Character Information
May. 7th, 2009 03:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowguideTITLE: Sheik
FROM: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 5'6.5" (169 cm)
WEIGHT: 150 lbs (68 kg)
BODY TYPE: Slim yet athletic -- the build of a martial artist
EYES: Red
HAIR: Shoulder-length and pale blond, the bulk of it is tied back and secured under a headwrap to keep an enemy from using it as an advantage. He does keep a good portion of it free in front of his face, however, usually masking the left side of his face.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Pointed ears, pierced: three silver hoops in his left and two in his right. A tattoo of the weeping eye in dark red is on his left shoulder blade.
CLOTHING: Close-fitting shirt and pants in shades of charcoal gray; the sleeves of the shirt extend over his wrists to cover the backs of his hands. Sheik wears a slightly-tattered short tabard in light gray with the Sheikah emblem, the Weeping Eye, embroidered on it in gold. A scarf in darker gray covers the lower half of his face. Around his chest and forearms are wrapped strips of sturdy cloth; these offer some manner of protection from blows received during combat (and is, in fact, an actual martial arts application). His shoes are similar to those of dancers or gymnasts: soft-soled and flexible, yet sturdy.
ON THE SHEIKAH: As the Hylians are a people of the light, the Sheikah are a people of the shadows. Once persecuted as evil for their affiliation with the darkness, the Royal Family stepped in to offer them asylum in exchange for service; thus began many years of contract between the two peoples. They ultimately were betrayed by the Royal Family in a war that killed off a good number of the population; it is then that they added the tear to the Eye of Truth, and dubbed it the Weeping Eye. It is then as well that they largely withdrew to themselves, pulling away from casual contact with the Hylians and withdrawing into their villages, which they moved to more remote locations and cloaked in spells of shadow. They are not a dead people; they are a hidden people.
There is a subset of Sheikah who are shadow-walkers, and can be likened to shamans. They are even more in tune with the shadows than their brethren, able to trance through them to the otherworld. There they may speak with spirits or other beings who have traversed the boundaries of their own realms.
The title "Sheik of the Sheikah" roughly translates to "Shadow of the Shadow People," and refers to he who has become one with the shadows. When one becomes Sheik, he is considered no longer a person, but rather a living embodiment of the path through the shadows to the otherworld. He is guide, teacher, protector, master. Sheik is chosen by the shadows themselves: he does not have to be the strongest or the eldest or the wisest; rather, he is chosen for what they see in him -- and they do not share their counsel with others.
Those Sheikah who serve the Royal Family wear the symbol of the Weeping Eye at all times. Sheikah warriors dress in tight-fitting clothing, usually in shades of blue (as represented by game canon); it is only those who are Sheik who may wear the grays of the shadows.
ETYMOLOGY: The term Sheikah does not take an "s" in its plural form. The term Sheik is a title, not a name.
ON GOSSIP STONES: Gossip Stones mark places in the nexus where the otherworld drifts particularly close to this world, making the transition into trance easier for the Sheikah shamans. This is not to say that they cannot trance in other locations; they can. It is merely that these trance points are the ones they know best. A strong shaman may even be able to take another with him into trace at these locations where the transition to the otherworld is not so harsh.
ON SHEIK: When Ganondorf took over Hyrule and murdered the king, it was the small tribe of shamans who lived near Castle Town who helped the soldiers and retainers escape the castle before they could be killed. They led the people through the shadows, shepherding them outside the walls of the city and into Hyrule Field, where they could flee east to Kakariko. Ganondorf was angered, of course; he planned to execute Hyrule's army as part of his takeover. In retaliation he sent shadow beasts after the shamans. Tired and stretched thin from assisting the Hylian army, they were no match for the attack; many fell, either during the battle or afterwards from wounds received therein. Sheik was one of the few survivors; a youth of thirteen at the time, the shadows reached out and pulled him into their embrace as the attackers approached. He moved with them, a trance that was more than a trance; when he finally emerged nearly a week after the attack, he was no longer a young Sheikah boy. He was Sheik.
Not long after, Sheik entered trance to speak with the spirits in the otherworld; they confirmed that the Hero of Time was, indeed, suspended in an enchanted sleep in the Sacred Realm until he could properly wield the Master Sword against Ganondorf. The Hero would be untrained though: his victories against the evils Ganondorf had used to guard the sacred stones were great, but the king of thieves would learn from those victories as well, and would send stronger minions against the Hero.
