The Legend of Zelda: Shadow of the Ages

Character profile: Kafei

~ The Deep Forest ~

- - - - Basics - - - -

Full name: Kafei "Dreamwalker"

Race: Sheikah

Age: The equivalent of about fifteen

Gender: Male, but somewhat effeminate

Occupation: Shadow

Blood Type: O-

Instrument: Panpipes

- - - - - - Appearance - - - - - -

Height/Weight: 158cm/55kg

Hair: Dark indigo, sort of a spikey fan at the back

Eyes: Blood red, vaguely haunting

Skin Tone: Extremely pale

General Build: Slender. Kafei is toned and shapely, but also very slight, with narrow shoulders, a small waist, and long legs.

Distinguishing features: His eyes and hair are usually enough to mark him as exotic.

Preferred clothing: The same skin-tight bodysuit preferred by all known Sheikah, accompanied by a sort of poncho-style cloth over the top bearing the symbol of the Sheikah. He also wears somewhat tattered bandages around his lower arms and lower legs.

Accessories: Although it isn't apparent, he does carry an unusual pendant under his clothes. Come to think of it, it looks a lot like a certain quest item from Majora's Mask.

- - - - - - Personality - - - - - -

General Attitude: Kafei is a quiet, deeply thoughtful boy by nature, and is obviously uneasy around other people; rather than socialising, he follows his "master" like the shadow he is named for, and is so unobtrusive it's easy to simply forget he's there. He rarely speaks, or lets on that he has any emotions at all, and tries to avoid confrontation wherever possible.

Kafei also has an extremely strong sense of justice and duty, however, which goes above and beyond following the orders of his superiors. It's possibly the only thing that can move him to act under his own direction or in defiance of orders. He will, however, do anything Runner asks without question, regardless of how he feels about it.

Likes: Apparently, nothing.

Dislikes: Human(oid) contact, crowds, swimming, large bodies of water (these are in fact phobias, not just dislikes). He also dislikes uncleanliness almost obsessively.

Interests: His only desire seems to be to repay his debt to Runner.

Abilities of note: Kafei is an adept acrobat, with near-perfect balance and an uncanny ability to land on his feet. His natural flexibility makes him an impressive contortionist and escapist. Stealth is second nature to him; he actually has to concentrate to make his presence obvious, rather than to hide himself.

Kafei also has access to limited but powerful Shadow magic, the likes of which is rare even amongst the Sheikah. He can use it to power magical combat techniques, but its more powerful applications are not combat related. He can communicate telepathically (though it is not perfect), can sense others' emotions, and he can create and maintain wards against spirits and ghost (and the like). He can also - given enough time to prepare - use it to astrally project himself into somebody else's dreams, thus earning himself the title "Dreamwalker".

He also seems to be blessed (or cursed) with very limited precognition. This has little practical use, though he can attempt a ritual to provoke it; usually he just gets vague images.

Quirks: Kafei is extremely subservient, completely devoted to Runner, and will place the needs of any/all of his allies above his own. He also can't cook, much to his dismay.

Kafei needs to spend a few hours in meditation each morning in order to maintain his spellcasting ability. If he is unable to do so, his powers are greatly diminished until he can. He can still use them in a desperate situation, but doing so leaves him exhausted and vulnerable. Oddly, however, he doesn't seem to need to sleep.

- - - - - - Background - - - - - -

Social Status: Exile. Kafei seems to have done something which angered his people, to the effect that he is now unwelcome in their society. Which is strange enough, given that most of those in Hyrule don't know that there even is a Sheikah society...

Family Status: Unknown

Birth Rank: Unknown

Homeland/Birthplace: Unknown

History: In the interest of not spoiler-ing anything, Kafei's history before meeting Runner will be a secret for now. After Runner found him mostly-dead in the Desert of Illusions and nursed him back to health, Kafei swore to serve the Hylian, and became his Shadow (the Sheikah term for the role of guardian, as Impa was to Princess Zelda).

- - - - - - Combat - - - - - -

General level: Low-Mid

Style: Kafei prefers to avoid combat where possible, and uses his stealth to get around opponents without confrontation. If he is forced into melee, he tries to maintain a moderate distance from his opponent whilst using Shadow magic techniques - usually by manifesting projectiles or reach weapons. He will try to avoid closing with his adversary at any costs, knowing well his own fragility.

