Roaming the desert in the midday sun was a fate not destined for any smart individual. Those not ready to embrace the harshness of the desert goddess was surely bound to suffer a fate worse than death. Fortunately, intelligence was blessed upon the Wanderer and the young man who stood beside him. It was dusk, the Leevers now taking their slumber deep underground, finding comfort in the warm sands below. Like most deserts, the Gerudo Desert got bone chillingly cold during the nights. Dusk was the middle point were hot and cold seemed to be balanced. A cool wind blew through a small ravine, dark orange sandstone illuminated more brightly in the dying sun's rays.

A small camp was made up in the heart of the ravine, a team of people scurried around in desert gear, light clothing made of the best heat resistant cloth around. Everyone had several pouches attached to their belts and one man had a pick axe in his hand and a pair of makeshift spectacle goggles perched upon his flaming red hair.

"Rudi, heard you found something today." A voice sounded from a man upon a horse, his face was covered in a shawl, and a travellers cloak covered the rest of his body from heat to foot. Only his boots were exposed, and even then were the soles exposed. The man named Rudi looked up, letting the pickaxe hang by his side. A cheeky smile broke upon his young, yet weathered face.

"Ah, news travels fast. I wasn't expecting you to arrive until the morn, Arawn." The mounted man jumped down from his Gerudo stallion and clasped arms with Rudi. Arawn's purplish eyes glinted in the dying sun, giving them a metallic hue because the shadow of his hood covered them in darkness once more.

"It's the desert, news has nowhere to stop and nothing to slow it down. But yes, I made good progress on a few errands earlier today. That, and I didn't fancy staying at my-"

Before Arawn could finish, a dirtied man ran towards Rudi. His eyes were wild and he was clearly startled.

"Master Rudi, the Leevers, they are attacking! Some of the men have been dragged under." He fell to his knees, knotting his hands together in prayer position. He mumbled something to the Desert Goddess. Arawn turned to Rudi, a look of fascination played upon his friend's face.

"I wasn't expecting a fight. Still, anything to oil up my saddle stiffness." He shot the red headed man with a reminiscent look, as if they had played this scene out before in their past. There truth was, they had. Arawn being the explorer that he was, was familiar with certain parts of Hyrule treasure hunters and archaeologists were eager to reach. Each held a number of beasts that have become feral guardians of the hidden reaches of Hyrule and of course, when nature and the world of men came together, it usually ended in conflict.

Arawn withdrew his staff, allowing the tip to lightly touch the golden sand. In his left hand he began summoning the shadow energies that occupied the canyon. The dark patches of gold began to bend to his will, forming tendrils of dark substance that streamed out from their shadowy source.

"I hate it when you do that. It's so... freaky? Reminds me of those Hand things we had to fight in the Hero's Tomb back at the Kakariko Catacombs." Rudi shuddered at the thought before raising his pickaxe in defence. Like Arawn, the Archaeologist had a few magical tricks up his dusty sleeve. He formed a fist before him, two golems of sand formed from the very ground, the sand itself continuely flowing down it's body, only for it to be replenished. It was essentially a self sustaining sand fountain.

"Always trying to one up," chided Arawn. Before Rudi could reply, the first few Leevers appeared from behind the tents set up for the workers on the small project. They dug through the sand, swimming through it like Zora in water. With a flick of his hand, Arawn commanded a tendril of shadow to home in on one of the burrowing creatures. The tendril obliged, diving into the ground and extracting a Leever. With a clench of his fist, the tendril wrapped around the creature, crushing the life out of its small, worm like body. As Arawn commanded the tendrils, Rudi ordered his sand golems to smash the ground whenever a Leever dared to approach. In order to get to the two mages, they Leevers had to cut through the sentinels of sand. A few managed to, using the time it took for the golems to muster up another slam. They homed on Sheikah and Archaeologist.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

