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Vaati

Power isn't something to be hoarded or controlled. Why did it take me so long to figure that out? Real power is symbiotic. It's a part of you, and you it. You don't restrain it, you flow alongside it.

Wind Tribe

SAGE OF WIND

NOTES

He has issues with dark magic in him (not shadow/darkness, that's neutral, but something eviler). Since it remains inside of him as a permanent part of him thanks to his prolonged period as a monster (because too much time passed to fully purify him), he has to deal with it for the rest of his life. The magic can react to other, similar types of magic, which can sometimes make him feel pulled towards corrupted things or artifacts.

It also means that if it surges too much, parts of his body will begin to shift back into his monstrous form. Vaati has to meditate and calm himself down when this happens in order to revert himself back, which is difficult if he's anywhere but alone or with friends. He has no idea what will happen if he fully changes or lets a change linger, but he isn't willing to try until he can find a way to keep the magic from overpowering his mind (and his dream is to be able to either permanently remove it or permanently harness it, so it can be used without fear of any further corruption).

PERSONALITY

Vaati at first can come off as rude or cold to new people, because his manner of speaking tends to be arrogant and self-assured. Indeed, Vaati is somewhat arrogant, believing in his own strength and not fond of being seen as weak or stupid, and alongside that he seems to have a fairly worryless/careless attitude about things, furthering the arrogant impression and making him seem foolishly stupid. First impressions can often lie, and in his case, it definitely does.

Vaati's real self is one that's kind and compassionate, caring deeply for the people he's close to and wanting to help people who might need it. For a person close to him, Vaati would do everything from committing murder to nursing them back to health, and he's the type who would go to the ends of Hyrule and beyond to find a cure for any sickness that plagues him. Vaati is one who, when befriended, is a friend one can trust implicitly, no matter what. The only time a dagger goes into someone else's back is if they plunged it into his first.

That said, Vaati is someone who's not very easy to befriend. He's completely content with being polite and friendly to people, but growing up as one of the Wind Tribe means he unfortunately carries the same problems that his people do. A lack of understanding of others and their culture, a social awkwardness that makes it hard for him to fully read what other people are feeling, and a difficulty picking up on other peoples' cultural or social cues so he knows when he's overstepping or being rude according to them. Being the brash type who speaks his mind a lot of the time doesn't often help matters.

What makes it harder is that Vaati is not the type to show his real feelings unless he trusts someone -- that "worryless" appearance he gives off isn't actually a lack of care or a foolish overconfidence like many think, but more that he hides whatever concerns him until he's only with people he trusts or in a situation where his worries are actually important to express (like strategy meetings). He's very sharp and very smart, and despite the fact he can be overconfident, he's not a fool by any stretch of the means. He knows when to fold, when to retreat, and while he may hate having to admit he's ignorant in something, he will admit it when needed so as not to put others in danger and so that he can learn better.

To put it another way, Vaati may seem like he doesn't care or worry at all, even about things that he should, but he does feel both of those; he just won't show you.

Even so, he does still have a strong desire to be liked, it's just that for the most part, he only feels that desire towards people he himself already likes; if someone he doesn't care about or someone he hates, he really couldn't give less of a crap how they feel about him, and he'll gleefully be rude and nasty to them if they treat him the same way. At least, mostly gleefully; it does still hurt deep down for Vaati which has only worsened with the slight twisting of his mind and personally (see the final paragraphs below).

He's far from as selfless as someone like Link, and he doesn't tolerate being taken advantage of or pushed around -- indeed, someone trying to use him as an errand boy or a doormat are going to find themselves in a world of hurt. It might be physical hurt, like cuts from winds or just being punched in the face, or it might be humiliation, as Vaati has been known to blow clothes clean off or prized possessions up onto roofs, only to laugh when someone can't recover them.

He only treats people like this if they deserve it, though. Someone asking in good faith but asking too much might get grumbles or him scolding them to do more themselves, but he's the type to scold them to be more independent while in the middle of the task they asked for help with. As well, he only tends to actually scold if there's something holding them back but they themselves are capable of it, as Vaati believes everyone should harness their own power and abilities. It's not just because that's the way he lives, but also because he sees how much of a strain helping everyone puts on Link and the other Sages, as well as the fact that Ganondorf's original takeover before Link appeared made it clear that no one -- or even a few -- Heroes could do it all.

