Here I Stand [HUMAN LEADER/LIEUTENANTS]

[SERAPHINA HERODOR]

Despite her general dislike of water, Seraphina had to admire Lake Hylia, even she had to admire its serene beauty. Wind caused waves to lap at rockfaces, lake-spray shimmering up as larger eddies washed against the cliff-faces lower down. Seraphina smiled, turning, waiting for her most senior charges. Seayn. Jin. Remis. Her Gentry. Representatives of humanity all. And they were meeting here to potentially decide the direction for their people, or at least, to decide how best to guide them through this complete mess that was being forced upon them all.

It was a fairly windy day today. Such was the tranquility of the place that Seraphina actually noticed such trivialities for once. And immediately, her mind started whirring. How to harness this natural energy. And the river? How to harness the might that was hidden within moving water? Ideas unbound, flowed through her mind, like the great river she sought to utilise, without form, but with purpose. So many ideas, so little time...

Her train of thought continued to plow through countless different avenues, stopping for but a few moments at different solutions. She put it out of her mind for the moment, making a mental note to resume her internal debate later. For now, she had to focus on the meeting in hand. They were due to arrive any time now...

[Seayn]

Seayn wasn't good at appreciating the serenity of nature that he traversed through. The Human Champion Seraphina had called him for a meeting with the other two Gentry as well. He had decided to wear his armor rather than formal attire. It did look rather official but he didn't quite seem to have enough elaborate detail or any enamel. He felt woefully under-prepared to deal with her, although from what he had heard of her, she was very like the element she controlled. Seayn ran a hand through his hair as thoughts ran through his mind of possible outcomes of the meeting today. The young man was rather unnerved by meeting someone that was apparently so powerful. He wondered when the others would arrive, he'd made sure that he would show up on time, having spent the day attempting to fish, although that was a complete failure.

The knight was ready to learn a bit more about the direction they would be taking. Seayn would have to bring up the fact that giants and monsters seemed to roam the land nearly unchecked. He could only imagine what would have happened if the dragon, himself, and the other two humanoids hadn't been there to deflect the slaughter of Odium. His attempts to stop General Onox had failed miserably unfortunately but he planned on never letting such things happen again. Seayn could spot Seraphina from quite a distance, sparkling red hair on top of a small woman wearing a leather and some kind of mechanical-looking accessories. He wasn't quite sure how to greet her so he only slightly waved, attempting to catch her attention. The young man felt some anxiety, wondering if the rumors about this woman were true.

[Jin Reno]

Jin walked along the edge of the water, his large shield on his back and his bucklers on his arms. Just like Seayn, he had come in full gear for the meeting, finding it better then arriving in fancy clothes. He had heard nothing of the Human Champion, though he never really knew who to ask. However, the entire idea of meeting someone who was so powerful within the human community was more then exciting, and Jin had came to Lake Hylia right away. He got a little distracted though near the bank of the river at one point. It slowed him down, and with Lisa on hand he let the little turtle swim in the shallow water for a moment, watching her chase after a guppy or two.

It took a moment for him to remember why he was here though, and after picking up the victorious tortoise from the water. After she was done eating her fish and he had dried her off, Jin put the tiny tortoise back on his head and walked along the bank more. From where he was, he could see two people. One was standing and had bright hair, and the other was walking toward her waving. It was time to meet the woman, and he couldn't wait! Jin knew the other man, meeting him one night at Ordon Spring during the late hours of the day.

Jin ran the last bit of distance between the group, holding Lisa against his head as he arrived. Taking a deep breathing and smiling, Jin bowed his head a bit toward Seraphina before put Lisa back onto his head. "Hello! I am Jin! Nice to meet you finally!" Jin said happily.

[SERAPHINA HERODOR]

Seraphina turned, smiling at the armour-clad human. Seayn, she assumed, from the small gesture. She waved back vibrantly, entirely at odds with her role here, before turning in the opposite direction to address another. Jin. She smiled, before watching him run and make his introduction. She frowned inwardly at Remis' absence, but realised he was probably busy. She had sent the invitation anyway, in the hopes he would turn up.