The pair swung in unison. A Leever dived out of the ground, homing in on Arawn's chest. The Sheikah swung his staff, batting it towards Rudi. The pickaxe parried the flying Leever, impaling it through the head. Rudi swatted the creature from his weapon before turning to another Leever that had passed through the golem's defences. It dived through the air once more, a look of vengence in its beady eyes. Arawn met that look with a summoned orb of shadow energy. Like a bolt from a crossbow, it accelerated from his outstretched palm and exploded at point blank range against the Leever. The creature exploded from the attack, covering the ground around it with blood, mucus and bits of green flesh. Rudi growled, peeling off a bit of skin that had struck his cheek. Arawn kept his focus ahead, but relaxed as he saw the burrowing creatures turn back towards the entrance of the canyon.

"Bloody critters. Second time today they've attacked. I could have investigated that fresco by now if it wasn't for them." Rudi clicked his fingers, the sand golems disintegrating back to mounds of sand.

"Show me what you found." Rudi gave Arawn a surprised look but said nothing. He always had Arawn down as the non-archaeological type.

"Right this way."

The Archaeologist lead Arawn down a small crack stemming off the main chasm where camp was located. In a small, secluded section of the chasm and completely sealed out from the rest of the world (apart from the cracked entrance) a fairly large slab of stone lay half buried in the desert sand. The Sheikah's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cavern, but Rudi couldn't see a thing, prompting him to light a lantern that was nailed to the cave wall. Arawn flinched slightly as the light blasted the room, but withheld any physical signs of showing it. Instead, he focussed on the newly illuminated slab of rock, a look of disappointment across his face. Rudi looked towards the Wanderer, pulling a "I'm hurt" face.

"What? What did you expect me to find? Harkinian's lost horde or a cure to the common cold? I'm an Archaeologist, Arawn, something like this is a great find." Rudi crossed his arms, attempting to take a firm position, slowly coaxing his friend into the joys of digging in dirt. Arawn, on the other hand, sighed and swatted away Rudi's feeble recruitment speech.

"Yeah yeah. I expected something more... Well, fascinating. What's so special about this rock? It's obvious the local wildlife don't want you to poke around with it." Arawn took a step forward and traced his hand across the dusty slab. Etchings were cut into the sandstone rock, murals from aeons ago. Rudi stepped forward to, though he leaned in to take a closer look at the rock as opposed to touching it.

"Hmmm, well I did a few tracings of some of the stonework. Can't say there's anything that exciting for the Leevers to get worked up about it. To be perfectly honest, I just figured it's a piece of the Arbiter's Tower that's slowly migrated to this part of the desert. But I don't honestly know. Not without proper analysis. I'm hoping to get a team together from the Lake to ship it back to my workshop." Rudi straightened up, seemingly more interested in Arawn's thoughts about the stone than what the stone itself had to offer. The Sheikah shrugged before replying.

"You think that your crew will get here without being ambushed by Leevers? My guess is that they're probably already dead. There's only a few safe paths to take through the wastelands, and normally only Gerudo and experienced explorers know them. Still, you seemed to have luck on your side. Perhaps they will." Arawn turned his attention back to the rock for a few more moments before letting out a loud sigh. "I'm bored, let's get back outside. I need a drink before I pass out." Rudi laughed, not commenting on what the Sheikah said first. There was a good chance that the crew would make it through, but there was a great chance of them being attacked by something in the desert.

"Heh, usually it's the drinking that makes you pass out, not that lack of. C'mon, I've got some vintage stuff with me, got it at the market in the city."

Night was thick over the desert now, the two men sat in the largest tent in the camp. Rugs decorated the floor, Gerudo in design with bright, flaming colours and scents of spices coming from the very fabric. Both men sat on the floor, sitting opposite each other with a table between them. On that table was a lantern, a bottle of caramel coloured liquid and some drawings.

Rudi shifted through the pictures, finding something that might satisfy the Sheikah's apparent boredom for archaeology.

"You must understand, Arawn, that this find could be big! I might reveal more about our past, what happened during the twilight eras. There might even be clues to get back to the realm of our shadow cousins." Arawn shot the man a dark look.

