Of Phantom Pains [continued]

[AmJanky]

Axel

The Loftwing, as Alyson had dubbed her vessel, was a work of art indeed. The carving was meticulously done to give the stylized appearance of a bird. As a blacksmith, Axel knew his way around various metals, to see such a machine made almost entirely out of wood was still magical to him.

The beams alighting in magic sigils and sails glimmering as the wheels rattled over the road preparing for take-off, before they knew it they were soaring. Seeing Hyrule from this perspective was ridiculously mindblowing, so much so, he forgot to speak almost the whole way. But there was another thing keeping him quiet as Akkala slowly came into full view.
As they were in the air, the best landing place seemed to really be Tarrey Town. The terrain directly around the stable was either too small or filled with hills. He had kind of anticipated landing on the Torin Wetlands; he hadn't anticipated that view to make his heart race so badly it hurt. His expression stuck in worry as Alyson set in the descent after a while.



He jumped off the aircraft while the Loftwing had barely had time to get to stand still. Walking briskly into the middle of the racetrack. He hardly saw the place as it was, he only only saw it as he remembered.

He had known the wetlands as a desolate place. The closest thing resembling a settlement back then were the two stables, safe for those Akkala had been mostly emptied of people. Ruins and scars of the Calamity's final battle overlooking the otherwise empty plains from high atop its peak. If the force hadn't been so utterly overwhelming, a strategic choice to try put an end to the war. It didn't end the way they wanted.

So much blood was spilled on this soil.

"Right around here." He whispered. He looked up at Akkala Citadel, followed the cliff down with his gaze and swore he could still see the giant machines' ominously sharp lights patrolling in the distance roaming the wetlands. That it had come to a culmination in this very place in his personal history meant nothing to the world at large.

He knew his people's history, he knew it well. It was on the tongue of every elder, it was in the way they clothed themselves, the way they held their heads up, the way they held their swords and shields. The way they clamped onto tradition, it was a way to survive.

It was pride. It was wrong.

After the fateful battle in Akkala, his kin had taken a step back, taking consular roles as self-proclaimed keepers of history. They had kept quiet, they had hidden away after their loss. Dishing out warnings and hiding behind the mistakes of their past. They were awaiting the cycle of Calamity to return to the point where they were to be reinstated beside the Royal family. A day that would never come as they envisioned.

It had bugged him to the point of getting incredibly frustrated, but so steeped in this tradition was his upbringing that he didn't know how to deal and cope otherwise. To the point where he refused to bow to it, a petulant teenager as they are wont to be. Incapable to draw meaning from the warnings of their past, until it was too late.

So much of his own blood was spilled on this soil. It was pride, but he had been wrong.

By putting himself in danger, he had put everyone in danger. There was no way to control their own inventions, not until that day would come. The only thing he had - was forced - to fall back upon was the very thing that frustrated him greatly. There was a bigger picture in the way the Sheikah had clamped on as a means to survive and the way he had started to come to understand his people in a deeper, more meaningful manner - both came from pain and loss. Still, for his hubris he lost an arm and through tradition not his life.


The day that did eventually come was the day the ruins rained on the village. Turning everything upside down, it had become a ripple spreading out from the moment Impa left her position to study all these new phenomena. Paya was made elder and helped the Survey Team in their work. Newcomers from all over Hyrule had spread themselves out through the village. In a smaller dispute even their way with sword and shield was questioned. Their quiet days of tradition were slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Axel had caught the little glimmer of hope back in Castle Town, where he witnessed Hyrule at its finest. Standing in the middle of the racetrack - dragged back to the present day by finally letting into focus the many colourful contraptions and bends and lights and buildings - he felt it again.

The Hylians had already started moving on, the Sheikah were only just starting to catch up.

He smiled as he faced back towards Alyson and her Loftwing, and the two swordswomen Reverie and Lucke. And looked a little confused at his left arm not being there before using the sleeve of his right arm to rub his eyes. Surely they were more red then usual.




"Sorry, I- I really needed a moment..." he apologized to the group as he had made his way back, "Haven't been here since..." He chuckled and scratched at what was left of his arm, "Well, it's a bit weird, I coulda sworn I left it here, couldn't find it anywhere, though."

[Emily]

Once upon a time, there had been a land called Hyrule. Hyrule had stretched across all the known world, from harsh deserts to freezing mountains, from dense jungles to balmy beaches. Within Hyrule lived all manner of people, from the mighty Gorons and Gerudo to the mysterious Sheikah to the proud Rito and Zora. They all worked together in harmony, existing within a long cycle of magic and mystical energy, of heroes and princesses and evil beasts.

Then, one day, the cycle began anew, just nobody was prepared this time. From underneath Hyrule Castle came all manner of beasts, driven mad by the Demon King's direct control. The great weapons crafted by the Sheikah were instantly taken over, the Champions of each race violently killed. The hero of legend and the mystical princess survived in the chaos for a time before themselves being consumed into it.

In the wake of the Calamity was chaos. People fled from Hyrule Castle town in all directions. Some boarded boats, hoping to escape through the Duelling Peaks and into the guarded Hateno corridor, where at least they could funnel the enemies into a controlled area. Others fled to the deserts or, in her ancestors' case, to the mountains, where they hoped to hide until things got better. But there was another group, soldiers who retreated to the second-largest military installation on the continent outside Castle Town itself.

From the air, Reverie found herself staring at the ruins of Akkala Citadel, her arms covered in goosebumps. To any observer, she would have appeared unnaturally still, even for her, almost reverential to what she was seeing. Cracked stone, craters where explosions had wiped out entire squadrons, laser cuts through walls, rotted wooden doors blown several metres from the space they originally stood. The remnants of a battle for the very survival of Hyrule, a last stand for the soldiers who were suddenly without leadership. Bit by bit, they fell back, more and more walls for the guardians to take, before the soldiers were, themselves, corralled and wiped out.

She had finally arrived in Akkala, the place where the Kingdom of Hyrule was destroyed. This was the place that killed her grandmother in the end, a guilt that weighed upon the woman from the moment she had led people northwest from the castle. Once she'd received word in the post-Calamity world that Akkala had fallen and taken so many soldiers with it, she had never recovered.