[red]Well, it's great to meet you both finally. I've been somewhat pre-occupied of late. Mountain laboratories don't build themselves you know![/red]

She grinned, before stepping backward, the three forming a loose triangle, smile still upon her face for a minute before she turned to business.

[red]So, I want to first ask you, how are your charges? I hope the recent month or so haven't weathered upon them too heavily, but I fear that it may be the case. I'm slightly out of touch, and I need to catch up. So, fill me in guys. What's happening in your neck of the woods? I need to know, so that ignorant fop Dreysir doesn't attempt to hang us all out to dry, accusing us of being 'blind to our peoples wishes'.[/red]

She frowned at the memory. Inwardly, she still seethed at the nerve he displayed. Cantankerous old fool... Her hair flickered slightly at the thought, mirroring her slight irritation, as her eyes burned in their sockets, controlled, but ever alight with her inner fire.

[Seayn]

Seayn was a bit confused by Seraphina's energetic wave. She didn't seem as dangerous as a wildfire at all right now. As a matter of fact, the young man thought she seemed downright friendly. He nodded in Jin's direction, acknowledging the fact that he had seen him and knew him. Then the young woman turned to business and it became apparent that she was very like the element that she had an affinity for. The brief display of flickering flames was enough to keep him actively trying to stay off of her bad side. Fire was scary. Seayn scratched his chin, glancing at Jin before starting in on his report first.

"Well. I suppose the first thing is first. I met an enormous armored man or humanoid named Onox, his title being the Dark General. Despite the best efforts of myself a few other individuals he managed to obtain a relic from some decrepit temple in the Faron Woods. I believe he called it the Rod of Seasons. He seemed fairly malevolent from what I managed to ween from him during the battle. I would like to check into that yet I'm not completely sure how to since I've heard no rumors of a titanic armored being since then. Err, sorry. I kinda didn't address your question. Well Seraphina, other than a monster attack in Hyrule Castle Town and the encounter with Onox, I've heard of a few other monster attacks, so there's a bit of unrest. People get scared when they hear stories of battles between monstrous dragons and giant floating eye balls in a quaint minish village. It seems that things, possibly ancient and powerful, are being stirred up. Most of these things are just rumors to me though, I have no reason to believe or doubt the sources."

Seayn shrugged, having spewed all of the information he had at one time. Out of the three of them, he assumed that Seraphina, was the most experienced and would have the best plan for dealing with the events that were happening so often now. The young man glanced at Jin again, hoping that he wouldn't have similar news and that he had simply been unfortunate when encountering such things.

[Jin Reno]

Jin smiled as he listened to what the woman had to say, wanting to interject a bit, but he held his tongue. He figured he would wait till it was his turn to speak, mostly because he figured that it would be disrespectful to interrupt. A Mountain Lab reminded him of the first time he had met with Remis. So she was working on building something similar to what he and Remis had found. However, when she asked about their charges, Jin blinked, not too sure what she was talking about. He had a feeling that he might of been forsaking his duties a bit.

He next listened to what Seayn had to say, and he actually could connect the different things that his friend had to deal with to what he had to deal with. Strangely enough, things seemed to actually be too similar, which worried him now. A strange person, a mystical object, and then the appearance of a monster. This much happening... it couldn't be some simple coincidence.

Jin let out a sigh and sat on the ground, putting Lisa and his mini deku plant Sasha onto the ground in front of him. "Sadly, my situation is similar to Seayn's. I was traveling the Outlying Islands when I encountered two Witches, one with the power of ice and the other fire. They where randomly using their powers, but with the help of the Gerudo King, we claimed them down, calling him their great great grandson. We helped them find the Fountain of Youth, but it seemed like it was only a part of their plan, for they also left with some artifact sword. I think they called themselves when they fused Twinrova. After that the weird light happened, part of the City in the Sky fell to the ocean."

