Fandom reawakening: calamity

[Aura Of Twilight]

Keenan
​

Their new acquaintance’s green eyes sparkled at the mention of magic tricks. She stepped closer, curiosity getting the better of her like a child coming across a new toy. It was almost cute. “Tricks? Like what?”

Oh you don’t know the half of it Little Miss. The ex-Yiga thought with some fondness. Memories of his childhood began to resurface, such as the multiple occasions he and the other children used their newly learnt shadow magic to troll the adults to no end. It was all in good fun, at least until Master Kohga threatened to throw them in the giant hole in the arena.

Bemere’s eagerness seemed to be too much for his scouting partner however, the other redhead freezing like a deer caught in torch light.

Although amused (and admittedly somewhat vindicated) by Aisha’s struggle to maintain her composure, Keenan wasn’t heartless. The Archer was clearly overwhelmed by Bemere’s excitement, fumbling over her words as she sent him a side long glance.

“…The process isn’t that much different with monsters.” Aisha said, then adding, “Keenan’s a quick learner for things like that.”

Keenan shook his head, resisting the urge to snort. “Only because the Sheikah are anal about making sure their future warriors know all the basics of both weapons and shadow magic before they can walk. From masking the sounds of our footsteps to throwing knives seemingly from out of thin air…Well, most of the adults don’t care to teach us the fun stuff, except for some of the more mischievous elders.” He winked, giving both women a mischievous glance. “That being said, have you ever seen a donkey suddenly end up on someone’s roof with no clear explanation as to how it ended up there? Magic opens up all sorts of possibilities in life, including showing tricks.”

Thunder rolled again in the distance. Perhaps the storm would stop Aisha from pestering him some more. He could only hope she’d drop the subject.

Soulmuse frecckkles

 

[Soulmuse]

Unfortunately for Keenan, the storm did not dissuade Aisha from pestering him, if anything it gave her the perfect cover to drag him away. Giving Bemeere the best smile she could Aisha turned to Keenan. “And, we need to discuss the best way to handle scouting ahead. Don’t we Keenan?” Her voice gained an edge, and all but grabbing his arm to drag him away.

Keenan swore to himself, struggling for a moment to keep himself from glaring at her. That Archer was determined, he gave her that much. “Well, guess we need to go on ahead before the rain starts pouring. See ya.” He waved. Maybe, if I don’t get murdered first. With a tight smile he let Aisha drag him into the trees. When they were some distance away he pulled his arm out of her grip. Clearing his throat and stretching, he was the first to break the awkward silence. “Listen, if all you wanted to do was tell me you have a crush you should’ve just said so. No need for all this secrecy.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless you want to kill me that’s different.”

Aisha’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “Killing you doesn’t require dragging you anywhere, it requires,” She focused, pulling shadows closer, “And arrow in the dark. And are you physically incapable of being serious, or is it some issue specific to you?” Reigning in her frustrations, she shook her head. “Don’t answer that. We need to talk about this…Malice. Whatever that was. And what it is.”

Unphased by the shadows that could pierce him in an instant, a small chuckle left his throat, followed by a long sigh and glance at the sky. “Atara just couldn’t keep her mouth shut for a little longer, could she?” His head shook. “Figures. Between her and your natural curiosity, I should have known better.” He rubbed his aching temples. “Very well miss cloudchaser. Ask away.”

“Atara has nothing to do with this conversation. I know a thing or three, Mr. Secrets, about weird unpleasant magic that tries to talk to you and corrupt your soul.” She’d leave out the part where she was deeply weak to it’s influence, for obvious reasons. “I prefer to avoid running into it, but that ship sailed, so I would instead prefer to know everything I can about it.” Glancing around Aisha hummed, and quickly palmed over her face, taking part some of her disguise, showing her face. “Shady magic is our thing, after all.”

“Sure, sure.” Keenan was now leaning against a tree, arms crossed and eyes closed as he listened to her words. Sensing a bit of magic in the air, he opened an eye. Just like what had happened a few weeks ago, Aisha’s disguise wavered, this time on purpose. Her hair had turned orange, glowing through an unknown force just like the green tattoos on her now grey and black arms. “Interesting. You’re definitely no Hylian, that’s for sure. Shadows and magic huh? Reminds me of an ancient story passed down in my clan…What tribe do you belong to and where do you come from?” He was wasting time he knew, but genuinely curious. “Tell me and I might just tell you some about the Malice.”

Aisha rolled her eyes at the bargaining. “That makes two places that preserve the legends of the Twili then. How….” her lips curled in some measure of both frustration and annoyance. “Convient? Annoying? As for where I’m from.” She gestured vaguely towards the Mirror, far in the deserts. “I believe they call it the Twilight Realm in Hyrule…the name in my native tongue translates are something like ‘Divine Prison’.” With another gesture she rebuilt her disguise. “Although we were from Hyrule, once upon a time.”

“I see.” He would have to file the new information away for another time. “Well a bargain is a bargain I suppose.” Standing again he turned to face her and rubbed his chin, resisting the urge to shake the goosebumps starting to form on the back of his neck. After a long pause, he then added, “As for the Malice I’ll tell you what I know. Malice is, how should I put it..Calamity Ganon’s power poisoning the land. You’ve seen those sickly purple piles of goo in Hyrule I take it? What if I told you someone was attempting an experiment that would allow it to be used for other purposes, besides just to kill whatever it touched?”