"And what do you think I am? If you want to get to the realm of your shadow cousins, just head west from here until you hit a village called Kakariko. Trust me, there isn't anything worthwhile in that dustbowl." Rudi smiled but said nothing. Of course he didn't mean the Sheikah, he was referring to the elusive Twili peoples.

"Mock me all you want, but I know there must be a way back to their realm. Hey, you power is fuelled by shadows, right? You'd be a god in their realm!" The Archaeologist became starry-eyed for a moment, as if he saw Arawn as some sort of celebrity. Arawn, meanwhile, rolled his eyes before helping himself to another glass of the the caramel liquid.

"You're insane. The legends say there's only one way to that realm, and that was using the Mirror of Twilight. That's long been gone, besides why do you want to go there anyway?" Asked Arawn, very almost intrigued by Rudi's fascination with the twili legends. Rudi smiled, but shifted through his pictures until he found one of the mirror Arawn had mentioned.

"The Mirror, said to be created by the Goddesses themselves as a way to enter the Twilight Realm. But, I believe that the mirror is more a symbol rather than a key. A mirror reflects things, though the image we perceive is the reverse or opposite of what we see. Left is right, right is left. Obviously the mirror was enchanted somehow, perhaps the runes engraved upon the mirror provided the magic. Anyway, the mirror shows the reflection of Hyrule." Rudi seemed to get excited by his explanation. Arawn yawned, as if he heard the stories before. The truth was, he had. Everyone had.

"What's your point?" Arawn's voice becoming increasingly annoyed now. Rudi gave the Wanderer a wicked look.

"I believe we can recreate the Mirror! We only need a small piece, of the original mirror, something to provide the original magic. A powerful mage could replicate the enchantment, I'm sure." Arawn burst into laughter, Rudi flinched, not expecting the sudden outburst.

"So you're digging up rocks to see if they contain fragments of the original mirror? It was blown to dust, Rudi - a long, looong time ago. Give it up before some government official decides to take you out for being insane.

It's late, I think I'm gonna get my head down. This liquor was stronger than I thought. Thanks." Arawn got up, slightly wobbly. Once he found his feet, he turned from Rudi and left the tent, finding a place to set up his spindle of sleeping gear.

"God, how the hell long have I been wandering through this desert?"

Schkeinn really had no earthly reason to be here, as he had never been to the Gerudo Desert once in his life before. But rumors of a curse were heard to be circulating throughout the Haunted Wastes, and more specifically, the ruins that could be found there, especially the Arbiter's Grounds. To Schkeinn, it was worth taking a look to see what all he could find out here. Because if anything, the word "curse" made him think of Umbra, the man who had cursed him to living like this. He was going to pay.....if he was there.

"Something has to be here. There has to be some chance of curing my body back to the life I lived.....gah, this axe is killing me."

His axe, worn down and battered from the years, was dragging in the sand behind him, leaving a trail for him to follow. Of course, the occasional gusts of wind blew away his trail, leaving him to be lost. Being bound to the chains that encircled his right wrist, it was really annoying for Schkeinn to drag the stupid thing with him, but he honestly did not have a choice in the matter. He wanted to ditch the axe and find some new weapon, but because of his disposition, he had no way of cutting off the chains, which were magically bound to his body.

After wandering around the desert, nightfall came about, and Schkeinn stumbled across a camp. It appeared to be an archaeology team, as there was mass amount of digging involved, and people were yelling out "I found something!" every couple of minutes.

"Huh. This looks to be interesting. Maybe I can ask them for some help."

He slid down the sand hill he was standing on and staggered over to the campsite. But upon seeing him, the workers immediately dropped what they were doing and started screaming. Some of them ran away, denouncing Schkeinn to be a monster, while others pulled out some kind of weapon in a feigned attempt to try and fight him off, despite their cowardly and weak demeanor.

This is getting me nowhere....."Ok, can any of you tell me which direction the Arbiter's Grounds is in?"