Even as they touched down, Reverie kept staring at it. She wanted, needed, to go there after. If for no other reason than to stand atop the ruins and look out over Akkala. Perhaps she could find a flower to place there, a memorial to a life lost to the citadel decades after the massacre ended.

She eventually turned to leave, only a moment before Axel did so. He seemed equally reverent to the ruins, though he masked it well as they walked away. "Akkala took your arm?" she asked.

[LuckyBlackCat]

Flying over Hyrule should have been exhilarating.

Yet this wasn't like a journey to the sky, allowing Alyson to leave the world beneath the clouds behind if only for a short while. The ravaged landscape spread out below the Loftwing was a stark reminder of the destruction that had plagued Hyrule for a century. The ruined ranch, the splintered bridges and walkways of the military training camp, the wreckage that had once been Rauru Settlement...

She only knew of such places in their former glory from tales passed down through her family, descendants of those who'd once lived peaceful lives in Central Hyrule, until the Guardians meant to protect them had turned on them. Descendants who'd attempted to reclaim what they'd lost, returning to the very edges of the province at a safe distance from the rampant machines, yet Guardians had been far from the only threat - monster forces ran wild through Hyrule, determined to claim its territories as their own. Or rather, as the events of the Upheaval had later proven, as those of the Demon King.

Such stories of pre-Calamity Hyrule were hazy in her mind. How long had it been since her grandfather had told them, recounted from his own ancestors? "It'll all be back some day," was one thing she clearly remembered him saying. "Mark my words, we'll build back, and we'll make sure it's better than ever." Yet he'd never gotten to see his greatest wish come true, one of the many casualties of the makeshift village's collapse.

Alyson remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout the journey. Nobody else spoke up either, the flapping of sails and the howling of wind in her ears the only sounds as she focused on the task at hand. Moving forward, ever forward, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. What else could anyone do?

As green forests gave way to red and Tarrey Town came into view, its signature bright-hued modern architecture standing out on the island, her spirits lifted a little. Hyrule's symbol of hope, of regeneration. Yet Akkala had quite a history of its own, as the looming ruins of the citadel evidenced. And not everything could be rebuilt.

"Well, here we are," she announced, her voice oddly hushed. She managed a weak smile. "Prepare for landing!" With that, she pulled at the controls, the Loftwing tilting downwards on its wind streams until it alighted and slowed to a stop just outside the race track.

Pushing up her goggles, she blinked in surprise as Axel jumped out right away. "Hey, just cos we're near a race track doesn't mean we have to race to see who can get to town first. Unless you want to," she joked, hurrying after him past the multicoloured squares on the ground... only to wince when she noticed the look on his face. Distant, drawn, as if traumatic memories of his own haunted him. She heard his whisper, so much said in so few words. Right about here. "Ehh, sorry."

Slowly, she drew closer to make sure he was going to be ok. His red eyes became clear and focused once more as he turned back towards her and the others, although the smile he put on bore a hint of wistfulness. At the joke he cracked about leaving his arm behind, Alyson gave a soft chuckle, if only to boost his morale.

"It's ok." She placed a hand on his left shoulder. "Take all the time you need."

Reverie, who stared up at what had once been Akkala Citadel, was having far from an easy time of it either, her posture still except for the slight shivers that ran through her. Eventually she traipsed alongside them, towards the monorail, asking if it was in Akkala that Axel had lost his arm. Alyson wouldn't blame him if he'd rather not talk about it right now, although she hoped Reverie's gentle tone, and her supportiveness even while dealing with her personal demons, would bring him some level of comfort.

Alyson glanced from her to the citadel in the distance, then back. "Reverie... You alright?"

No matter how they tried to face the future, the past had a way of dragging them back.

[Sav'saaba]

So this was Akkala.

Lucke peered down, as she had done many times during the flight, trying to map the lay of the land and its landmarks planted between the reds, oranges and yellows of the region. She had never thought a tree to be beautiful before, but here she was.

A herd of wild horses startled as the Loftwing soared over them, sending the animals on a dash down a rolling plain, until they skirted a hill and she could make them out no more.

Trying to strike up a conversation would have been pointless. The lashing winds were likely to drown out every sound but the flapping of the vessel's sails, and Lucke writing out her thoughts would probably be even more of a no-go, as their pilot had to keep her eyes on the skies.

So instead, Lucke had resorted to mulling over this Yiga deal. Would they really be able to pull this off?
Their party was few, with the blacksmith not even factoring in, seeing they had been hired as escorts for a reason. And there was the fact that Lucke wasn't feeling as confident in her combat skills as she once did; the traveler's sword she had on loan handled so very differently than trusty Skulltula Bite had.

She glanced furtively at Axel, taking note of his fluttering empty sleeve and braids looking all mussed up. Being blasted by this gale surely wasn't helping with keeping those kempt, and of course braiding your hair yourself would be impossible with just one han- wait a minute.

He was Sheikah.

Painfully so. Like herself, if she were to wash the dye from her hair.

Before she could stumble headlong down the hole after that silver rabbit, she sensed the change in Reverie and following her friend's line of sight, she blanched.

Reverie's hand was cold when she took it into her own. She squeezed it, letting Revvie know she would follow her to the ends of Hyrule.


Did... did Axel really just say what she thought she had heard him say? At first she was bemused, her eyes flicking from one companion to the next, until she involuntarily erupted, giggling at the absurdity of him suggesting he'd expected to recover his limb —as if he had discarded it in the face of danger, much like how a hightail lizard would shed its tail, and he had even punctuated it by idly tickling his stump.

She clasped a hand over her mouth and smothered her reaction -shut the hell up-, that was so completely and utterly inappropriate given the overall mood mere moments ago and with Alyson sweetly trying to comfort him.

Shit, these frayed nerves of hers weren't helpful in regulating her emotions at all. Lucke shrugged the piece of slate from her robes, to scrawl down her apology, and perhaps, just maybe, lighten the dour expressions around her a little.

