Shad

Shad is a character in Twilight Princess.

Biography
Shad is a scholarly young man and a member of Telma's resistance. He is deeply interested in the race of sky beings known as the Oocca, having researched them for much of his life, and is happy to inform Link on them at any given opportunity—information which will later prove useful in Link's search for the scattered shards of the Mirror of Twilight. Much as Ashei speaks in a blunt, rough way, Shad's manner of speech is very formal, although it could be said to take on an excitable tone when he comes to speaking about his areas of interest. It would also seem that he is the only member of the resistance who does not fight or use weaponry in some way; he states himself that, whilst he may be 'formidable at book reading', he lacks any physical skills or strength. Despite this, he seems to carry a dagger tucked between the pages of his book—it could simply be the case that he is either not adept at using it or dislikes using it (or both). If Link visits the bar after he brings Ilia and Telma to Kakariko Village but before he defeats the Lakebed Temple, Shad will be extremely interested in his clothes.

His father, evidently a scholar in his own right, had conducted research on the Oocca before him until the time of his death and had wished his son to continue it; Shad—who appears to hold his father in high regard and seems loath to either disappoint him or fail to bring his dream to fruition (he refers to himself as 'the dream chaser' in a letter to Link )—makes constant references to the notes his father has left him, which one can assume have much to do with the Oocca. He helps Link reach the City in the Sky through his knowledge of both Sky Writing (he appears to be one of the few who can read it) and the Oocca, using what he knows to restore power to the Dominion Rod. Link then uses the Dominion Rod to collect the letters of the word missing from the Ancient Sky Book, which in turn eventually enables him to reach the Sky Cannon in a basement in Kakariko Village.

Trivia

 * His character seems similar to that of Pazu from the anime film Laputa, in that they both follow a dream of their father's to find a city and race in the sky.
 * He shares the trait of hiding a dagger in a book, similar to Mako from The Wind Waker.
 * In early copies of the Wii version of Twilight Princess, there was a glitch which caused Shad to disappear if the player saved and quit in the Sanctuary basement room with the broken Sky Cannon. Even if Link attempts to warp, Midna says that a person is still in the room. If Link attempts to leave the room, an invisible Shad will not let him go out, thus making the game unbeatable. The glitch was fixed in the GameCube and newer Wii versions.