Though none could enter the Sacred Realm, it did in places abut the otherworld; dreams could act as doorways. Through trance, Sheik met Link in the otherworld, disguising himself as the embodiment of Link's childhood imaginary friends, befriending the future Hero. At first they played -- though the games included far more running and jumping than normal childhood games -- as Link aged, sparring was added, Sheik himself learning from a Sheikah weapons master and passing what he could to Link. At the end of the seven years, he traveled back to Castle Town to meet Link in the Temple of Time. Never having revealed himself as Sheikah caused Link to not recognize him; indeed, the Hero had only vague memory of the details of his "dreams," though his body more than remembered everything it had been taught.
CANON: Sheik is taken from mid-canon, just after the shadow attack on Kakariko. Impa entered the Shadow Temple in an attempt to seal the greater evil within its walls; Sheik, after assuring Link's safety and sending him to the Temple, entered trance to pursue the smaller shadows Ganondorf had bent to his will. It was a trap, however: Ganondorf, learning of how the Sheikah had thwarted him seven years prior, planned to ensnare Sheik, defeating him and replacing him with a doppelganger in an attempt to get close to the Hero. With the help of the shadows Sheik defeated the impostor, though the battle weakened him and he was forced to flee from an onslaught of Ganondorf's dark magic. It is at this point that he ended up in the dressing room.
SKILLS & EQUIPMENT: Sheik's preferred weapons are the Wakizashi (short sword) and Senbon (throwing needles). He also carries a whip made of fine strong chain, which, in a pinch, can be used as a weapon, though its primary use is as a tool (similar to the way Link would employ the hookshot). He is skilled in armed and unarmed hand-to-hand combat, though he prefers to strike out of speed and stealth -- much like an assassin -- before showing himself to an enemy.
He commands shadow magic and, to some extent, the shadows themselves. He can melt into them and move through them from place to place. He can ask them to attack an enemy, either in an outward physical assault or a more subtle attacking of the mind. The shadows will also rush to protect him wherever possible, not wanting to lose their servant.
As a musician, his preferred instrument is the harp. His is silver; the lower edge is wrapped in soft cloth to provide a sure grip for his hand. He knows the spiritual songs connected with the Temples as well as the traditional songs of his people. As a composer his melodies are simple, more suited to occupying his fingers than entertaining others.
FROM: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 5'6.5" (169 cm)
WEIGHT: 150 lbs (68 kg)
BODY TYPE: Slim yet athletic -- the build of a martial artist
EYES: Red
HAIR: Shoulder-length and pale blond, the bulk of it is tied back and secured under a headwrap to keep an enemy from using it as an advantage. He does keep a good portion of it free in front of his face, however, usually masking the left side of his face.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Pointed ears, pierced: three silver hoops in his left and two in his right. A tattoo of the weeping eye in dark red is on his left shoulder blade.
CLOTHING: Close-fitting shirt and pants in shades of charcoal gray; the sleeves of the shirt extend over his wrists to cover the backs of his hands. Sheik wears a slightly-tattered short tabard in light gray with the Sheikah emblem, the Weeping Eye, embroidered on it in gold. A scarf in darker gray covers the lower half of his face. Around his chest and forearms are wrapped strips of sturdy cloth; these offer some manner of protection from blows received during combat (and is, in fact, an actual martial arts application). His shoes are similar to those of dancers or gymnasts: soft-soled and flexible, yet sturdy.
ON THE SHEIKAH: As the Hylians are a people of the light, the Sheikah are a people of the shadows. Once persecuted as evil for their affiliation with the darkness, the Royal Family stepped in to offer them asylum in exchange for service; thus began many years of contract between the two peoples. They ultimately were betrayed by the Royal Family in a war that killed off a good number of the population; it is then that they added the tear to the Eye of Truth, and dubbed it the Weeping Eye. It is then as well that they largely withdrew to themselves, pulling away from casual contact with the Hylians and withdrawing into their villages, which they moved to more remote locations and cloaked in spells of shadow. They are not a dead people; they are a hidden people.
There is a subset of Sheikah who are shadow-walkers, and can be likened to shamans. They are even more in tune with the shadows than their brethren, able to trance through them to the otherworld. There they may speak with spirits or other beings who have traversed the boundaries of their own realms.
The title "Sheik of the Sheikah" roughly translates to "Shadow of the Shadow People," and refers to he who has become one with the shadows. When one becomes Sheik, he is considered no longer a person, but rather a living embodiment of the path through the shadows to the otherworld. He is guide, teacher, protector, master. Sheik is chosen by the shadows themselves: he does not have to be the strongest or the eldest or the wisest; rather, he is chosen for what they see in him -- and they do not share their counsel with others.
