, doing odd jobs here and there, and very seldom did he take the payment offered to him as compensation. Initially, the village was hostile to this drifter, this transient who thought he could come in and act like a local. But, before long, he'd won them over. Now it seemed he was getting tips and free foods left and right. And indeed it wasn't long before he was offered a room at the Bobbing Line, free of charge, if he helped served as a maintenance person. This job involved make sure that the old building didn't fall into dilapidation.
He often thought about paying passage to get a shipping vessel to take him out of Hyrule. But, whilst he lived here, it seemed that he had that opportunity whenever, so no need to rush the decision. It'd been a while since he thought about it. But he couldn't help wonder again of the possibility of traveling before he had fallen asleep. However, his sleep was soon troubled with uneasiness. He awoke, in a cold sweat in his dark room. Remembering that goddess-forsaken town with that goddess-forsaken mission. Ruto Town. Remembering that expedition out to that bloody Sheikahn Isle. Remembering those Sheikah. For some reason, the thought disturbed him now, when it hadn't bothered him in the last few months. Sure, he had thought about it since the isle, but it had been a long, long time. He looked across the room, to see his familiar beaked mask hanging on a rack. He hadn't worn it since around the time he came to stay in Ralrun, but he liked keeping it as a memento. Perhaps the time had come to don it again. He had received a letter to come to this ball-thing in North Castle. He had adamantly refused. He still did. But if he left now, perhaps he could still catch some of the other adventurers, seeing as how that appeared to be the point of the extra invitations this year, to get adventurers to attend, before they left North Castle. He had to.
He packed his travel things quickly. Perhaps he had planned on leaving before now. Or maybe he was more entranced with the possibility of sailing away than he realized. He grabbed his mask gently with his hand, not forgetting it as he walked out of the room. He had stayed in this village for months, he knew they wouldn't mind if he took a few days absence. He had gone to sleep early, and the inn was still bustling as he went downstairs. The bar/restaurant area was alive with the noise of sailors. He spoke to the innkeeper briefly, and the innkeeper gave his transient guest a nod. The man donned his mask and stepped out the door in one deft motion, to be expected of a thief. He wouldn't been in North Castle for a few more days, and the journey would be arduous, but Thealter was going back.
---
Meanwhile, in North Castle, Simon wasted no time enjoying the festivities. He drank lightly, talked often, danced fluently, and flirted when the opportunities approached. Just because he was already thinking about another girl, who wasn't currently present, didn't mean that he couldn't be nice to the young women of the court. Additionally, flirting with the right people opened up avenues of information, not necessarily state secrets, but Simon definitely had new insights into the on goings of the Royal Family, or at least their involvement with the state of Hyrule. Economic nuances, military movements, civil development insights, research into the sciences, all of this information Simon managed to get himself caught up on via flirting and, of course, small talk. The young man small talked to anybody who'd spare him the time. Of course, he kept a lookout for other adventurers, but saw very few and spoke to none.
Orpheous however, had better luck. He made it his goal to wonder around the party. He of course, saw it when an unfamiliar man (Zach) who definitely had an adventurer feel to his movements stepped into a sitting room for guests, where there was a fire cackling. He didn't fail to not, before the door closed, who was sitting next to the fire already. It was unmistakably the Tempest, Sovelis, but Orpheous couldn't believe his eyes. He continued to wander, and it didn't take long to see Kasei seated off to the side of a ballroom. As he continued his wanderings, he Saber, Taint, and that Rito he had often spotted years ago with Dogura, Darkin was it? Oh well, Orpheous wasn't going to greet anybody, not just yet.
---
A young man slicked back his smooth black hair as he stared into mirror. Two green eyes looked back at him. Two green eyes full of sharpness and purpose. They seemed warm, and friendly, even as he stared at himself. Behind those eyes lurked something else. Something not warm or friendly in the slightest. His physique was impeccable, and it was clear that he might have spent a large amount of time grooming to look as handsome and healthy as possible. He had a face that had won the trust of entire villages, had woe over countless women, had secured some of the most lucrative business deal in Hyrulean history. And yet, how many had he lied to with those well-kept lips, how many had he talked into doing horrible and unspeakable acts of evil? How many lives had that impeccable man ruined?
He drew his soft hands out of his pockets, practicing the charismatic had gestures one could throw into conversations to win over trust. Those slender fingers tapped against the legs of his pants and he lowered them, and he gave a soft laugh to the solitude. He himself had procured a sitting room in the palace, and had carefully jammed the door with a chair. Of course, with those pointed ears, he could hear anybody coming and could quickly move the chair should somebody wish to enter the room. After all, it would look suspicious if somebody stumbled upon a jammed door to what was supposed to be a public area at a party. Well, maybe not too suspicious. He didn't need the pointed ears though, it helped, but he would've heard it anyways. All his senses were keen.