"N-n-NO!! MONSTER!! GET AWAY!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!"

"No, please wait, I'm not here to fight you!! I-"

The men automatically ran away screaming, continuing to denounce him as a monster. He stood there with his mask and glowing red eye hiding the hurt expression on his face. This certainly wasn't the first time this had happened, but it still hurt every time he heard it. "Man, what am I gonna do now?"

"Arawn, get up!" The sound of Rudi's voice called from the cotton doorway into Arawn's loaned tent. He didn't need to be told twice, or once for that matter. The Sheikah was already kitting up before Rudi called him. A throwing knife was slotted into his boot before he checked himself over. Everything seemed balanced.

Exiting the tent, some of the stirring men got out of their tents, each armed with something, though their minds were certainly not with it. Still half asleep, a man without a clear aim was a dangerous man to friend and foe.

"What are we dealing with?" Spoke Arawn, eyes now cutting into the darkness. Nothing stirred, the only sound was the wind picking up bits of sand and throwing it across the floor. Then, from out of the darkness stumbled in a man. Redness glowed from where his face was, Arawn instinctively flexed his hand around his double-ended spear. "Some monster." Rudi cut the Sheikah a glare, clearly not wanting the blame.

"Who goes there, stranger?" Rudi called, his pickaxe pointing towards the shadowy figure.

"Well now, at least two of you actually have some sense to talk to a deformed man."

Schkeinn's voice was incredibly hoarse and gruff, almost making him sound like a monster but seem like a person. He slowly lumbered over to the duo, with his axe dragging in the sand and slowing him down. From the light provided in the area, it definitely looked to be a digsite. These guys were unearthing......something, he couldn't tell in the middle of the night. But if these guys were out in the middle of the desert, they had to know the direction to the Arbiter's Grounds.

"Well, this is kind of hard for me to ask, but.....do y'all know which direction the Arbiter's Grounds is in? My name is Schkeinn Ekrosyys, and I was thinking there might be something there that would prevent my body from looking like.....well, this."

Before he could show off his deformed face, something started moving behind him. Leevers. They had followed him here, had they? How many times had he encountered these things wandering the desert? He turned to face the monsters, signaling to the other two he was talking with to step back. "They followed me here. This is my fight."

He thrust the head of his axe into the sand and called upon the power of Light to fill his blade. "O Holy Arbiter of Judgment, give me the strength I need! Light of Scathing Fire!" The axe transformed into a sword of shining light and perfect caliber. One by one, the Leevers came to attack him, only to be cut down swiftly. The sword wasn't powerful, but it gave him the speed necessary to outwit them. However, their blood sparked some kind of reaction within him.

"What....blood?....is this.....my-no, not my......not my blood....blood..... bloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodbloodblooeheeeeeheeeeeehAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!"

His eyes began to glow a fierce red through the opening in his mask. He was in full-on kill mode, and his target was the two Sheikah behind him. He turned with a shining glare towards them. "YOU....." He pointed at Arawn Shahar. "I....sense....DARK MAGIC.....dark....darkness.....dark.....Umbra. UMBRA!!! DIE UMBRA!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He charged at the two men, believing the power that one of them wielded to be that of the mage that cursed him, Umbra Chiroptera. Even though he wasn't right, he was set to kill, and nothing could stop him now.

OoC: Rudi isn't a Sheikah. :)

Arawn said nothing as the stranger talked. Leevers had followed him into camp, but the man seemed to want to deal with the creatures on his own. The Sheikah was impressed with the man's valour, taking down the creatures on his own with smooth precision. But then, something changed in Schkeinn's aura, something foreboding.

"Rudi, stand back." Commanded the Wanderer. The Archaeologist said nothing, instead he took a few steps back from the changing man before them. Arawn frowned before calling towards the bloodthirsty being. "I do not know of this 'Umbra' person, but you need to calm down before you do something rash."