To put it another way, if a perfectly able fighter is too cowardly to do something, Vaati will push them to actually do it and help out if he can, but if someone is injured or incapable, he won't say much if anything about it and just give them a hand.

He has an intense desire for knowledge and power, but not in a way that would be corrosive or villainous. He reads every book he can get his hand on, and if he feels he might be able to harness something, he'll train with it or try to find it, but he never steps over the line. If it's too dangerous, too impossible to work with, or even just corrupted, Vaati has no issue letting go of it... for the most part.

Beyond anything else, Vaati has one major problem: his mind has been slightly twisted. While attempting to protect the Wind Tribe from Ganondorf's monsters, one of his generals (the one that would later go to taint the Wind Temple) subdued him and transformed Vaati into a monster himself. While Link was able to purify him and restore him to his original self -- with the help of Zelda and a charm Vaati gave him when they were children -- the length of time he spent as a monster meant not everything was able to be restored.

It's left Vaati with more of a hunger for power than he had before, along with a minor ability to control or harness corrupted things for a short time period. It's also made him more vicious in battle and more cold towards his enemies, as well as giving him a twisted, creepy laugh ("Fuahahaah!") and just making his expressions and tones more creepy in general. It also can lead him to being tempted by evil or corrupt things, though he does his best to clamp down on this, and his friends do what they can to help him as well.

Vaati was already someone who had trouble socializing with others at the start, but this twisting has made it even harder, and while he puts on a good front of huffing or pretending not to be bothered by things, it does still hurt him deep down. He just refuses to show that hurt to anyone but his friends.

ABILITIES

➤ Wind magic, generation, and complete control over wind itself (even in enclosed areas). Allows flight for himself and others.
➤ Sage powers, including purification and repelling of evil. Can also pray to the Goddesses to empower their works (such as the Master Sword, the Triforce of Courage, etc.), but must be done in his Temple.
➤ Complete control over the inner workings of the Wind Temple, but must be inside or just outside of it.
➤ "Hammerspace" inventory. Mostly stores books he buys, owns, or steals (but don't tell anyone).
➤ Darkness magic. Less used because of the risks. When used, it's mostly offensively, and he cannot control natural points of it (such as shadows cast by light), only what he makes himself.
➤ Monster transformation. Rarely used because of the risk. When used, he can make his hands into claws or sprout bat wings, and his eyes often go blank white. [Example]

INFORMATION

CANON: LoZ: Sanctus of Sages (AU)
AGE: 20
GENDER: Male
HEIGHT: 5'5"
BIRTHDAY: Early Spring
APPEARANCE: [ X ]
STATUS: Taken (Sage of Water)
COUNTRY: Hyrule (Wind Tribe lands)

INVENTORY

:: Hand-Made Journal ::
A purple journal with his name embroidered in gold. He writes all his observations and information in it, from what Zelda tells them to what they learn on their own.

:: Flute of Wind ::
Vaati's Sage Instrument, a pan flute passed down from Wind Sage to Wind Sage. Using it he can play normally or harness the power of specific, magical songs for various effects. He's quite skilled at it, since possession of it grants mastery of it (but only for its Sage).

:: Aria of Wind ::
A magical song that, when played by the Sage of Wind, can cause many things to happen. When used by Link, it acts more as a way to remotely speak to Vaati or teleport back to the Wind Temple.

:: Sanctus of Sages ::
The Flute of Wind version of the Sanctus of Sages is one that can only be played by Vaati. By itself, it's useless, but when paired with the other seven versions, miracles can happen.

( efficio )

Races to be added: Gerudo, Rito, Hylian

WORLD INFO
The AU is titled The Legend of Zelda: Sanctus of Sages, being named after the song "Sanctus of Sages", which is the ultimate song performed by all eight of them (Link, Zelda, and the six Sages). The world is something akin to a mix of Breath of the Wild, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask. The world itself is "open", and free travel between places is very common, enough that seeing races of people in every area isn't strange to people, and Hyrule Castle Town itself often hosts many different ones at a time.

