It was night on the edge of the lake surrounding the North Castle. A few waves splashed against the shoreline, and light breeze slowly waved the grass. In the sky flew a couple of Rocs, simply minding their business. Everything was peaceful.

All that was about to change.

Out of the shadows came a lone figure – Alpha. His scar was glowing with fierce intensity, as it had been for about ten minutes. But the pain had finally passed, leaving Alpha’s senses free from its influence. “I am here,” he shouted out to the water. “Where are you?”

“We are here, Sheikah.” Alpha turned to find the same Sheikah that had delivered the message to him a week ago standing there, flanked by four other members of the Hakiems tribe. But Alpha noticed someone was missing.

“Your master. You said he would be here. I don’t see him anywhere.”

“But of courssse you don’t, fool.” Alpha turned back to the lake to see a giant whirlpool had appeared. In the center rose a figure in a dark blue robe with the symbol of the Hakiems tribe. Underneath the hood was the head of a Zora Alpha could never forget. “Did you really expect me to be out in the open? How foolisssh of you,” came a surly, serpent-like voice from the Zora.

“YOU!” Alpha yelled at the top of his lungs as he lunged forward, preparing to attack. The leading Sheikah gripped his arms from behind and refused to let him go. One of the lesser Sheikah pounded him on the back of the head with his sword’s hilt, causing him to falter, then went for Alpha’s throat.

“Ssstop! I need him alive, you foolsss!” the Zora yelled.

The attack was immediately halted by the commanding Sheikah’s hand. “Lord Zaboorak is correct, idiot!” The lesser Sheikah bowed repentantly, then he and the others surrounded Alpha, swords drawn and pointed at his head. The leader released Alpha from his grip and walked around to his front. “Our men tell us that you’ve recently made contact with the Golden Sheikah, correct?” Alpha said nothing, staring defiantly. The man sighed. “That’s what I expected to hear. Your master has eluded us for all these years, but you know him. You will tell us where he is, or we will kill you. It’s as simple as that.”

“Karunik, you assssume too much. I already sssaid that he isss ussselesss dead. And do you really believe that thisss man will willingly tell usss where hisss massster isss?” Zaboorak snapped. “Fool, we mussst deal with thisss differently than mossst casssesss. Ssstand assside, and let me ssshow you how it isss done.” Karunik stepped down, leaving nothing in between the Zora and Alpha except some shallow water.

“Ssso, you do remember me?” Zaboorak began. “Heh! I remember you too: the little boy who managed to essscape my trap for the Golden Sssheikah. And I remember your look when you heard my flute play…heh heh heh…” he taunted. Alpha’s rage swelled up inside of him. What the Zora showed him next made him reach the boiling point, and his scar flared up to be as bright as the sun itself. “You remember my flute, yesss?” He held it out, then lifted it to his mouth, playing a distinct tune. Alpha’s rage exploded in him. In an instant the Sheikah were all on the ground, crying out in pain and clutching their now-crimson faces and bodies. Alpha ran straight at the Zora.

“Ahhh…ssso predictable.” The Zora held up two of his finger. Snap! With a brilliant flash of light, Alpha was suddenly gone. Zaboorak leaned over and picked up the cucco that now flapped it wings, trying to stay afloat. “I trussst you know of the Polymorph ssspell. You have no option now but to lisssten. You may not know where the Golden Sssheikah isss, but you will find out for usss. Or I will ussse thisss dark energy to transssform you into a cucco permanently…and ssstill find and kill your massster. And you will watch all of it, asss my pet.” He threw Alpha away, and motioned for the Hakiems to follow him. As the Sheikah gathered around him, he turned back to the cucco. “There will be a man in Ruto Town waiting to hear from you in one month. Tell him I, Zzzaboorak, sssent you, and he will lisssten to you. Until then, we ssshall ssstop watching you and wait.” With that they disappeared into the darkness.



Five minutes later, when she is sure that the Hakiems are gone, the woman that had watched them give Alpha the message a week before stands up from under the water and rushes to the cucco. Alpha gives a cry—or rather, a bwak—of surprise at the sight of her. “Shush!” she says softly. She picks him up, places one hand on Alpha’s back, and closes her eyes in concentration. Her hands glow for a second, and then she places him back down. He slowly reverts back to his normal self and stands up. “Uhhh…thank you.”