His words seemed to rebound off of Schkeinn like a ball to a wall. Nothing soaked in, and only more hate radiated from the man. Arawn shrugged, he had offered his warning. He pushed out his hand, the shadows began to bend to his will, tendrils coming out from the very night like a suspended net. They clawed at whatever was closest to them, be it friend or foe. Only Arawn was immune to their desperate grasps. On the desert air, faint moans whispered in the night, the call of the dead, prying at the living - their only gateway to the real, mortal world. The Sheikah never paid much attention to the whispers, his uncle told him to focus on nothing else but the magic he was conjuring, but in the silence of the desert, their whispers seemed louder, desperate and more hungry.

With the tendrils in place, Arawn readied his double-ended spear. Wisps of dark lightning crackled down the length of the ebony spear, imbued with the magic of the night.

"Do you know what you're doing, Arawn?" Spoke Rudi, his voice sounded more calmer than Arawn expected. Perhaps it was through his many years travelling, seeing many monsters that were hidden away from the eye of Hyrule's citizens. Arawn nodded - a lie. He didn't know what to expect from this stranger, though he knew he'd soon find out.

(OoC: If you want to get a good idea of what Schkeinn sounds like with his crazy laughs, then watch this video.)

"Yeeheeheehahahahahahaha!! Dark Magic! You....UMBRA!! Do not lie to me!!" His tone was starting to become normal instead of choppy again, but the insane lust for vengeance still drove him to try and kill someone he mistook for another man.

"Now...how should I go about exacting revenge first? Should I chop you into ribbons? Should I dice you up and throw you into a stew? Or should I use magic to blow you up?! Oh I KNOW!!! AMPLIFICATION!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

His blade of light started to glow with more radiance. Either he was amplifying his sword's power, or....no, it was an attack. Raising the blade up, he yelled out a few words with a crazy tone. "Gust of Scathing Light!!" He swung the sword down, sending a wave of solidified light at Arawn. Just in case the move wouldn't hit, he decided to charge along with the attack.

He jumped off the ground like a bolt of thunder and flew overhead his adversary, intending to strike him from above. "After 20 years, I can finally have my revenge! DIE, UMBRA!!!"

(Now you can just come up with a fight scene between Schkeinn and Arawn, resulting in my guy losing and being knocked back to his senses. Doesn't matter to me how it's done, so long as it's entertaining. Have fun. =D)

OoC: Crazy guy is crazy.

Arawn shot his hand out towards the wall of light that came towards him. His purple eyes illuminated in the attack, his face being revealed temporarily from under his traveller's cloak. With his gesture, the tendrils of shadow that the Sheikah had cast earlier, began to arrange themselves into a net, intercepting the wall of light and cancelling each other out. A small explosion radiated out from the two negated attacks, sending tents and grains of abrasive sand in all directions. Some of the workers took cover if they hadn't done so already. Even Rudi decided it was best to leave Arawn to his own devices.

As the winds cleared, his Sheikahn senses engaged, sensing an approaching enemy. He raised his spear defensively. However, this 'Schkeinn' had other plan's, using a silent aerial assault. Arawn was too late to prepare a decent defence, instead the strike narrowly missed his head by millimetres. His hood flew off to reveal himself in the breeze of the attack. The Sheikah growled, not liking his enemy knowing what he looked like. Turned about himself, he rushed his opponent with amazing agility, barely touching the sinking sand. As Schkeinn landed, Arawn launched himself into a flying dropkick, hitting the stranger squarely in the chest and into the tent were Rudi was hiding behind. The folds of cloth collapsed about the man, trapping him.

"Kill him!" Shouted Rudi, clearly upset about the loss of his tent, as well as the overall freakiness the man emitted. Arawn raised his spear, readying himself to drive it the sharp point through the cloth and into the man beneath.

This guy was good, Schkeinn admitted that in his mind. However, he wasn't going out without a decent fight, as a drop kick into a tent was a cheap tactic. But he had a few of those at his disposal. Raising up his hand through an opening in the tent, he could see that the man was near him, ready to impale him with his weapon. This was not going to happen. He opened up his hand and chanted a spell. "I'm not done yet! BLINDING LIGHT!!"

