King of Red, Lord of Black (FINISHED}

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik, clothing still singed from his encounter with Steel Fist, had originally intended to make his way back to the Fortress and take a well deserved rest. But somewhere within the first few minutes of travel he had changed his mind and turned Desertfury towards the south.

As horse and rider traveled the sun began to fade into the west and a familiar chill started to creep over the sands as great black walls finally came into sight. Shortly after the stars began to burn in the heavens the Gerudo brought his mount to a halt outside the gate. Looking up at the few lights far above he gave a sharp whistle, just to make sure that he had the guards attention.

"TELL YOUR EMPEROR THAT THE KING OF THE DESERT WANTS TO SPEAK WITH HIM, NOW, IN THAT GIANT EYESORE HE CALLS A TOWER!" he called out, working to keep his irritation in check with the recent events as he waited for an answer.

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

"Hey, I didn't make it, so don't blame me~" A voice came from behind Merik. Nightmare was often out ventured out of the tower. And of course, when you had nothing but sand, one was bound to detect you from a rather vast distance. That was the case with Merik. Because no one ever bothered to camo themselves in the freaking desert, they were usually easy to find. When he received reports of Merik approaching, he snuck out of the tower and circled around the Black Lands, at least so he'd wind up in this situation.

It was always so much fun to pull something like this.

But the truth was, Merik had better make it quick. He had just finished making an alliance with Midna, and she was probably going to get in trouble in short order. What with the mirror and all. So he wasn't really going to be sticking around for long. Or at least get business done as quickly as possible. He had a guest to save. But really, he had to wonder what Merik wanted. Whenever he showed up, it was never for anything good really. But who knows, maybe this time could be different and the Gerudo King would surprise the Emperor.

Nevertheless... "Prrrroblem, Merik?" He stared at the Gerudo King, giving off a rather large grin.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik pulled Desertfury around as he heard Nightmare's voice from behind them. So much for getting out of the open.

"Whether you built it or not is inconsequential, it remains a giant eyesore and you continue to call it your tower, so my words are valid." he retorted as he dismounted to be a little closer to eye level with the Emperor. "When we first made our little agreement, I told you that I had no problems with you keeping your territory walled off and I gave you the Mesa as a show of good faith. The only thing I asked in return was that you keep your people from rampaging around the open desert; anywhere else in Hyrule was fine but I didn't want it in my realm. Now having just destroyed a giant, rampaging Iron Knuckle in the wastes, I would like to know if you're losing control of your subjects or if you're playing some sort of game."

Iron Knuckles were created to be warriors and weren't the brightest race, in fact they typically answered only to the strongest will unless ordered to follow another. The strongest controlling will of the Iron Knuckles SHOULD have been the Emperor but if that was not the case it did not bode well.

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

"Long as you know I didn't make it, I don't care." He remarked. Merik could call it an eyesore as much as he wanted, Nightmare didn't create the thing, so it wasn't his problem. No one ever bothered to renovate the thing simply because there would be far too much work involved in order to make it happen.

Though it seemed he was right, and the Gerudo King was here to complain about something that he was assuming was his fault. Nightmare rolled his eyes at the accusation, but decided to have some fun with it. "Oh, did you just finally kill yours? Sloooooow~ I took mine down ages ago." He mocked the King of the Desert. There had been more than one of these monsters going around and causing trouble.

"Unfortunately for you, no. Not one of mine. There's been more than one of these things." He clarified. He wished that those beasties were working for him. They were juggernauts, invaluable soldiers that could singlehandedly turn the tide of an entire battle if they fought with him. "Fortunately for you though, I'm pretty sure what caused it."

He motioned up at the king himself. "If you got one of those shards, now would be the time to let me see it." He gave out a pretty clear suggestion.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Merik Dragmire]

So it wasn't under the Emperor's control, while not completely surprising it certainly wasn't a good thing for any of them if these things were running wild.

"I'm fairly certain these things don't operate on any sort of schedule, the creature you encountered might have just started before the Iron Giant decided to go to work." he replied drily to Nightmare's mocking.

"I'm assuming that you're going to say these things are being brought about by the recent environmental disasters: the eruption of Death Mountain, the collapse of the City in the Sky, the giant beam of light from Faron Forest, etc. Aside from rumor of dark beings attacking different areas before the disaster though I'm not sure how you're connecting the two events. You may just have some rogue agents on the loose."

Though that possibility was put to rest for the King with the Dragon's mentioning of the Shard, though he kept his face neutral of any knowledge of it.

"Shard? The only piece of it really left aboveground by the end was it's helm and I wasn't going to drag the damned thing around with me, especially all the way out here. If you're looking for parts of it's armor it was mostly buried in the fight and has probably been completely buried by the sands since I left it, so I'm sorry to say that you're out of luck."

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

He had no idea what he was talking about? Really? The Gerudo King had really been stupid enough to not notice the shining shard of magical power. Then again, Nightmare was highly observant, so maybe he just naturally picked up on things that others would miss. Then again, Merik was the Gerudo King and arguably the closest the pirates had to a defacto leader. Pirates had to be observant to make a profit.

