Zacharia Terch (Said "Turk")

Zack, Zach, Zachary

Hyrulian
Some mixed Gerudo, very distant relation

July 21, 33 years ago.

Male (♂)

Unexceptional
Zachariah isn’t anything special as regards to his physical features, standing at only 5’10” (179 cm) and only a couple skin tones from being completely pale, the only thing that makes him stand out in a crowd is the bastard sword he keeps on his back. Both the scabbard, blade, and handle of this weapon are mostly unadorned however, with only a pair of marks from the original blacksmith to indicate where it came from. One on the pommel of the sword, the other on the scabbard near where the blade is sheathed.

The clothes on Zachariah’s back aren’t unusual either, a simple shirt with a coat to ward off the cooler weathers, and long, slightly thicker pants to protect his legs. All of which would be a mix of green, browns, and greys, denoting his past of growing up in a small town well away from the hustle and bustle of the city. He also keeps with him a small pack filled with a few rations, and some medicinal herbs. He also has a backpack that he keeps his clothes, his wallet, and some more rations in.

Lonesome Soul
Zachariah believes in doing what is right, and will stand up for what he believes whenever he gets an opportunity to, as long as he knows it won't harm him too much in the short or long term. He won't run into an alley to stop someone from getting mugged while he's serving as a bodyguard, but he will if he's just wandering the streets with no particular goal in mind. This, coupled with his lifestyle, has made him familiar with fights and conflict, and he is ready to escalate to whatever level he needs to in order to come out of a fight with minimal damage.

Besides that he isn't the most sociable person you can meet. While he can hold a conversation about many events going on in the world, often ending up involved in them one way or another due to his success at being a mercenary, he does his best to keep the number of close friends he has to a minimum; so he often acts aloof and cold when approached. He understands that in his work people die, and he feels like he should keep the number of people affected by his inevitable death as small as possible.

Thief Turned Mercenary
Zachariah was born to an inauspicious family on a farm that used to be on the Hyrulian border, which has since progressed farther away from the capital. Not long after his birth, his parents suffered several years of bad crops for an unknown reason and forced to sell their farm and move to a nearby town. After that they survived by helping out anyone who wanted or needed help, taking payment in the form of food, clothes, future favors, anything. Once Zach was old enough, he took some initiative in helping his family, and began stealing purses and items of value whenever the opportunity arose.

At first it was simply as opportunity presented itself, but he eventually graduated to taking things in plain sight and pick pocketing. He never breathed a word of this to his parents however, always claiming that he was helping people out by running errands for them. He made sure to keep this partially true, so as when adults talked, if he came up, it didn't leave people with confused looks and his parents wondering. This story inevitably collapsed; his parents eventually realized there was no way he was doing enough chores around town to be bringing home as much money as he did, and that he sold some pretty odd objects to the shopkeeper whenever travelers came through town.

Before his parents found out Zach was rarely ever caught, and fortunately enough for him. He knew to avoid dangerous-looking travelers that passed through town, and never so much as tried to pickpocket people that looked like they even might notice what he was doing. The few times he was caught, it was always lifting items that people didn't have much attachment to or were not worth very much, and so the punishment was often light. When his parents first really looked into his activities, however, they didn't need to look far to discover what he had been up to; Zach still bares scars from his father beating him. His father's beatings only succeeded in making Zach much more careful in his activities. Making extra sure not to get caught, stashing away all the extra money he brought him, and so on.

He continued this lifestyle until he was eighteen, where he was finally caught by a stranger. A traveler was heading through town, and while he was staying in the tavern for the night, Zach climbed up through the window and stolen most everything of value from the individual's bag. He had gotten two swords, what looked to be a family heirloom, and several gems of unknown origin. To the young man, this was practically gold. He would have to take the weapons to the next town over, or even further, to sell them, doing so in town would attract too much attention and alert his parents that he had continued his life of crime despite the beating his father had given him.

He stashed the two swords in a weak wall in the cellar of the tavern, so that he could get them later, but as he came back up to head back home for the night, he found that the traveler he had stolen everything from was a lighter sleeper than he anticipated. After the individual expressed that he would normally just turn him in to the authorities and let them deal with him as they would, he though that the light footwork that Zach had mastered was impressive, and so offered him a choice: Zach could return everything he stole from him, come with the traveler wherever he might go, and learn swordsmanship, or he would turn him in. The traveler, whose name Zach was quickly learn was Eris, made sure to point out that swordsmanship was a marketable skill, and if Zach proved any good at it he could make an honest living without too much trouble; Zach, after a minute of consideration, jumped at the chance.

From then on, Zach traveled with Eris, learning not only how to be a competent swordsman, but also about the work it took as a mercenary to secure one's pay. They traveled together for six years, and while Zach never quite surpassed his master in swordplay, he was still competent that he was a threat to all but the impossibly skillful swordsman. It wasn't long after his 24th birthday; The lifestyle he found almost idyllic collapsed. They took a job that ended up pitting Zach and Eris up again a small group of Darknuts. A hopeless battle, but Eris pressed on. Once they engaged, Zach was quickly forced to back out from a bad slash to his side, and watched as Eris managed to defeat every enemy there, but was maimed in the process.

They received their pay from an amazed noble, before heading on their way to the nearest town, where Eris was forced to retire. His left leg had been damaged bad enough that he couldn't move around well enough to fight with a sword anymore, or even travel without significant pain. It was at this point that Eris taught him the one thing Zach had never been privy to even be told about: Magic. The former mercenary had apparently been using spindle magic he had learned from a Twili when he was young, that drew energy from the ones that the person was fighting, making the user stronger; drawing mostly from the negative parts of their person.

Zach stayed with him for two more years before sickness claimed his mentor's life, leaving Zach wracked with guilt, anger, and sadness. He wandered aimless for a time, and it was at this point life in his life Zach began to close himself off. He didn't want anyone else to feel how he felt now when he died. He wanted it to be, at most, an inconvenience; something people went "He's dead? Darn, I wanted to hire him again," when they heard about it. After another six months he finally resumed his mercenary work, but it was never quite the same without Eris.

He found himself passing through the capital city often as the years passed. Lots of news, lots of work, lots of rich people, it was perfect for an everyday sell-sword. Six years have now passed from the time of Eris' death, and Zach has never found someone he can stomach opening up to. He has met plenty of individuals where some mutual liking had began to grow, but he cut off each and every relationship before it could grow into something more, fearful that something or someone might claim his life and leave them depressed.

On this occasion, however, Zach is going to Hyrule Castle City in hopes of finding more work; his last job went as well as expected, and he had already gotten payed. The guards knew to let him without too much fuss, the older ones had seen him many times now and knew he wasn't usually a troublemaker. The few times he had drawn blood within the city limits, it had always been in self defense or in the defense of another.

The Bear
Solitary : Strength
The bear is closest to the core of Zach. Since the death of his master, he has lived a mostly lonely life, a recluse in all but action. Since that time he has trained himself as hard as possible, and if bothered beyond normal reason, he can lash out with unnatural strength.

Spindle Magic : Shadow Archetype : The Enemy
Zach has the ability to draw strength and skill from those that wish to do him harm. This ability often proves to be enough to tip the scales in his favor in a fight that would otherwise be close, and when he has to face multiple enemies it gives him the strength to handle them well if he is careful and finds a way to engage them one at a time.