[ &Delta Information ~ Character Profile ]

[doublehelixhero]

CHARACTER
THE BASICS
NAME(S): Link, the Hero of Moonfall, the Hero of Five Faces
CANON & TIMELINE: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, six years post-game
CHARACTER TYPE: canon-based AU
AGE: 19 physically; 25 mentally

THE CHARACTER
APPEARANCE:
Link
Height: 6’5"
Weight and Build: 230 pounds, not counting his gear; broad shouldered and muscular but not overly so
Hair: Golden blond, falls to mid-shoulder blades. He usually wears it pulled back in a loose ponytail, but he never ties the tie snug, so the ponytail is perpetually messy and halfway falling down.
Eyes: Vivid and intense blue, has a piercing gaze
Preferred Hand: Left, though oddly, he uses his hookshot in his right
Distinguishing Features/Scars: His canines are slightly longer and more pointed than a normal person’s, though this isn’t particularly noticeable. Not immediately noticeable but still distinguishing is the fact that despite being nineteen, Link doesn't have any facial hair -- due to a quirk of all the magic in/around him, it just doesn't grow. Many scars over two quests to save the world and beyond, so I’ll just link his scar chart. [please don’t mind the sketchy art]

Link wears a forest green tunic that falls to mid-thigh and is split at the sides from the waist down over a black long-sleeved, high-collared undershirt and black breeches. He also wears thick-soled dark brown leather boots that are well-worn and covered in dust and dirt, as well as a matching pair of sturdy leather gauntlets. His hair tie is a strip of black cloth. A dark brown leather baldric holds the sheath for the Gilded Sword across his back, and a matching belt holds three pouches around his waist; both have gold buckles. Two of the pouches are larger, resting against the small of his back; the third one is smaller and rests at his right hip. All three of these are enchanted to allow him to fit things larger than the pouch inside them. He sometimes wear an ankle-length brown traveler’s cloak. The Fierce Deity’s mask hangs at his left hip on a strap connected to his belt; he typically only removes it when he’s wearing it.

Jewelry-wise, Link has four earrings, three in his left ear, one in his right. The earring in his right ear is blue, as is the earring closest to his face on the left. The other two are red [middle] and black [outermost].

Alternate Forms:
*Link transforms by donning specific magical masks. Each mask gives him one form, and the effect lasts only as long as he wears the mask. Generally, he assumes new forms only when he needs their innate abilities.

Deku Form
Height: 2’6"

Goron Form
Height: 6'0"

Zora Form
Height: 5'10"

Fierce Deity Form
Height: 7’6"

PERSONALITY:
Link has always been at odds with the world. As a child, he was the boy without a fairy, a Hylian raised by Kokiri. Then he was a child in an adult's body, only to be sent back just as he was beginning to get used to being an adult. In Termina, he was a stranger, a child in body but a warrior in spirit, confused by the unfamiliar territory yet more driven than anyone watching could understand. And now, six years later, he isn't so much Link as he is Link-plus-the-masks, a strange amalgamation of spirits that still see themselves as separate even as they've melded together.

Despite this, or maybe because of this, Link is one of the kindest people one could hope to meet. He's honest and warm-hearted and always has time to spare to give someone who needs it a hand, be it catching loose cuccos or defending a ranch from strange creatures out to steal cows.

He is incredibly brave, as befitting the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, and seems capable of pushing past any fear he has -- except for perhaps the fear of someone innocent getting hurt. Link knows very well what it's like to have the weight of darkness crash down on him, and he's determined to shield as many people from that as possible. He also doesn't need recognition for his work; as long as people are safe and know they're safe, he's happy.

He is very trusting of others unless he knows for a fact the other person isn't trustworthy. This isn't necessarily because he's naive. He's not quite as naive as he looks [though there are many things he still doesn't really understand]; he merely sees and assumes the best from people, even if it later gets him into trouble. And of course, part of his "naivety" is really a child-like sense of wonder and exploration that even now he hasn't really lost, coupled with a healthy respect for nature and an eye for beauty in strange places.

