Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

Zant's War - Between Two Kings

-Before-

-Sheikah Estate, Kanyou-

Before the Sheikah's disappearance, Reida was still a prisoner in their mansion. There was a great deal of activity outside her door, and this awoke her from her droll stupor. "What is happening?" She asked through the door. No one answered. Men hurried by with scrolls and weapons and clothes and sacks of goods, but no one paid her any mind. Her guards were still there, so it was not because they had forgotten entirely about her.

Words of evacuation reached her ears and she feared, not understanding what was happening and desiring to.

Everything went quiet after a time where men no longer rushed by or yelled excitedly. The torches blew, the hall dimmed into darkness, and all sound ceased. In the quiet, a voice whispered, "Step back, Lady Reida."

Reida backed away from the door. A key entered the lock, turned loudly with such force it shook the door, and the door opened. Several Sheikah stood on the other side with the guards were on the ground bleeding and gagged. One Sheikah, in particular, stepped forward. He was one she recognized from his build, how he walked, his clothes were slightly distinctive, and his eyes. These were all she had to go on with his body concealed behind many clothes. He was the one to watch over her all this time and check on her often. He extended his hand.

"Lady Reida, the Shadowmaster means to commit high treason against the throne. I do not know what she has planned for you, but we do not believe it is good. We are here to help you escape."

Reida didn't need to know more. She pulled up her skirt and rushed into their midst. They threw the guards in, shut and locked the door, and made their way down the passage. Reida did not know where they were going, but she could do no more than trust in her would-be rescuers.

"What shall I call you?" Reida wondered.

"Zant." The Sheikah leader answered.

"Very well, Sheikah Zant. You have my thanks. Take me home safely and I will reward you however I can."

"The only reward I seek is to serve my king." The man whispered back. Guilt flashed in his eyes and weighed his countenance down like a physical weight.

They hurried down the passageways and ascended upstairs until they reached the surface again. Someone yelled from behind them, and Zant cursed under his breath.

"We've been caught." He whispered. "Hurry!"

But they did not make it without incident. More yells were heard, and in their hurried pace, they made a great deal of noise. The group entered the courtyard leaving the mansion but dozens of other Sheikah ambushed them at the door. The two groups did not engage in blows, but Zant's group was surrounded and could move no further.

"Zant, what is the meaning of this!?" A woman yelled from their midst. Lady Impa stepped forward, fully armed in Sheikah garb wielding two short blades.

"I ask you as well!" Zant countered. "We exist to serve the king and you mean to commit treason! Sheikah devotes themselves to serving the throne, but today we are betraying it! We are betraying ourselves!"

"I told you-"

"You gave me nothing!" Zant exclaimed. "Nothing on which I can put my guilt! To what am I supposed to shadow when I am choking the very flame I am to shadow! What am I to tell the voices that haunt me and demand accountability for my actions? I cannot cast aside it to the Sheikah mask, not when it has forsaken us! If my mask is to serve the throne, but you tell me to defy the throne, then what is my mask? You? Are you my new mask, Shadowmaster?"