There’s a bar located in the slightly less busy streets of Twilight Princess’ Castle Town which might not look very special on the outside, but contains something much better inside its walls. Telma’s Bar is quite large and spacious and seems to be almost empty, apart from a small group of people sitting at one of the tables. I never thought that these peculiar-looking bar guests would play a bigger role in the game the first time I stepped in. One of them stood out more than the others and I would soon come to learn that his name was Shad.
Shad isn’t dressed in heavy armor like many of the people sitting around the table and I first wondered why he was hanging out with them. He is dressed in a smart vest under a jacket with short sleeves, checkered socks, and pants that end just below his knees. At first glance, Shad resembles the stereotypical image of a geek — round glasses resting on his nose bridge, hair somewhat neatly combed back, and always carrying a book — but after speaking with him a little, I quickly understood that he was more than what his appearance indicated.
I’ve heard that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at what they choose to wear, and I suppose my first impression of Shad wasn’t completely off. Shad is, after all, a person who lives for research. Especially tales about the Oocca, the ancient sky beings. Slowly but surely, I came to understand why this man is an important member of the odd group of people who call themselves The Resistance.
The Resistance is that strange group of bar guests I mentioned earlier. The group consists of five people before Link decides to join them and, despite their differences, their will to restore peace and hope to the kingdom is what binds them together. Shad doesn’t dress like a fighter simply because he isn’t one, but knowledge is power too. Thanks to his lifelong knowledge of the Oocca, Shad gets to help Hyrule’s hero with saving the kingdom and proves himself to be valuable to The Resistance.
Despite the fact that he has never seen any, the Oocca, or “sky beings” as Shad sometimes calls them, aren’t exactly unfamiliar to him. Shad’s father was a researcher himself who took interest in the Oocca. Perhaps Shad became smitten from his father’s passion for the fabled sky beings and decided to continue with the research after his father was no longer with him. The respect he feels for his father and the work he accomplished while he was still alive is great; so great that it seems he sometimes worries what his father would tell him if he could see his son struggle with the research he left behind.
Like researchers and scholars often do, Shad has absorbed everything he has come across regarding the Oocca and is, by the time he meets Link, obsessed with them. The timing couldn’t be better, because when Link obtains the Ancient Sky Book from the old lady Impaz, he knows who he should give it to.
With the Ancient Sky Book in his hands, Shad’s speech becomes less formal and he doesn’t even try to hide his excitement. I almost think that this book might be one of the best, if not the best, gift he has received in his life. But even if it isn’t, it’s obvious that the book instantly makes the cogwheels turn and brightens his curious mind. Without knowing it, Shad restores Link’s Dominion Rod to its former glory when reciting old texts from the book and it is at this moment that Shad’s biggest adventure begins. By helping Link in his quest to save Hyrule, Shad gets to know so much more about the Oocca than he, or his father, ever dared to dream of. As a person who has done some research myself, I can only imagine the happiness Shad was feeling once all the puzzle pieces came in one place.
Shad is portrayed slightly different in Akira Himekawa’s manga Twilight Princess. In it, the information-seeking Hylian is not only a researcher but also struggles to sell his books to earn rupees for his rent. He also seems to fancy Ilia, Link’s childhood friend from Ordon Village with amnesia, which is something Link doesn’t seem to be too happy about. I can see why he would react in the way he does, but I really hope Link will get to know Shad better in the future volumes and see him in a different light.
Although I have most likely put my life as a researcher behind me, I can appreciate characters like Shad a lot. He’s polite, he’s curious and, most importantly, he’s eager to help. He’s a reminder that none of us can go through every obstacle we face by ourselves — we might need some assistance at times and you shouldn’t give up on your first try.
I really think Shad isn’t very different from you and me. He is fascinated by something others might not be equally interested in or have even heard of, he worries about what someone close to him would say if they could, and he wishes the best for people around him. What makes him special, though, is that he isn’t afraid to use what he has to offer to help those in need. Maybe that doesn’t make him as big of a hero as Link, but the fact that he dared to join The Resistance and try his best is courageous in my eyes. He may not have looked as intimidating as some of his group members but, as the saying goes: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