'Sorry. Seems I can never hold my tongue.'

A blush stained her goofily smirking face as she awkwardly held up the slate with the lame joke for the others to read and she raised her shoulders in an apologetic half-shrug.

To her companions it might have been even more jarring than Axel's jest that her attitude came off as so flippant, but living without a key body part had been her reality for quite some time now.

She recognised Axel's self-effacing humor for what it was: a way to make the best out of something shitty that couldn't be helped. Not until someone invented a way to will a new appendage to sprout into existence.

It was very possible that Alyson and Axel would regard her as a total asshole from here on out, but she just could not help herself. It was her way of empathizing with the blacksmith's situation.

Out in the real world, Lucke found it infinitely irksome, obnoxious even, when their approach to her would change when someone learned of her handicap.
Some would treat her like a child and tiptoe around things, whilst others would question her mental acuity, yet there was almost always pity.
Given Axel's comment, she had an inkling it was a shared experience.

Reverie then posed her question.

That's right, Lucke had been sorely mistaken in thinking he had lost his arm in a smithing accident. That workshop had been disorganized though, and she felt no less vindicated in rearranging things.

Intrigued, she would listen in on the conversation that was to follow, as she brought up the rear as they moved towards the railcar.

[AmJanky]

Axel

"Thank you," he laid his one hand on Alyson's as she put it on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze, "but don't fret for me, I've had time aplenty."

He wasn't sad about losing his arm, not any more. He had regained a lot of his freedom after his grandfather crafted its prosthetic replacement. With that he could have made an earlier effort to go back, he just never saw the point; there wouldn't have been. It took seeing the Castle Town rebuilding to light that spark.

Lucke seemed to be the only one less fazed by the view of the ruins, the only one to laugh at his silly apology. When the realization hit, as he looked at the words written on the little board Lucke produced from her robes - why she had not spoken a word, why her friend had introduced her - the truth was worse for Lucke, she couldn't speak.

"First of all.." he wheezed, obviously trying not to laugh. The joke was terrible, the condition even moreso, "that's horrible and I am so sorry..." by now he had been reduced to a full on chuckle, "but, I do hope you weren't expecting applause." Adding coal to the fire.
He knew the dark place the jokes came from and the lengths it took to find some brightness. It could be called poor taste by many, but it was a way to gain perspective.


"Akkala took your arm?" Reverie then asked.

"Technically, it's in my bag..." He still hadn't fully staved off the giggles - for all its flaws and points of failure, it was still his arm - but continued more seriously, "It was a Guardian that did it. A remnant of the great battles, if you will. But if you want to point fingers, point it at the people who made the things, or the demon that eventually enthralled them, not Akkala." Akkala and the people involved were just as much victims of history.

There was a time when he had wanted to brute force himself into that history. For all his teen-self cared at the time it could have been Hyrule Field, Fort Hateno or anywhere the damn things still lingered. Long story short; that didn't work out in his favor.

"And as is the case for all of Hyrule right now, one has to find a way to move on." He shrugged, but at the same time let his gaze wander around the rubble still strewn around the outcrop where Tarrey Town lay. A perfect little analogue universe for the land at large; Zonai devices and ruins strewn all over, holes in the ground and people working on making something of it all.

Even though their trip had been quick, the sun had started its descent when they were in the air. Axel reminded himself to take in the view a little better, would there ever be a next time.
"I think we should stay for the remainder of the day. Move on tomorrow." He said having reached the makeshift monorail, the idea was ingenious. Self propelling wheels? He hummed. "We could ride." He gave Alyson a glance.

[Emily]

This place where they had landed was one Reverie had never heard of. Her grandmother had told her extensively of Hyrule before the Calamity, though the woman had been quite young herself during the disaster. She had heard tales of Hateno Village's tranquil farming, of Kakariko's tradition and prowess, of the small fishing village of Lurelin, and of course plenty about the various provincial capitals, chief among them Castle Town. But this 'Tarrey Town' had never come up, and it didn't take long to understand why. The buildings looked new, very new. It was a massive proving ground full of vehicles, weapons, shields, all manner of things that had fallen during the Upheaval. And the people who lived here were doing things with them. This place looked built in response to the Upheaval, even if what she could see of the village across the funicular looked somewhat older, but no more than ten years.

It struck the warrior more than she expected to realise this. Here they were in Akkala, as close to a tombstone for the Kingdom of Hyrule as existed, and in the shadow of that death sprung new life. Much like her home, a community had found itself in the aftermath of disaster and through great strife and personal sacrifice, built something new.

Of course, this spirit was something integral to life. Reverie only had to scan her companion's tablet during the habitual check she did every few minutes to make sure Lucke was there and unharmed. Despite herself, she gave a small snort and grinned. Much like Akkala- much like Hyrule- everyone in their party had lost something precious to them during their lives. That much was clear from the tension as they arrived. Yet here were the two most obviously and physically affected among them, Axel and Lucke, joking and bonding over their loss. That shared experience turned into something quite valuable for them, and it stirred something in Reverie. She felt the white-knuckle grip of anxiety slipping within her. Perhaps things were better now than they were before, but perhaps they had never been quite so dire as she had thought.

Still with a wistful smile, she met Axel's gaze again and nodded. "I could never have dreamed of a place like this. If you wish to spend the night, I would enjoy getting a chance to learn more about..." she gestured to the space around them, "what they do here."

[LuckyBlackCat]

Axel, giving Alyson's hand a squeeze, was quick to reassure her he'd moved forward from his loss long ago. Yet, given the surrounding ruins and their history, she couldn't help suspecting his bout of distress just now had been about more than his arm. Even now, people still bore mental wounds as well as physical ones from the Calamity.

Lucke, clearly mortified about having giggled at Axel's joke, held up a tablet on which she'd written her own gag about having one of the latter. Sorry. Seems I can never hold my tongue.

Oh. So that was why Lucke hadn't said a single word the whole time. Alyson's features twisted into a mix of a wince and an awkward smile as she snorted, pressing the knuckle of a clenched fist agaist her lips, trying not to laugh at the terrible joke. Would doing so be horribly insensitive? Her ribs juddered, the chortle escaping. Lucke and Axel were actively trying to lift the mood with dark humour, she reminded herself. And Axel let loose his own fit of the giggles as he let Lucke know just how groan-worthy her attempt was.

