A young man with pale skin and white hair roamed into he castle courtyard. It had been so long since he had been here. Wyndisis told him to stay away from North Castle, because someone might identify him as a Dark Interloper, which was what his transformation caused him to resemble. To hell with Wyndisis.

Wyndisis also told him to organize the Sheikah and spark a rebellion against the Royal Family, and Darilan was going to do that. But he also planned on using his recruits to... dispose of the Zora, or rather, help him do it. He knew he couldn't take on the archmage alone. He had a sneaking suspicion that Wyndisis was using him for his own selfish desires. No. He knew Wyndisis was using him.

Wyndisis should be proud of him, Darilan believed. Of all the people devoted to Wyndisis' cause, he was the smartest. It was a wonder that none of Wyndisis' followers had used the Zora's own teachings against him, as Darilan planned to do. Wyndisis taught him to not rely on the Goddesses, but to rely on the dark power within: the Black Fire, a fire fueled by dark emotions. He was the only so-called "Dark Acolyte" who wasn't a slave to Wyndisis, for he realized that he could use his burning hatred of Wyndisis to empower himself enough to destroy the Zora.

But that would come later. What he needed to do now was recruit others and teach them to exactly what he had learned from Wyndisis. Then he would make them hate the Zora as much as he hated him. After they killed Wyndisis and basked in their triumph, they would be strong enough to help him overthrow the Royal Family.

To initiate his recruitment, he needn't say a word. He just stood there, being the scared shell of a man that he had become. He knew it would attract attention. Yes, he thought, look upon me and see how weak your Goddesses are.

Sabertache set his bag down wearily as he sat on a bench. He needed food. Desperately. He hadn't eaten since yesterday, and since then had traveled Tantari to bring a fishing boat's catch to the market. His payment was supposed to be awaiting him back at the Booth, but he was too tired to walk there now.

I'll just rest for a while...only a half hour or so.

As he sat, his long, round ears began to tingle uncomfortably. The feeling soon spread to the rest of his body, and it got to feeling so strange that he couldn't help but to open his eyes and look around. Not too far from him was a familiar figure...somewhat familiar, anyway. There were definitely some difference, but that was definitely--

"Darilan?" The mercenary spoke, getting up on his feet and walking over to him. "Are you feeling alright? You look pale. Did something happen?"

The Sheikah had mixed feelings when he saw Saber approach him. He was aware of the mercenary's skills, and knew he could use them, but as he had before - when Wyndisis expressed mild interest in hiring him - he worried about where Saber's loyalties lied. Put more accurately, he worried about Saber's lack of loyalty. If Darilan told him too much, or at least didn't choose his words carefully, Saber might warn Hyrulean authorities that there was a Dark Interloper running amuck and offer to help them hunt the scribe. They were the one's with the most money, after all.

Another thought concerned him. When Saber barged in on his conversation with Wyndisis, the Zora had shown an unusual amount of disinterest in the mercenary. He knew how Wyndisis operated: by scraping away at the scummy bottom layer of society and promising to give those individuals something great while they embraced him as a god in return. Saber was at the bottom layer of society. The fact that Wyndisis didn't go after him like a moth to an oil lamp was suspicious. Perhaps Wyndisis secretly hired Saber to spy on him. It would have been convenient for the Zora to have a source outside the Dark Acolytes who could relay messages back to Wyndisis. Wyndisis knew that Darilan wouldn't speak of betraying him to anyone associated with the Dark Acolytes. In all past instances the person planning to harm Wyndisis met a slow, gruesome death.

Sympathy was an emotion that Darilan willed himself not to feel. Feeling compassion for the weak was a weakness in itself. Such emotions would cause the Black Fire raging within him to dwindle into nothing. He was not, however, above using sympathy to manipulate people. If he could make Saber feel sorry for him and make him see Wyndisis as a monster, he might be able to get Saber to fight for him, even if Wyndisis promised to pay him. He allowed his legs to weaken and collapse beneath his weight. "I was attacked," he said, face first into the ground. "Someone used the power of the Goddesses to try to kill me." It was a bit too dramatic, but hopefully convincing.

Kasei had been pacing back and forth at the southern side of the courtyard, his hands crossed and his face scrunched up in what could be seen as confusion as he traced and retraced his steps. Once again he had come across a rather interesting riddle, and for the life of him he could not solve it.

It was then that the Shiekah spotted a small bit of movement at the entrance to the courtyard; a person, something he could easily overlook, except for the fact that this particular person had popped up in one or two conversations he had had with other members of his organization. The man was none other than Darilan, one of Wyndisis' comrades, though he looked slightly different than the image Kasei had once seen of him.

Kasei squinted his eyes in an attempt to get a better look at the new intruder, and stopped pacing almost immediately, and waited as he saw another figure approach Darilan; Saber the mercenary.

This was turning out splendidly. Kasei did not have any true grudge against Saber, but he had no trust for the man. If he saw even a hint of alliance between the mercenary and Darilan, Kasei would not hesitate to swoop over and apprehend both of them. For now he would just have to wait, and watch.