A burst of concentrated, lustrous light illuminated out of his hand. The spell was not designed to be an attack, rather, a diversion to blind the enemy for awhile so he could escape the tent unharmed. He used his sword to slash his way out of the tarp and move a bit of a distance away from the man in question.

"You're pretty good, I gotta admit that. However, I am clearly--huh?" Black lightning started surrounding his weapon and switched it back to the rusty battle axe that the sword originated from. "NO!! I can't let....the darkness.....take control!!!" He slumped to the ground, his glowing red eye seemingly "turning itself off". His body looked like a lifeless shell, although he was stuck in stasis for awhile.

The blinding light was not something the Sheikah had anticipated. He staggered back, dropping his spear to try and rub the light from his eyes. The world was blurry and painful, so he kept his eyes closed so the darkness would heal them. From behind his temporary blindness, the man spoke. The seemed to be at war with himself, struggling to fight back against the 'darkness' that was haunting him. Finally, Arawn opened his eyes, the blindness now fading and the world coming into focus. Rudi appeared by his side, holding the man's spear.

"Arawn are you alright?" He seemed concerned as he handed back the spear. The Sheikah nodded, taking his weapon and using as it as walking stick.

"Tie him up, we can question him later. Get your men to take turns guarding him until the morning." He said, wearily. Rudi gave the command, several worked appeared with ropes, now tying them around the strange looking man. Once he was fully bound, the Sheikah waved his hand casually before the man. Black bars erupted out of the ground and into the night sky, as if joining the darkness above. "That should keep him until the morning, the light will break the enchantment. Wake me when he stirs."

With that, he left towards his borrowed tent.

(Sorry for the delay, I've been busy)

A few hours later, the next thing Schkeinn knew when he woke up, he was bound by some ropes and a cage made from Dark Magic. There were also people guarding him, making sure he couldn't get out. He had the strength and powers to be able to escape his current confinement....but he chose not to. His internal insanity had kicked in that night and caused him to attack someone out of mistaken identity. He tried to adjust himself to a more comfortable position silently, but something in him felt like a sledgehammer had just hit him in the back.

"Nnngh...what happened? The guards heard him and turned around, pointing their weapons at him. "Hey! Someone go get Arawn and Rudi and tell him that this thing is awake!" The words stung Schkeinn this time, and he couldn't help from getting up and staring the guard down point blank, as his legs were unbound. The guard was terrified this time around. "I'm sorry, I scare you? Last I checked, I'm still Human, although my body was cursed to look like this 'thing' you described as a monster."

Another guard came up and punched Schkeinn in the face, knocking him backward into the center of the cage, and shattering part of his flimsy mask. "Ungh...you *****!" "Keep it down in there! They'll be along shortly, so just sit tight." Schkeinn said nothing more as the guards turned around and ignored him once again. He wanted to hurt them for hurting him...but their time would come, be it by his hand or from something else.

A tendril of dark power wrapped around the guard who assaulted Schkeinn in his cage. The guard yelled for help, but was launched up into the air, and over the ridge of the canyon. He'd be fine, the sand above would soften the blow. Such a punishment seemed soft, but he had to pity lower forms of Hyrulean species.

Arawn approached the caged man, the black tendril now shattering into black dust that merged into the very air before disappearing all together. He clicked his fingers and the black bars of the man's prison also faded, following the same pattern as the tendril. The Sheikah stared at the man, pondering over what he was, and more importantly, who he was.

"Schkeinn was it?" Arawn approached the man until he was only a meter away. He bent down on one knee so that he was level to the man. His cast his gaze across the broken mask, a barrier holding back something far sinister than just a face. "I apologise for that man. I'm not one for assaulting a man who's in no shape or position to fight. Still, that doesn't mean I'm not in favour of killing you outright. You did assault me last night without cause." Arawn reached into his shoe, took out a blade. Arawn pushed the knife forward, the man would react to the blade. However, inside of gutting him, the blade glided across the ropes that bonded the man's hands together. Then fell to the floor, releasing Schkeinn from any confines. Arawn sheathed the dagger before standing up and crossing his hands.

