Alastair

Alastair is a character in the Hyrule campaign setting of Realm of Shade. As a non-player character, he is portrayed by Ryan Gerbig.

History
During the war against Arcadia, Alastair worked for the Hyrulean Royal Army as a scout on the Lanayru front, spying on incoming enemy platoons and ambushing small squadrons before they could reach tactical positions. When the war ended, he retired to Hateno Island, where he founded a group of rangers who lived in a keep on the edge of the island's forests.

He and Alma were at one time acquainted.

Sometime before the party arrived on Hateno Island, Alastair had discovered an encampment belonging to the Yiga Clan deep within the Hateno Forest. When he was spotted, he retreated back to the Forest Edge Keep, which was subsequently attacked by several members of the Yiga Clan and several spider monsters, like Gohma and Skulltulas. Of the rangers, Alastair was the only survivor. After being questioned, he was given to a group of Blinoids, who took him to their base in the grasshills on the opposite end of the island.

Personality
Alastair is a grizzled veteran who was left scarred after his time during the war against Arcadia. He is pessimistic about the world, and doesn't trust strangers without being coaxed, especially foreigners. He absolutely despises monsters, of which there were plenty of on Hateno Island. Because of their irredeemable zealotry, Alastair holds a heavy disdain for the the Yiga Clan, and, to a lesser extent, the Sheikah Clan due to the former's relation to the latter.

He is shown to be a solitary person, preferring to stay in the keep when he can help it, and rarely going beyond unless he really needs to. Despite this, Alastair works well with groups, so long as he sees them as capable.

Prologue
When the party received word of Alastair's survival and capture from a captured Yiga Clan member, they immediately began making their way to save him, recruiting Redera in a raid mission against the blin that were holding him captive. During the ensuing fight, Lynn Souchalte III had snuck into the cave where Alastair was being held, making an attempt to free the man before he was spotted. Although Lynn had found himself fighting several bokoblins within the cave, his usage of telekinesis allowed for Alastair to free himself and take up arms, despite his poor condition. After the fighting subsided, he thanked the party, but insisted on returning to a safe place before he would tell them anything. Eventually, Alastair explained what had happened to him and the other rangers, deciding to go along with the party to help take revenge against the Yiga Clan.

After saying goodbye to Redera, Alastair joined the party back to Outset Village, where they rested before making their way to the Yiga Clan encampment. When they arrived, they ambushed the only Yiga Clansmen there and fought off the Queen Gohma that helped them, managing to keep one of the fanatics alive. After Hyle interrogated the remaining fanatic, Alastair suggested they kill him and move on. As the party rested from the day's travels, Alastair began looking through the various papers, relating to Hyle information regarding the history of the temple beneath Mount Hateno and a mysterious benefactor: the sorceress, Minellin.

Alastair helped lead the party to the entrance to the Hateno Temple using the map they found within the Yiga encampment, following along as they descended through a narrow cave. He helped fight against the Armos standing guard at the temple's entrance, and acted as support in the fight against Marrkus and his group. When everyone was defeated, Alastair watched on in mild disapproval as Hyle killed another surviving fanatic over a period of a few hours.

Abilities
Alastair is a fantastic tracker, especially when within forested areas. This was shown as he guided the party to the Yiga Clan encampment through an otherwise nearly-untraversable and monster-filled forest.

Trivia

 * Alastair was the last NPC to be written in to the prologue, and it was only after this that he was intended to be a companion.