After so many years helping other people, it's almost as if he's forgotten to help himself. He's very laid-back and easy-going most of the time, but he tends to bury his own problems and pretend they don't matter, hiding behind a friendly smile.

Link is very expressive, more so than is considered "normal". He grew up fast and hard on a battleground, and that coupled with years of wandering mean he never has learned the subtleties of social communication. Some innuendo he understands, while some of it goes right over his head. This expressiveness also makes it easy to tell if he's lying, especially if one is familiar with his nervous habits [namely fiddling with his ponytail and gear].

When it comes to the mind-link, Link is well aware of the fact that he isn't really Link anymore, but that's the name he's used to, and considering that he still looks [mostly] the same and is effectively the 'main' part of their shared mind, he continues to use his old name, both for himself and for the sum of what they've all become.

He tends to speak aloud when discussing things with the others, simply because it's easier to keep his own thoughts straight when he has his voice to focus on. Their linked mind ranges from quiet [when they're all focusing on the same time or watching one of them do something] to loud and chaotic [when they're all trying to think at once]. There aren't really boundaries between the minds; they can each 'pull back' from Link a bit, but really all this does is make it harder to share their thoughts. Their emotions still get shared.

Oakin, the Deku Butler's son and the spirit sealed in the Deku Mask, is shy and reserved, though he loves to play when he gets the chance. Exploration to him is just another game, and he shares Link's enthusiasm for finding out what's around the next corner, behind that rock, or up that trail. He is easily frightened, as well as slightly unnerved around adults -- though it's easy enough to "hide" back and let the others handle them.

Darmani is still the proud warrior he was in life, though death has given him a new perspective on things. He enjoys seeing the world he didn't see when he was alive, but he is also still loyal to his people and insists that Link honor any promises that he makes. Darmani believes that there is more to being a warrior than fighting, and that it is the duty of a warrior to also be an inspiration to the people he fights for, even when there is no danger. He also has an interest in ruins and older things to do what he can to ensure that the past is not forgotten.

Mikau is a bit of a rebel and a definite free-spirit. He loves music over pretty much anything else, and the thing he misses most besides his friends is playing concerts. He likes wandering off the beaten path to get some peace and quiet, because there's nothing quite like lazing around in a private paradise. He's not afraid to share his opinion on something, although he isn't cruel about it. He's just blunt. He's fiercely loyal to the people he considers friends.

The Fierce Deity is cold and distant. The god knows nothing but battle, as the warrior is all that exists as the echo in the mask. He has little use for people, though most of that comes from not really knowing how to interact with people outside of battle. In battle, he is fierce and merciless, and this lack of mercy extends to off the battlefield as well. He doesn't tolerate weakness well, either, seeing it as a failing and as something that leads only to death. That said, he respects other warriors, as he can understand them.

HISTORY & WORLD-BUILDING:
Ocarina of Time
It all began in the Kokiri Forest, with a boy without a fairy. One day, the Great Deku Tree sent a fairy named Navi to bring that boy, Link, to him. The Great Deku Tree wanted the boy to prove his courage by slaying an evil creature that was leeching the life from the Tree. Link did so, but he couldn’t break the curse. Before dying, the Great Deku Tree gave the boy the Kokiri Emerald and told him to take it to Princess Zelda.

Which is exactly what the boy did. The princess told him of the Triforce and how it was threatened, and the two made plans to gather the three Spiritual Stones and claim it for themselves so evil could not have it. Link set out and found the other two Stones -- the Goron Ruby and the Zora Sapphire -- but things weren’t that simple. He returned to Castletown in time to watch the princess flee for her life, but not before she hurled the Ocarina of Time into the moat.

Link recovered the Ocarina and stood up to Ganondorf, and after the Gerudo King rode off into the distance, Link went to the Temple of Time and used the artifacts to open the Door of Time and claim the Master Sword, the blade of evil’s bane. But Ganondorf had followed him into the Temple, and the King of Evil laughed as he claimed the Triforce.