OOC: Secret agent man, 8D probably messing up anyway <<

OOC: This could be interesting... It doesn't help though in this case that Nogare is a telepath. I'll dwindle that. But this will be an interesting group of characters...

IC: It was always curious to Nogare how everyone seemed to be meeting in the courtyard. This was always where great journeys and initiations happened. North Castle stood for so many things, but the courtyard... conspiracy and deception stood at every corner.

Two senses drew him to a familar entity that he could not forget; firstly, his mind traced a high esteemed adventurer (especially in his case, for he'd never faced the Sheikah Elemental and finished either by luck or mercy... or both), and secondly there was the confirmation; the tower of blue hair resting over the head of his rival.

It was Kasei.

He knew better than to walk by when Kasei was up to something. He was a general, and knew that it wouldn't be wise to approach unless there was reason... but he was a pale... deathly pale... man speaking with Sabertache and the Sheikah. The man was sinister in a way he couldn't gather immediately. His thoughts were layered, although he was in pain over something. It appeared physical, so he knew he had to check it out. He didn't hestitate much before changing his aimless course about the courtyard to become part of this conspiracy... his first in a while...

As he approached, his senses prickled his skull. He warded off the omens, and spoke with his general and loose rival first. "Kasei, who is this? What happened to him..." he sensed a dread in this man's life... and the first feeling that came across him was... ... sympathy... ...

Saber fell to his knee alongside Darilan, hand on the Scribe's back. "Tried to kill you with the power of the Goddesses? That's...that's incredibly vague!"

Well, he's probably in severe pain, Saber, I highly doubt he would want to waste time describing his circumstances in detail when mere generalities would suffice.

There didn't seem to be any obvious wounds on the man's body--but of course, with the power of the Goddesses (whatever that meant) there were probably ways to harm without physical bludgeoning or piercing. His mind could be in a state of horror at this moment!

Clearly, the right thing to do would be to take action against whomever had assaulted Sabertache's friend. However, anyone who was able to use the power of the Goddesses and did...THIS...to one of Hyrule's more experienced adventurers was a pretty scary adversary. Saber was not aware of the 'skills' he posessed, and knew immediately that he probably couldn't do anything for Darilan himself. Still, he had to try.

He turned the Scribe over gently, supporting his head with his right hand while speaking. "Okay, take it easy...what do you need me to do? Do you need to be taken somewhere safe?"

Face still in the ground, Darilan smiled to himself. His vagueness was necessary, given the possibility that Saber was working for Wyndisis. But his concern seemed genuine, so Saber probably wasn't working for him. Still, he had to feed him information a spoonful at a time until it was short of too much.

As Saber turned him over, he felt foolish. His goal was to attract attention, but not the wrong attention. He didn't want anyone who believed him to be one of the legendary Dark Interlopers to see him. However, in the middle of the day, people might pass him up as an albino. At night his glowing eyes would stick out like a pair of candles, and that might cause problems. He slowly got himself back to his feet. "The weakness will subside but the scars will remain," he said.

"I apologize for not going into more detail," he continued. "A Zora did this to me. You may remember him from when you spoke with us just outside the castle courtyard." Darilan omitted the Zora's name, for even if Saber wasn't a spy Wyndisis might have some lurking around. Damn. He was hardly in the preliminary stages of plotting Wyndisis' death and already he was this paranoid.

It took Sabertache a while to recall the meeting Darilan had brought up. After all, not much significant had happened. It was a fairly minor occurence in the young man's life, and it took special effort to recall that there was even a Zora there in the first place. A Zora with a kind of goofy air about him. Or was it sinister?

"But that Zora was...why did he try to kill you? Where is he?"

"Nogare." Kasei said, acknowledging his old companion with a nod, before going back to his observation. Finally, after some thought on it, he turned to Nogare. "Over there you can see Saber, the mercinary, and the one he is talking to is called Darilan, a rather . . . untrustworthy person." He said simply.

He thought about it, what could be the worst that could happen? Darilan attacks? Kasei was confident enough in his skills. Saber? Kasei believed the mercinary had no unique powers, so overpowering him came down simply to being more skilled.

Finally, he shook his head, and made up his mind. "I think it's time to have a little chat." He said, before starting to make his way over.

"Well, I don't know if he was trying to kill me," Darilan said. "It felt like I was going to die, but I think he did it to... mark me." He knew what he was saying didn't make sense. He would have to go into more detail. "Have you ever heard the legend of the Interlopers, and the theory that they were descended from the Sheikah?"

Darilan didn't give Saber time to answer. "They say the Goddesses banished this branch of the Sheikah family to another realm, just because of their ability to practice dark magic. The Goddesses, as well as the Royal Family, believed that these Interlopers planned to use their powers to take the Triforce for themselves. I believe the Goddesses and the Royal Family are afraid that the growing population of Sheikah will try to avenge their long lost cousins. They let that slimy Zora use their powers to mark me as a so-called dark magic user. I'm afraid they might start doing it to other Sheikah too."

OOC: Also, Hyrule really existed and its people were descended from the ancient Greeks.