And that, Aisha realized, explaining quite a bit all by itself. “Ganon, huh.” She looked at her hand, turning it over in consideration. “Makes sense. As for using it for other things, probably, likely even.” Her eyes closed mind now running miles a minute. “Similar, but not the same, corrupts. Probably not that hard to manipulate, if you know how, experiments sound unpleasant though.” Her eyes snapped open again. “And how might you know about such experiments?” She’d leave the question of the rest of that entire statement for another time.

Keenan nodded. “Now you’re getting it. Mankind has a habit of messing with things they shouldn’t unfortunately, and using it to fulfill their unsavory desires.” The blackened veins crawling from the wound on his chest pulsed, as if in agreement to his words. A sardonic smile formed on his lips. Walking ahead of her, he turned his head with a backwards glance in her direction. “As for the rest of your question, why should I spoil it? You’re perceptive, even if you might be an airhead. Figure it out.” Or ask Atara, he didn’t care. “All you need to know from me is that I don’t plan on being a threat to the group, if that’s what you're worried about.” Scanning the area ahead, he turned his back to her. “I’m merely looking for answers on this merry little quest of ours. Look alive miss cloudchaser, we have scouting to do.”

Aisha muttered a curse in her native tongue. “If I had to make a guess on information provided by the deliberately obtuse, you are the unwitting test subject, or the like. I don’t imagine you to be willingly in cahoots with the enemy, purely because I’m fairly certain I would feel that.” She followed more sedately. “Knowledge is, in general, power. And when dealing with the blackest of magics and corruption, that knowledge is doubly important, considering that most people aren’t in tune with this sorts of magics, not knowing is how people get hurt. Or killed.” She called the shadows to her again, wrapping herself in that comfortable cloak. “I already know far to much about one sort of magic that left me with little voices in my head, and a thirst for things I shouldn’t have. A new unknown therefore is going to require investigation.” She sighed. “But, scouting first. Then investigations.”

The former Yiga snorted, rolling his eyes before silently vanishing into a puff of smoke. “Please. As if I’d let some twit make me his lab rat. You should focus on that Gerudo boy instead.”

Then they pressed onwards, undeterred even as the heavens split open above.

Aura Of Twilight
Rapidly, and perhaps rudely, running away from: frecckkles

 

[endersheart]

Atara counted the time from when Keenan and Aisha left until they made their departure. Ten minutes, that meant if anything happened they’d have to hold their own for a few. It also meant they were in enough distance any danger ahead should be cleared. That was the theory, anyway, until they met back up with them.

They were making progress, passing the Wetlands as they went along. She had a momentary excitement that maybe they’d make it to Inogo bridge after all.

The rain overhead had started showering down, no longer the drizzle it was before. She prayed it would help disguise any noises made. Nessa and Saran weren’t exactly built for this environment, they came from the desert, it was more challenging to make so much noise there.

Her point, or fears, were proven as a loud snap was heard throughout the clearing. She turned in the direction of the noise to take in a very pale-faced Nessa. At her feet was a rather large twig that was now snapped in two. Shit, a stomping could be heard coming from the right of where they were. That wasn’t ideal.

The red Moblin burst into the area, letting out a war cry as it did so. Of course, why not make more noise, Atara thought bitterly. Forcing her legs to work she raced towards it, sliding beneath its legs as it swiped at her. It stomped, though she had long cleared it’s leg space, something between throwing a fit and thinking she was still there. They weren’t the brightest creatures.

Pulling her sword out of it’s sheath in one swoop, she cut through the monsters torso. Not as effortlessly as it may have looked to the others, she put all her muscle into that swing. It let out another cry as it fell to the ground, severed in two.

“So,” she commented, “we’re screwed.”

She knew before she heard the cries of more monsters. Two of their best fighters were missing in action and poor little Nessa had just shared their location to the whole horde. “We should move,” she called to the others, “the quicker the better.”​

 

[Hopos]

TW: Gore, idolization of destruction, glorifying blood, body disfiguring, slight anxiety attack

He waltzed alongside Nessa, closer towards the back of the group while some others were scouting far ahead. He didn’t care, whether it was for safety or nothing, all he cared about was keeping his grip tight on his sister's hand.

He looked over to her every now and then to make sure she was ok, prioritizing her health the same as his. He paced himself here and there, but he wouldn’t be lying if he said he enjoyed the rain drops growing heavier upon him. They were nice, cold, refreshing.

Then Suddenly, the peaceful moment broke under Nessa’s foot. A twig snapped in half by the step of his twin, and an ear shattering war cry made him jump out of his skin.

He found himself clutching to his sister-wound bitter on his chest as he squeezed his eyes tight in fear. Immediately, he was taken back to the desert, the situation of being attacked triggering his fears; body put in life threatening danger by the sound of a war cry. He gripped his sister’s pink dress, clawing at it before he heard the thin slice of a sword, a muddied slide, and another screech from the creature.

He still felt paralyzed, but was fortunate to hear these sounds of victory amongst the rain. Was it over? Did someone kill the yiga monster?

As the little Gerudo boy opened his eyes and looked upon the bloodied corpse on the ground, he saw his answer clear as day.

Oh no dear one, this was just the beginning

He froze, his embrace to his sister loosened to nothing. The helpless tugging on her dress, the reassuring grip on her hand, melted from existence. His quivering lip went still, his trembling eyes hazed over.

And the brother who used to be there, was not there anymore.

