[FIN]Deep within enemy territory (open)

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik sat on the ground with his back against a fountain staring down the street at the gates to Hyrule Castle. So near to the stronghold of his people's longtime enemy and all he could do for the time was sit and watch as guards went about their patrols and the nearby vendors tried to make a honest living.

He held no fears of being recognized thanks to the shroud of disguise his tunic placed about him making him appear as a simple Human newly arrived from any of the long roads encircling the country. His hair had darkened to a deep brown, nearly black; his skin on the other hand had practically reversed lightening to just a faint tan while making the eight gems in his arms invisible. The dark cloak he wore was caked with dirt from the road adding a little realism to the illusion.

Even so close to the castle the Gerudo was hardly surprised to hear the cries of the poor from down a nearby alley. Though the common people could hardly be expected to provide for others whilst striving to take care of their own families (and yet despite that some did try to help), the nobility on the other hand simply ignored the problem whiling away the hours inside their large manors with servants to answer their every beck and call. Hyrule Castle alone could provide homes for hundreds of families if the people ever thought to rise up against the Royal Family and demolish the ancient structure.

But the time was not yet right, his pirates were still too disorganized and the Gerudo were still rebuilding in the desert. So, oblivious to the occasional splashes upon his head from the fountain, he continued to sit, watch, and study the guards paths for when the time would be right to finally steal into the castle's walls and finish what his grandfather had begun so many years ago...

[Seayn]

Seayn clomped around in his heavy armor, trying to get used to the amount of weight it put on him as he went through his daily routines. He knew that if he planned on traveling in this that he would have to keep it on for his daily routine to get ready to adventure in it. He had decided to take a walk around the town to get a small taste of what he would be doing. He was beginning to feel worn out, he wasn't sure that he would be able to do this every day. He stopped at a fountain close to the castle, shoving his head under the water to cool off. This armor was beginning to cook him alive, he wasn't sure that he could do this every day of his life. Perhaps it would be smart to pack extra clothing like he'd been told. He let out a heavy sigh, sitting on the side of the fountain. "Time for a break." He said to himself, letting the cool water drip down into his armor.

Seayn noticed another man sitting near to the fountain. Nothing looked very interesting about him, a dark-haired, light-skinned human. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as the young man could tell. He looked as if he had traveled a long way, perhaps he was tired and hungry. Seayn wondered how far he had traveled today. Perhaps it had been a prolonged exposure to such conditions that made him seem so travel worn but there wasn't much that he could do about that. The young man turned his head, keeping his back rather straight as he scanned the area. It had been a long walk and he wanted to take his time with this break. He looked at the castle, wondering what kinds of things happened in there. Seayn imagined that something of great importance was happening in there at the moment, no matter how unlikely that was.

[Merik Dragmire]

Merik would have had to be deaf to have missed the other man's approach to the fountain. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the warrior dunked his head into the fountain.

"You realize that wearing armor like that, when there is no battle to be fought, is going to kill you long before a rival warrior or some monster ever has a chance to get near you right?" he asked, a slight smirk stealing across his face.

[Seayn]

"I actually know nothing about battle, weapons, or armor. Errr, well I suppose know how to make some armor but that's as much knowledge as I have. I figured that I would have to grow accustomed to the weight if I ever wanted to be able to do anything in it." Seayn shook his head, his short hair flinging droplets of water. He looked at the other man, wondering if this was just a dirt covered traveler. As far as he knew, most people were completely oblivious about the effects of armor, he knew that he had been before he had actually put it on. "I'll make sure that I don't always wear it then." He turned to look at the castle, assuming that the other man had thoughts that run parallel to his own.

"It's a pretty amazing castle, eh?" Seayn turned to get a better vantage point upon it. He imagined that the man must be here to admire its beauty or something of the sort. Being around it so often, it probably seemed like it was less magnificent but he could only imagine seeing it for the first time. "It's the most significant part of the entire kingdom. It's where the most important things are done and decided. It's also the safest place in the kingdom to be." He leaned back, admiring the structure. It was rather majestic.

[Merik Dragmire]

"Oh it's amazing alright..." Merik growled as he spat at the castle's gates. "Amazing that the people still allow the damnable thing to stand. All across the land there are monsters destroy villages and homes forcing people into the streets. Some are so poor they must steal to provide for their family which in turn earns them a ticket to THAT castle's dungeons. All the while Zelda sits in her castle that could house hundreds, protected by her private army, and leaving the lower class to suffer and die not fifty yards from her door.

Ever since they took power the Hylians have done little except build themselves a fortress to hide within while the other tribes are left to rot."

[Seayn]

Seayn listened quietly, his jaw clenched as he listened to this man talk about the problems of the land. He stood there, not wanting to interrupt the man as he spoke yet he felt that these accusations were wrongly slung at Zelda and the royal family. "I've never seen a monster that could destroy an entire village although I doubt there are many of those. Most people in this town do fine, and there's nearly always something you can do to earn some rupees. I don't really see much difference between a human" He gestured towards the man sitting by the fountain, "Or a hylian. I don't see any reason to treat them differently." He looked at the castle again and then away from it, into the horizon. "And what of the Hylian Knights? They're supposed to be noble and they don't only protect the castle. They help protect the entire kingdom, with their limited resources."

[Merik Dragmire]

"The Hylian's only claim to the throne is that they say the golden goddesses chose them to rule. Ever since then the throne has simply passed along a single family line. Nobility is not a birthright, it's defined by one's actions and I've yet to see the Royal Family do anything that would mark them noble." Merik replied, his thoughts occasionally interrupted by the odd splash of water upon his head from the fountain.