"Ok, oof that's rough," she commented, catching her breath. "But nah, keep the bad jokes coming! The cringier, the better!"

You laugh or you cry. That was what her grandfather had always said, determined to stoke the embers of hope. They'd died along with him, and from then on for Alyson and her parents, it had been a matter of trying to survive in a hostile world they thought would never see peace. Until it did... temporarily. And now, post-Upheaval, that peace had been restored. Yet she hadn't expected the hope reawakened within her to bring with it constant, underlying fear that brighter times wouldn't last. And for all Akkala's newfound progress, lingering traces of destruction all around fuelled that fear.

As Axel let on, it had been a Guardian that had injured him, a reminder that technology built to serve the kingdom could just as easily be used against it. Yet this was part of the reason why they were here, wasn't it? As well as securing the ancient devices for Axel and Robbie, they needed to keep the Yiga Clan from using such knowledge and components for their own ends.

"All the more reason to send those Yiga packing," Alyson replied, leading the group towards the monorail. "Don't they know lab work requires protocols?"

With a nod towards Axel and Reverie as they expressed their readiness to head to town, Alyson stepped up onto the wooden platform, giving Greyson the Goron miner-turned-engineer a friendly wave. He and Hudson had made some significant improvements to the railcar over time, she mused, sliding open the door of the boxy vehicle to reveal plush seats in the reds, blues and greens that featured prominently here. It was wild to recall how the structure had once consisted of rickety planks wired to a wheel, dangling precariously over the lake.

Once she'd ushered everyone inside and pressed the button that set the overhead wheel whirring to life, she cleared her throat and put on her best peppy, overdramatic voice. "Hello everyone, my name is Alyson and on behalf of Tarrey Tours, I welcome you all! Please remain seated, and refrain from eating or drinking inside the railcar, as spillages will result from the copious amounts of swaying."

She gripped the side of her seat as the car rose, rocking along the twists and turns of the rail. With an exaggerated flourish of her free hand, she gestured towards the view outside the window of the woods, the mines, the buildings along the shore. "Here we have Hudson Construction Site, which was subject to unusual weather conditions for a good few years. Namely, a rain of Zonai devices, which are still being dug up to this day. And over there is where people race cars made from said materials. Which I wouldn't recommend... the cars are much faster."

With an impish grin, she tilted her head towards the colourful, circular town drawing nearer. "We will shortly be arriving in Tarrey Town, which has everything you could possibly want for a pleasant island getaway. A cosy little inn, local stores with friendly vendors, relaxing central fountains, a monster safari complete with Lynels... Good thing they're just sculptures." The lifelike statues crafted at the request of monster enthusiast Kilton had unnerved her at first, yet they stood as another symbol of resilience against the Demon King's forces - Link, the hero of Hyrule, had provided the references for them, having bested such beings.

"And now we reach our destination," she announced as the railcar slowed and pulled up by the island's platform. "Enjoy your stay, let me know if you have any questions, and remember to drink responsibly!"

She stepped out into the evening breeze of her home town. Lamps were beginning to glow against the dusk, activity was winding down for the day, and streaks of dull purple-pink stretched across the sky like old scars. It would be best to head to the inn before long, for food and rest, and so that everyone could gather their thoughts, Akkala having dredged up so many painful memories. With any luck, she'd be able to convince innkeeper Kapson to let the group stay overnight for free.

[Sav'saaba]

Alyson had made the wobbly ride into an experience that tourists would pay good money for, rattling off tidbits of Tarrey Town trivia without pause and sprinkling in little jokes. Apparently, a Hudson Construction employee was a breed of many talents.

Though, if Lucke had gotten a rupee for every time she had witnessed  one of Hudson's workers hammer a thumb instead of a nail back in Castle Town, she'd be about four rupees richer. Which wasn't much, but still struck her as a little over quota for professional carpenters. They would pull off the company's anthem and its supplemental jig flawlessly every time, however. Priorities!

Lucke applauded their hostess' spiel when the vehicle ground to a halt, and the smirk plastered on her face had widened at Alyson's final comment before the group would disembark. As she clapped, Lucke had not resisted the temptation to briefly lean a shoulder into Axel and pretend to do his share of applause for him, a little nudge to his earlier jesting comment.

Left up to her, she would play this game all night long. It would be a dangerous one, though. It was no secret that one does not lose their tongue slipping on ice, yet Axel had had the grace to not ask. Perhaps he had not needed to. For all the charm the smith had presented himself with and despite their moment of genuine connection, she should not forget they were of the same stock. Scum, the lot of them.

As the crew moved towards the town square, Lucke couldn't say she was enamored of the style of the village's buildings, despite its novelty to her. Tarrey Town's homes looked like they were made up of what a Hinox would consider to be building blocks. Did people like living in these?

In the next moment the monster safari, as Alyson had called it, lured her away from the others and she broke into a light jog as she moved towards the display.

These were amazing! From the models' lifesize scale down to the intricate anatomical details, everything was there, and every single 'blin looked as if it could start moving to wreak havoc and lop off heads any second. There were very few things that Lucke admired more than she did master craftsmanship, and she audibly gasped when she laid eyes on the centerpiece of the exhibit.

The Sheikah had always thought of Revvie as Lynel-hearted, but she had not been fully aware of just how apt a description it was. By Daruk's gravelly nads, even as a sculpture the monster exuded ferocity!

The sculpted Lynel was frozen in mid-swing of its Crusher, bulging veins visibly snaking down taut biceps and its face contorted by a snarl. When Lucke had last encountered the Blue-Maned Lynel that had claimed a territory near West Hebra Summit, there hadn't exactly been opportunity to gaze the monstrous chimera leisurely into the malicious orbs it had for eyes like she did now. She had been a little too occupied with holding on for dear life as she bounced on its back, her white-knuckled fists tangled with tufts of its mane. The elders would have been up on shit creek without a paddle if that errant hoof had managed to cave her skull in then and there, she considered while bearing a small sardonic smile.