All he could do was stare. Stare at the marred corpse feet away from him. It laid in two on the ground, torso cut in a nearly perfect diagonal slice. Guts were displayed around stray muscle, a heart was tucked away in an agony of fluids, and the blood-the blood was unlike anything he’d seen before.

It was thick, running red with passion; dripping out every crevice the body had to offer. He found himself stepping towards it, closer-closer..eyes wide and jaw agape as he took in the river of warmth in.

In that moment..it was the most vivid thing he had ever seen. as red as a Wildberry, redder then a sunset of a hot day. It was..beautiful, Glorious. He found with each step he was getting closer and closer and closer and-hotter.

Extremely hot, he didn’t realize it but the scar on his chest was burning-sizzling with anticipation to just-get a better look at that blood. A whiff, a gaze, a taste.

Reaction already far from 'normal', his whole form suddenly underwent extreme shaking tremors. The brown veins along his body, began to blot to a black, the wound on his chest-that was seeping; now dripping with a hot magenta gooey liquid. Each vein inked out, his eyes suddenly ran black with big red irises, and an inhuman screech laugh bellowed from his mouth. He heeled over a new magical aura around him erupting in a red and purple fury.

But on top of all this, what was most present in the now puppet’s mind, was hunger. Hunger for that beauty, that pristine red gold. He needed it-he needed it badly, he shook with a crazed desire to see it all over his hands, to see those guts wrapped around his fingers.

He had to have it, he had to see it, no matter where it came from, no matter who it belonged to, he would tear apart any one's flesh with his bear hands to see what he now perceived to be the most beautiful thing in the world.

As his now red irises shook, he looked up. No one was in his way-and before bothering to look behind, he full on bolted ahead of him to find a life to rip to shreds. He was so laser focused on what was ahead, that the group behind him was nonexistent from his peripheral.

And on top of that, he was fast-faster then he normally would’ve been. Those black veins working wonders for his feet, running like a swift feather as the hot rain pounded against him. Within a few moments the group was already far in the distance.

He was desperate. He had to destroy something beautiful, that was all that mattered now.

...Funny mentions to cure from that
(Nessa) endersheart b y e
(Atara) endersheart 'new skill unlocked' thanks to you teehee
(Aisha/Keenan) Soulmuse Aura Of Twilight I am rapidly approaching your location

 

[endersheart]

Everything was so peaceful, it was a little scary to know they were avoiding monsters, but the rain and this side of Hyrule were nice. Nessa and Saran had been walking hand in hand, making their way with the group. It wasn’t until she stepped on the, rather large, twig, that everything went to the depths.

The Moblin was handled in a very precise mannerism by Atara. Saran clinging to Nessa as the creature was put to rest. She held him, running a hand up and down his back to try to soothe the obvious panic he was in. “Saran, it’s alright.” Or, she hoped it would be. It was very like her to mess things up.

She tried to remain calm, it was just one monster this time. One monster was easily defeated. When she heard the cries in the distance her nerves peaked, tugging on her brother's hand. “We need to go,” she told him, finally taking in his expression. It was a stark contrast from how he’d just been moments ago, to now.

He released her and she hesitated. “Saran..” he had started making steps forward, eyes never wavering from the monster. Time seemed to pass, a complete eerie silence. The quivering was enough to jolt her, her feet finally moving to reach him. She came to another abrupt halt as he started to change, hand coming up to cover her mouth, eyes widening at the sight. She felt sick. This wasn’t Saran, it was far from it.

The laugh that erupted from him had her reeling back, covering her ears and shutting her eyes. What was even happening? She didn’t bother to ask aloud, no one knew. When she opened her eyes, Saran had taken off. She turned in time to see him heading in the direction they were supposed to be going, towards Aisha and Keenan. “Saran!” This time she forced her feet to work, running towards wherever he was heading too. She didn’t get far, Atara appearing in front of her and grabbing her shoulders to lightly push her back while simultaneously holding her steady.

“You are not going after him.”

“I have to, he’s my brother!”

“Did you see him, Nessa? That is not your brother and you are not going to risk your life. Aisha and Keenan are up ahead, they won’t let any harm come to him. We have to worry about ourselves.”

Atara failed to mention she was way more worried about them handling Saran without getting hurt themselves. It was unimportant. Like she said, they had to worry about their current predicament.

As if on cue, a Bokoblin had launched itself at the two of them. Saran had spent enough time that getting out of here was no longer optional. They’d have to hold their own for now.

Swinging her sword up, Atara parried the oncoming attack. Pushing the monster back and surging forward to deliver a blow into its chest. It fell back with a cry, roots sprouting around it and dragging it into the Earth. She glanced back at Nessa, who nodded, arms raised from the attack she had just accomplished.

Very well, then. They were doing this.​

 

[Soulmuse]

Two things happened in succession. First, in the distance, Aisha could just hear the sound of something snapping. That alone wouldn’t be that unusual, after all monsters were big, and stupid and tended to break things. But, the area had been quiet so far, and frankly that didn’t sit well with her either.

Second, and predictably, the sounds of monsters moving back towards the sound could be heard, including a bellowing warcry. Aisha spat a curse, drawing an arrow as she turned on her heel. While she couldn’t ‘feel’ monsters per se, she didn’t need any magical senses to know that things were going to get out of hand, especially when a Bokoblin came barreling out of the woods nearby doubtlessly attracted to the warcry, and Aisha realized that perhaps they’d made a slight but significant error. She and Keenan passed without trace when they weren’t arguing which meant they didn’t’ tend to attract monsters.