Petting the little tortoise, Jin looked up at the two and continued to speak, "Next, when visiting Ordona, I fought against this strange monstrosity that was made from scrap metal, dark clouds, and bones. With the help of a dragon called Night, a beautiful Fairy woman, and a strange colored woman from the shadows, we defeated it and saved the village from any harm. We seem to have an increasing number of problems... like from the defeated scrap beast, a shard came from it, though it took on new life."

"I think Hyrule is about to fall into a bad darkness... we might need to form an alliance..." Jin said sadly, not wanting to see the land he had began to learn more about fall to despair.

[REMIS DE'VIR]

Remis awoke without much concern for what time of day it was, mainly because he had forgotten where he was. The underground bunker he had made his nice cozy home for the night in had been extremely comfortable to sleep in- and to top it all off, he had no idea what time it was. It was nice, not panicking about when he had to be somewhere or what great leader he needed to meet about important mat-

And then Remis gained concerned very quickly. The alchemist shot out of his bed (it disintegrated as he got out- he loved being able to be so ecologically friendly about his sciences). Of all days, today was most definitely the day he needed to meet with Seraphina Herodoor- the Champion of the humans and a fellow scholar- at least in Remis' mind. While he did appreciate being granted full access to wherever he pleased on the simple premise of being a human noble, it was quite annoying to attend all the formal responsibilities that came with the title. What could be so urgent that it required him to deviate from studying the art of making a self-powering light-source?! Bah.

Fully dressed, Remis looked quite spiffy in his oversized green overcoat and golden charms. The man knelt down and put his hands to the ground. The ground above him opened up, and the stone below him lifted him up on a pillar. The charms glowed brightly, emanating a very obvious source of blue light from the hole Remis emerged from.

Right next to the other two gentries and Seraphina. Well, this certainly look good... "I apologize for my lateness." Was all he could feebly muster in his state of extreme panic. Oh god, he didn't want her to burn him... Not the burns...

[/size]

[SERAPHINA HERODOR]

Despite being prepared for bad news, it was still bad news, and as such, still elicited a despondent expression upon her face. The timing was terrible, not only for her, but for everyone. Not only were these event unfurling, they were unfurling at a time when others were suffering under the yoke of a harsh and cruel fate, particularly the Oocca, and soon after the completion of her laboratories. Scapegoat in the making. That was what she felt she was now. Anger seethed within her as Reno confirmed it. Darker forces were on the move. On the prowl. Nowhere was safe any more.

She glanced over to Remis as he shimmered into view. A frown was plastered upon her face. Late. Typical really, you give a position to someone as hairbrained as he, and they were sure to be late to everything you requested. Still, she respected him, at least in them both sharing a dream and an ideal. Technology. Though to him, that possibly meant something different.

[red]Ah, so nice of you to join us Remis. Now that the indolent have decided to join us, perhaps we can get onto the matter of SOLVING these problems. Or at least appearing as though we're actually able to do something, and not sitting around, waiting for the Hylians to frown down upon as, as always.[/red]

Her hair seethed. Unfair as it was to direct her irritation, despair and frustration at the three, it was, after all, the messenger who invariably took the brunt. Remis' lateness, however, also contributed to her rising temper. She breathed in deeply, before breathing out again, her hair going down from a barely controlled blaze, to a flickering torch again.

[red]While we four still stand, I will not allow our people to simply be cast into shadow, and left to rot. Simple as. It is not happening. Now, solutions people. I suggest we start by rousing the militia. Get the people armed, and at least ready in case this sort of thing happens again. All our standing forces need to be consolidated, but this I need to clear with our Hylian counterparts. Double the runners, I want us to know if so much of a whisper of trouble starts. Any questions? Queries? Further suggestions?[/red]

Her hair became a blaze again as she milled through the basic outline that she'd thought up as they had been speaking. Rarely did she act like, nor was she required to act like, a leader of a people. But she for one would not have her name remembered as the fool who let all Humans become slaves to Darkness, and be shamed by Dreysir for something tangible. She would NOT allow it.