Link woke up seven years later as the Hero of Time. Rauru, the Sage of Light, explained what he had to do: defeat Ganondorf. But it was Sheik, a Sheikah waiting in the Temple, who truly explained the task ahead. Link had to clear out the Temples so that the Sages could awaken. Only once all the Sages were awake could Link face down Ganondorf to stop the evil.

He did just that, solving puzzles, acquiring tools, and slaying beasts, clearing five Temples and awakening five Sages. He then returned to the Temple of Time to find Sheik, who revealed that the Triforce had split into its parts when Ganondorf touched it. Ganondorf held Power. Sheik held Wisdom. Link held Courage. And also, Sheik wasn’t really a Sheikah; he was Princess Zelda in disguise, aiding the Hero as best she could.

The reunion was short lived, as Ganondorf used his power to capture the princess. Link set off for the dark castle. The Sages used their power to create a bridge over the lava-filled moat, and the Hero set off inside. He fought his way to Ganondorf and then struck the King of Evil down. He and the princess then fled the crumbling tower, but Ganon wasn’t done yet, calling on the Triforce of Power’s power and turning into an ugly pig monster. Link defeated him again, and Zelda and the Sages sealed the King of Evil away in the Sacred Realm.

Then, his task over, Zelda took the Ocarina and used its magic to send Link back in time seven years, back to where he was meant to be. Once back, Navi said her farewell and left, leaving the now-child Link to his own fate.

Majora’s Mask
But Link wasn’t ready to say farewell to Navi, not just yet, and so he gathered Epona and what gear he had and set off in search of his dear friend. Before he left, Princess Zelda gave him the Ocarina of Time in hopes that it would help keep him safe.

For months, he wandered Hyrule and beyond, searching for Navi. Then one day, two fairies startled Epona and she threw him. A Skull Kid wearing a strange mask ruffled through his pockets and found the Ocarina. Link woke up just in time to give chase. Eventually he caught the Skull Kid, who merely laughed.

"I’m sick of looking at your face!" Magic wrapped around him, and the next thing Link knew, he was trapped inside a Deku Scrub’s body. The Skull Kid and one fairy ran off, but one was trapped behind. With no other options, the fairy, Tatl, and Link teamed up and traveled forward, following the only path they could. The path led to the basement of a massive clock tower in the center of Clock Town.

Link and Tatl managed to recover the Ocarina of Time, though the instrument appeared as a set of Deku Pipes Link somehow knew how to play. Not having any other option -- as the moon, following the pull of an evil power, was about to strike Clock Town, and there was nothing Link could do to stop it -- he played the Song of Time.

And everything started over. The two were back at the moment they first left the tower. Inside the tower, they met a wandering Mask Salesman who taught Link a magical song of healing that broke the curse on him -- turning it into a mask -- and then told Link about the dangers of Majora’s Mask, which just happened to be the strange mask Skull Kid is wearing and the reason the moon is falling towards the earth.

With that and Tael’s cryptic words to guide them ["Swamp, mountain, ocean, canyon... Hurry! The four who are there... bring them here"], Link and Tatl set off. They quickly figured out that the strange Deku Mask had the power to transform Link into the Deku Scrub anytime he put it on, though there was the odd nagging question of how he knew how to do things that only a Scrub can do. They defeated the evil Odolwa deep within the Woodfall Temple and seized the mask left behind, and in doing so, they freed a Giant who had been sealed away by the evil and cleared the poison from the swamp’s water.

Their next stop was the mountains of Snowhead, where they met the ghost of a proud Goron warrior, Darmani the Third, who had tried and failed to stop the evil freezing the mountains even deep into spring and couldn’t move on because of his regret. Link used his magical melody to ease the Goron’s regrets and let him move on, and what the warrior left behind turned into a mask. This one granted Link the form and partial knowledge of a Goron, and he used it to great effect clearing Snowhead Temple of evil and destroying Goht. Again, only a mask was left, and again a Giant was freed; spring was finally allowed to come to the mountains.