Her arrowed loosed, driving itself into the Bokoblin’s forehead with enough force to land it flat on it’s back as it died. Her next arrow knocked; Aisha turned to speak into the ether. “Keenan we need-“ And then she felt.

Even in the distance, having tasted it before, Aisha could feel the spike in Malice. Her fingers curled tighter around her bow, as that feeling that sensation started to move, and a horrifying sound came from behind them. The whisper in her mind started up again. The promises, the temptation, the feelings, but more importantly, the fear. The little voice in her head that pointed out she wasn’t a fighter. A frail, hiding Twili with a bow and delusions of herself, fighting against someone empowered by Ganon itself. She would need that magic, the voice told her. She would need to-

With a shake of her head, Aisha banished those thoughts. She couldn’t think about those things. “Keenan! We need to get back!” And, without waiting, she started to running. Corruption, Aisha knew very well, festered the longer it were left to sit, and if she could feel the Malice all the way out here, even if just because of her own…proclivities, she knew full well that it would be doing terrible things to Saran. Things that needed to be stopped, and from what she knew, Atara probably didn’t have the magical skillset to undo it. Probably. Problems to be solved later, even if later was-

Later was coming closer. Later wouldn’t be later, later would be now and now meant confronting fear and fear meant temptation and that meant-

That, Aisha told herself, meant that she needed to not panic. Panic let in the intrusive thoughts, and even years later, Aisha knew herself. Intrusive thoughts won. With the feeling of Saran coming closer, faster, Aisha slowed, pulling yet more shadows to herself, preparing to used them to weave whatever spells she might need. There was not much time before Saran, or whatever now controlled him, would find them, and the racing heart wouldn’t make her shoot any better, or let her cast spells in a hurry.

Help....please? Aura Of Twilight
Did not prepare a welcome Hopos

 

[Aura Of Twilight]

Keenan
​

Keenan was annoyed (again), the silence that followed his brief spat with Aisha doing little to settle his nerves. His new companions were effortlessly able to remind him of his past simply by existing, his regret of ever allowing Impa to convince him that there was still a flicker of hope for his damned soul growing with every passing day. That, combined with a series of unfortunate events seemingly designed to make it impossible for him to not attract someone’s curiosity, was seriously making him consider evoking the wrath of a bunch of cuccos to end his suffering. It’s not like he’d be able to feel anything as they—

He shook his head. By Ganon he really was unraveling at the seams, perhaps from living like a hermit for so long. Keep it together and quit complaining Keenan, you’ve been through worse.

That being said, his head was seriously beginning to hurt, more so than usual. It was a deep, pulsing pain enough to make his head explode. The black veins on his chest were squirming, as if reaching out for something. It was familiar, as if—

Damn it all.

A twig snapped, the forest now eerily quiet. Then, all hell broke loose.

A monster roared, and from deep in the forest Keenan heard the faint rallying cry of dozens of its brethren answer the call. Feeling breathless, the ex Yiga narrowly avoided a lizaflos charging forth with its rusty spear. It didn’t appear to be after him though, which was strange. He jumped backwards, grabbing a kunai from his bag to throw, only to stop when he noticed the beast had frozen too, large eyes looking at him in apparent confusion.

“What’s with you bug eyes, suddenly remember your manners?” Keenan taunted, almost surprised at how breathless he sounded. Was the pain really affecting him that much? He gritted his teeth.

That seemed to knock the lisaflos out of whatever trance it was in. With a shake of its large scaly head the monster jumped into the air, letting out a cry as it attempted to impale him. He easily dodged it, and with a quick swing of his katana, cut the monster in two before its body even hit the ground.

What in Ganon’s name is happening? An ambush or something else? He heard Aisha say something, but her words were lost as the blood roared in his ears. The hair was beginning to rise on the back of his neck, a unintelligible whisper now present in his head. He felt dizzy, almost like when he first came across Saran.

Aisha’s invisibility spell was flickering, revealing the archer looking worse for wear just like before. The presence of malice in the air was even stronger and he could tell she was struggling under its weight. Even so her face was set in determination. She stared at him, shouting, “Keenan! We need to get back!”

Back? Back there of all places? Was she crazy?

Before he could voice any of his thoughts the Archer had already left him in the dust. Keenan cursed, finally letting his body fall against a tree as the world became a blur of color. He had to close his eyes, attempting to gather his bearings.

One, two, three, four…One, two, three..

As he kept repeating the mantra his thoughts became clearer, allowing him to stay anchored despite the pain. He had known Saran would be a ticking time bomb from the moment they had met but he had completely underestimated just how bad it would be. On the other hand, perhaps his mind had forced him to forget…

Whatever the case, he was between a rock and a hard place. He wanted to run far away from this place, yet the thought of malice taking more lives made him hesitate. But what could he do? The pain alone made him want to pass out.

His hand wrapped around the amulet hanging around his neck. It felt surprisingly warm, refreshing almost, like a pleasant spring breeze. After a few moments he noticed the pain had faded to a dull ache, the black veins no longer squirming on his skin. He opened his eyes, examining the thinly cut stone more closely. He could’ve sworn it was glowing, but the storm made it hard to say for sure.

The sound of huge footsteps hitting the earth nearby brought him back to focus. Thundered rumbled as trees and monsters both were torn apart; a tall humanoid being casting them aside like broken toys as it mindlessly rampaged through whatever was in front of it. Lightning flashed, revealing a familiar figure in the chaos.