[Seayn]

Seayn grimaced, hearing similar bad news coming from Jin. It was just as he feared and that these were not isolated incidents. Although it had been nice to imagine that he was vital in some world changing event that was occurring in Hyrule, it appeared that this was not so. He ran a hand through his hair, pondering events as his eyes searched his fellow humans' expressions. The other gentry present had decided to take a more relaxed approach to this meeting, yet Seayn stood rigidly, wondering what they could do in these dark times. He wasn't very experienced with management of an entire race, yet Seraphina seemed to keep cool and collected... well not literally yet she seemed to have a plan. Remis appeared, another gentry here to help prepare humans for the coming times. It would be useful to have him, yet Seayn wasn't sure if he had nothing to add or their leader simply barged on without caring about further details.

The Gerudo King and some strange ancient Gerudo... He had been seeing the Gerudo sigil quite often lately, although he wasn't quite sure how they linked together. Seayn rubbed the back of his neck, listening carefully to Seraphina. She had at least the bases covered which was as much as you could ask for most of the time. Militias organized, runners increased, could more be asked of them? Well, yes but it wouldn't be reasonable. "Should we get the hylian knights or whatever local guards, constables, or etc to organize them? It would probably be more effective and efficient to have people they trusted leading the local militias. And runners... we should probably find a more efficient way of communication if we want our responses to be effective. I'm sure between all of the magical and... technologicalmajiggalmacallit potential floating around, within our race and without, we could set up a faster way of relaying messages."

Seayn was rather intimidated by Seraphina, especially her countenance. The flaring flames of her hair were rather frightful yet it wasn't as if the Champion was intentionally doing it to scare them, he hoped. "And what is the plan as it pertains to us? Do we all go about business as usual? You within your Mountain Laboratories, the other two Gentries doing what they do, and myself roaming? Or are we going to be charged with protection and such of certain areas? Hyrule is a rather... large place and humans are numerous, the four of us can't expect to be able to cover every single human living in it. What I'm trying to get at is that it might be more effective to have us strategically positioned in case of dangerous events that might occur. Perhaps one of us in each of the most populated areas. You would, of course, decide who went where but it seems important that we have a presence, even though perhaps small, in each of the larger provinces." Seayn felt as if he was rambling on and on in nearly incoherent sentences, feeling unsure of himself in such company. While Remis wasn't exactly the most punctual of people, he seemed intelligent and proper, while Jin seemed to be comfortable with himself, if nothing else. Seraphina was just a seething pile of power mixed with will as far as Seayn could tell, which was perhaps the most disconcerting presence out of them all.

[Jin Reno]

Jin had lost himself within Seraphina's hair, the burning blaze stealing his attention away from everything else that was going on. It wasn't his fault though, new things fascinated him to no end, so of course watching someone's head go from a light glow to a blazing inferno, it would steal his attention. It didn't help that there was a part of him that wanted to see if it was actually fire. His innocence had not been washed away by this world yet. Luckily for him, it was what also kept him alert and alive at times.

He however was able to pull himself away from her hair as Remis appeared from the ground, and now he was a little interested in where his once ally had come from. "I want to be able to rise out of the ground..." He muttered softly, before he heard what Seayn had to say. It was in response to Seraphina's words, and after listening Jin was able to get the jist of what exactly was going on and what they where asked by the woman with the hair of fire.

"It was because I had been wondering around Hyrule, exploring different areas, that I was able to come across these events and respond to them as such." Jin said, laying on his side on the ground now, trying to keep his eyes away from the woman's hair. Did she cook her meals with her hair? Did she use it as a flashlight? What purpose could such hair have? Jin shook his head. He got way to interested in her hair, but he needed to focus upon the safety of those who weren't strong enough.