Then it was on to the shores of the Great Bay, where Link found a weak and nearly dead Zora floating near shore. He helped the Zora to shore, where the Zora explained that he was Mikau, a guitarist for the Indigo-gos with the blood of Zoran heroes, and what was happening: Lulu, a Zora he knew, had laid some weird eggs and lost her voice, but then the pirates took some of the eggs. He tried to recover them but failed miserably, and he begged Link to get the eggs back, for Lulu’s sake. Link again played his magical song, easing Mikau’s regrets and letting the Zora die in peace... and the magic again created a mask from what was left behind.

Using the mask’s power -- the form and knowledge of a Zora -- Link recovered the eggs from the pirates and the eels of Pinnacle Rock, only for the eggs to hatch and the baby Zora to teach him a new song. This song restored Lulu’s voice and opened the path to the Great Bay Temple, where Link defeated the evil Gyorg and freed the third Giant, clearing the murky waters of the Bay once more.

The last place was Ikana Canyon, where Link put many restless dead to rest and ascended the massive Stone Tower to reach the Temple at its top. He again cleared out the beasts, this time defeating the giant Twinmold, and freed the last Giant as the curse on the canyon was broken.

With only one thing left to do, Link returned to Clock Town and called forth the four Giants to stop the moon. Majora’s Mask detached itself from Skull Kid and flew into the moon, determined to consume everything. With no other choice, Link followed. Inside, he found children playing around a massive tree, and he played their games. In the end, he found a child wearing Majora’s Mask, a child who gave him a strange and powerful mask and then asked if Link would play with him, too.

And so, the battle between Link and Majora began. At first, Link seemed to have the battle under control, but then Majora attacked him, lashing out with its tendrils like whips and cutting a long gash across Link’s chest. Out of options, Link put on the strange mask the child had given him not long before. That mask was the Fierce Deity’s Mask, and with its power, Link defeated Majora and destroyed the evil moon, casting the vile being back into the mask where it belonged.

The Happy Mask Salesman reclaimed the mask and then vanished, leaving Termina for places unknown. Meanwhile, Termina celebrated the destruction of the moon and life returned to normal. Link, his job finished, finally got to break the cycling three-day time loop he’d been in.

After the Moonfall
Now two worlds were safe, but Link was forever changed. Using the masks had started a change in him, one that would only continue over the next six years. Not knowing what else to do and too used to wandering to stay still, he continued traveling here and there, helping people as he went. He never considered returning to Hyrule; he felt no connection to his homeland anymore. So he wandered, using the masks as he needed their powers. After all, they’d helped him save the world, so he might as well use them when needed instead of simply casting them aside.

It started simply enough, a strange flicker of an emotion he wasn’t feeling, a thought that wasn’t his own. He chalked them up to being tired and didn’t worry. But they happened more and more, and the thoughts got clearer and clearer, turning into voices. Each time he used the masks, the echoes of the spirts sealed within them mixed more and more with his own body and mind.

At first, they could only talk while Link wore their individual masks, but as the link between boy and mask grew stronger, they were able to communicate with him normally. By fifteen, he could easily communicate with them all mentally, though he didn’t realize that by that point, he wasn’t really Link anymore but instead the sum of the five. Once they were mindlinked so closely, the spirits began having physical effects on the growing hero’s body and mind. The magic involved made his eyes almost seem to glow, while the god’s power made Link taller and stronger than he had been last time he grew up. Mikau added his grace, Darmani his endurance, and Oakin his innocence.

The bond grew strongest between Link and the god, as it was the god’s mask Link turned to most for protection. As their minds mixed more and more, parts of the god’s personality began expressing themselves. At sixteen, Link killed a monster not because it was a threat but because something inside him said it deserved to die, and just over a year later, he surrendered to his bloodlust for the first time.