Though the corruption had already began warping his body, it was undoubtedly Saran, his normally smooth brown skin marred by black veins. His hair had grown in length and he looked taller than the ex-assassin remembered, golden eyes now running black with bright red pupils. Malice poured out of the gooey wound on his chest, the very air surrounding him swirling with dark tendrils of magic reaching out to corrupt whatever it touched. An inhuman screech like laugh came from his throat, further proving that “Saran” was no longer present. Aisha had now reached him close enough to attack, her movements suggesting she was searching for non-fatal weakpoints.

Something dark, primal was in control, a monster that was now awake.

Brief snippets of memories flashed before Keenan’s eyes like a dam bursting apart.

A thirteen year old screamed as a cloaked figure chanted, arms raised in a heavenly prayer even as the child’s eyes rolled into the back of his head

A molduga with its head bashed in, fins ripped viciously from its already torn apart body.

“W-w-what did I do Master K-kogha?” A boy cries, trembling. The walls are coated with a dark liquid that looks suspiciously like blood. Though his elder’s face is covered by a mask, the long pause that follows shows how disturbed the yiga really is. “Easy…easy now, Azzy. It’ll be ok…” He mumbles, awkwardly pulling the child into a hug even though everything’s changed.

A feeling of terror as his body twists beyond his control, a laugh that clearly isn’t his coming out of his mouth before everything goes black.

A tall man, gold eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Oddly, Keenan somehow managed to keep himself calm. The amulet felt heavy on his chest, warm as it pushed the feelings of terror aside.

Though his child self continued to whimper in his head, he remained focused on the boy in front of him. He couldn’t let it happen again.

His hands moved, summoning a small amount of shadow clones. He ran to Aisha’s side, katana firmly in hand.

“I know puberty can be a pain in the arse but this is just ridiculous.” He muttered, still looking at firmly at Saran. A thought popped in his head. “Hey, cloudchaser. Can you cover me?” He asked, gesturing at the monsters running around. Though they seemed focused on attacking Atara and co he had to be careful, or else things could get dicy. “There must be some way to snap the kid out of this.”

Aisha’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you actually have a plan, or is that too much to ask?”

“There’s no time to make one. We’ll just have to play by ear. Unless you have other ideas?”

“That doesn’t even—” She shook her head with a resigned sigh. “I can try to slow them down but that’s it. You better hurry, I’m not sure how long I can endure this.”

Keenan nodded. “A distraction is all I need.”

“Saran, can you hear me in there?” He asked, stepping a few feet forwards. “I don’t really know you kid, but something tells me you’re not normally like this.” He studied the creature’s face, hoping for some sort of recognition in its face. He had to resist the urge to shiver as his eyes met hungry red pupils. “You must be absolutely terrified right now.” He stated, voice soft. “And that wound must hurt like hell. It’s almost overwhelming, isn’t it?” Believe me kid, I know. A growl rumbled from Saran’s throat, but whether that was a positive or negative response Keenan had no clue. “But you need to stop this, stop before you seriously hurt someone. Saran—”

Then the beast laughed, lunging at him so fast that Keenan was barely able to roll out of the way in time. Saran’s fist hit the ground, the earth cracking beneath it in the exact spot the ex-Yiga had been seconds prior. He whistled. “I guess that’s a no then?” Not that he was surprised, it was painfully obvious that the malice was the one in control. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, adding, “Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

Saran lunged again. Dodging, Keenan directed his clones into repelling the assault, offering him just enough time to land on a tree limb to think. His thoughts raced. What could he do to stop this? At the rate that things were going, either his companions were going to die or he too would succumb to the malice, his energy finally spent. He wasn’t sure how long the boy’s rampage would continue either.

The whispering was growing louder, it was either now or never.

On one hand, he could kill the monster and end Saran’s suffering. That would probably be the easiest solution, but he wasn’t fond of the idea of killing an innocent child, especially one with a sibling to look after that would be left all alone. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle the haunted look in Nessa’s eyes…

That left only one solution, somehow immobilize the kid. The malice hadn’t fully covered his body yet so maybe if he hit at the right angle…

I don’t wanna be a monster.

There was no more time. Keenan jumped back down, landing amongst his shadow clones. With a flick of his wrist, he tasked them to aim for Saran’s pressure points. That seemed to only antagonize the malice, as Saran’s attacks became faster.

His clones were hitting the right places but it wasn’t enough. Praying, Keenan teleported behind Saran and pinched the nerves in the middle of his neck.

The gerudo boy swayed, screeching before he hit the ground with a thud. Already the malice was beginning to recede, albeit slowly, pink goo leaking from the open wound. When his body had returned to its normal size, Keenan approached him to inspect his prone body. Satisfied, the former yiga sighed in relief. “That was too close.”

Just as he began to pick Saran up Keenan felt something pierce his back. Looking down, he noticed the thin spear point sticking out, just inches from being under his shoulder. He blinked. “Huh.” There was no pain, just the numb sensation of something that didn’t belong in his body.

He turned, making the moblin that had attacked him jump in surprise. “Now why did you go and do something like that pig face? I’ll have you know it’s going to take ages to wash the blood off this cloak.”

Something akin to terror appeared in the moblin’s face and it let out a human like scream, turning into bubbled garbles as its throat was cut.

As it crumbled to the ground Keenan turned to look at the others, wiping monster blood off his cheek. “Everyone alright? I’m not going to ask who stepped on the twig, we have a den of monsters to worry about.”

Hopos endersheart Soulmuse + anyone else present that I didn't mention. Keenan's ok. Probably.

