OOC: Course, this for Tayro only [posting]. But it's pretty important that you follow this topic, as it is part of Chapter Three. That said...

IC:

Complete darkness. Complete silence. Not a trace of light came from inside the chamber, nor was there any motion. A purple haze appeared, but it would have gone unseen had there been an ordinary person present. A red mist appeared not far away, and again it went unseen in the darkness. The two who had arrived in the still, time devoid room, however, could see perfectly. These were no ordinary human beings. Beings bound to the chaotic nature of their realm, they were privileged with an ability set capable of manipulating such darkness. Or perhaps it was that they were cursed with this ability. The two cloaked ones, garbed in the same color as the haze in which they had arrived in, sat down at a large table. In actuality the large piece of sturdy furniture was white, but it was so clouded by the black of the dark that its color was hardly noticeable.

There was approximately a minute of silence before a voice sounded out in the hall. “He should be arriving soon,” spoke the purple cloaked individual, her soft yet gritty voice striking out in the dark. The red man's voice spoke back to her, monotonous and tired. “Yes, the dark one will be here shortly. It is imperative that we make him feel welcome. Those foolish idiots... running around in our realm, recruiting new scum with each passing interval. It must be put to a stop. This “man” wants us to rid this place of the boy they call Tayro. We must oblige; he will be of great use to us if we agree to benefit his own agenda.

Another man, whose cloak was a simple shade of pitch black, spoke to the two who had only now arrived. “The boy is an acquaintance of the other man, as is Victor, the innocent and naive bard who showed up here only months ago. That man holds our salvation, you do realize. Do not let our newest “ally” do anything to harm him.”

“But of course,” spoke the woman in the purple cloak, forcing a grin beneath her hood, despite knowing the importance of her similarly garbed comrade's words. “But we have nothing to fear, Drejudar. You acquired one of the stones, and soon the great and mysterious wraith will lead us to the rest. It is simply a matter of using those on the outside to our advantage.”

The room grew silent, surrounded in the haze of foreboding darkness, void of cheer and light. The three Intelligent Ones sat awaiting the dark one who would appear to them shortly.

Darkness. Full, complete, shadowy darkness. A state categorized by some as the lack or absence of light. Yet, why wasn't the reverse? Why wasn't light the one named as the absence of darkness? Fear? Yes. People are afraid of the dark, of the shadows... they cast it away, distance themselves from it. Still, it was somewhat unfair. Why were the ones of the dark the evil ones? To them, the reverse was truer, as they had done nothing to deserve their hatred. Thus... the dark ones just had to play their roles accordingly. Revenge? Perhaps. Power play? Who knew? The matter remained: Light and dark were two distinct sides that could never join. There was no liminality, there was no ambiguity. They were fully separate, both. "If only they knew how comforting darkness can be..."

Darkness. A room filled with darkness, where dark creatures abound. A room devoid of life... and filled with curse. Mist envelops all, and loops itself in continuous rhythm. In such a dark place, it was hard to see the shadows moving, starting to swirl slightly in a circle, like they were made of wind or air. The tempo increases, the circle becoming wider and using more darkness around it. From it, a pitch-black surface similar to a cocoon floated from it. it was hard to describe on how solid such shell was... it seemed to be made out of black vapour, but then again, it did seem pretty sturdy. "Sorry for my delay." - it spoke. Like two gates, the shadow opens itself, revealing what had laid hidden inside. A male teenager, of seeming Hylian descent, walked out of it. If the darkness was not excruciating, maybe one could see his black messy hair, somewhat wild and strong, a black cloak that extended to his feet, a pair of black, piercing eyes accompanied by his unusual paleness, and to match, a black piece of armor inside his cloak. "Meridel, Drejudar and Tiran, I suppose." - he spoke once more, a grin on his face.

Darkness. Lords of the Darkness, they all were. The ones standing before him were the original dwellers of the depths... who were cursed to live any eternal, decaying life. They were neatly nicknamed 'The Intelligent Ones' by the naive light-bearers. So impolite, those Apostles. We may be dark beings, but we are allowed feeling too... - he mockingly pondered. And there was him, the Prince of the Dark, ruler of the Nightmare Empire. These two almighty forces had joined at that moment, all because of a single element. Tayro Wind, the Dream Keeper. Unfortunately for the Nightmare, this city, the youngster's most recent abode with the Apostles was out of his jurisdiction - The Intelligent Ones were the ones commanding the area, and coming into conflict with them would not be a good idea. And all they wanted was some simple Stones of the Curse that could relieve them of their curse. Yeah, a little price for a greater ideal. He grinned once more. "So, shall we begin?"

“He makes an interesting appearance,” spoke Meridel, the purple-cloaked woman, as the teenager appeared. Under her hood her face made no sign of being impressed with the boy's obvious power; more that he was indeed someone to avoid trifling with. It mattered not to her, though. This would not evolve into an isolated power struggle. Taro and the Intelligent Ones had entirely separate agendas. Of course, the one who had originally organized the dark meeting had not asked exactly what Taro needed Tayro alive for. He just hadn't needed to know. There would be no point in acquiring knowledge of Taro's plot, because after the boy acquired Tayro, he would likely never be seen again.

“Yes, your curious knowledge of our names is correct, Taro,” spoke Tiran, the man in red. Under his hood he was grinning an odd and impure grin. He was truly shocked that the boy knew the names of the three Intelligent Ones present. Had the cursed one in blue told the boy all that much? The blue-cloaked Intelligent One was viewed as a leader of sorts by the others; he had organized this gathering of what normal people would call evil. Of course, the Intelligent Ones did not rely on leadership to spur their agenda. The seven cryptic beings were all equals in nobility in the underground realm.

Tiran continued, his monotone voice ringing in the shadowy hall. “We are always prepared to accommodate those who suit our interests, dark one. For too long now the cloaked interferers have been running through our land, disturbing our cursed silence. They have not grown in numbers too greatly since they arrived here, but their numbers have imposed on our sacred burial. We are to believe that you would like the one named Tayro alive. We can likely grant this favor.” Drejudar interrupted with a hoarse, sarcastic laugh. “One out of fifty-one left alive? I suppose that's a possibility.”

Tiran nodded, but did not respond to his comrade's joking but serious comment. “We do intend to rid the world of each and every one of them. But we have noticed that they are linked to the focus of our agenda. You can have the boy, he is useless to us; we only ask for your help in endeavor."