"My people once lived near the edge of the desert, it was a tough life but we knew how to survive it. Then one day many years ago monsters came, ruined my homeland, and decimated my people. What little we had left the Knights took to aid in their decades-long war. Ever since then we've been gypsies, wandering the world to find a new home. The fact that any remnant of my people has managed to survive to this day is in itself miraculous."

[Seayn]

"What races among the land don't pick their leaders from birthright? I've heard that the deku's have a king, fairies have a queen, zora's have a queen, and hell, even those Gerudo bandits are rumored to have a king... not that I believe that. Everyone knows they're all female."Seayn looked at the man in a new light. Perhaps he wasn't tired from travel, perhaps he was motivated with determination and that determination might be fueled by a misguided hate towards Princess Zelda and other members of the royal family. "I've never seen anyone more worthy of being called noble than Princess Zelda." He nodded to himself, almost as if by stating that it would make it true. Seayn could be as stubborn as necessary at times and it wasn't like him to think that he had lost a debate.

"I've never heard of a story similar to that, although I don't doubt you. But put yourself in their shoes. How can royalty always know what's going to happen? You have to do your best to help everyone but you can't just quit every time something goes wrong. Under Zelda's rule, everyone gets a say from Zora to Goron, two complete opposites, and everyone seems to be doing quite well. There will always be moments of crisis that you can't account for." Seayn began to get the feeling that this was a pointless discussion, set in his mindset that the hylians and the nobles were good for the land while this man seemed set on the fact that they should have done more to protect his own people... Why did he refer to them as if they were a different race than the young man. Probably just some weird way of talking they had.

[Merik Dragmire]

"History tells us that once upon a time there was a King who went to offer his fealty to the ruler of Hyrule so that the words of his people, their cries for help, might be heard by the nation. Before he could even take a knee before the sovereign the young princess decried him as a traitor to the crown, citing some childish nightmares as proof enough of his guilt. Without trial the guards tried to imprison him but as everyone knows he escaped to his homeland..." Merik trailed off, chuckling derisively at the foolishness of it all. When he spoke again it was no hard task to hear the anger in his words.

"If you're so sure of the nobility of your precious princess, travel out into the Gerudo Desert, seek out the Gerudo King, if he exists, or whoever is ruling them now. I'm sure they'll be pleased to hear that THIS Zelda might allow their leader to get two words out before starting another war."

[Seayn]

"I have heard a different sort of story about that. I heard that Princess Zelda was right about him and he was thwarted in his dastardly plans just in time. I suppose it's skewed by whomever tells the tale. I don't think there shall be any winner to this argument. You seem set in your belief that the Hylians are wrong and I'm set in my belief that the rulers only do what is best for us." Seayn paused for a moment, listening to the other man. It was something that sounded important and he would gladly do that. His newfound acquaintance seemed heated as he spoke, talk of finding the Gerudo King and inviting him to the castle obviously spoken of as if the young human would never do such a thing. Obviously this man knew not how stubborn and reckless the wannabe knight was though.

"I'll do it. I shall trek through the land, I shall find this Gerudo King and when I do, I'll return and we will see Princess Zelda. And I shall make sure that he only gets what he deserves... and I suppose I'll find out what he deserves when I find him. From what I've heard though, Gerudo's are all bandits and thieves. Oh well, it'll be good experience." Seayn nonchalantly leaned back, almost as if there were something behind him, before toppling into the fountain. He floundered for a moment, obviously having a bit of trouble getting back up. He finally managed to pull himself upright, gasping for breath for a moment. "Well... that was refreshing."

[Merik Dragmire]

"History is written by the victor, the tale could have said that the 'Great King of Evil' was actually some giant Moblin and I'm sure there would still be fools who believe it." Merik said with a smirk as he pulled out his flute and played the Serenade of Sands as the young man fell into the fountain behind him.

"If you do go on your fool's errand, do yourself a favor and take off that damned armor before you reach the desert; the sun and sands have enough practice killing without you giving them an enormous edge."

[Seayn]

"If that's so, why do you view the event differently? What secret knowledge do you have that I don't about him? The defeated very rarely let an opportunity slip past that allow them to seem as if they were in the right. It all depends on the point of view." Seayn stood, shaking himself to fling the water off of him, it didn't work well, since most of the water that he cared about was inside of his heavy metal suit of armor. "I think the sun and sands might find me more resilient than most, although I shall be sure to follow your advice." The man turned, walking off, already wondering about where he was going.

Seayn stopped, turning around. He purses his lips for a moment as he thought. "My name is Seayn by the way. What is yours?" The young man had to wonder if he had grown up among Gerudo, the way he defended them, it was strange for anyone to know much of the desert, the people that lived there, or the king that had escaped Hyrulian justice even though he had been in the very place where they held the most power, in their own castle.

[Merik Dragmire]

"Merik." the Gerudo said simply as a sand-colored horse slowly walked up and waited for him to mount. "Assuming you don't die we may meet again, though unless you are truly clever I can practically assure you that you won't know me."

With that he mounted Desertfury, his cloak catching a quick draft as he settled and briefly flashed the Gerudo sigil upon his back before he readjusted the cloth and gave the horse a slight kick to start moving from Castle Town.

[exit]

[Seayn]

Seayn nodded at the name, determined to remember it and ask the Gerudo's about it when he arrived in the desert. It wasn't every day that a human advocated for them, especially since most people considered them to be bandits and thieves first and foremost, even their leaders. He caught a glimpse of the emblem upon his back, taking note of it for a moment before he turned as well, parting ways with the strange man in front of the castle. He could only imagine what the man meant by his last statement...

[exit]

[Azler Wilder]

This thread has been Officially Finished!

Merik and Seayn received a 20 Rupee Finisher Reward for completing the requirements!

Thank you~