Nightblood

Laird

~
He couldn't stop.
Long and strong legs running as if it were the end of the world.
The night had already taken over, and there was barely any sign of light.
Shrieks, screams and infernal sounds echoing across the land.
The demons had awoken, and they were one step away from reaching him.
It could be the end.
<<C'mon! You need to make it!!>> The silver haired thought over and over desperately.
He tried to look behind him, but the horrendous screams told him it probably wasn't a good idea.
"Hell, I should've left some hours before..." He whispered between fast and deep gasps. His eyes enlightened when he saw a tall gate with an emblem carved on the crimson metal walls.
The male Sheikah crossed to a safe side of the land when reaching the Nightblood territory. He gasped desperately for air as he stopped running.
Laird collapsed on the soiled ground before laughing a few seconds later. The Sheikah brushed his silvered-white hair off his face. A cheerful and naive smile on his lips.

His dark blue eyes sparkled brightly at the sight of the safety the great clan offered, a light that disappeared when he spotted Impa a few feet away from him, alongside a hunter with red velvet hair.
Both were directly starring at him.
Impa's cold eyes pierced his cheerful spirit.
<<Guess that I'm late, again>> He thought and sighed sadly.

"As always getting tremendously late..." Impa said with an angry and firm voice. The young Sheikah looked up at her with an awkward and fake smile. He stood up and brushed off the dirt from his clothes.
"Is there a good reason for you to arrive this late, young Sheikah?"
Impa said while pulling up her mask and crossing her arms.
"I..." Laird began saying, but his eyes focused on the red haired girl.
Impa shook her head silently and placed one hand over Falmer's shoulder "Don't be late." She said with a smile hidden under her mask and warped a moment later.

They were left alone.
Their eyes met in no time as the girl approached him.
The gold in her eyes sparkled and they both ran toward each other "LAIRD!!" "FALMER!!" They shouted at unison before hugging tightly.
"I thought that..." Both whispered at the same time, tears rolled down the hunter's face as the Sheikah calmed her with soothing sounds and brushed her long crimson hair.
"They said you were dead..." Falmer whispered between sobs.

***

Murmurs and a sea of voices filled the great hall at the main plaza.
Inigo, the leader of the Nightblood, and Impa stood up in front of the crowd. Silence suddenly ruled over the room.
Both leaders nodded, and hundreds of eyes stared at them, waiting for any of them to start.
Inigo, a tall man with a red long hair, fierce expression and a ghostly pale skin was the one who spoke first: "Brothers and sisters," He said while his green eyes scanned the crowd in dark hunter clothing and Sheikah uniforms "Nightblood and Sheikah" His lips curved into a tiny smile when he spotted the Falmer, Laird and Lance at the distance.
Inigo obviously knew that they were friends; since their very sweet and tender childhood.
Lance and Laird were like brothers, while Falmer and the young man had turned into something more than that.
He had always known, Inigo was their uncle after all.
"We should all feel proud of our achievements. Our victories and goals. Without us fighting back no Hylian soul would still live to enjoy the sunlight that our goddesses, and Hylia, our protector, grant us everyday." He nodded slightly with a cheerful expression. "Thank you all for attending to this ceremony. Specially the Sheikah"
Impa now spoke "The Sheikah should be the ones thanking you, Inigo. As the protectors and guardians of her great divinity and her descendants it is our honor."

In every Nighblood ceremony, the ancient story of its origins was told:
<<Hundreds of years ago, when dark times were even darker, the land lived in fear of demons. No one to fight back, no one to stand against them. Only a few had the courage to wield a sword and slice the shadowy and repulsive beings.
Sheikah, mercenaries, hylians... They all one day gathered to kill a very powerful demon... A red haired man, whose hair burned fiercely in flames: A very direct descendant of Demise.
A demon who curiously didn't want to fight back.
The group didn't understand why, until he mentioned that he was a half demon. Raised by her Hylian mother who gave him a human self.
He didn't want to kill despite his dark nature, so he made a deal with the group.
The half demon joined them and fought fiercely against his own kind, defending the Hylian souls that still lived.
He became their leader and created the Nightblood clan alongside his Sheikah and Hylian comrades>>
The Nightblood had Sheikah and Hylian blood running through their veins.
While the direct descendants had also demon blood, but how could you identify them?
Easy enough: they had crimson hair, a pale skin and glowing blue, golden or light green eyes.

***

"As we all know," Inigo said after the story was told "the direct descendants of that demonic being have always been in charge of the clan's leadership." He offered his hand to the crowd, pointing directly at the the red haired brothers and the silver haired Sheikah. "Today, I have something to settle as the leader of the Nightblood. It is time to pass down my title to the next in line" He smiled. "Lance. Falmer. Laird, you three come over here." The man commanded and the young warriors walked towards him at a slow pace.
They faced the huge crowd and waited for what would happen next.
Inigo's eyes scanned the brothers, he stopped and stared at the red haired boy: His blue eyes with a cold stare. "Lance Nightblood," Inigo's strong and firm voice echoed as a dim red light covered everything in the great hall. "older son of my sister, Azure, who left us long time ago... You have the red hair and blue gleaming eyes of your mother. Sheikah, Hylian and pure Demon blood runs through your veins."

Two archers pointed at the young hunter with bow and arrow: The crimson arrows gleamed with the same red light in the hall. "The time has come! Reawaken your power and honor your ancestors!" The chief exclaimed and nodded, giving the sign.
The skilled archers aimed at Lance.
"One arrow to the heart, the other to the wrist. Survive, and become our next leader."
They fired.
A 'boom' was heard before gasps and screams filled the thick air.
Laird's eyes widened.
One aim had changed its direction.
An arrow through Lance's wrist.
The other piercing Falmer's heart.
And an evil laugh echoed across the great hall.