"We can try to form a militia, but wouldn't that be us sending people who are not trained enough to their deaths? I fought against that cloud of darkness, and even with my strength I had to depend upon the strength of those who are equal and stronger then me to actually beat it. I really don't think that a militia can protect themselves, but if we use magic and technology, then I think we can help them strengthen their borders from invasion. It would be better if we gave them tools that they won't need much strength to use, but they pack a punch."

He said these things with a strong belief behind his words, though if anyone saw him at the moment, he was just some guy laying on the ground with his shields while gently petting the head of a small turtle. "If we did split up Hyrule into areas we need to protect... I think that we would need to team up with other leaders and lieutenants." He added, giving Lisa a small strawberry.

[REMIS DE'VIR]

Remis felt the chills run away from his spine as Seraphina continued to show signs of disdain for her fellow scholar. It really didn't help the woman had fire for hair- Remis knew that he couldn't be the only one getting incredibly terrified by that. Oh well, she wouldn't hurt him- at least he hoped so. Then again, how would a fight between the blazing champion and the alchemist fare? The alchemist concluded he would lose fairly easily simply because of his lack of experience with using his magic offensively. Maybe I should start developing that... The thought tentatively crossed Remis' mind, only to be affirmed by the rational part of his brain. Battle prowess would be something absolutely needed in these times...

The alchemist crossed his arms and took a more affirmative stance. Seraphina wanted the messengers doubled, and that alone would be a bit too costly for their limited budget to support. "My liege, how about you and I work to construct a method of instant communication between the four of us? I would suggest mass producing whatever device we come up with, but it would most likely be incredulously expensive." If they could manage that, that would be a huge step in this battle. Communication was key. Maybe it could even be possible to engineer the device to transport others to the user's location? Oh, the possibilities began to set Remis' heart aflutter.

However, the best communication in the world wouldn't stop whatever dark forces came next... No, they would need some source of power, some way of defeating an enemy without fail. As far as he knew, the only people here with any offensive capability was Seraphina and himself. It seemed as this war would be moreso an epic quest in engineering than anything else. "Also, I think it might be in our best interests to hone the battle skills of everyone here. These dark individuals are incredibly powerful, it seems."

[SERAPHINA HERODOR]

Seraphina's hair began to glow with an entirely different light. Rather than a malevolant, searing blaze, threatening and dangerous, it was the flame that signified hope. Intense, but warming, rather than charring. She smiled. This was better, and while she deplored the fact that it required her to lose her, albeit ridiculously volatile, temper somewhat to incite the train of thought, at least it was moving steadily. She nodded at each suggestion in turn. Each one seemed to be adhering to their strengths. She smirked at Seayn's jumbling of a word that was far shorter than what he now made it.

[red]Technology Seayn. Or Tech if you want to shorten it.[/red]

She listened while the others raised their points in turn. This was good. Excellent in fact. This was precisely why she was proud to be human. Versatility, and the ability to respond to adversity with surprising rapidity. Hallmarks of their race, exemplified perfectly by the quartet that represented them. She nodded at the three of them, noting each point that needed to be addressed, before outlining a plan that was a combined effort of the four of them.

[red]Okay, so we've established four things that need to be addressed. First, that we need to not only call up, but equip the militia to a suitable standard as to make them able to stand up to whatever attacks them. Second, that we four cannot possibly hope to cover everywhere individually. Third, that we need a faster method of communication with each other and our people in order to respond where needed with maximum efficiency. And fourth, that we need to co-operate and coerce our allies and friends to aid us.[/red]

She paused for a moment, before fully outlining what she wanted.

[red]So, we shall issue the Mustering. I am currently in development of certain... Additions to our armouries that should help to redress the balance. Jin and Seayn, you two have the most military experience, can you recommend a way to maximise our presence, and to ensure that a chain of command is established fully?[/red]

She paused again, before turning to Remis. His intelligence was well renowned, and she respected it. If anyone here could devise a means to communicate, Remis was the most likely. Seraphina herself would be able to manufacture and refine the process, but the concept? Remis was far better in that department she felt.

