Last Shiekah

So, they said (most wonderfully) in Pirates three this summer that "the problem with being the last of something is that soon there none of it..." Well, I had already started this little story about the Last Shiekah, so We'll see wht you guys think

The Last Shiekah

A Song of Loss and Sorrow

Given that the Zora Rebellion saw the end of the Shiekah race, I have seen fit to write out a brief account of how the last distinguished members of this ancient and noble race met their ends. I, the last of my race, hope that this account will aid future generation learn something not only of who and what the Shiekah people were, but of responsibility, of courage, of hope, of pain, of loss, and of death.

Master Jeedtha, Spearman of the Plain Shiekah

Shiekah are taller normally than Hylains, but by no means giants. Jeedtha was tall though, even for a Shiekah. Ugly too… in fact, the plain Shiekah often laughed at him… said he was obviously part Moblin. Jeetha would laugh back, taking it all in his long stride, but it was obvious he felt a deep need to prove himself. And maybe that is why he rose to the rank of Master so quickly.

Jeedtha was as skinny as he was tall, much like his weapon, the spear. He was large enough to carry three into battle, one in his hands, with two more strapped to his back. A thorough warrior and a peerless teacher in the art of the pole arm. I had the privilege of learning the Hylian Pike from him and, during that time, the honor of serving at the battle of Beldia Glade during the Civil War of Ducha House Rebellion. That was during Queen Nira’s reign, three summers before the Zora Revolt, and ensuing campaign. At Beldia Glade, Jeedtha fought like a whirlwind in flesh. We all knew there were rebel Shiekah in the Ducha House Ranks, but Jeedtha was adamant. They had chosen to violate their vow to serve Hyrule and its Royal House, and they would share the fate of their new masters. If he ever flinched on this, he hid it too well for us to see.

At Beldia Glade we served under ignorant, arrogant, incompetent Hylian commanders. There are Shiekah children with more knowledge in the way of stratagem than the whole of the Hylian War Council. Our salvation lay in the fact that the Ducha House seemed to be even less inclined to listen to their Shiekah warriors than Queen Nira was. Jeedtha was deployed to lead the Hylain and Shiekah center foot units. A hoard of bristling spears arrayed not against the enemy’s cavalry, but armored infantry and light skirmagers. Of course, Jeedtha knew the disastrous effects the foot units could have on unbacked spears, so he defied orders and, rather than holding to the center, floated his troops towards the right flank. The Ducha cavalry saw the pressing soldiers and swung away from running down the Royal Guard swordsmen to meet them. Hylian Paladins are brave, but rather foolish. They saw the enemy, and they charged it… counter-tactics are something of an after thought.

Jeedtha’s presence of mind most likely save the battle that day, and kept the Ducha Rebellion from becoming a major war like the old Blood Line Civil War of Queen Zelda and Lord Toran’s reign. This distinguished him, and the Elders considered bestowing upon Jeedtha the honor of eldership. However, “General” Morious, the commander at Beldia Glade, reported the victory as his, and Jeedtha as costing many lives with his disobedience. Nira was furious, and demanded that the Elders strip Jeedtha of all rank and title. The Shiekah serve Hyrule, and the Elders felt they had no choice. Jeedtha saved the battle, but lost his chance at eldership, his position as a Master and teacher, and, in HIS mind, his honor. He never lost his zest, but something died in Jeedtha that day… his pride was gone.

After that day, I would not see Jeedtha again, not even at the last fateful battle of the Zora Revolt. However, I know he was there, among the forward skirmagers. From the pieces I was able to put together from the lay of the bodies and the tales of the Hylian infantry that fought alongside him, I think Jeedtha died in the initial charge. I found his body along with the fallen the footmen were the first engagement would have made contact. He had been felled by a sword to the lower chest, probably a Hylian who couldn’t reach the taller Shiekah’s head. It was a common enough death for a warrior, Shiekah or otherwise. After death, Jeedtha was reinstated as a Master, for his skill in the arts, primarily the Vendi Style and the Hylian Pike.

So died Master Jeedtha of the Plains Shiekah, last of his clan. He died with nobility and courage. Disgruntled in life, he received honor in death and rests in the Void remembered by his successors.

Master Reef, Lore Crafter of the Far Rock Clan

It is unusual for a Shiekah to study our lore, or magic as you might call it, to the exclusion of all other arts. Some Elders have come to devote their lives to Spell Weaving, or Lore Craft as we called it, but that is only after years of mastering other arts. Reef, however, was not like other Shiekah. At a mere twelve winters, Reef fell during what should have been a normal jumping exercise. Normally, a Shiekah would have been able to land the fall, but that day the rocks were wet from a rare rainstorm over Greudo Valley and Reef’s foot slipped. He shattered his shin, and twisted his knee horribly. The healers of the Far Rock Clan set the leg and, had fate been on his side, Reef might have healed completely. Fate however, chose bring the local noble house of Sethida into conflict with a Greudo Thieve Din. Duke Sarpha demanded every Shiekah ten winters and older search out and destroy the din, and the Far Rock Clan was the only to fall in his land. Reef helped search on a leg barely fit to hold weight for nearly three days and nights.