And through it all, the magic weaving the five together grew stronger and stronger. Link became known as a monster hunter, hunting down even the most evil monsters whether they were in human skin or not. In some ways, this is the perfect illustration of what he’s become -- the god’s hunger for blood and death used as a means for the hero to keep those he deems innocent safe.

Now, six years after he stopped Majora and the twisted moon, a hero in five parts still travels without a real goal, leaving a trail of both safe villages and broken corpses behind him. Link is now just another part of the five, yet that’s still how he sees himself. He is Link, and the others are in his head with him; they’re mixed enough to blur together, but still separate enough to have some semblance of their own identities, even if four of them rely on Link to fill in the gaps.

THE DETAILS
STRENGTHS/SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Link: A skilled fighter who uses a very odd style born entirely of experimentation and pure desperation. His skill is primarily with a one-handed sword and shield, though he can use a bow and magical arrows almost as well. He is also clever, capable of figuring out puzzles and navigating deathtraps with only his wits and his tools, and he’s usually pretty observant if he’s not distracted. He is good with tools, often able to figure out what they do with only a few minutes of playing around.

He can play his Ocarina by ear, and he has a good memory for music. He can also sight-read music and is literate in Hylian/Terminan (the two worlds appear to have the same language). That said, his handwriting is mostly neat and legible, but it still resembles a child's more than an adult's. He also sometimes leaves his chalk-marks as simple sketches instead of words.

He's fairly decent at navigating dungeons, especially if he has chalk to mark the walls with. He's also strong and agile, as fitting a swordsman. Link also knows how to ride and care for a horse. And he's tough, as well; his endurance has been earned through years of fighting and traveling.

He can use magical energy to create magic arrows and to enhance his spin attacks, though he only has so much magic that he can use before he has to rest.

He is very courageous, though he isn't afraid to admit that he's scared. That doesn't stop him from doing whatever needs to be done, however. He also has a big heart, always willing to listen to other people’s problems and help as best as he can, even sharing his own supplies with someone who needs them more. He is painfully stubborn: once he sets his mind to something, he will do it unless it is absolutely without a doubt physically impossible for him to do so.

Masks in general: As long as the masks are still in Link’s possession, the spirits are capable of sensing things around them -- though this really only applies to the Fierce Deity, as the mask hangs at Link’s hip whereas the others are in a pouch. The Fierce Deity uses this as a means to keep a wary eye out, though Link is often just as vigilant.

The mind-link has varying strengths; strongest to weakest, it is the Fierce Deity, Mikau, Darmani, and Oakin. The stronger the link, the easier it is to fight Link for control of their body and also to snap the Hero out of his kill-lust when it emerges at the wrong time. It is also easier for the individual voices to be heard over the chaos of their shared mind. The Fierce Deity is by far the most linked, so much so that many of his strengths and weaknesses have become Link’s without the god needing to do them for the hero. The other three can "pull back" slightly and shield some of their thoughts from the rest of the group [though never everything; they’re too mixed for that], but the god is always present and watching.

Link is the "main" part of the mind, as he's the only one who was really intact to begin with. His mind and those of the echoes of the masks overlap, and they merge where they do. When Link fights, it's a mix of his knowledge and the god's. When he swims, it's more Mikau's knowledge than his own, even when he's not wearing the Zora Mask. Many of the habits Link has, like preferring to sleep on the ground and taking the time to soak up the sun on clear days, are less his habits and more habits of the others that have become his own.

Control is shared in so much that there is really only one mind, though one part of the mind may be more present at the time. When swimming, Mikau is the one guiding the body through the proper motions, though Link, being the main, is still mostly in charge -- though this isn't really a problem unless there's a disagreement over where they're going.

The control issue is probably best illustrated by the way the others can speak through Link. He can if he so chooses let one or more of the spirits speak through his body. When this happens, the spirit speaks with his own voice, but Link also speaks with his own, creating a double [or more] voice; they're speaking in unison.