As far as everybody at the party knew, his name was William Jamesworth. This wasn't too far of a stretch from the name had already called himself before he had taken on his cover five years ago. The young man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties "was" the son of Hylian tycoon Henry Jamesworth, a recluse who lived in Rauru Town. William Jamesworth had gone on an extended trip outside of Hyrule, but had "returned" back to his father five years ago. And life continued as normal at the Jamesworth home. William would go across Hyrule, doing business for his father, and his father would manage his wealth from the center of operations at his manner. Of course, seeing as what the Jamesworth's did for the economy, they were naturally invited to the events at North Castle annually. But this was William's first year attending. He was hoping he'd be able to see some of these adventurers. And he was looking forward to meeting the King. He smiled at himself in the mirror, or rather, smiled at the mirror. The smile was cool, collected, and calm. Again, a smile so warm and inviting that it was positively terrifying if one had known the history of the man calling himself William Jamesworth. He straightened his apparel, and he unjammed the door before stepping back outside and making his way back to the party. His stride was confident.
---
Miriam Winifred, or, as she preferred, just Winifred, had come to the ball-like event tonight on the arm of nobleman Naarus Bryte. The fact of the matter was that, despite their apparent closeness, she was merely a friend that he had talked into coming with him as his date to the festivities. After all, she was renown for her beauty, it would look impressive to have somebody of her physique accompanying one to an event like this. Naarus Bryte was therefore, one of the envied of the hour. He danced with Miriam, laughed with Miriam, partook in gala-stylized foods with Miriam. And she in turn enjoyed his company. It was relaxing for her. She could forget about those months of uneasiness, waiting for a letter, or any word from a particular someone. She could enjoy herself. And perhaps, now that the adventurers seemed to regather here, perhaps she could see the target of her thoughts again.
It happened around eight o'clock. A teenage boy entered the party, apparently doing his best not to draw attention on himself. She could practically hear the boy's heart race under that baggy embroidered raiment. She was currently seated, with Naarus by her side, and the two finally weren't surrounded by people trying to gawk at her. She gasped under her breath, "It's him." And the woman now calling herself Winifred, but whose name was actually Silvia, did her best to go unnoticed amongst the crowd. The last thing Worru should have to worry about was her at a place like this. As she was to understand, adventurers had came to the festivities. He would already have to deal with all the old faces. No need to add one more to the mix. Naarus seemed to understand that one of the new arrivals seemed to cause her a bit of confused feelings, and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled and turned to her partner for the evening. Better to forget the boy was there, they could talk at some other date in time.
---
By now, Simon was worn out, and exhausted. He hadn't realized how much strain and pressure this chit-chatting on a high society level was going to cause him. It went against all his humble upbringing, and it was tough to keep up with. He sighed, taking a seat in the ballroom. There, he met a gentleman, William. William had a soft air about him, and he was dressed like a nobleman, but a traveled nobleman. Simon couldn't help but wonder if this William was perhaps an adventurer himself. William assured him that he was no adventurer or hero, he was just the traveled son of Henry Jamesworth. They talked about traveling and the different places to see around Hyrule. He brought out Simon's inner adventurer, and Simon felt that he didn't have to necessarily be formal around William. This put Simon at ease. Simon even talked about his own village of Galfin for a bit before William stated that he had to meet somebody in Nayru's ballroom, the two were in Din's ballroom at the time. It was nearing eight. William commented that he had lost track of time. Simon in turn was understanding. As William left, Simon thought to himself,
what a kind and well-mannered young man.
Orpheous found himself back in the Golden Ballroom of Nayru. Still, the clock was practically ready to chime eight. As he watched for people, his eyes found King Harkinian. Of course, he knew the King was present, and greeting people, but when Orpheous saw him in person, after all this time, he felt in awe. The King appeared to be well, and Orpheous saw in Harkinian's eyes the drive to lead Hyrule through these dark and uncertain times ahead. Then, he saw a man approach Harkinian. Two men actually. The first was a richly dressed noble who appeared in his forties. The other man, appeared to be his son of around twenty. The King greeted the father-figure as though he knew him, but like it had been a long time sense he'd seem him. The father gestured over to his son, who in turn smiled at the King who turned to him.
The son shook the King's hand, and in that moment, Orpheous could sense something was wrong. The son's expression was relaxed and confident, and his eyes were warm. And yet, Orpheous sensed an aura about him. Something that chilled his bones. Orpheous wanted to get up, to go over to the King and pull him away from this dark aura, and yet, the moment passed. The aura disappeared, and the King went off to greet other guests. The father and the son duo went off down a hallway to some other part of the palace open to the public.
Orpheous was tempted to follow. But then he heard something. At first he thought it was verbal, but within an instant, he knew it to be in his mind's ear. Telepathy.
"It's one of you guys, isn't it?"
Orpheous was at first baffled by this. This telepathy made no sense to him personally. Therefore, Orpheous deduced he was not the intended recipient of the telepathic message. There seemed to be hostility in it. Orpheous thought of those whom he knew could speak with telepathy, as Orpheous had thought, given the nature of the hostility, the message wasn't sent by a regular attendee, but by an adventurer, and a rather talented one at that. Telepathy sure wasn't easy, and this particular message was sent out to anybody who had the power to pick it up, it wasn't sent specifically to the mind of the intended target. This more than likely meant that the person using telepathy was inexperienced or a little rusty. A third option was also likely, that the original sender wanted others to hear and catch on. Then again, maybe others wouldn't hear. Nobody else seemed to react, even the adventurers Orpheous saw out of the corner of his eyes. Perhaps it was Orpheous' own mind, highly trained in the art of telepathy, that allowed the scribe to pick up the message where others could not.