Far Rock healers were able to save Reef from complete lameness, but he would require a special made brace to stand and walk; a thin pole that ran from his heal up to be strapped just above his knee. He eventually became accustom to it enough that he could hide his injury from most. He could walk, even had some limited fighting ability, but it was clear he would never be a master of any normal art.

It was five winters to the day after the fall when I met Reef. Even at such a young age, he was already gaining a reputation as a noted Lore Crafter. At our first meeting Reef was wearing a lose fit ninja suit; unusual for day-to-day activities, though I suspect he wore it to hide his leg brace under the shin wraps. Violet eyes were not as common among the Far Rock Clan, but Reef had them, along with straight hair as black as pitch. He wore his hair long, pulled into tail that fell to his mid-back, but with forelocks that neatly framed his face. Reef, as I found, had always been a bit of a lady-killer. In fact, there were two pretty girls hovering over him the whole time I was with him. He was as smooth and dark as he looked, and I would soon come to number him among my friends.

I was visiting the Far Rock with the Elders, who were there to review Reef for the mastership of the Shadow Art Sokinda. As the youngest master present, I had been chosen to stand against him in the evaluation ring. He was still in the ninja tunic, pants and wraps… it was obvious I was testing a Lore Crafter. I remember he moved so fast. I barely blinked and Reef’s arms curled up, palms towards me. Something that looked like a mixture between shadows and wires shot out at me. It was something I had seen before, but never from someone that young. I was able to overcome Reef after a battle that I am not likely to forget, but it was enough for myself and the Elders. Reef would become a master, and at a mere fifteen winters. Only myself, and my ancestor the great Mistress Impa, had received the honor at a younger age.

After the ceremony that officially recognized Reef’s mastery of Lore Craft, I was able to spend more time with him. He was only three winters younger than myself, and we soon bound as comrades. That was the summer Master Jeedtha had been removed from teaching, and as both he and I felt I sufficiently learned the Hylian Pike, I decided to stay on at the Far Rock and learn what I could of the Sokinda Art from Master Reef. I would study under Master Reef for a full two summers, and came to know him very well.

Reef rose to prominence quickly, but would burn out just as fast. Perhaps it was the way the Hylian Empire had cost him a leg, perhaps it was a keen insight into the nature of Queen Nira, perhaps it was the time of study he spent in the forsaken south lands of Turmina… I do not know the reasons, but Reef was one of the first Shiekah to join in openly supporting the Zora Revolt. I wish I could have had the chance to ask him, to see what had motivated him to follow the handful of Shiekah clans that tried to change the course of Hyrule’s bloody descent, but he, like all the others, died that sad, bloody day.

In actuality, it was another Shiekah, Master Tife of the Palace Shiekah, which killed him. Reef had been on a rise overlooking the battle, but out of action along with the other members of the Zora king’s war council. I believe he had exhausted much of his strength shrouding an entire division of troops as they moved into place, normally the work of several Elders, and was resting to regain his focus. Master Tife, a ninja by training, and his small band had been dispatched to take out the Zora war council. Master Tife was the best at what he did, and while what he did was not pretty, it was efficient. The Zora would be lost without their Shiekah, so Master Tife’s first target was Master Reef and his fellows. There was a brief struggle, but Master Reef and his students were Lore Crafters, completely unable to match the ninja in combat.

And so it was that Master Reef of the Far Rock Clan died, along with ten students of the Sokinda Shadow Art. Together they composed the last of the Far Rock Clan. They died estranged from the eldership as Rebel Shiekah. Master Reef was a good friend, and dedicated to his principles. I lament the fate that places us against each other for the last Shiekah battles.

Mistress Githa, Takada Master of the River Clan

Takada is a hard art to master, but Githa was a hard woman. In many ways she was like the legendary Mistress Impa; strong, powerful, dark, yet with a gentleness that could shine through in rare moments. Mistress Githa’s clan, like many of the River Shiekah, was constantly moving, migrating slowly from the source of Zora River, all the way to Lake Hylia, and then back over the course of the year. For this reason, Takada is an art few out of the River Clans study. More a miscellany of countless other fighting styles than a true art itself, Takada is specifically geared to help the boat-riding fighter… to the best of my knowledge there is even a branch that specializes in combat while swimming.

I have a vague memory of seeing Mistress Githa as a young boy, while at Lake Hylia. She would have seen nearly twenty-five winters by that point, and was a noted student of her discipline. I think I has been wandering off alone to avoid being drug into a meaningless conversation with some of my more superficial Hylian relatives, when I stumbled over her practicing in the seclusion of our clan’s field. She was running through a practice routine… kicking, jabbing, and moving with graceful fluid motions. Kicks barrowed from the Zora, hooks stolen from the Gordons, poise and balance of a Shiekah… at the time I would have had no idea of the true beauty I was witnessing. However, my sister found me shortly after running across Githa in the field, and drew me back to the house where I was drug into the very conversation I had been trying to avoid.

I would next see Mistress Githa when we both were completing the formal trails for the degree rank of master nearly ten winters later. After the trials, I spent some time with Mistress Githa, and despite the difference in our ages, we connected quite well. When we parted ways, I counted her as my friend, and felt sure she called me one as well.

Mistress Githa would never become an Elder and, though I heard about her while traveling with the Elders, we would never cross path again. Even at the final battle of our people, on the bloody entrance to the Zora Domain, she and I were never near each other.