If something happens to knock Link unconscious, then the others are trapped until he wakes up. They might be aware of their surroundings because of their masks, but without Link, they don't have the ability to control their shared body. They are capable of knocking sense into him when he loses himself to his hunger by mental screams and by creating so much chaos in their mind that he loses track of whatever it is that he's trying to do.

*Physical strengths only apply when Link is wearing the appropriate mask.
Oakin: Can use his magical energy to spit bubbles as a projectile weapon; these bubbles tend to stun most things for a limited time. He attacks by twirling around on one foot, smacking things with his hat. Oakin can also hop inside Deku Flowers [where there are Deku Flowers, at least] and shoot himself in the air. Once airborne, he can use the Flowers to glide, at least for a little while. His light weight also lets him bounce across the surface of any body of water, though he can only bounce for so long. He can also stand on lilypads and such that couldn’t hold anyone else’s weight. He is fluent and literate in Deku.

Oakin also helps Link hang on to his more childish traits, like his sense of wonder.

Darmani: Can punch hard enough to crack rock, though his attacks are slow. He can curl up and either pound the ground or start rolling. If he has enough room to roll to work up to high speed, his magic forms spikes that he can use to attack anything he strikes, but he has to continuously burn the magic to maintain them. He can walk in lava. He is fluent and literate in Goron.

Darmani is the voice of reason in their shared mind, showing the restraint he learned the hard way.

Mikau: A skilled swimmer, capable of practically flying through the water. Can defend himself by surrounding himself with an electrified barrier, though this takes magical energy to use. He attacks with a mix of punches and kicks, and he can detach his arm fins and hurl them like boomerangs, though he uses them as a pair. As a Zora, he can stay underwater indefinitely but also wander around on land. He is fluent and literate in Zoran.

Mikau is very vocal, the most vocal of the others, and he doesn't really like Link's hunger. He'll accept it, but the second Link starts trying to attack the wrong person, Mikau starts screaming.

The Fierce Deity: A highly accomplished and powerful warrior capable of tearing his way through almost anything. Can hurl rings of magical energy from his sword, provided he has the energy to use. He attacks with a massive blade roughly his own size. Like Link, the god is fluent and literate in Terminan.

The god is Link's quiet support, always watching for danger, always willing to help the hero fight better. He and Link are by far the closest -- which is why Link has so many of the god's traits -- and he is also the one Link turns to most when he needs comforting.

LIMITATIONS:
Link: It is nearly impossible for Link to say no to someone who needs help, even when it means putting himself into mortal danger. Of course, this also makes it incredibly easy to set up a trap for him, as he’ll happily walk right in it if he thinks it’ll help someone. He is very slow to anger, but once he’s angry, he won’t stop until he’s satisfied with his vengeance.

He's used to using tools and masks to deal with obstacles, which is fine, but without his tools, he'll be at a disadvantage unless/until he finds a way to improvise replacements.

He also has a bad habit of letting himself get lost in thought, particularly when in a conversation with the other parts of himself, and he tends to shut the world out when he does. Despite being open to listening to other’s problems, he’s very slow to open up about his own. He’s so determined to help people that he doesn’t want to bother them with his problems. His stubbornness can also blind him to what should be obvious.

He spends most of his time traveling, and as such, his social skills never really have refined. He sometimes slips up and says things he doesn’t really mean to say, and he’s also oddly naive in many ways for a nineteen year old. Link also has limited knowledge of domestic things, and he’s only a passable cook. It’s edible, but that doesn’t mean you want him cooking for you. He can repair and maintain his own gear, but anything else is strange enough he’ll have to figure it out or be shown how.

He has picked up traits from the new parts of himself, and not all of these habits are good. While some are merely strange, other are more dangerous. The part of what was once Link that mixed with the Fierce Deity is now a dangerous warrior possessing a strong lust for battle. In other words, from time to time, Link is driven to fight and claim his enemy’s blood. With particularly strong opponents, this may just mean incapaciting and drinking the blood from a wound, though with most of what he encounters, the battle’s too one-sided to enjoy, so he merely slaughters them all and drinks from the corpses. He can control the bloodlust part of this by drinking small amounts of blood every ten days or so, roughly, though it’s never as satisfying if it’s not from an opponent he’s defeated. The battle part he tends to deal with by attacking any monsters he comes across, though it’s the hunger he admittedly worries less about.