"No. You know that really shiny shard? That's what I'm talking about." Nightmare remarked. At this point, he figured there was something up, something that Merik was hiding from him. Nightmare deadpanned. Maybe Merik himself didn't have the shard, but there was no way he wouldn't have seen it at least. "I know you're bluffing. There is no way someone could be stupid enough to not notice the shiny glowy shard of magic. You're a pirate, you would be dead if you didn't have the ability to spot the small details." He spoke in a somewhat unamused tone.

Truth be told, if Nightmare wanted to figure out what the hell was going on, he needed all the information he could get or the world would be potentially screwed. Merik, if he really was bluffing, was speeding along Armageddon,

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik didn't trust many people...actually he could only think of three he did trust so make that most people; Nightmare Darklight was not one of those three. The Gerudo would work with him, fight alongside him if it came to it, and share information between the two. However the primary reason that the two were able to work together was the common dislike that the other races generally held for the Gerudo and the Monsters. That being said even if he had trusted Nightmare, common sense would typically steer one away from giving an item that might be connected to the end of the world to one known as "The Monster Emperor". So he continued to play dumb, at least until he could have his own investigation into the Shard.

"Yes I'm quite adept at noticing little things, especially little-shiny-magic things, and I won't deny that the giant MIGHT have had one of these Shards but if it did the piece wasn't in a part that was above the ground. I call it a giant with good reason Nightmare, the thing was at least twenty feet tall and at least eighteen feet of it had sunk into the sands before the battle ended. If one of the Shards was with the beast than it belongs to the desert now because you know as well as I that the terrain is constantly shifting with the winds. The winds may reveal the creature tomorrow or continue to bury it under sand for another century..." he growled in irritation as he kicked a rock at the Black Gate.

"If you think they're that vital I'll dispatch a team to the relative area of the fight to try and dig up the Iron Knuckle, and I'll inform the captains of my fleet to be on the lookout for any more of these Shards in case they've found their way into some ship's treasure. Is there anything I should warn my people of other than it's a 'shiny glowy shard of magic'?"

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

"Yes that would be preferable." Nightmare mentioned, raising his hand to his chin. What he was more focused on at the moment, was the monster that Merik had just described to him. 20 feet tall and yet a former Iron Knuckle? Nightmare contemplated what that meant, and he soon had a theory. He wondered if such would be the case, but there would only be one real way to find out right? Unfortunately, it once again relied on Merik actually divulging some information. At least if he had something on this, he could probably gauge what the shards were in fact, capable of doing.

Looking back at Merik, Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "This giant knuckle... what powers did it possess, if any?" If Merik could at least answer this one truthfully, then he could at least have something to work with. Any data he could collect about these shards could be vital, the key to keeping the world from being destroyed. "Unfortunately, I don't know much about the shards that I can warn about. I need information in order to make a call." He dryly answered Merik's inquiry of warning.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Merik Dragmire]

Now there was a question that Merik could easily answer, though unfortunately there was little to tell.

"You mean aside from a short temper, a damned good backswing with an axe, an obsession with 'purifying' things, and a scream you could hear for miles around?" he asked with a smirk before turning serious once more.

"The only impressive ability that it displayed was that it could fire off energy quicker than a Beamos. Did that twice during the fight, once from some chains hanging off it's armor, and once from the crown on it's helm. The one from the crown went into the ground and grew into a circling wall of energy to defend itself."

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

Nightmare stayed silent, even after Merik had explained what the thing could do. Considering its size and its powers, that did leave Nightmare with a theory. "I see... well, that at least gives me a theory to work with." He remarked. Granted, he would rather have the actual shard so he could confirm it, but if Merik's words were anything to go by, and he hoped he wasn't lying, then that at least gave him some data to work with. The end result ended up being rather unsettling for him.

With a sigh, Nightmare let his arms droop down to his sides. "That's bad." He remarked. But why was it bad? Well... "If what you told me is true, then I have reason to believe that the shards have a varying amount of power in them."

The Emperor started to pace back and forth. Merik would likely want to hear just how the hell that could be possible. Or where the Emperor even got that data. "The shard I retrieved brought thousands of pieces of scrap metal together and animated it. The beast was large enough to completely eclipse the village of Ordon. That shard also gave said beast the ability to create a miniature sun." He explained. If this was all true, then Nightmare had at least opened a little bit of a gateway concerning these things.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik listened intently as Nightmare described the beast from Ordon Village. Once he had finished the Gerudo remained in silent contemplation for a few seconds more.

"There could be varying power levels within the Shards, conversely the power could just completely change to suit the creature it has bonded with...or perhaps the Iron Knuckle had the sort of power that yours did and was either: A) Too stupid to know it had it; or B) Was stopped before it had a chance to use it at a level to match the 'mini sun' that the other used." he replied, watching the Emperor pace back and forth in the sand. "Has the Shard that you found had any effects upon you that you've noticed? That could be an indication of its power."

