Maryev expected the responses he received from the soft, squishy races that had been indoctrinated since birth to love their false Goddesses and their damnable Inquisitor, but this other Darknut, this [I]traitor[/I] was unacceptable. He sympathized with the enemy! He was abandoning his post! He was likely exiled without realizing he was, the pitiful lout. Maryev offered this one nothing but distain; the others at least had an excuse for their arrogance, this so-called Captain did not. If a war was coming, he was not where he needed to be and sucking face with his enemy was unacceptable. He may look the part, but this creature was no Darknut. He rebounded on the Traitor. “And have you forgotten what our people have fought and died for thousands of years? You speak of having enemies as an improper thing. A man should have enemies; it means he stood for something in his life. You speak to me of casualties and the cost of war, you should be steeled to them! How many of our people and our allies have perished at the blades of our enemies because they see us as [I]monsters[/I]? They didn’t snivel and grovel at the feet of their adversaries, they met death gladly because they had [I]conviction.[/I] I have no idea why you are here, but you have abandoned the tenants we swore to uphold and if there is a war coming, you must ask yourself to whom your loyalty lies; to the Darknut or to… these people. It should not be a difficult choice, even for one as weak of will as you.” He said, stepping away from the disappointing monstrosity that had dared try to console him. Maryev resented him for revealing what they were to the others; now everyone knew him as a Darknut, which did not bode well if any of them approached the guards.

His attention turned instead to the Blacksmith, the Ox. While there was something akin to wisdom, Maryev had to blink. “The Gerudo King is very real… of course he is. Why are you trying to convince me of that? Did you not just hear what I had just said?” he asked, genuinely perplexed. His red eyes blinked slowly, not comprehending. He could not muster anger at this man, as misguided as he was. He had an air of a diplomat about him, as well as a quiet and reassured strength. His words did not scold; they reached out, as if to reach an understanding. It was something Maryev was most unaccustomed to. “If I was chosen for some reason for this exhibition, I suspect there’s a reason for it. Either that so-called Lethe did not realize to whom she was planting ideas, which does not bode well to the preparations for this… endeavor. So far, the ones who left were the only ones who were intelligent enough to grasp that more than words are needed to put one’s life at risk.”

The Shade spoke, and it was most unexpected. He, and his companion, the tall and vacant-looking pale woman in ill-fitting clothing committed to the cause. This didn’t surprise Maryev; it was the Shade that brought him here, after all. But he spoke as if he were from somewhere other than Hyrule, not a part of its fabric at all. Nothing in Maryev’s studies gave him any indication of who or [I]what[/I] he was. If that were the case, then why join a war he had no stake in? This gave him pause for thought. What drove the stranger? Why would he possibly care if Hyrule fell?

Before he could ponder the implications further, the ugly-looking child that claimed to the Lost Woods confronted him, a nagging little imp if there ever was one. She had turned to address the fairy, ultimately preventing Maryev from explaining things. The fairy rebounded on him last. 

“In case you failed to notice in your ineptitude, you are the one who approached me about this prophesy nonsense, as well as everyone else standing here. If you did not know who or what I was, then that means you didn’t know who [I]anyone[/I] was and this whole chosen by a Goddess nonsense is exactly that. You claim this is about saving the world, but you offer [I]nothing[/I] as to what is to happen other than a vague threat that has been literally repeated dozens of times across the years, often as an idle threat. If I had a rupee for every time someone whispered of Ganon’s return, I would have enough to purchase the entirety of Castletown by now. If the world is truly going to end, then it behoves me to do something about it because no matter how disgusting Hyrule is and how much I utterly loathe the people in it, I quite like living and I still have a mission to complete. Why should anyone trust you? Understand, Rodent, if your so-called Goddess told you to pick me for this charade of yours, then She had some damn reason for it that transcends loyalty to my culture and its independence.” He sighed; it came out as a growl. “And as much as it figuratively kills me to say, I cannot abide the fact children are being roped to do the work of adults. They’re innocents, as far as I’m concerned. I’d prefer they kept safe. And I was promised payment. So out with it.” Maryev demanded.