"What you are is none of my concern. I've seen enough in my life to not question the things before you eyes, there's always a catch in reality. I want to know why you're roaming the deserts in the middle of the night. You say you want the Arbiter's Grounds? For what purpose?"

Schkeinn watched in amazement as the man who had assaulted him was almost automatically rocketed across the desert by Arawn. As the tendril, as well as the bars dissipated, he was cut free, and chose not to retaliate against the man. He definitely had some questions to answer. "You're Arawn, correct? I'm sorry about last night, but whenever I see large amounts of blood, no matter what kind it is....I just lose it completely. Though I suppose I need to explain everything to you in order for you to understand my plight."

He removed his mask to reveal a grotesque sight. His eyes had resumed their glow, but it was soft and passive, indicating that he wouldn't try anything. However, that wasn't the worst part. Well over 75% of his face had rotted, either falling off completely or blackened from age. Without his retaining of his humanity, he would be nothing more than a simple ReDead Knight. As Schkeinn put his mask back on, he began to explain everything.

"Twenty five years ago, I was a Holy Paladin in the service of the King's Army. One day, I led my legions off to a battle against warring Lizalfos tribes in the Southern Reaches, but we were intercepted by something along the way. A practitioner of Dark Magic, a Wizzrobe named Umbra Chiroptera, killed all of my men with a single spell, and I was the only survivor. He decided to torture me by planting a deadly curse within my body. I was able to harvest the power of both Light and Dark magic.....but my body paid the ultimate price. It rotted over time, forcing me to take on the look I wear now. Ever since then, for 25 years I have been roaming the land like this, being mistaken by some for a monster, and by others for a freak. 25 years I've long waited to get my revenge...but I've never found him. I heard a rumor recently that the Arbiter's Grounds was cursed a long time ago, and the curse still remains. I seek the place believing that my mortal enemy is there....and that there is possibly a way to reverse my curse."

He sat back down on the sand out of exhaustion. His jaw had become very flimsy as of late, and it took a lot of effort just to speak clearly with complete sentences. "So, if you could just point me on my way, I swear that I won't bother you ever again. And while you're at it....." He held up his wrist that had a chain attached to his giant battle axe. "I don't remember how I was acting last night, but I can get a good idea. However, I do remember the battle clearly, and you're skilled with a spear. Think you could use it to cut the chain binding the axe to my body?"

Firstly, Arawn looked towards the chains that bonded the man to the axe he wielded. He did not know why the chains where there, or the story behind it but if he could help then he would. He took his spear, judging the power needed to break the chains. He assessed the chains, but come to the conclusion his spear wasn't the right tool for such an operation.

"Rudi, your sword?" Asked the Sheikah. Rudi appeared with a sword in hand. It was a simple blade, but the metal was strong, an ore the Archaeologist had once found in a dig site. Brandishing the weapon, he looked towards Schkeinn. "Hold them out." The man did so, extending the chains between his two hands. Before Schkeinn could step back from the danger of the sword, Arawn sliced down, narrowly missing the man's chest and severing the chains in half with a clang. The odd spark crackled in the air as the two ends fell down towards the floor.

Handing Rudi back his sword, and taking up his spear as a leaning post, Arawn took out a map he carried within his cloak. The map was worn and wilting at the edges like it had seen many travels. The map had belonged the Arawn's Uncle, it detailed the desert, covering every alcove, oasis and path.

"You want to take.... that direction." He said, his finger pointing in a north east direction. "If you're willing to wait a few hours, I'll be heading in that direction. I have someone in the city I need to see." Arawn proposed.

The men surrounding the camp who had come to witness the event were still in awe at the grotesqueness of the man. Arawn caught them staring, but said nothing. They had a right to stare. The Sheikah was not as phased, he had already witnessed the brutality of man, and the ways of dark magic. He wondered if his Uncle would know of this 'Umbra' but he didn't want to go find out.