She sidled in a little closer to the effigy.

Closer still.

And then somehow, miraculously, her palms found purchase on the creature's withers and with a skip, she pushed and pulled herself up and swung a leg over.
Planted firmly on the monster's back, the redhead shot a look of mischief in Revvie's direction. This took her back!

[AmJanky]

Axel

"All the more reason to send those Yiga packing, don't they know lab work requires protocols?"

"They too served a purpose..." Axel breathed, while he got on the cart with a last look over his shoulder. "They have ten thousand years more experience with what we're trying to salvage. I'm pretty sure they're better aware of any lab protocols, just not of common decency."

If one was to point fingers at the people who made the things, where would one begin to point? Hyrule had been prosperous before, known calamity before, gained and lost prosperity over and over and over.

It was the - by now nameless - king of Hyrule some ten thousand years ago that caused the rift between the Sheikah and Yiga. By putting a ban on the technology after their calamity was slain. The Yiga held on to what they found - and perhaps very much was - rightfully theirs. While the Sheikah remained loyal to their king and denounced most of their inventions in favor of serving the royal family.

When the calamity returned, a hundred years ago, the ban was lifted by their king Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. But Robby and Purah wouldn't have had any practical experience with the machines. Without the Yiga holding onto their knowledge the technology would very likely not have been revived in the first place.

Without Yiga Axel would not even have existed.

The reason why Axel was asked if his grandfather was a good man; Robbie would know as well as any that there had been a few among the Yiga that had seen their Lord for what he really was. That there were a few who returned and that they had been invaluable.
That there were those few exceptions, didn't mean they were all good people. Axel knew as well as any that most Yiga were not, but to him their clan wasn't entirely irredeemable.

There were not many that could say they owed their life to a - be it former - Yiga in more ways than one.



The monorail was a thing to see. With the cart riding up a track of wood - Axel had some thoughts on the stability and durability of it all, but he wasn't going to ruin the ride - they listened to Alyson's grand tour de Tarrey Town. With a view of the plains below to boot. Seemed Lucke enjoyed it a lot as she applauded while the cart came to a halt. He sniggered while she doubled down and leaned into him producing some extra sound, clapping extra for him.

"So this is your home," He grinned at Alyson, as they disembarked. While the work on Castle Town was underway he'd heard her talk about it, but he had no idea it would already be a little metropolis in a matter of years.
He did have to squint at the sight of the houses. For some odd reason he had expected the race track to be as gaudy and colourful as it was, but not that the houses would follow the same principle, they were very much practicality first. "It's...Unusual. Very Hudson and Co."

Apart from just taking in the sight that was the peculiar houses, his gaze followed Lucke; she ambled around the small square and nimbly hoisted herself onto one of the statues. She picked what was considered one of the most menacing monsters roaming Hyrule's plains, the Lynel. The small swordswoman nearly disappeared on its back.
He then looked back at Reverie, the more archetypal swordwielder out of the two. She stood like a guard, surveyed her surroundings with a deadpan stare that belied her vocation. The armour she wore was well-maintained, but old. Reverie had beheld the ruins with a similar revering look as Axel, and he couldn't help but feel there was more left to Reverie than just the past armor of a guard.
Still, these two women weren't anything like what people would expect a sword for hire to look like.

"What could possibly drive you to become mercenaries?" The question was asked before his brain caught him up and he said it out loud. "I mean... I know where I stand, generations of artificers, a blacksmith as long as there is no art to ficer."

As any Sheikah was wont to do; he became what his forebear was. One could say of it what they wanted, but it took the stress out of having to choose. He had no idea if that was how it worked for Hylian too.

[Emily]

The monorail was a true wonder. Though she wasn't often as expressive as her partner, Reverie looked through the windows and around the car for the entire trip, clearly enjoying the experience. It was like nothing she had experienced before, much like the airship ride that had ended only moments before. What a day this was turning out to be. She was learning so much about the technologies controlled by people outside her little community. Even in Castle Town, the tools and effort used were mostly based in the physical strength of those people participating in the event; something she was very familiar with.

Image by Kirusu

At the end of the brief ride, Lucke clapped vigorously. Reverie's eyes darted to her companion and, with a ghost of a wry smile, gave a light clap herself. Well, if they were going to be seen as the strange yokels from the countryside, might as well lean into it a bit. She wasn't usually the most outgoing person, but if Lucke was already being silly, Reverie was capable of keeping up at least somewhat. After all, they'd done such odd things in the grand hall to entertain everyone else. From duelling to dancing to that one time Lucke had wanted to lead a, what had she called it, cardio class? She'd had them all rolling and jumping and bouncing off the walls.

The houses of Tarrey Town were, themselves, also a strange sight to behold. Reverie had seen some of the Hudson style in Castle Town- not every building had been within those specifications, but one of two requests had been made. She didn't know how she felt about them. On the one hand, they were garish in their colour scheme and made up of such basic shapes. On the other hand, they were incredibly quick to build, economically feasible, and practical. A small team of builders could make homes for a village in a matter of days with the Hudson techniques, and that was something to be lauded, especially in a place with temperamental weather.

From beside her, Axel asked "What could possibly drive you to become mercenaries? I mean... I know where I stand, generations of artificers, a blacksmith as long as there is no art to ficer."

She took a second to think about her response, but ultimately had it ready when she turned to look at him. "We escaped a bad situation before arriving in Castle Town. It's not my place to say what happened, but trust that moving around is best for now. The two of us have known each other a long time," she softened at that, the small smile from before coming back. "We both like a good fight, and trust each other with our lives. We didn't expect this type of work, but," she turned to look at Lucke.

Lucke was gone, the Sheikah having shot off toward the taxidermied beasts. Reverie narrowed her eyes. "We took an opportunity that presented itself to us. My grandmother, my parents, and the rest of my family were all warriors, so I've had a sword in my hand since I could walk. I wouldn't know how to do anything else. Please forgive me, I'll be right back. I'd love to revisit this conversation with you."