 

[Takumi98]

Grima and Uriah​

Atara glanced at Uriah who had followed beside her when she left Grima. “Valen? No, I’m sure he’ll be..” she hesitated. There was no denying the large horse could be a potential problem with them trying to sneak about, still, “he’ll be of help, what if we need to get you kids out of here quickly? I can’t think of a horse better for the job.” She grinned at Uriah reassuringly.

“That’s hypothetical, of course, not that I think we’ll actually get into any trouble.”

Uriah's eyes lit up as she smiled up at Atara, rocking on her heels as a feeling of relief washed over her that her dear steed would not mess up their plans.

“He's a real smart horse, and he kicks hard too, so no monsters will stand a chance.” She replied.

Atara peeked at Uriah, giving her a gentle smile, “you had something to show them, didn’t you?”

“Yup!” She chirped, stepping forward and holding out her cupped hands before, “tada! A frog!” Opening them and revealing a little frog sitting in her palms. It croaked softly and blinked. She'd make sure that the little guy was put back where she found it before the group moved on, but she at least wanted the twins to see it so they knew what a frog looked like.

Her point, or fears, were proven as a loud snap was heard throughout the clearing. She turned in the direction of the noise to take in a very pale-faced Nessa. At her feet was a rather large twig that was now snapped in two. Shit, a stomping could be heard coming from the right of where they were. That wasn’t ideal.

The red Moblin burst into the area, letting out a war cry as it did so. Of course, why not make more noise, Atara thought bitterly. Forcing her legs to work she raced towards it, sliding beneath its legs as it swiped at her. It stomped, though she had long cleared it’s leg space, something between throwing a fit and thinking she was still there. They weren’t the brightest creatures.

Pulling her sword out of it’s sheath in one swoop, she cut through the monsters torso. Not as effortlessly as it may have looked to the others, she put all her muscle into that swing. It let out another cry as it fell to the ground, severed in two.

“So,” she commented, “we’re screwed.”

She knew before she heard the cries of more monsters. Two of their best fighters were missing in action and poor little Nessa had just shared their location to the whole horde. “We should move,” she called to the others, “the quicker the better.”

Uriah's hand went to B's sword hilt, pulling her spirit companion's physical form from the sheath at the sound of the Moblin's approach. Valen, her trusty steed who had been walking beside her as they moved along made a nervous snort, pawing at the ground as his ears flattened at the sudden noise from the snapped twig and the following defeat of the red Moblin.

Uriah's hazel gaze swept the area, one hand placed on Valen to calm the horse while the other held her sword companion at the ready. She did nothing more than spare a glance at the dead creature, more so because the sight made her a bit queasy.

Grima was only a few feet away so far, sword in hand and keeping an eye out for more of their foes when–

Saran's almost sudden violent shaking and change in appearance, along with the loud cackle before rushing forward at speeds neither Sheikah or Hylian thought were possible caught both Grima and Uriah by surprise.

Faltering in her step a moment as her gaze snapped to Saran as he ran off, Uriah's wide eyes stared at where he was a moment ago.

The laugh that erupted from him had her reeling back, covering her ears and shutting her eyes. What was even happening? She didn’t bother to ask aloud, no one knew. When she opened her eyes, Saran had taken off. She turned in time to see him heading in the direction they were supposed to be going, towards Aisha and Keenan. “Saran!” This time she forced her feet to work, running towards wherever he was heading too. She didn’t get far, Atara appearing in front of her and grabbing her shoulders to lightly push her back while simultaneously holding her steady.

“You are not going after him.”

“I have to, he’s my brother!”

“Did you see him, Nessa? That is not your brother and you are not going to risk your life. Aisha and Keenan are up ahead, they won’t let any harm come to him. We have to worry about ourselves.”

Atara failed to mention she was way more worried about them handling Saran without getting hurt themselves. It was unimportant. Like she said, they had to worry about their current predicament.

As if on cue, a Bokoblin had launched itself at the two of them. Saran had spent enough time that getting out of here was no longer optional. They’d have to hold their own for now.

Swinging her sword up, Atara parried the oncoming attack. Pushing the monster back and surging forward to deliver a blow into its chest. It fell back with a cry, roots sprouting around it and dragging it into the Earth. She glanced back at Nessa, who nodded, arms raised from the attack she had just accomplished.

Very well, then. They were doing this.

Blinking, Uriah sucked in a breath and moved from her frozen flabbergasted state to go near Nessa with sword in hand, a flash of worry in her eyes as she silently asked ‘are you okay?’ with a look she hoped her new friend understood. Hopefully Aisha and Keenan would handle it like Atara said.

A Bokoblin jumped out at her right as she was reaching her friend, causing her to turn and block the weapon with B's physical form almost a second too slow. Her jaw clenched and her brows furrowed as she pushed the Bokoblin back with a grunt and tightening her grip on the sword hilt, thrust the faintly glowing sword forward as the Bokoblin lifted it's arm once more to bring it's blow down, and with a slight turn and gritted teeth cut the beast in two.

She looked away and towards Nessa then to avoid looking at the mess made. She could hear the death cries of another Bokoblin, and a quick glance saw Grima pulling his own blade out of the monster that made the noise.

“You alright?” She asked her new friend as her gaze went back to the young Gerudo, lifting her sword companion's form at the ready for any other attacks.