While the world is mostly at peace, a building known as the Temple of Sages stands tall in Castle Town, a gigantic cathedral with a group of people known as "Sage Guardians" caring for it. Legends of sages, and of matching temples for each element/sage, are well known stories, though whether or not people believe they're real events or simply fables depends entirely on the person, species, and sometimes even family.

Whether real or not, what is known is that Sages awaken when the Hero of Courage and Heroine of Wisdom do, and that all of them must work together to fight back the evil.

In terms of Timeline, this AU exists in the Adult Timeline, after Ocarina of Time but before Wind Waker and the world being flooded.

The Temple of Sages
A massive, ornate cathedral that stands in the middle of Hyrule Castle Town. The first floor is mostly made up of storage areas, places for the Sage Guardians to live and work, and other areas that most normal people aren't allowed to go. At the front doors are stairs up to the second floor, which is taken up entirely by a two-story-tall central room. This room is encircled by six large, enchanted stained glass windows, possesses a shrine at the far back between two of them, and has pedestals in front of each window. The windows cycle through various images of unknown men and women, with each window having a static element it represents and a nameplate that changes with the picture.

According to the Sage Guardians, each time a Sage awakens, their self-crafted Medallion is placed in the pedestal, which causes the glass to rearrange itself in a likeness of them and stop cycling. When the Sage's time of protecting the world is up and they pass on, the windows are infused into a blank space underneath the Temple to be enshrined forever so their memory is not forgotten and the cycling begins again, so each Sage appears on the windows in the worship area.

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HISTORY
Child Section (Link)
➤ Link is the son of a farmer and has the pony-Epona. He and his father get on well, but Link's always been restless and the type to explore out, much to his father's unease.
➤ Monsters attack their town and Link helps the adults fight them off. His father is worried and decides to go to Castle Town to inform the King; Link comes with him.
➤ The meeting at Castle Town goes poorly; the King wants to help, but monster attacks have been happening all over and his daughter is missing, so his people are stretched too thin as it is.
➤ Link and his father return to an inn. Link insists on going out to help and find the princess, feeling it's important somehow. His father argues with him and Link leaves that night when his father is distracted.
➤ Some kind of dungeon section somewhere where he meets Zelda, they both fight out, and they return to the Castle. His daughter safe, the King promises to send some of his guards to Link's hometown, but can't do more.
➤ Zelda grants Link what she calls a "Speechstone", a blue stone on a necklace, that will allow them to talk to each other no matter the distance.
➤ Link argues with his father again about going out to help. His father reveals that he always knew Link was special because of the triangle mark on his hand that he was born with. His father gives him a deep blue Ocarina (not the Ocarina of Time) and tells him that his mother had a vision he would need it some day. He asks Link to be careful. Link promises, and then leaves.

Child Section (Rima, Sheikah)
➤ Link travels the Lost Woods and -- shocker -- becomes lost.
➤ He's menaced by monsters of the woods and manages to fight his way through, but becomes fatigued and lays down to rest at a riverside. When he wakes up, he finds a girl of his age with red eyes watching him.
➤ She introduces herself as Rima and takes Link to her village, Kakariko, which is hidden deep in the woods. There, Link learns about the Sheikah (which he knew from vague fairy tales), their general values, and gets to know Rima well over the next few days.
➤ Rima eventually tells Link that she misses her mother, Impa, but Impa is busy elsewhere, along with a lot of the other adults. She then tells Link about a monster in the forest that she wants to stop, and asks for his help. Link agrees.
➤ Another dungeon section, this time with a "Lost Woods"/underground dungeon. Link and Rima clear it and return to Kakariko, where Impa is waiting for them. She scolds Rima for going out without telling others, but praises her for assisting "the Hero" and putting her training into practice. She then tells Rima to go with Link and assist him in whatever way possible.
➤ Rima agrees, and seeing that Link has the necklace holding the Speechstone from Zelda, gives him a fragment of a gem that's pure black. She says it's from a "Shadow Gem" and is a treasure to her, but since they're friends, she wants Link to have it. She puts a hole into it and he threads it on his necklace, then they depart.
➤ She reveals that Impa had insisted before they leave that Rima take something special with her -- a beautiful harp that was once Impa's. Rima explains it was tradition for Impa's family to pass it down, and the fact Impa gave it to her meant Impa thought she was old enough to become a real Sheikah, something Rima is delighted about.

