trans_9 | One good turn... [closed to Daja]

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One good turn... [closed to Daja]

They had been distracted by the podpop, but Sheik still had kept his appointment - payment to the blacksmith, Daja, for fixing his beloved lyre. It wasn't too much of a hardship, either - a few songs and some tea, which would explain the burner, teapot, flask of water, two teacups, and little pouch of just enough tea for two set beneath the tree Sheik was now lounging beneath.

Honestly, he had been pleased to find the little park - and quite close to Daja's forge, too. Now, he set everything out on a flat rock in the shade and settled back to wait, newly repaired lyre in his lap.

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With her staff in hand, Daja soon arrived to the place where Sheik had suggested they meet. "Good day," she said, when she saw him sitting there.

"I hope you're happy with the result?" she asked politely, gesturing to the now restored lyre.

Sheik raised a hand in greeting, a smile crossing his face (uncovered, for once) at the question. "Very happy," he confirmed, running his thumb along where there had previously been cracks. "It looks almost like it's new - you did a wonderful job."

"Thank you," Daja said, as she sat down on the grass and carefully set down on the grass. "I'm glad to see it brought back to it's former glory. It is a beautiful instrument."

"It is," he nodded, a fond smile on his face. "My mentor gave it to me - it's quite precious to me."

Carefully, he set it in the long grass, sweeping a hand beneath it beforehand to check for anything that could damage it. Then he began to prepare the tea, fussing around with the burner and the flask of water and the tea leaves. "This is a good blend," he told her as he sat back to let the water heat, "Fragrant - here, have a smell." Offering her the little pouch the leaves had been in, he sat back, lyre back in his lap again.

Managing to hide her eagerness - she did so long for some good tea - she took the offered pouch so she could smell the precious leaves. "The smell lovely," she said.

"They are," he nodded, settling back comfortably amongst the roots. "There was a mission to Earth a little while ago - I stocked up then." There's a nostalgic smile on his face. "The tea is one of the things I miss the most about Hyrule - my people had wonderful tea."

"Hyrule is your home?" Daja asked. "Can you tell me about it?"

"Certainly," Sheik nodded again. "It's... very different to some of the places others here come from - very green, with wide open spaces. The centre of Hyrule is taken up by plains, surrounded on all sides by various landmarks - the mountains to the northeast, the forests to the east and south, Lake Hylia in the southwest, and a desert to the west, stretching well beyond the borders."

He took a breath - that had just been a lot of words. "There are two main population centres," he continued, "Castle Town is our capital, in the north, and Kakariko is in the northwest, in the foothills of the mountains - that's where I am from."

"It sounds like a wonderful place," Daja said. Feeling like she should share some of her own background, she continued: "My home is...was...a city called Summersea. It's not the place I was born in, but when I was younger I came to live in Winding Circle, a nearby temple. I learned I had magic there, and met my foster-family," she smiled, looking a little sad. "I miss it so much already."

Sheik gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well, if we succeed, perhaps you will see your home again," he told her, hopefully reassuring. "Back in our rightful places."

Never mind what those rightful places were.

He exhaled suddenly, reaching for the now steaming teapot. "Well, then. Tea? And then a little music?" Preparing the two cups, he handed one to Daja, taking a sip of his own.

Ahh, that was nice.

"I hope so," Daja said wistfully.

"Yes, of course," Daja said as she took the cup of tea, and taking a sip herself. She sighed with content. "I'm looking forward to your performance."

Sheik nodded at that, taking another long sip before setting the cup back on the flat rock. "Well, no time like the present," he told her with a small small, lifting the lyre out of the grass and setting it on his lap, still unable to stop running a hand across the smooth metal.

"You really did do a wonderful job on it," he murmured, and immediately launched in to his first piece - an extended medley, somewhat, of the Serenade of Water and Zelda's own lullaby. As he played, Zelda made a content sound - she always had liked the gentle Serenade.

Daja watched attentively, listening, letting the music flow around her. Sandry would like this music, she thought to herself, with a smile.

When he finished, she applauded enthusiastically. "That's a lovely song," she said. "What's it called?"

He smiled a little at the applause, ducking his head. "It doesn't really have a name," he mused, "I suppose it is a medley - some existing pieces and my own compositions. This part is called the Serenade of Water, though -"

Carefully, he played the five notes of the Serenade, then on to add the whole thing. "In Hyrule, the first few notes of that taps in to the... background magic of the land, I suppose," he explained. "It transports the player to Lake Hylia - other songs serve similar purposes. For example, this is the Bolero of Fire, and it transports someone to Death Mountain, a volcano." And he briefly played it, too.

"Free of charge," he added with a smile. He really was more of a musician than a warrior or a protector.

"You have music magic?" Daja asked when the song was finished, instantly curious. She had seen a glimmer of magic in Sheik, but she wasn't able to determine the nature of his magic from that. "How does it work? How long did you study to learn it? When did you find out you were a mage?"

Sheik shook his head. "Not as such," he said carefully, "The magic is in the specific combination of notes interacting with Hyrule's background magic - even if the notes still have power here, it won't do anything now. Anyone who knows the songs and has an instrument can use it - I've heard of someone who once triggered the Song of Storms - it makes it rain - by whistling."

Never mind that it had been him who had accidentally triggered it. It had been a very damp, very embarrassed Sheikah who had crept back to his and Zelda's hiding place.

He hesitated briefly, then added, "I do have some magic, but it's not related to music. And Sheikah are intrinsic magic users - it just needs training to learn how to control it."

"The magic is in the land?" Daja leaned forward eagerly now - this was interesting. "And anyone can use it? You don't have to be born with magic?"