Interactions: Atara and Nessa ( endersheart ), Saran ( Hopos )

Mentioned: Bemere ( frecckkles ), Trill ( CyberJackal ), B ( Karcen ), Adagio ( Naburius ), Keenan ( Aura Of Twilight ), Aisha ( Soulmuse )

 

[endersheart]

Atara let out a gentle laugh at the girl. She was certain they would be just fine, Valen included. The bad feeling she’d had prior be damned. She stepped out of the way when Uriah went to show the twins the frog she had caught. Not wanting to intrude since she’d seen them before.

Nessa squealed at the sight, hiding behind her brother. She wasn’t certain what she’d expected, having read about them in books, but it wasn’t this. The critter was a bit strange to the eye, one might say odd-looking. “It’s..” since Uriah was enraptured with the creatures, she felt she should be too, “it’s cute!”

She stepped out from behind her brother and approached Uriah, getting a more up-close look at the frog. It wasn’t what she would consider cute; like Peppa and Saline. It was its own sort of thing entirely. “Thanks for bringing him over here to show us,” she whispered, “I didn’t think I’d meet a frog so soon.”

—

**present**

Uriah was a welcome distraction, one Nessa couldn’t focus on too much no matter how much she’d like to forget what was happening. “I’m okay,” she breathed, “just.. worried.” Understandable, considering the circumstances surrounding her brother.

She sunk another monster into the ground, the vines that wrapped around it likely crushing it before it even went under. Nessa met Uriah’s eyes then, giving the other girl a smile, “thanks for checking on me, even with all this going on.”

—

There was a large gash on the Sheikah’s thigh, received at some point by a Lizalfos during the battle. Everything had become a bit of a blur. Atara was convinced the stinging sensation was the only thing keeping her from checking out.

Another Lizalfos sprinted towards her, calculating little beasties. She jumped back as it swung, just missing the end of its blade, and then rushed forward to take it down. She ignored the way her wound screamed at her for such quick-paced movement.

She tried to manage a quick look at the girls to make sure they were alright. An underestimation on her part, the sharp edge of a blade slicing through her mid-back. A hissed breath left her lips, turning just in time to see the Bokoblin realize its success wasn’t worth celebrating. Her sword went clean through its neck, prickles of pain spreading along her back.

A high-pitched, frightened scream met her ears. Her gaze snapping in the direction of the noise to be met with Nessa and Uriah struggling to ward off a swarm of monsters. A lizalfos, black in color, had leapt at the redheaded girl, while another was aiming to hit her side while she was distracted.

She couldn’t make it to them, not when the monsters in question were the quickest ones. As muddled as her mental state was, she could feel the storm above. Feel the magic in her trying to connect with it. She focused, pinpointing the waves of energy surging through the sky. There, the air crackled and she flinched, even when it became increasingly suffocating she continued to tap into the electricity.

And as if she’d never really lost it at all, lightning fell from the sky. The electricity struck the ground around wherever the girls weren’t. The cries of monsters sounded, the magic going out farther than she’d anticipated. Surrounding the girls and creating a wave effect. It’d be wise for her to control it, for her to learn how to control it.

When it passed, the fatigue that washed over her almost made her fall over. Just managing to catch herself before she bit it. The wounds on her back and thigh somehow seemed to be even more painful. Her nerves were completely offset.

It would be a great time for Saran and the other two to show up: normal and not like he was when they last saw him.

—

Nessa had been so preoccupied with Uriah she didn’t notice the creatures creeping up on them until the Lizalfos jumped, a surprised screech left her lips, spear grasped from its carrier on her back. She wasn’t prepared for the moment lightning reached the ground, somehow missing exactly where her and Uriah stood, yet reaching everywhere else. Out of concern, she grabbed Uriah and pulled her closer. The closer they stood together, the less likely they were to be fried, she presumed.

She tried to block out the noises that came from the monsters, simply not interested in delving into how electrocution felt. It was over quicker than she realized, her grasp on Uriah loosening once the noise faded and all that was left was an occasional static. “Are you alright?” She asked the Hylian. Once she’d thoroughly checked over her and made sure she was, in fact, alive and well, her eyes fell onto Atara. The Sheikah’s eyes were fading from waves of gold back to their regular emerald, white hair frizzy from the magic she had just unleashed.

“You..” came Nessa’s voice, “you could do that this whole time!?!”​

 

[Soulmuse]

Watching Keenan charge towards the obviously corrupting Saran only made Aisha curse further. This close to the local source of Malice, she could taste the power in the air, feel it gnaw at her already flagging self-control, beg for just the slimmest bit of her self-control to give up.\. The monsters swarming towards them, drawn by the scent of it no doubt, didn’t help.

Leaving Keenan to go deal with Saran, Aisha turned her attention to the horde. She could worry about his lack of a plan later. The first arrow struck a Lizalfos in the throat, the second a Moblin’s eye. But even as the third went flying, Aisha could tell that arrows werne’t going to cut it, as all her usual advantages were gone, forced in a straight fight by the need to protect Keenan and Saran. Or, in the absolute worst case scenario, fight them.

As Aisha fired two more arrows, one miss, one hitting, she let her mind run out the best way to handle the problem. Monsters were in the end creatures of instinct, and that meant exploitable weakness, mostly involving built in reactions to things that caused fear, since Monsters weren’t always bright enough to understand things like rain stopping fire.