Advantages: Kafei is very quick to react, and very fast on his feet. He's naturally agile and lightfooted, and has become quite adept at fighting defensively, particularly at range. Most of his power in any fight comes from his stealth and magic, however. He's also fairly well-versed in anatomy, and is practiced at hitting his opponents where it matters most.

Disadvantages: Kafei is really fragile, and has next to no ability in close melee (that is, if he can't keep at least a few feet away). If his opponent can close fully - or tag him at range - he stands little chance of of coming through. See also "special".

Special: Kafei is a haemophiliac - his body cannot stop itself from bleeding naturally, and he needs medical or magical attention to heal from any bleeding wounds.

Techniques:

Shadow Blades: A minor technique which forms Kafei's energy into a number of small throwing blades which he can command within reasonably close range. They are 'designed' particularly to penetrate armour and sap energy from the opponent, and thus don't do much damage individually. This attack drains a small amount of energy from Kafei each time it's used - if he manifested nothing else for the day, he could probably use about twenty.

Umbre Lance: A minor technique which forms Kafei's energy into a single spear-like projectile which he can aim at a target within reasonably close range. The attack requires him to remain still, and does not effectively penetrate armour or other protections, but is easy to guide and has the chance of incapacitating the target for a few minutes if successful. This attack drains a small amount of energy from Kafei each time it's used - if he manifested nothing else for the day, he could probably use about twenty.

Eclipse Scythe: By far the most powerful of Kafei's attacks, the Eclipse Scythe is a purely spiritual attack that is unaffected by physical defences. It requires Kafei to concentrate for a few moments to single out his target, making him briefly vulnerable, and can't be used a long-range; if it hits successfully, not only deals a large amount of damage, but also acts almost like a poison, continuing to wear down its target until healed. The attack takes a tremendous amount of energy to use, though; even a single use usually requires Kafei to rest before he can use his powers again.

- - - - - - Other - - - - - -

A Quote: "..."

Other: Although he does not share the information, the primary reason for Kafei's apparent emotionlessness is that, if he does not maintain a certain amount of emotional control, he reverts a form of himself which appears to be about eight years old. Such a loss of control is usually triggered by extreme fear or embarrassment, and sufficient concentration allows him to regain his ordinary form.

- - - - - - OOC Info - - - - - -

Theme Song: Do As Infinity - Fukai Mori (Deep Forest) / Matchbox Twenty - Hand Me Down

Seiyuu: Saiga Mitsuki - her work on characters like Junior (Read or Die the TV) and Okita Souji (Peacemaker Kurogane) is perfect for Kafei's fragile-but-dutiful manner.

Name info: It's a type of coffee, so I'm told :p It's a family thing - in 'Majora's Mask', his father is named "Dotour" and his mother "Aroma".

Pronunciation: Kah as in ska, fei as in feint. No stresses.

Title/Tagline: It's from his first theme song, speaking about leaving one's heart behind and living in lies out of weariness. It's very much his story.

Roleplay notes: In non-SotA roleplay, Runner isn't around, so Kafei is sort of without his anchor. He will probably become a very secretive free agent until he comes into contact with somebody he considers a worthy master.

Kafei's background and 'exile' status are based on SotA's interpretation of the Sheikah, which expands a lot on the Ocarina of Time info. In group RPs that don't agree with this interpretation, Kafei - instead of coming from the central Sheikah clan - comes from an almost cultish offshoot who espouse the idea of "balance" and forbid all emotional indulgences.

Other notes: [[contains vague spoilers]] Is Kafei the same one from Majora's Mask? Yes and no, but mostly no. In his own universe, he technically is the same Kafei seen in MM, because the MM continuity exists within SotA as an a sort of fantasy or alternate world for which Kafei is responsible. In SotA, MM-Kafei is the real Kafei's fictional representation of himself, a character made by him to interact with that world. In practicality, SotA Kafei is a different character - they share visual qualities and various backstory elements, but as a magic-using Sheikah, SotA's Kafei obviously has a lot of differences.

In any case, I consider him an "OC" (since claiming him to be the same as the character in MM would just be silly). If helps, think of him him as a re- imagined character - the same but different, like the difference between Ocarina Link and Twilight Princess Link.

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