[red]Remis, I'm tasking you with the development of a communication system. I can create the device and make it function, but to get the actual concept of how it will work? That I leave to you. Your mind is far more capable of that task. As for our allies, foster any relations you can with anyone from our friends, cultivate and strengthen our ties. I shall... Endeavor to reconcile some of the grievances we share with the Hylians. While they care not to admit it, they need us, and we need them.[/red]

She shuddered at the thought of yet ANOTHER meeting with Dreysir. Needs must she supposed...

[Seayn]

Seayn chuckled, shaking his head in amusement at his lengthening of technology. He figured that they would at least get the gist of what he meant. They had to respond and show that they were responding. If they were going to be leaders of the human race, they would have to do so by example, which would be difficult in these dark times. He knew that Seraphina would stay consistent, doubting that anything could change her disposition. The young man's gaze roamed over the other humans nearby, trying to assess each of them. Jin didn't seem like he would be influenced by others very easily, mostly because of his pure personality. Seayn assumed that it came from the other man's ties to nature that would keep him from being swayed by any people that would benefit from unsavory actions.

Remis seemed like the kind of person completely devoted to scholarly pursuits. Unless there was something in his past that Seayn didn't know about, it was unlikely that the alchemist would be bribed by another other than scientific bribes. As long as no one made some kind of advancement that Remis found to be amazing, it was unlikely that he would turn against them. The young man felt a bit more secure because of this. He felt confident that he could depend on the other three humans around him. He scratched the back of his neck, wondering how the others had evaluated him.

"I would like to make a suggestion. We should approach the Hybrid Praetor first. He is more likely to sympathize with us than any of the other notable leaders around. If we could get him to allow us to get some of his hybrid subordinates, who actually have some training, we could get them to help. This will help both of us, getting the hybrids more recognized around Hyrule while also giving us a larger amount of experienced people to help us train the militia. We could temporarily make them officers over our humans until we find some that have enough experience to serve as officers. That's just my advice. I'm sure you have everything on the hylian front under control. Between Princess Zelda and her chancellors, I don't envy you."

Seayn could only imagine what they were all going to do and say. No one liked having to join the militia, so it would be pertinent to find charismatic speakers that would help them accomplish such a task. He didn't really have any diplomatic experience but he had met a Zora diplomat... that would be a good place to start. People that he had connections with would be more pliable when it came to getting them to help him. Seayn shook his head, so many things to do and so little time, this was going to be an interesting time in Hyrule's history.

[Jin Reno]

Jin rubbed his chin and simply looked at the small turtle before getting back to his feet. "Lisa, Armor." With that, the small turtle turned into two orbs of orange light before each orb hit one of his arms. In a moment, his arms were covered up fully by an organic looking armor and Jin stretched his arms a bit. "I don't think Maximizing our presence would really be smart as is. We have three main settlements that are shared mostly by Hylians and in some cases other races. Castle Town is one we need to worry about the least, since its not only the home of the Princess, but the Castle itself, which is the symbol of the Hylian race as well as the royalty." He said, scratching his cheek a bit.

"Ordona Village, Kakariko Village, and Westport are the places that we can find humans most abundant outside of Castle Town. Ordona is deep in the forests and close to the Minish Forest. Kakariko is surrounded by the Mountains and close to Death Mountain, home of the Gorons. Finally, Westport is a port city in which the Gerudo Pirates and Zora can live near. Each of these places pretty much have a decent standing with the races nearby, so we need to take that into account. I know the leader of the Minish and one of the Lieutenants, the Twin sisters, so I am positive we can work together to protect both Ordona and their home."

Jin took a breath and then spoke once more, "We need to silently increase our defenses in these areas while forging friendships that will benefit each other. If we draw too much attention too ourselves and make it seem like we are fortifying our own defenses, we might strain ourselves with those who could be our allies. And if word spreads, we might draw the attention of those we need to protect ourselves from before we are actually ready to defend. It could end up in a horrible massacre of the human race."

With that, he looked at each of them, wondering what they thought about his idea.