If left untended, his bloodlust gets out of control, and he will stalk and kill the first creature he sees that he deems suitable prey. In this state, he doesn’t speak [as he can’t] and he can’t tell friend from foe, though he can still use his blade [but nothing else]. Any shock to his system, whether from one of the others or an external force, can bring him back to his senses for a little while. His hunger doesn’t bother him, except when he hurts innocent people, though he doesn’t want anyone to find out about it.

Masks in general: Again, the mind-link strength, strongest to weakest, is the Fierce Deity, Mikau, Darmani, and Oakin. The weaker the link is, the less the masks are able to perceive and make their thoughts distinct over the chaos of their shared mind. Those with a weaker link are also much less capable of taking/being given control except for their special traits.

Also, while the spirits are for the most part merged with Link, their masks still act as an anchor of sorts. Without the mask, Link cannot take that form, and without the mask, his connection with that spirit gets messed up, something that was once a mere inconvience and is now from disorienting to flat-out painful depending on which mask is missing. It is for this reason Link is very possessive of his masks. Well, that and the fact that they’re part of him.

If something incapacitates Link, then the masks cannot act. They may still be aware of their surroundings, but they cannot speak and they cannot act. All they can do is hope someone finds him or he wakes up. While they act as a bit of a safeguard against Link attacking innocent people in his hunger, there's also the fact that they're one mind in five parts, so it's safe to say that anything that affects something's mental state would affect all five equally and together. In other words, if something's making Link hallucinate, then the others are going to see the hallucinations, too.

*Physical limitations apply only when Link is wearing the appropriate mask.
Oakin: Very shy and slow to speak up, even when he’s scared or not happy with a situation, which lets Link and Mikau lead them right into the face of danger. He’s also incredibly naive and uncomfortable in places that are too dry. Very small and lightweight -- so light he can’t depress most switches. Is made of wood, so highly flammable. Can bounce on water, but can only bounce for so long before his strength gives out and he sinks. Oakin is also not much of a fighter.

Darmani: Sinks like a stone in water. While he rolls very quickly, his weight makes it hard for him to run very quickly. This slow speed continues into his attacks; he has a hard time hitting fast moving targets unless he aims properly, which isn't always easy. Darmani is intelligent but also proud and stubborn, and he sometimes lets his pride get in the way when he really knows better. Darmani often gets in arguments with Mikau, which make it harder for everyone to think.

Mikau: Average speed outside the water. His fin-boomerangs can be unwieldly to aim at times. His long legs also ensure he kicks over low things, which can be problematic when that low thing is attacking him. Vulnerable to both fire and ice damage. Very vocal, often to the point of giving the others a headache. Good at both leaping without looking and shooting his mouth off at inappropriate times, so it’s just as well he isn’t the part doing most of the talking. Mikau gets in plenty of arguments with Darmani and often gives the others a headache from all the chaos in their mind.

The Fierce Deity: The god knows nothing but battle and is useless in any other situation. He also tends to be wary almost to the point of paranoia, always expecting an ambush or a betrayal. He has little use for things like kindness and mercy and often doesn't understand why Link acts the way he does.

EQUIPMENT/PETS:
Link’s equipment is here.

Oakin can use Deku Nuts and his Deku Pipes, as well as Link’s bottles. He has no other access to Link’s inventory.

Darmani can use Powder Kegs [which are exactly what they sound like; luckily or unluckily, he doesn’t have one with him] and his five-headed drum set. His only access to Link’s inventory is bottles.

Mikau can use his Zora Guitar and Link’s bottles. He has no other access to Link’s inventory.

The Fierce Deity carries the Helix Blade with him. He has no access to Link’s inventory at all.