She grinned as she approached, already seeing what Lucke was going for. Of course, how could anyone overlook the Lynel? That was a hell of a beast, an incredible catch for whoever killed it without doing too much damage to its pelt. As Lucke leapt onto the creature's back, Reverie gave out a bark of a laugh, surprising herself as much as anyone else around them with the sound. Her eyes lit up- you rogue!- and she met Lucke's glance with an equal energy. How could either of them forget that day?

They'd been patrolling, trying to find somewhere open enough to have their duel while also fulfilling Reverie's role to her family. Before Reverie was fully aware of what was happening, Lucke had been on the back of a bucking and roaring Lynel, a creature neither of them had ever seen before. In a pure panic somehow fuelled by exhilaration unlike anything she'd ever felt before or since, Reverie sank into a synchronised dance with Lucke, this time in different roles. Lucke would yank at the Lynel's mane, exposing points for Reverie to stab. Though they hadn't killed the beast, they'd wounded it more than enough for the pair to escape. By the time they'd cleared enough distance, both were out of breath, laughing like madwomen from the near death experience.

[LuckyBlackCat]

Alyson grinned at Lucke's applause. The speech had been cheesier than Hateno pizza, but had the desired effect of keeping people in high spirits - well, as high as possible, considering the memories lingering close behind and the task ahead of them.

She began to lead the group down the familiar path. Home. The reminder of Hyrule's resilience, standing proud all around, gave her much-needed strength. Axel, from the way he squinted, seemed to have an unsure view on the place at best, searching for something positive to say about it and settling on "unusual." Alyson couldn't help but giggle. The bright and blocky aesthetic of Tarrey Town, in her experience, was something people either loved or hated with little to no in-between.

"It's not everyone's cup of Hyrule Herb tea," she admitted, "but I always found it has a certain cheery charm." The style, as simplistic as some people called it, was quick and easy to replicate, the structures sturdy, practical and affordable symbols of modernity. As for the colours, what better way was there to brighten a formerly bleak landscape? Reverie, at least, appeared to regard the buildings with curiosity rather than uncertainty, before answering Axel's question about why she and Lucke had taken on their mercenary jobs.

As she listened in, Alyson's smile lessened at the mention of a narrowly-escaped bad situation, but broadened when Reverie spoke of how she and Lucke had been good friends for a long time. And as Reverie let on, she had plenty of combat experience, being descended from a family of warriors. "Looks like we're all following in our family's footsteps, huh?" Alyson commented. "My mother's a carpenter, as were my grandparents on her side." Would her old gramps be proud, she wondered, if he could see her striving to make his dream come true?

Her attention drifted in the direction Reverie headed, towards Lucke, who'd made a beeline for the Lynel sculpture and clambered onto its back like a particularly daring animal tamer. Eyes lighting up with glee at the sight, Alyson rushed over and raised a fist. "Go Lucke! Show that Lynel who's boss!" She glanced around the sleepy town for anyone who may disapprove, although the vendors had packed up for the night, and the vast majority of Hudson Construction workers were in Castle Town. People technically weren't supposed to climb on the sculptures, but sometimes rules were overrated.

"As long as you're careful not to chip the paint, I'm sure it'll be fine. Not like the other builders are going to know." Of course, if this got back to the company via a neighbour, Alyson could expect to get grumbled at for enabling such antics, but it would be worth it. The four of them were, after all, planning to embark on a dangerous mission. Why not have some silly fun first?

[Sav'saaba]

One sweep of a Lynel's crusher would reduce a fellow to chu jelly and regrets, yet there Reverie and Lucke were, the both of them still in one piece and only negligibly scathed. With their backs pressed to the trunk of a lone tree as they caught their breath, the wintry air that filled up their lungs did little to sober them from the haze of relieved elation as the girls laughed, utterly incredulous about what they had managed through teamwork.
Lucke had never felt quite so alive. Nor quite so sticky with slobber and gore.

After parting for the day with Reverie, Lucke was on her way back home. Giddy with pride, she had imagined how the eyes of her friends Edehk-Lirre and Meyih-Akke would grow large and their jaws slack when she would saunter into the village and up to their usual hangout spot.

[Oh, this? It's nothing, you should see the other guy! That Lynel ran off like a kicked puppy. Who's the scary badass now?] she'd sign to whoever of her peers would show a modicum of interest in that burgeoning shiner. It was nothing that the face paint that someone in her role was expected to wear couldn't hide; Lucke would turn over a new leaf and diligently apply the paint made of chalk and the red pigment from crushed wildberries for the next fortnight or so.

Much like how the Lynel's blood staining Lucke's hands and face had, that giddiness coagulated, then settled in her throat like bile when two riders crested a snowy bank nearby, their Tabantha moose on a steady course to intercept her homeward trek. Caught playing hooky. Again. 

The elders would stand vigil on the rocky outcrop overlooking Hebra headspring like a murder of carrion crows waiting for butcher scraps as she stripped down stone-faced to wade into the spring as stark naked as she had come into the world. They had commanded her to ritually cleanse herself of the taint of impurity in its freezing waters, like they had after she and the baker's boy had been caught canoodling.

Tch.

It hadn't ever gone further than a slightly-less-than-chaste kiss and some exploratory groping that would garner a handful of thick layers and furs rather than flesh. The only thing steamy about their rendez-vous had been the hot spring they had sat half-reclined on the edge of when that hardass Sitka I'ssoz had stumbled upon the youths. It had gotten them both into so much trouble.
Her tears and prayers for absolution had not seen to move the Goddess towards forgiveness —- or the elders. Word around the village was that the boy had been sent away, and she had never seen him again. For his sake, she could now only hope that had been the truth.


Even though Lucke had broken away from the group, she had heard Axel's remark and the conversation that germinated from it, her companions' words carrying across the town square that had settled in for the descending night, with Tarrey Town's residents having retreated into the cookie-cutter homes that dotted the plateau in the lake.
Lucke was grateful for having a local like Alyson in their fold, because chances were, Lucke would have confused one building with the other and ended up at the post office instead of the inn were she to follow directions such as 'turn right at the next blocky building and then it's the first colourful collection of cubes on your left' from some bypasser.