Those Sheikah who serve the Royal Family wear the symbol of the Weeping Eye at all times. Sheikah warriors dress in tight-fitting clothing, usually in shades of blue (as represented by game canon); it is only those who are Sheik who may wear the grays of the shadows.
ETYMOLOGY: The term Sheikah does not take an "s" in its plural form. The term Sheik is a title, not a name.
ON GOSSIP STONES: Gossip Stones mark places in the nexus where the otherworld drifts particularly close to this world, making the transition into trance easier for the Sheikah shamans. This is not to say that they cannot trance in other locations; they can. It is merely that these trance points are the ones they know best. A strong shaman may even be able to take another with him into trace at these locations where the transition to the otherworld is not so harsh.
ON SHEIK: When Ganondorf took over Hyrule and murdered the king, it was the small tribe of shamans who lived near Castle Town who helped the soldiers and retainers escape the castle before they could be killed. They led the people through the shadows, shepherding them outside the walls of the city and into Hyrule Field, where they could flee east to Kakariko. Ganondorf was angered, of course; he planned to execute Hyrule's army as part of his takeover. In retaliation he sent shadow beasts after the shamans. Tired and stretched thin from assisting the Hylian army, they were no match for the attack; many fell, either during the battle or afterwards from wounds received therein. Sheik was one of the few survivors; a youth of thirteen at the time, the shadows reached out and pulled him into their embrace as the attackers approached. He moved with them, a trance that was more than a trance; when he finally emerged nearly a week after the attack, he was no longer a young Sheikah boy. He was Sheik.
Not long after, Sheik entered trance to speak with the spirits in the otherworld; they confirmed that the Hero of Time was, indeed, suspended in an enchanted sleep in the Sacred Realm until he could properly wield the Master Sword against Ganondorf. The Hero would be untrained though: his victories against the evils Ganondorf had used to guard the sacred stones were great, but the king of thieves would learn from those victories as well, and would send stronger minions against the Hero.
Though none could enter the Sacred Realm, it did in places abut the otherworld; dreams could act as doorways. Through trance, Sheik met Link in the otherworld, disguising himself as the embodiment of Link's childhood imaginary friends, befriending the future Hero. At first they played -- though the games included far more running and jumping than normal childhood games -- as Link aged, sparring was added, Sheik himself learning from a Sheikah weapons master and passing what he could to Link. At the end of the seven years, he traveled back to Castle Town to meet Link in the Temple of Time. Never having revealed himself as Sheikah caused Link to not recognize him; indeed, the Hero had only vague memory of the details of his "dreams," though his body more than remembered everything it had been taught.
CANON: Sheik is taken from mid-canon, just after the shadow attack on Kakariko. Impa entered the Shadow Temple in an attempt to seal the greater evil within its walls; Sheik, after assuring Link's safety and sending him to the Temple, entered trance to pursue the smaller shadows Ganondorf had bent to his will. It was a trap, however: Ganondorf, learning of how the Sheikah had thwarted him seven years prior, planned to ensnare Sheik, defeating him and replacing him with a doppelganger in an attempt to get close to the Hero. With the help of the shadows Sheik defeated the impostor, though the battle weakened him and he was forced to flee from an onslaught of Ganondorf's dark magic. It is at this point that he ended up in the dressing room.
SKILLS & EQUIPMENT: Sheik's preferred weapons are the Wakizashi (short sword) and Senbon (throwing needles). He also carries a whip made of fine strong chain, which, in a pinch, can be used as a weapon, though its primary use is as a tool (similar to the way Link would employ the hookshot). He is skilled in armed and unarmed hand-to-hand combat, though he prefers to strike out of speed and stealth -- much like an assassin -- before showing himself to an enemy.
He commands shadow magic and, to some extent, the shadows themselves. He can melt into them and move through them from place to place. He can ask them to attack an enemy, either in an outward physical assault or a more subtle attacking of the mind. The shadows will also rush to protect him wherever possible, not wanting to lose their servant.
As a musician, his preferred instrument is the harp. His is silver; the lower edge is wrapped in soft cloth to provide a sure grip for his hand. He knows the spiritual songs connected with the Temples as well as the traditional songs of his people. As a composer his melodies are simple, more suited to occupying his fingers than entertaining others.