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

"I doubt it. A beast that operates purely on instinct will have no trouble defending itself, unfortunately." From the sounds of it, the fact Merik hadn't taken the time to point out whether it could act intelligently, made it sound like it couldn't. If such was the case, then these were mindless beasts that were operating on instinct rather than tact. Which meant that perhaps there were varying degrees.

Though Merik posed an odd question, but one that wasn't really worth answering. "I'll have to look into that with someone else. I'm the wrong person to test a corrupting or an influential ability on. My willpower's way too strong for that kind of thing to work on, period." Nightmare remarked. Though he wondered whether this was true, and if so, was it already affecting those who had a shard? "Though the idea that you didn't grab the shard from your beast for some reason would imply that it has no corrupting capabilities. Though the one back in the desert might be weaker than mine..." He just kept on pacing throughout the whole thing.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Merik Dragmire]

"I would have those who know me best watch me for any unusual signs that might point towards my corruption...if it was me of course. It's difficult to say if any will could stand up to the power of these things. For all either of us could know we could just be speaking to a possessed shell of the other." Merik replied before throwing in with a smirk. "Of course we both know we're not: you're still too much of an ass to possibly be anyone else and I have yet to find a Shard to claim...though I fully intend to change that fact."

He watched Nightmare continue to pace and think aloud before some of the Dragon's words caught up to him.

"And perhaps there are different types of the Shards. You keep bringing up 'corruption' and the giant kept mentioning 'purity' and 'purifying'. What if aside from the different power levels that the Shards could have there were two, or more, different types; in this case one Shard was Pure and one Corrupt, they both have their duty and they seek to fulfill their calling no matter what stands in the way."

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

Nightmare deadpanned the moment that Merik kept bringing up the word corruption, stopping in his tracks. Well of course he was saying corrupt. Merik had brought up the possibility of shards influencing their owner. Usually, that meant a corruption of sorts. "I keep saying 'corrupt' because you asked if the shards can have any influence on someone, dumbass." Then he brought up the fact that the thing kept mouthing "purify". Nightmare still deadpanned. "Having your personality manipulated is still corruption, holy or no." He clarified for the Gerudo King.

But still, the idea of having two different variations of these shards, that was an interesting idea. He wished that Merik had actually gotten his shard, other wise it was just a theory. "You know, I really wish you had the idea to actually grab your shard. If you had it, I could confirm or deny the variation theory right now." He still found it difficult to believe that someone as well, greedy as the Gerudo King had such a severe lapse in judgment concerning its possession.

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik ignored Nightmare's comment as he continued along his train of thought.

"And I think the million rupee question here is what was it that these Shards fragmented from. If they came from the explosion of energy from Faron then there are really only three known things I can think of that the Shards might be from.

1) Faron itself: Someone, or something, might have managed to slay the Light Spirit and the Shards are broken pieces of it's power.

2) The Temple of Time: Its power has waned and it has mostly been forgotten but if it was destroyed it could still unleash a lot of magical energy.

3) The Master Sword: No one has actually seen the sword in nearly a century as far as I'm aware so it might not actually be there, but if something had the power to destroy the Sword it could definitely account for the rise in rampant monsters and mysterious magical artifacts..."

[Nightmare Darklight]

One for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie

Nightmare noticed that he was ignored. He just shrugged. If Merik was going to walk away from the table, then he had no need to really keep this going, now did he? Crossing his arms, he raised an eyebrow at the Gerudo King. "So that's your general strategy then. When beaten just cover your ears and go 'LALALALALALA', got it." He remarked sarcastically."

[/color]

Then Merik went on to give three explanations. All of them sounded a bit off. "Faron would be impossible. The destruction of a light spirit would be news, the Empire would've heard about something like that by now." Then came the explanation that the Temple of Time had been destroyed. "Unlikely. These are shards. Not rocks." He debunked. Which just left the Master Sword. That was a bold claim that that thing had been destroyed. The Empire recorded its history, unlike most races, to keep from repeating disasters. There were texts on that blade and pretty much every one of them described it as being indestructible, holy, and damn near omnipotent.

Nevertheless... it might be worth looking into. The Empire did have its last known location. "I'll look into the third one. I know where it is." Nightmare casually remarked. Truth be told, he only knew its last known location. Not its current one. He figured that considering its obscurity, that it'd still be there.

Without another words, he transformed into his Dragon form, and flew on over the gate towards his tower. He was going to check this out.[/size][/blockquote][/justify]

[EXIT]

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik watched the Dragon fly away over the Gate before climbing back into the saddle. As Desertfury started to trot away from the Emperor's domain, the Gerudo took a moment to look at his left hand as an orange ring appeared on his finger.

Not as though I was lying, that's as much a Shard as I'm a Goron. he thought with a smirk as he set off for home.

[exit and finished]

[Rwaht]

Rupees given, thread lock'd, moved.