Letting the next arrow fly, Aisha swept a hand, a rapid-fire chanting. The nagging voice pointed out, helpfully, that if she changed two syllables, it would conjure actual flame, and wouldn’t hearing the monster scream be fun. Fun, and profitable because her companions needed that space, and-

They shrieked plenty as the wall of illusory flame rippled between Keenan and Saran’s scuffle, and Aisha and the monsters. However, distracted by her spell, only instinct saved Aisha from a Bokolin’s club, and this time, the spell that left her lips did not play kindly. Short, simple. Her own shadow roiled, and erupted in spikes, and two more Bokoblins met their end, including the one that got close enough to taste the idea of hitting her.

The internal giggling grew stronger, now given it’s first taste of blood. Aisha could taste her own blood on her tongue, bitten in the hurry of casting. Vaguely, her disguise started to fail, her original skin color fading through, doubtless her hair a horrifying muddled brown-red, and from the way the advancing monsters hesitated, doubtless she cut a confusing sight.

“I…” Even her voice sounded garbled, or maybe that would have been the pounding blood in her ears, her own magic, the temptations, the Malice all blending into a single cacophonous monologue that threatened to drown out hearing itself. It was this way, always, if she gave her magic a taste of it’s potential. T

Not for the first time, Aisha wondered how this even worked. She didn’t have a Fused Shadow, or even any other direct conduit to that foul magic that got them banished in the first place. Why then, did she have the damned whispers, why did she want-

Her fingers closed. The Lizalfos didn’t make any noise, but she could see the horror, the confusion on it, and its companions’, faces as the shadows beneath their feet strangled them. Most would call it survival instinct.

“I am-“ Losing. If nothing else, her little displays brought the monsters to her, but Aisha could also see that wouldn’t help much. Keenan and Saran were still fighting, Aisha idn’t have a clue about the others, and she had herself a small horde of monsters, to fight with a Bow, and Magic that kept eating away at her sanity.

The little voice pointed out, ever the helper, that it would take only a couple spells to remove the monsters. Aisha knew them after all, she’d even used them- She’d also been thrown out of her home for doing it, and probably would attract the eye of a Goddess to smite her dead. An arrow from somewhere grazed her shoulder. Dancing away from a spear, got her knicked by a sword, and a club nearly flattened her, and would have, if Aisha didn’t weave herself the illusions to bend the light around herself in time. Two more arrows sliced her check, and the blood pooled with sweat at her lips.

She could not win. Would not win. There didn’t need to be a voice to tell her that. Twili were not physical combatants, never were, magic was their weapon, and the shadows. And now, well, she had magic, didn’t see, she had shadows, why was she fighting like a Hylian she was not, she was a Twili and-

Just as the first time she tapped those dark places, it could be considered an out of body experience, the feeling of letting go. Watching yourself in greyscale from the darkness around you, and also seeing and feeling every little action. Every tattoo on her body glowed bright enough to overwhelm the illusions protecting them, and the monsters circled out wide, wary but sensing the advantage. Half a dozen stationary, illusory Aishas appeared, each wavering just slightly. Enough to distracted as these spells took focus, and effort.

One of her old teachers claimed that the best way to win a confrontation involved making the enemy deal with themselves, or someone else to win the fight. He’d meant it in the sense of Princess Minda using the Hero of Twilight, of course, but Aisha figured it applied here. Why fight herself, when her enemies’ shadows could do it for her.

Her illusions shattered, one after another, as did Keenan’s clones behind her. Then, Aisha’s own illusion finally gave up, her focus and energy changing and the new spell casting a few seconds to sink into the world. The Lizalfos nearest her lunged, and in the greyscale world, Aisha willed the shadows to dance. The monster’s eyes widneed in surprise as it tripped, the blade rising from the shadow it casdt to drive through it’s throat. Her hand swept outwards, and darkness roiled, swallowing up their foes one after another after another and with gargling shrieks and screamed those monsters ceased to struggle. The exhilaration lasted a few moments longer, then the cold set in, and the feeling of living returned to normal.

Turning she could see Saran collapsing into Keenan’s chest. Her fingers rose, still deeply cognizant of the shadows and the world around her. The storm and suffering meant that she could feel far more through then, and the surging magic in distance suggested Atara or one of the others. Throwing a hand in that general direction, Aisha focused hard. An easy trick in the Twilight Realm, to use the shadows to talk and communicate, but out in Hyrule she’d never tried. Before she culd figure it out, a Moblin charged from the trees, driving it’s spear into Keenan’s shoulder. While the man himself didn’t seem bothered, Aisha let the instinctive feeling go ahead.

The Moblin’s throat sliced in a single toss of a knife of pure shadows, her eyes running over het other two, then herself.

Aisha could see her tattoos still blazing a brilliant array of colors, even with her appearance restored. But, the malicious aura no longer threatened to eat her alive, and she could properly appreciate how tired she felt, and other realizations. Gathering her effort again, she reached out, this time finding it a bit easier to build the path through the shadows and magic. Finding Atara took a moment longer, and Aisha’s eyes closed, nd the out of body feeling returned, as she rebuilt the image of ‘herself’ out of something nearby to them.

“We found Saran.” Her voice would probably would echoey and distant, but it would have to do. “Keenan did….something.” One eye opened, fixed on Keenan. “What did you do?”

Without waiting for an answer she forged on. “Probably safe for now. About five minutes ahead of you on the trail, and –“ Whatever else she wanted to say, the sudden effort of using magic in ways she hadn’t for years, of self control, and of being overcame her, and the spell shattered, and Aisha doubled over, dry heaving and coughing up blood and bile into the dirt, eventually collapsing on her side, merely a Twili for hte first time ina long while.

@ I think everyone in on way or another?