THE WRITING
*Since it can be difficult to keep all of the thoughts in Link’s head straight, I’m using color codes. Link’s thoughts are in black. Oakin’s are in green. Darmani’s are in brown. Mikau’s are in blue. And the Fierce Deity’s are in red. These thoughts are not audible to others, of course; this color-coding is merely for convienence. Any time one of the others speaks through Link, it will be marked.

SAMPLE - LOGS:
[Man, how long we gotta be underground? Link ignores him, instead continuing to wander down the winding tunnel, following Darmani’s ever-more-insistent nudges and Oakin’s growing excitement.

[You’re all ignorin’ me, aren’t ya?

[You’ve been outvoted, Zora. The snicker that follows makes Link pause, three minds’ worth of confusion on his face.]

Never mind, [he says, starting to walk again.] We don’t want to know. [There’s an odd scent in the tunnel, sulfur and heat and wet, that makes him remember being near a volcano. The air is getting hotter as he moves deeper, and the humidity is rising. Not quite like a volcano, really; he remembers the air there being dry. The scent gets worse and worse until he has to pull his tunic up over his mouth to breathe through.

[Before long, he finds himself walking into thin haze, and the ground changes to looser stones that crunch beneath his boots. He stops, all of their thoughts silent, when he realizes that there’s something wrong with the ground ahead. No, it isn’t ground at all; it’s water. Perfectly still, oddly colored, steaming water.

[A hot spring, it seems. Link scowls. He’s never seen a hot spring that reeked so much before. He narrows his eyes, trying to ignore how much something in the vapor makes them sting, and looks around for any other exits. He sees nothing but the pool, stretching out from wall to wall, the only dry ground the small ledge he’s standing on.]

Let’s just go.

[Something is in the water.]

In... the water? [He turns, curiosity piqued, and leans in towards the water. He doesn’t trust the ledge enough to get too close. Sure enough, there is something moving around; bubbles on the surface betray its movement. It’s moving closer. He leans in a little closer. If it keeps getting closer, then maybe he can make out more than a dark shape --

[Something bursts from the water, but Link doesn’t see it. He gets a face-full of hot, sulphur-laden water and staggers back with a triple shout, falling backwards.

[In the chaos in their mind, one of them is laughing and another cursing while a third has the sense to dry his eyes with his tunic. It takes a couple of moments for them to calm down enough to tell their thoughts apart, and by then, the bubbles and the dark shape beneath the water are gone.

[Nice goin’.

[You’re not going to chase it? I thought you enjoyed water, Mikau.

[Stuff it!]

It’s gone now. [Link climbs to his feet -- easier said than done, because they managed to land in the most awkward position possible -- and wipes his eyes again. Normally, he’d just sit and wait to satisfy his curiosity, but it stinks and his eyes are really burning now, and he’d really like to find some clean water that isn’t his drinking water to wash his face off with.

[So he turns to head back down the tunnel that brought him here, but not before pulling one of his pieces of chalk out and writing on the wall in scrawled Terminan: creature here. Partway back down the tunnel, he finds a trickle of clean water and washes his face, flopping down on the ground.

[He’s trying to convince himself it’s not worth going back for another try.]

SAMPLE - MESSAGE:
[The message starts with a soft growl, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps.]

I don’t carry Powder Kegs around unless I know I’ll need one!

[Flatly:] I didn’t think we’d need one.

Now don’t you start, too. You don’t like me carrying those around, remember?

[Another soft growl, followed by something large flopping onto the ground.]

Just shut up, all right? We’re here now, and I don’t see us -- you stay out of this! You’re the one who thought this was a good idea.

I agree with Oakin. Let’s just... [A sigh; he sounds like he’s got a headache.] Don’t you two start now... Maybe we should just sleep. We can figure this all out tomorrow.

[Another growl, this one more annoyed.] This place is perfectly safe. Perfectly safe.

I’m sleeping. If you two want to argue all night, go ahead; just let the rest of us sleep.