She mulled over what to write in answer to Axel's question and ultimately settled on 'My previous gig was killing me. And someone has to look after my friend here.', when Reverie swooped in with an answer that was much more elegant, and more importantly, more inclined to inspire trust in the capabilities of the duo as hired swords, so the Sheikah never took chalk to slate.

She deduced from Alyson's words that this exquisitely crafted monster safari was linked to Hudson Construction, somehow. Although Lucke had no spare damn to give about ruffling the feathers of any perceived superiors, she also had no desire to be the reason for Alyson to get into trouble, and so she let herself slide off the mannequin after she'd countered Alyson's fistpump with one of her own and a wide smile, and landed on her feet with all the measure grace of a feline.

Besides, the purpose of her antics had been met. It seemed their shared memory had lifted Reverie's spirits, if only a little, and the trill of her short laugh was a balm to the disquiet that sat coiled within Lucke's chest in its own turn.

[Those Yiga better hide, Revvie the Lynel slayer is coming for them. But first, she needs to finish her earlier conversation with mr. Emptysleeve over there.] she signed, a little more restrained than she usually would, because as a traditional Sheikah, odds were Axel too had mastered sign language as a kid. 

She hooked an arm around one of Reverie's, and marched the both of them back towards Axel.

An artificer, was he?

A cinder of something was roused within her, a fitful ember in the winds, that hopefulness that had shattered along with the sword and which she held sequestered near her heart like the kelp fibre pouch that held the pieces of ancient material.

She released her hold of her friend to write down her message to Axel.

'These pieces were once a sword. Would you be able to reforge Ancient Tech?'

It was a long shot, but she needed to know.

She pressed the slate into his hand and pulled the sachet from her robes, to present Skulltula Bite's withered remains. As Axel read, she quickly made an addendum, writing upside down now from her standpoint, and just a little squiggly.

'Once both your arms are in working order again, of course.'

She raised an eyebrow, an expectant look on her face.
Please say yes!

[AmJanky]

Axel

It was a nice thing to hear, that the apple didn't fall all too far from the tree for Reverie and Alyson either. Another affirmation of the Sheikah and Hylian not differing that much at all, safe for their eye- and hair colour. Perhaps the most notable difference was their lifespans.

Axel's grandfather had lived through the calamitous times. And had been an almost unbearably positive person, even after all the hardships. He wasn't the sort to be quietly contemplative about any of it either.
He told the stories, honestly answered the questions, shared his knowledge and the lessons he had learned. It was his grandfather that had taught Axel to dare dream, that there was always room to start over.

Axel's dad would paint a different picture. A picture of those dreams proving to be nightmares. The post-calamitous world wasn't kind and what had been promised was just easily taken away again. To him starting over had come as a must, not a choice.
In one regard both men had been the same - obviously father and son - neither was a quiet nor contemplative man. Both of them would think out loud, oftentimes they'd think very loudly towards each other.

Neither of them had been wrong, they both just had seen different times. If it had taught Axel anything; it was to just walk the middle-ground. And when the civil debates turned into shouting matches to go grab his mom and make her threaten them to use their inside voices, or have her force some food down their gullets.

In the end it was Axel's father who had to concede that maybe he'd been too strict; this was of course after the sad passing of the old man - but at the age of a hundred-and-thirty the term sad really was debatable. He would, however, never see the day he had always stayed convinced would come, but had made Axel promise he'd seize it if he could. Conceivably it was the experience of having blundered so badly that Axel couldn't in good conscience make good on that promise until his father urged to go to Hyrule Castle when the rebuilding was getting underway.
He was still coming to terms with what this blessing was going to entail, but so far so good. He got harassed by a tiny professor was asked by Robbie to do a favour and as a cherry on top of that cake got to see Hyrule from the sky. If anything, that would count as seizing a day, right?



He was almost convinced one of the statues was going to end up headless - with the way Reverie had looked at it, the poor statue of the beast already having had to submit to a rider. Lucke even found a cheer leader in Alyson, who only tentatively told them not to break anything. Surely the two swordswomen never tried to beat a Lynel?

But it wouldn't come to blows in Tarrey Town that evening.

Axel didn't think much of it, but caught the tail end of Lucke gesturing something to Reverie. He blamed it on the distance, but the honest to goodness truth was that he simply hadn't kept up with the intricacies of Sheikah sign language. And how could he, he was an arm short for practice. The words he did manage to decipher were empty and sleeve. Well, thanks, he didn't need to guess who that was about. Lucke almost conspiratorially took her friend's arm while walking back.

When she returned she pushed the slate in his hand - thankful for the opportunity to read letters instead of hands he took it - she took a pouch out of her robes before scribbling an addendum upside-down.


"I'm going to need to do more than just fill out a sleeve for that." he chuckled, but then looked at the telltale blue of the Sheikah blade in the pouch she proffered.
There was a near imperceptible shudder in the breath he drew upon seeing the pieces of what was once a sword. He put the slate Lucke had pushed into his hand under the stump of his left arm and took the hilt out of the pouch. He ran his thumb over the maker's mark, the form of this sword, as well as the mark were completely unknown to him.
Thinking back on how Lucke had diligently started to put the tools back in their place just before they set out, she knew her way around a forge too. But just from where?

And then he looked up into her hopeful gaze, a little startled. The guess that she wasn't Gerudo had been right, but the thenforth assumption she would be a Hylian wasn't right either. Her hair was dyed red, but her irises were red too.

"I'll need the forge," He looked towards the darkening sky above the north of Akkala. If luck was on their side, and if common decency had not entirely left the Yiga occupation, it would still function, "and a helping hand." When he looked back at Lucke, the hoop in her ear incidentally started to glow in the twilight.

"I will have a good look at it all tomorrow, when there's light. But for now, we'd better seek out the inn and call it a day. Alyson, I take it you'll sleep at home? Could you point us to the inn?" He turned to their Tarrey Town resident before continuing, "Incidentally, I don't want any of you to worry about costs for stays and food. I got us into this gig and I won't hear otherwise."

