Senpai: Kamaria Reward: TBD Darth: Judith Vilcaron Reward: TBD --------- Kamaria was ready to scream. The harsh midday sun beat down relentlessly as the girl stood before Castle Town’s gate. Roughly twenty feet ahead of her, an elderly farmer had become embroiled in a rather animated argument with one of the gatesmen. Beside them, the farmer’s cart sat wedged between the two walls of the gate itself, completely blocking access to the city. Almost three quarters of an hour had passed since the incident, and no solution seemed to be in sight. Had the entrance not been flanked by two imposing towers, most likely manned by archers, Kamaria would have taken her broom and simply flown herself up and over, bypassing the fiasco entirely. Instead, she was stuck waiting in the scorching heat. “A thousand curses upon Din…” she muttered softly, glancing up towards the sun. Kamaria’s initial excitement had waned greatly, replaced by an anxious gnawing in her gut. The culmination of her journey was at hand. Of course, part of her had doubted that she would even make it, and it wasn’t like it was easy. Kamaria looked down at her slender hands, puffy and bruised from the countless nights she spend glued to her broom. Her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes faded and frayed. At this point, Kamaria looked more like a drunken bum than a lady of the cloth. A thin smile crept across the girls lips at the thought. If father could see me now. By the time the gatesmen had cleared the farmer’s cart, the sun had begun to dip into the western sky. One the men barked “Next!” startling Kamaria. A mixture of nerves and hunger had left her legs weak and shaky, and it took her a moment to approach. The guard gave Kamaria a single, incredulous look before shaking his head, clearly too tired to deal with the disheveled Gerudo, and motioned for her to proceed inside. Kamaria stopped dead in her tracks, however, as entered the city proper, stunned by the impossible scale that lay before her. Countless roads and alleys snaked in all directions, some extending as far as she could see. Buildings of all shapes and sizes stretched upwards, eliciting a feeling of claustrophobia in the girl. She never could have imagined such vastness from the outside alone. A loud, sudden grumble from her stomach pulled Kamaria back to her senses. “E-excuse me,” she stammered, calling out to one of the nearby guardsmen, “could you please direct me to the nearest Nayru temple?” The guardsmen raised an eyebrow as he strolled towards the girl. “I take it yer new here ma’am. The Temple is, oh, probably a good hour’s walk thataway, you can’t miss it.” He motioned behind Kamaria, towards one of the main streets. “A-an hour?!” Kamaria could feel her stomach somersaulting. How big *was* this city? “Yeeees ma’am! You take care now, okay?” The guard nodded politely before returning to his post. Kamaria let out a heavy sigh as she glanced towards the sky. It would definitely be close to dark by the time she arrived. A second sigh escaped Kamaria’s lips are she turned before pushing her tired body forward, resigning herself to her trek. The last rays of sunlight danced across the sky as Kamaria spotted her destination. With the last of her strength, she stumbled through the temple entrance before collapsing to her knees. Gingerly, she licked her dry, cracked lips as her vision began to swim. “Is… is there anybody here?”
It never ceased to amaze Judith how massive her kingdom's capital truly was. She was no stranger to crowds, for her hometown of Lon Lon was a large community in its own right, but even its bustling streets paled in comparison to those of the sprawling cityscape before her. To stand here, in the heart of the crown jewel of Hylian civilization, the pinnacle of her people's cultural achievement, was humbling to say the least. Untold thousands lived within these walls, many of them the movers and shakers that guided the nation's destiny. It was a testament to the Archcanoness' unsurpassed Wisdom that she could keep the Cult's affairs in order and maintain a position of some prominence among Castle-Town's elite. Still, grand though it was, she had not come to the capital to sightsee. Holding her bag of groceries tight against her chest, the young priestess quickened her pace, weaving through the throngs of city folk as she made her way back to the Cult of Nayru's Castle-Town headquarters, a large temple dedicated to the sole worship of Nayru. At the Archcanoness' behest, invitations had been distributed to the impoverished masses of the city, encouraging them to join the priestesses for a free feast as an act of goodwill. The great banquet was to be held on the morrow, and like many of the low-ranked acolytes, Judith had been dispatched to assist in the preparations by scouring the city markets and gathering the foodstuffs required for the ambitious project. She was proud to participate in such a charitable undertaking, and had spent the better part of the day selecting only the freshest, most delectable ingredients- a task for which she was particularly well-suited, given her agricultural background. Now that her shopping was complete, all that was left was to deliver them to the temple kitchens, say her evening prayers, then tuck in for an early night. With the onset of dusk rapidly approaching, it behooved her to hurry, though she was careful not to bump into anyone now that she was on the home stretch. It would be good to get out of this heat... Judith's thick robes clung uncomfortably to her figure, and she spared a moment to wipe the perspiration from her forehead. If she stayed out too much longer, the accumulated sweat was sure to result in a fitful sleep, and she needed all the rest she could get. Tomorrow was certain to be an incredibly busy day, and not just during the banquet itself; the inevitable clean-up afterwards promised to be an exhausting endeavour as well. Just as she rounded the corner and the temple came into view, however, any notion of retiring to her quarters fled from Judith's mind as she spied a barefooted Gerudo stagger through its entrance, before falling to her knees. A beggar, maybe a refugee from the South. There were no shortage of those in Hyrule, and it was not uncommon for the Cult to receive such mendicants seeking succor... But few of them were in a condition as wretched as the Gerudo woman appeared to be! Judith's groceries clattered against the pavement as she raced to the Gerudo's side, taking hold of her arm and helping her to her feet, her errand forgotten in the face of someone in need. "G-Goodness! Are you alright? Here, let me-" Judith's voice trailed off as she caught a glimpse of the holy symbol of Nayru embroidered on the woman's clothing, and she internally berated herself for not noticing it immediately. "Ah! P-Please forgive me, Sister! I did not recognize you... Come, come! Let's get you inside. I'll see to it you're given a wash and some clean robes right away!"