Well, this is a whole new can of worms.

Sabertache had never heard the legend before. Then again, that wasn't surprising, was it? He didn't grow up in Hyrule, and had been there merely three years. During that time, he had little exposure to the lore and culture as he had little to do with any of the citizens of the Kingdom.

The thought of the Goddesses playing an active role in extinguishing undesirables...frightened him. Truth be told, it probably wasn't a very sensible fear. After all, he found it perfectly normal for them to help heal him, which was a form of interference in worldly affairs. He just preferred to think of the Goddesses as...benevolent.

Maybe they still were. Maybe these Sheikah were worth stopping, if they were really trying to avenge the Interlopers...

No. No, I can't think that way. I have too many Sheikahn allies. I can't think those things about them.

"So...this Zora is trying to eliminate the Sheikah?" It didn't take a lot of mulling to reach a decision. "What can I do to help stop him?"

A flash of blue caught the half-Hylian's eye, and he flicked his gaze over in that direction for a brief second--another Sheikah? "Hello, Kasei." It was a bland greeting at best, but what else does one say for something as simple as a greeting when they've just been told of a potential genocide?

OOC: It's easy to forget how quickly people reply to topics once we get active again.

IC: "Agreed."

Nogare watched from a distance, not becoming part of the conversation itself just yet, but still close enough so that the others knew he was present. His partially rounded ears picked up upon the the mention of ancient Sheikah. The tale of the dark interlopers and this Zora. The whole story was conspicuous... I mean, this Sheikah -- pure blood, unlike himself -- he just knew everything about his attacker... He had never known of this Zora, but he was experienced enough to know that Zora's weren't the first race that he would trust. About as much as a Deku. Maybe even less. But his own partial kin, the Sheikah... they were a handful. Some were loyal to the death, although mostly in more noble days when there were many of them who could kill from the shadows, but now their lineage, although slightly more populated, seemed about as ready to take fruitless revenge on the Royal Family whom once they served. He agreed that they certainly weren't the Royal Family their ancestors defended, but killing them... That was not in his place to act upon, not even contemplate. He would adapt, not kill them.

He continued to watch, and calculate what was going on. He didn't trust this Sheikah... trust wasn't Nogare's specialty... but watching how this played out seemed too important to pass up. If it was a trap, it was better to spring it than let it spring on others.

After a silence, he approached. "Tell me where this Zora is, so we can defeat is. The death of the last of the Sheikah could be more catastrophic than we might think, and if this Zora means the death of all of... us... (he settled on that word, for he didn't really know what he himself was, Hylian or Sheikah), it's only right to go after him. Where were you attacked, we'll return with you and follow his trail." Nogare was silent, and watched Darilan's reactions carefully, seeing if he couldn't learn more from them.

Darilan frowned. "It won't be easy. Wyndisis," he said, speaking the Zora's name for the first time in this conversation, "can handle himself well. It is going to take more than two people to bring him down. Even if we were to... incapacitate him, we would still have to deal with all his angry cronies. That being the case, we may need to assemble a small army to oppose him."

Darilan considered the other thing Saber said. "And I don't think that he is alone in trying to eliminate the Sheikah." He pretended to think it over, speaking partly to himself and partly to Saber. "What would a Zora have to gain by eliminating the Sheikah? There is no animosity between the two races. Wyndisis did work for the Royal Expeditionary Forces..." he trailed off, leaving it to Saber to draw his own conclusions.

Darilan acknowledged Nogare with a nod as he approached. Hearing Nogare's use of the word "us" caused him to ignore the question about where Wyndisis was. He flashed a genuine smile at Nogare and said, "Us... I am pleased we are coming to think of ourselves as a race rather than a few unique individuals scattered throughout Hyrule." Times were changing. Soon the people of Hyrule would realize that an attack on one Sheikah was an attack on all of them, that they could unite as a race and strengthen themselves through adversity.

"We're a dying breed... I'm only partially Sheikah as it is. We need to stand up against them, we will as our ancestors always have; from the shadows. But an army? Even a small one wouldn't stand up to the evils ahead. Trust me. But they'll be waiting. But, sir... Darilan, was it?... I think I speak for everyone... but what we need to know everything that you know about this Zora... His eyes and ears are likely listening to us even now, we should take this somewhere safe and indoors."

The Royal Expeditionary Forces?

In case his utter ignorance wasn't plastered in an obvious enough manner across his face, Saber considered asking further questions; he hadn't been in Hyrule for long. Only a few years, really, and the most obscure piece of knowledge he had obtained of the land was that attacking Keese with fire was much less effective than one would think. He opened his mouth, a low rumbly 'uh...' escaping the maw, and--

Suddenly, Sheikah. Two of them.

As if he weren't feeling out of place enough already, he was now the only non-Sheikah in their gathering. He was also probably the weakest one in the group. Were Darwin a denizen of Hyrule, Saber would kick his ass thoroughly. Being the Omega dog in the pack, the Nomad lowered his head and submitted himself to the whims of the group, waiting for some sort of conclusion to be reached before he spoke up again.