He could always have a chat with Robbie if need be, he was likely going to have a chat with Robbie regardless.

[Emily]

They walked back to the group arm in arm, the way they'd walked so many places over the years. In this moment, Reverie could take stock of how things were going, how they were actually going. Reverie had spent their entire time in Castle Town looking over her shoulder, watching the road to the north. Their tent had been hidden in one of the forests to the east of Castle Town, ensuring nobody could sneak up on them while they slept. Still, she had spent many hours outside the tent, watching. Dreading the possibility but entirely certain that a group would come along that path, attempting to sneak into town, swords at the ready. But now they were half a world away. Nobody would know to look for them here, and sky travel took away most mundane and magical forms of tracking.

She found herself relaxing, the stress that had stiffened her limbs and kept her less than a second away from drawing her sword once it was needed draining away. A new appreciation of the town around her crystallised. Not just the buildings, which while strange were undeniably cute. The breeze travelling through the village was crisp, cool, and humid. This differed not only from Hebra, where the frozen air was often dry and harsh, but from Castle Town, which had carried a much denser, warmer humidity to its days. The climate here seemed much more bearable to someone accustomed to eternal winter, without sacrificing the enjoyment of those who wanted something temperate.

[Those Yiga better hide, Revvie the Lynel slayer is coming for them. But first, she needs to finish her earlier conversation with mr. Emptysleeve over there.] Lucke had said. Reverie had laughed, and instinctively replied [Okay okay, let's go.] without thinking. An easy, if quick and repetitive movement of the hand, interpretable by those unversed in sign as a handwave dismissing an idea. But between them, even before sign was necessary for communication, it had been her most common response to things.

As they travelled back across the main square, Reverie responded to something Alyson had said earlier, before the Lynel incident. "I always thought it would be interesting to learn how to build, to construct things, but never found much time for it. Do you enjoy it?"

There hadn't been much time for anything in her community. Everyone had multiple jobs to do, because their population hadn't grown enough to have dedicated specialists. The best predictions they could have put them at enough people for such a thing in maybe another 100 years. But that would be more difficult to accomplish now that the queen and her hero had returned, the threat vanquished, Castle Town being reconstructed. Leaving at dawn to check the traps and attempt to hunt down a moose, or to drill a hole in the ice and fish, only to spend the afternoon taking your shift patrolling, wouldn't appeal nearly as much now that people could just leave and move to Castle Town, or Hateno, or even this place, Tarrey Town. Life seemed so much easier here.

There was a depth and importance to the exchange between Lucke and Axel that Reverie noted, though she understood she couldn't fully understand it. She had grown up in a strictly Hylian community, had very little in the way of cultural traditions and importance placed on things outside of who had previously owned them. Her grandmother's armour and (reforged) sword were important to her, but they weren't a thousand years old. The hope in Lucke's eyes, the solemn determination in Axel's, spoke to something beyond what she could hope to understand, and that was a nice feeling. A pact made at twilight on the eve of battle, something out of a story she would have heard as a child.

"Incidentally, I don't want any of you to worry about costs for stays and food. I got us into this gig and I won't hear otherwise." came a very welcome offer. Reverie, though she would have loved to play the role of a successful hero and turn down the offer, literally had no way to keep them indoors otherwise. "That would be greatly appreciated, though I promise we won't impose too heavily upon your generosity."

[LuckyBlackCat]

As it turned out, Axel and Robbie weren't the only ones who needed the lab reclaimed. Lucke leapt down from the Lynel sculpture and headed back alongside Reverie towards Axel, hope shimmering in her red eyes as she wrote something on her slate - Alyson caught the words "sword" and "ancient tech" when Lucke handed it to him. At the sight of a sachet she pulled from her robes, shards of something clinking inside, realisation dawned. Another piece of Sheikah technology in need of repair - and, going by Lucke's expectant expression, the sword was as much an extension of her as Axel's prosthetic arm was of him.

Alyson clenched her fists with resolve. If Lucke also required long-lost materials and techniques to fix the sword, all the more reason to drive out the Yiga.

She looked over at Reverie, who'd stuck to the topic of construction, asking if she enjoyed her building work. "Yep! Woodworking is something I've been passionate about from a young age," she replied. Crafting, as well as being rewarding, had always been a way to keep her mind focused on the here and now, away from grief for the past and fears for the future. Or at least, she tried to use it that way. The underlying awareness that entire structures could be reduced to splinters and ashes in a matter of moments, along with the lives of those who dwelled in them, lingered in the background like the residual distress from her nightmares. "It has its frustrating moments, but it's more than worth it to see something come together, and to see others enjoy it."

Like some of the furniture she and her fellow workers had provided for the inn as it had grown, like the maintenance work they'd done there - which could grant a boon to the group. She nodded at Axel's question, gesturing towards the building with crescent-shaped lights shining from dual posts. "It's just this way. And yep I'll spend the night at home, but I'm more than happy to share a meal! As for costs, thanks, I can pitch in if you want though. And there maaaaay just be a way to knock the prices down a little."

As she led the three into the colourful lobby of the inn, the elderly, red-scaled Zora at the front desk turned his head. "Ah, Alyson! Hylia bless you, what brings you back so soon?"

Alyson gave Kapson a wide grin. "Part supply run, part epic adventure. And since we've got quite the quest ahead of us tomorrow..." She did her best puppy-dog eyes at him, clasping her hands together in front of her chest in an exaggerated gesture. "You wouldn't be able to extend that Hudson Construction workers' discount to these intrepid travellers here, by any chance?"

The lines in Kapson's face deepened as he studied them, pensive. "I suppose I can grant you such a blessing just this once. That will be fifty per cent off of food and lodging for all of you tonight."

"Yayyy! Thanks!" Alyson raised her fist in victory. She considered negotiating further, taking a leaf out of her businesswoman friend Sable's book to dial up the charm and push for a free stay, but for all Kapson's patience, he had a tendency to pray for divine judgement when it reached its limits.

Kapson's mouth creased into a smile. "You're very welcome. May the Goddess watch over you on your journey tomorrow."