Child Section (Vaati, Wind Tribe)
➤ Rima's agility and ability to carry Link allows them to explore further, and they go into the mountains after hearing rumors of monster birds. While they don't find monster birds, they do find teleporters, which takes them up to a floating city.
➤ Rima marvels at it, calling it the home of the Wind Tribe. Said Wind Tribe members seem confused at the two kids, but welcome them as best they can while being in a terrible state.
➤ The two are taken to Ezlo, the elder and acting Chieftain, who believes they may be part of an old Wind Tribe prophecy. Unfortunately, he has neither the time nor the inclination to look into it, as his grandson -- a beloved but headstrong boy named Vaati who has always pushed back on the overly stuffy training and lessons -- has vanished along with some of the other children.
➤ Link and Rima quickly volunteer to help, which Ezlo first refuses in an over the top manner before agreeing to when they press (clearly intending to always accept), and he gives them a small device that can take them between the city and the land freely.
➤ Exploring the mountains below, they find a hurt Vaati and a few of the kids. He tells them that the monsters are taking the others to a set of ruins that had fallen to the ground, but for what purpose, he doesn't know. They send the safe kids back to the city, then all three travel into the ruins.
➤ Ruins dungeon, evil monster, the drill. After the monster is killed, they all bring the kids back, at which point Ezlo gives Vaati a fierce lecture about going off on his own. Vaati argues back, frustrated, and runs out of the city to drop to the ground below. Ezlo sighs, but tells Rima and Link that he's only so hard because he feels Vaati is no normal child, and a day will come when he has to face up to that, whether he likes it or not.
➤ Taking the device back, he dismisses them, and Rima and Link return to the land below. On doing so, they find Vaati waiting for them, who says he's going to stick with them for a while to get some freedom from his mentor. While Link accepts without hesitation, Rima remembers what Ezlo said and wonders if he expected this.
➤ Before they go, Vaati gives Link a small, pretty piece of pottery he found in the ruins, saying that it's not a big deal, but that he kind of already likes Link, and it's a token of friendship. It goes on his necklace alongside the gifts from Zelda and Rima.
➤ While leaving, Vaati shows them that he's brought his greatest treasure with him -- a set of old pan flutes that once belonged to his mother.

Child Section (Other Sages)
➤ Make a section for each of the kids of Spirit, Light, Water, and Fire.

Child Section (Final Stretch)
➤ A conflict with Ganon that severely wounds Link and leaves him nearly dead. Zelda surrenders her body, forcing it into a comatose state so Ganon will think she's captive, and follows Link in a spiritual form (that can affect the world to some degree).

Adult Section (Link)

"The six of us thought that we could hold back the darkness. Ganon didn't know that Link was alive and mistook Zelda's empty shell for her comatose body. It would be simple, we thought, for us to push him and his beasts back and give Link time to recover. But we were the ones that were pushed back, in the end." ~ Vaati

➤ After the conflict with Ganon, Link spends years outside of Hyrule training with Zelda and his mentor/the person who cared for him. This unknown person finally releases him when Link is an adult, telling him that it's time for him to go back.
➤ Link travels back into Hyrule's lands and finds them in terrible turmoil. To make the travel easier, Epona comes with a wagon that has many pieces that can fold out, so that he and anyone with him can camp and rest at any time.
➤ Zelda tells him that in order to even have a hope against Ganon, he'll need to find the Sages, something she's told him before but never expanded on. When Link asks again how, and who they are, Zelda tells him he has the key and points to his necklace, still holding all the charms from his friends.
➤ Link understands what she means, shocked that all of his childhood friends had been Sages, but Zelda says that's not strange -- they're all tied together by the Goddess' wills and were clearly born to rise to their destinies, so it's natural they all came together.
➤ Zelda is worried that everyone has been in danger for a long time, however, and will be in even more so soon, as Link's return is a catalyst that will trigger them to awaken. When Link asks what she means, she explains that Sages are drawn to their temples by dreams, but cannot access them alone -- only with the Hero.
➤ On top of that, Zelda warns Link that while he will need the help of the Sages directly, a Sage's job is to embody their element and offer prayers to the Goddesses. When the end comes, they're going to have to return to their Temples, and it's possible that Link may never see them again. He asks Zelda why she's telling him this, and Zelda says it's too cruel for him and them not to understand what will happen.
➤ Link says he understands, then suggests they go immediately, as he doesn't want to waste any more time and risk his friends getting into worse situations.