Schkeinn heaved a heavy sigh of relief as the chains binding his axe to his body were cut off. Now he didn't need to carry the axe around anymore, but he picked it up one last time to look at it. "Finally. Now.....I can get rid of THIS USELESS WEAPON!!" Gathering up all of his strength, he used it to chuck the battle axe over the dig site and land it somewhere in the desert. He had thrown it in a different direction from where Arawn had thrown the guard that attacked him. No need to spill innocent blood....well, not now.

He pulled out a broken sword from his back. The blade had been destroyed from age, and only the hilt and bottom of the sword remained. I get more practical use using this, honestly." After two seconds, the blade revitalized and split into two weapons based off of his two magics. One was a blade that was stark white, and the other was a blade that was pitch black. They looked like standard longswords, and they couldn't do anything more than attack.

Sheathing both the blades into two sheaths on his back, he looked back up at Arawn and Rudi. "If you're going out to Arbiter's Grounds, then I don't mind waiting around. I think I'll go with you to Gerudo City as well....in a place where outcasts go when they have no other refuge, I'm sure I'll fit right in. I'll meet you outside the camp." He nonchalantly started walking in the direction of the city where the camp was. At least he knew where the city was, and now that he knew where Arbiter's Grounds was, he could head over there as well....but it would help to go with company.

A few hours had passed, Arawn had gathered his belongings, as minimal as they wear and saddled up his Gerudian breed stallion. Rudi approached from the mine where the slab of rock could be found, some papers grasped in his hand. He'd clearly been making more sketches.

"Hey, Arawn can you do me a favour before you go?" He asked, approaching the now mounted Sheikah. Arawn nodded, silently awaiting Rudi's request. "I need you to take some of these sketches to Antaeus in the city. He'll know more about them then I probably do. I'll visit him when I'm done here, hopefully he'll have some information to give me." He reached out and offered the papers to Arawn, who in turn took them and stowed them away in a side bag.

"I'll see that it is done. Until we meet again. And watch out for the Leevers." He gave a mocking salute before kicking the horse into action. The man cantered for several meters until he came across the decaying man named Schkeinn. He had remained on the outskirts of the camp, keeping to himself. "Do you have a horse? The city is half a days ride from here, and a day if we walk. I'd rather not stay in the desert over night. Evil lurks here."

Schkeinn had been pondering exactly what had happened to him that day all those 25 years ago. To think if they hadn't encountered Umbra....what would have happened if that was so? He would probably be an Army General....he would still have a family that loved him....he would have been happily married with kids....all these things and more could have happened if not for Umbra completely destroying his life. He would get changed back to his original form when he found him, one way or another.

As he silently seethed with rage, Arawn approached him and asked him whether or not he had a horse to get through the desert. Schkeinn turned toward him and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't. I've been aimlessly wandering the desert for about 5 straight trying to find the Arbiter's Grounds. But I don't really need a ride, just go on ahead and I'll catch up. I can move a lot faster now that you cut those chains off of me."

He stood up and stretched his legs, and was raring to go. "Lead the way, Arawn."

Arawn nodded. The man seemed to have a renewed sense of vigour. Whether that was the glow of the desert, or the fact he was now free from his bond with the axe he so grievously despised, the Sheikah did not know. He trusted the man's word that he'd keep up. Though he did not understand the curse that was inflicted upon Schkeinn, the man was near enough a dead man, would fatigue hinder him, and the torture of the heat consume him like it would with the living? Again, Arawn did not know. All he knew was this man was... unique.

"Well, if you lose sight of my, just follow my trails. I'll keep a good pace mind," he said, adjusting his hood of his cloak so it covered his face from the midday sun. It was hot under the cloak, but nothing he wouldn't withstand. The desert had been his home for many years now, he was used to the her harshness.

With that said, Arawn began to trot through the sand, the horse flicking sand up in the air in his wake. They were heading north east - the capital of the Gerudo clans.