Daja was beginning to think that even just learning what all the different types on magic on Stacy were would take a lifetime - never mind learning how they work.

"This particular magic, yes," he nodded. "It simply requires knowledge of the songs, but they tend to be... hard to find." Of the ten songs he knew, eight he had had to discover for himself - only Zelda's lullaby and the Song of Time he had been taught.

"There are also magical devices that anyone can use," he continued, "But these are more in the minority. Most magic in Hyrule runs along elemental lines, generally for those of particular races attuned to those elements - my people, the Sheikah, are affiliated with the shadows, and so I can use shadow magic."

He reaches a hand out in to the sun, demonstrating - the shadow cast by his arm ripples oddly over the land, then begins to solidify and rise up, taking a more corporeal form before collapsing into normal shadow again. "Of course," he murmurs, "It's also possible to use others with training, especially when they are complimentary magics - I know a Hylian, normally affiliated with light magic, who can use both that and some minor water magic. Both are associated with the Goddess Nayru, though - it comes more easily."

((OOC: If you're curious, I have a bunch of stuff up here 8D))

Daja listened closely, fascinated. "It's moving!" she said when the shadow rose up. "Does everyone in your world have magic?" she asked when it settled down. "In my world only some people are. But if magic is tied to particular races, does that mean all Sheikah have Shadow magic, like you?"

The idea of everyone having magic was a new one - as was the idea of particular races having particular kinds of magic. True, Trader magic was different - but that was more because they were taught different, not because of any differences inherit in their magic.

[[ooc: wooooow, you are so dedicated Naomi XD]]

"Some do," he nodded, "The Sheikah are one of the few races where magic is intrinsic - in others, like the Gerudo and the Gorons, it's rarer. There are some very powerful magic users amongst them, but..." He shrugged. Magic in Hyrule was something he had been observing for years. "A user has to be born with the potential, and train for a long time. In races like mine and the Kokiri, and a lot more instinctive, and in races like the Hylians, it's like..."

Tapping his fingers against the ground, he frowned a little thoughtfully. "Within Hylians, all have the potential, but very few end up using their natural abilities. When they do, though, it can be... dramatic. The Hylian I mentioned earlier is the most powerful magic user I've ever come across."

[Why, thank you.]

((OOC: This is called 'overthinking the issue' XD))

Daja nodded, taking it all in. Who could and who could use magic was much more complicated in Sheik's world that in her own.

"Your world sounds like an interesting place," she remarked with a smile. With a sip of her tea, she gave Sheik a knowing smile. "Now, I've heard two songs from your home. You need only play a third and Bookkeeper Oti will mark your debt as paid."

Oh, he thought he had only played one. Still, he'll accept it for now.

"It is interesting," he agreed with a smile, "And one of the more interesting places is Death Mountain, and its population of Gorons." And without much more preamble, he launched into his next piece - an extension of the Bolero he had played earlier.

Daja was feeling generous, Sheik. Besides, if you want to give out freebies, you should wait until after the debt has been paid.

"Death Mountain?" she said with a raised eyebrow, before settling down to listen to more of Sheik's beautiful music.

He finished playing with a flourish, then grinned a little at the earlier question. "It's an active volcano," he shrugged, "And has, in the past, caused death - there was an eruption that practically buried Kakariko about... a hundred and fifty years ago, I suppose?"

Quietly, softly, he started playing another piece - background music as he spoke. (It could count as third by his count - Sheik did not enjoy ripping people off.) "The mountain has been an ever-present part of Hyrule's landscape, and Kakariko has sat at its foot for nearly five hundred years. It started out as one of the annual settlements that the Sheikah took, we - they were nomadic back then. But around... three hundred and fifty years ago, the village became permanent, and became the home of the Sheikah in Hyrule. Even when the old village was destroyed by the volcano, we still remained there."

He could still vividly recall the sight of the ruined village - flows of ash that had scoured the little wooden village from top to toe. Only the Shadow Temple, largely underground, had survived.

"It's a bit morbid, though," Daja said. "And it's not like the volcano did anything other than act according to it's nature."

She went silent, listening to the music and remembering her own experiences with molten lava. For all that her magic was based in fire, she hadn't been able to pass through it. But she remembered the heat and the power. The power of the natural world was indeed something to be respected.

"I suppose it is a bit morbid," he shrugged. "Still, I didn't name it - and many of Hyrule's landmarks are rather literally named."

Finally, he set the lyre aside, reaching for his tea again. "Death Mountain is a mountain that causes death, the Lost Woods are enchanted woods that make people get lost, the Haunted Wastelands are wastelands that are haunted..."

Seriously, some people had no imagination.

Daja laughed when she heard these names. "They really call them that?" she asked.

"They really did. I'm afraid we are not very creative when it comes to names, it seems," he said with a faint, sheepish grin. "Even my village, Kakariko, wasn't very creative - it's just the Sheikah word for 'at the mountain's foot'."

"At least it sounds like a nice name," she said, smiling.

Taking one last sip of her tea, Daja said, "Thank you very much for your music. You play very well."

He gave her a formal nod, a smile on his face. "It was a pleasure - fair repayment for the wonderful job you did on the lyre."

"I hope that we can do business in the future, then," Daja said, standing up and bowing to Sheik.

He finished off his tea, then stood and returned the bow. "As do I. I'm sure you'll find no shortage of work, here. M-may those of Fire look down favourably upon you."

Well, he hadn't had to use one of Din's blessings in a long time - really, it was no wonder he stumbled.

Daja smiled. "And may your records be balanced in Bookkeeper Oti's books."

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One good turn... [closed to Daja]

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