Adult Section (Rima, Sage of Shadow)
➤

Adult Section (Vaati, Sage of Wind)
➤ Vaati turns into a monster, Wind Tribe in trouble, Link's charm from Vaati purifies him halfway through, other issues, etc.

➤ Once Vaati is saved, the spirit of a Wind Tribe woman -- bearing a striking resemblance to Vaati -- appears and begins to play a melody that causes Vaati to reel. Once he recovers, Vaati says he knows the song -- it's something his parents used to sing all the time, and both Ezlo and his father always said it was important. To him, it was a memory of his mother, but he had pushed it down out of hurt for the longest time. The spirit of the woman smiles, then offers the pan flutes to him.
➤ Finally understanding, Vaati takes them and asks Link to play the song with him, so he knows he's getting the notes right. Both of them learn the Aria of Wind, which Vaati says makes him feel strangely pleasant, as if he found a piece of himself he was missing. He also says that the pan flutes were the ones he showed Link in childhood -- they had been destroyed by Ganon's generals for some reason, and yet now here they are, whole. He seems to want to say something else, but is clearly conflicted, and Link suggests they cleanse the temple first. Vaati agrees.
➤ BOSS FIGHT, Medallion, etc.
➤ Link and Vaati, now standing at the very heart of the temple, play the Aria of Wind once more and cause crisp, pure wind to flow through the temple and purge the monsters and Ganon's influence, leaving it pure. As a result, clean winds gently blow over the Wind Tribe's lands again and leave no doubt that recovery will be safe and easy now.
➤ As they leave, Rima ask Vaati if that woman was his mother. Link questions this, as Vaati is still their age and the Wind Tribe seem normal to him. Zelda pipes up and reveals that Sages, being tied to and becoming avatars of their element, age significantly slower than their own race and can have thrice or more their lifespan. In addition, the Wind Tribe are already long-lived -- it's not impossible in that case that the two Sages could be only a generation apart. Vaati, grim, does not respond, and Rima doesn't press the issue.
➤ When they return, they explain what happened to Ezlo, who hugs Vaati and exclaims his relief for his grandson's safety -- much to his shock. Ezlo tells them that the Wind Tribe will be fine now, but even with the Temple purified, Vaati's help is sorely needed. Ezlo then says that Vaati will go with Link, and is himself shocked when Vaati doesn't argue. He expresses worry over this and any side-effects of his grandson's transformation, but Vaati insists he's fine.
➤ They spend the night with the Wind Tribe, and in the morning before they go, Vaati seems subdued still. When Rima asks, he says that he told Ezlo about the woman that appeared, and that it was the first time he can remember in his life that his grandfather cried. Rima asked if Vaati got the answer that he wanted -- Vaati confirms that he did, though he's not sure if he's happier or not knowing. Rima says that time is the master of all, even pain. Vaati wonders if that's true, then departs with them.
➤ With Vaati, Link now has the ability to break any of the Wind Sage Tablets sealing places, as well as taking advantage of Vaati's illusions and control over wind. In camp, Vaati mostly reads and keeps track of information.

Adult Section (Other Four Sages)
➤ Make sections on the other four sages.

➤ At some point, they visit the Hyrule Castle Library so that they can study up/look for answers on how to defeat something. This is where Vaati learns about the reincarnation of the Heroes of Courage and Wisdom, and discovers that all known records of them are identical to Link and Zelda. He's suspicious that the names are never recorded, but can find no information on them.