Out of all the adventurers in his mental filing cabinet, there were a few who had telepathic abilities. So Orpheous at first had some trouble putting together who sent out the message. But then, Orpheous guessed it. Orpheous studied language and linguistics. He would never in a million years forget someone's speech patterns if he spent enough time around them. It sounded a little more direct that he was used to, but Orpheous was fairly certain the mental phrase was shot out by none-other-than Alpha. Then, he caught the tail end of the message.
"... I hate you."
Orpheous didn't peg Alpha to particularly liking anything, and, he guessed Alpha hated a lot of things. However, the intonation suggested a different idea to Orpheous, and that whatever his target was, it had managed to irk Alpha in a new way. All in all, the conversation put Orpheous' mind in a state of preparedness, but it was clear from the of the short telepathic bursts that nothing was directly to fear yet.
And yet it felt like the hairs on his neck were standing up. It definitely felt like something was going to happen here tonight. Orpheous just wasn't sure what. The clock struck eight. Orpheous was quickly approached by an attendant and given this message.
"You are one of the Adventurers, correct? Please, follow me. His Highness has provided you a place of honor for the toast."
Orpheous followed the attendant, and he stood in front of the stage, not before checked by guards to insure that he was indeed, an Adventurer. Well, they could tell by his scruffy appearance that he was, they just needed to check which one he was. Simon scurried into the room, and was sheperded into the place of honor as well. The guards needed to check who Simon was, but mainly because he didn't actually look like an adventurer. Initially, he was placed a few feet from Orpheous, but he quickly scooted over to his master's side, as the two awaited the the toast to begin. Orpheous smiled at Simon, but his eyes told the apprentice to be on the look out for danger of some kind. The two were handed glasses of wine.
Then the King spoke. Orpheous thought himself good with words. Orpheous knew that his own voice was, for the most part, unrivaled in beauty. And yet, as the King spoke, delivering his heart to the masses in Nayru's Ballroom, Orpheous felt shame for himself as a scribe and speaker. Even as Orpheous heard the King use the rhetorical devices that leader's used, the promises, the talk of overcoming and thriving, it all felt real and genuine to the Wordmancer. And that's saying a lot, seeing as how in his homeland, people spoke empty words all the time. It took a lot to root out somebody who was just talking big and somebody who meant what they said, especially if they were a pro-big-talker. And yet, as a politician and a king, Harkinian seemed to be honest and forthright. This alone was enough to win over Oprheous. The beautiful language was, however, appreciated as he gave his speech.
Orpheous couldn't help but soak in the King's words. When his daughter was unveiled, for lack of better words, Orpheous could only stare at amazement at Princess Zelda. As the King's only child, according to Orpheous' understanding, this would likely mean that she would one day inherit this country weathering all these terrible storms. And yet, Princess Zelda, standing there, seemed just as capable as her father. The Royal Family never ceased to amaze.
The King finished his speech, and both Simon and Orpheous drank to the toast, as did the others in the room. To Orpheous, it felt like he was recommitting his dedication to Hyrule and adventuring, Simon felt similarly. Orpheous, and probably Simon too, felt like clapping after that greet speech, but they realized such things weren't exactly appropriate in this kind of event. But some other commotion broke out.
It was coming from the screening area, in other words the courtyard of the West Entrance. Orpheous prepared himself for the worst, but that didn't seem to come. The King sent guards, and, of course, their voices joined in the clamor. Yet no fighting could be heard. The herald entered, and it seemed like he was about to say something. Then, right as the herald was preparing to announce, the figure entered Nayru's Golden Ballroom. With apparently common brown cloak, only the young hero's face gave away his identity. The face that could be seen in artwork, both paintings and sculptures and sketches, everywhere in Hyrule. The Link that had single-handedly retrieved the Triforce of Courage. The Link that had gone into Death Mountain and fought Ganon and his hordes. The Hero of the age.
"Announcing! SIR LINK, THE HERO!"
Simon's jaw had dropped fully, while Orpheous muttered under his breath. "Could it be?" Indeed, it seemed so. Then, Link spoke. The Hero, who looked rather exhausted and, after some deduction, Orpheous pieced together, who had been riding on a steed at rapid speed, as though in a hurry, needed to speak to the King. Immediately. Orpheous gazed at the Hero, eager to know just exactly what it was that Link knew. What was so urgent?
OOC: Wow, that was a long post. If you read it all, thank you for sticking with it. Also, this topic. It's outstanding. Every post is so marvelous to read, so much texture and sweet written goodness. And now, with the appearance of Link and that speech before hand. Well, needless to say, the retconning that has now happened seeing as how HA2 is now following the official Nintendo timeline of Legend of Zelda. But, wow, that last RG post. Phenomenal.
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