She gives him a smile that gives the impression of her being an old friend. Alpha thinks for a second, but cannot remember ever meeting her on any of his travels. “Don’t mention it, Key.” Alpha starts. “How did—who are you? What’s your name?”

She gives him a sweet girly smile. “My name?” She pauses for a moment. “It is the sound of the feminine shadow,” she says, and then giggles.

“So you’ve been training with Master Zaris too, I guess. Him and his riddles.” He sighs at her nod of conformation. ‘Sound of the feminine shadow? What in Hyrule does that mean? Argh…why did I leave Master before his lesson on deciphering riddles?’ The two look up as they hear someone approaching. “When you figure out that riddle, call my name and I’ll come.” She smiles again at him and she leaps away into the night, leaving Alpha alone, and with more questions found than answered.

A couple of minutes later, Azador was passing by, in the distance he saw alpha staring at the lake ( you could see he was thinking about a lot of things ), Azador ran to him and asked if every thing is alright. OOC: what a story, Alpha

Alpha turns to see Azador approaching him. "Just thinking, Azador. Just thinking." He pauses for a second. "I...I need to solve a riddle. A person told me that her name was 'the sound of the feminine shadow.' Any idea as to what that could mean?"

a feminine shadow meens, a shadow of a woman, but shadows don't make sounds. So i have no clue, but i will help to solf your mystery.

"Thanks," Alpha replies. "I'll need all the help I can get for this one."

Only in passing would one be so unaware to walk right next to another before noticing them. Somehow Grenada had managed to allow this to happen.

"Hey guys, why sit around the lake? Anything hapening here?"

Clearly from the blood on the ground something had occured, but he didn't know if it was his business so he didn't say anything about it.

"Ummm..." Alpha pauses for just a second, wondering if he should tell the others about what had happened. With the blood on the ground, not telling them would look kind of suspicious. "...yes, something did. I had a meeting with the Hakiems tribe. According to their leader, Zaboorak, I have one month to tell them where Master Zaris is or he'll turn me into a cucco...permanently. And I have no doubt that he's capable of such a feat.

"Then a woman came by. She acted like we were old friends. When I asked for her name, she told me it was 'the sound of the feminine shadow'. Azador and I were trying to figure out what that means." Alpha gave Grenada an imploring look. "You got any ideas?"

"If you need it, I will help with these Hakiems. They don't sound like the sort we need in Hyrule, and I doubt you wanna be a cucco."

He pauses, he's never heard of Hakiems or Zaboorak, or anything like that. But that was definitely strange that an unknown woman would act like old friends. 'Sound of the feminine shadow...'

"Could it be "Silence"? Shadows make no sound."

"Possibly, but then where does 'feminine' fit in? My master used to make riddles like this, and every word means something."

the woman you saw, was only a shadow of what she really is, but here voice tells who she really is. Maybe that woman you saw was your master in disguise. The woman makes riddles just like your master did, and she said that she was only a shadow of what she really is. So i think it was your master him self, disguist for the Hakiem tribe

Julian walks along the narrow shores of the lake. His eyes hidden beneath a vail of pure darkness. As he walks farther along the shore he hears Alpha and a few other's voices. He hides behind a tree and listens intently. He absorbs all of the information given to him and then moves forward to Alpha. "The stranger might be right, Alpha. It is quite possible that this woman that you speak of is your master. On another note, next time you face the Hakkiem, tell me to a company you," Julian says as he leans on a tree nearby.His voice cutting through the silence like a dagger.

OOC:Is the nex post really going to be in a month? Thats a long time for a post.

"Trust me, it was not my master. Master Zaris has...a condition, one that would be instantly noticable by anyone who saw him. Except when his clothing covers it up, like it did when I met him. That was definately not Zaris."

Alpha turned to the newcomer. "Julian, do you have any ideas? I'm guessing you've been listening in on this little conversation."

OOC: No, not in a month. The next part will happen whenever we (and by 'we' I mean you guys) figure out the riddle. Or until I get bored and "figure it out" myself.

Julian smiles."Why yes I have been listening but to tell you the truth I am going to need a little time on this riddle." Julian says as he tips his head downward and rubs his brow.

After sitting around for a while, Alpha turns to the others. "Any new ideas?"

"I've got nothing," Julian says as he lifts his head and walks toward Alpha. "What about you. I mean you've had experience with riddles as your master daid them all the time."


OOC:I'm stumped. I've heard of a literature term on the feminine shadow but I doubt that has anything to do with this.