Live Your Own Story in Hyrule

A blue trident appears in the zora’s hand, materializing from the darkness. It glows a bright luminescent azure hue, causing the water to shimmer below it and around the zora.

She speaks again, this time to Mipha in an ancient zora tongue.

(OOC this is from the Zora, not Link)

Translation available: Zora

Mipha winced. "You are correct, but..." She steps forward, her trident extending before Link and the others in a protective manner. "What you speak of are events that transpired in our past. They, too, are victims of what took place, then. I have not been banished. I am here of my own free will. Right now, we are fighting against a great evil that threatens our home and legacy. Therefore, we must find the sword that can defeat it. Do you know of it?" She questioned once again.

Irina only understood part of what the Zora said, but hearing Mipha’s answer is enough to continue being cautious.

Her first reaction, however, is to look at Blue, fearing he might do something rash in this tense situation.

Revali looked at this engagement with the kind of disinterest that would very much be concerning. He didn't understand a lick of what was said. What he did understand were weapons and one appeared to be drawn. One matching one particular princess who apparently understood what was said???

"...What?" He caught that look Irina was giving him from the corner of his eye. "Look, if you don't want _me_ to do anything, then _she_ shouldn't do anything first," he nodded his head towards the shadow zora. "I haven't drawn my bow yet, but guess who has? It's her. She did." He paused. "Don't correct me, I know she doesn't have a bow, I was referring to a weapon in general."

Irina expression of concern changes to a small but warm smile. "I know, and I wouldn't correct you. In fact, thank you for waiting and letting the princess handle it. We would rather make friends than enemies." She speaks honestly to Blue, but also turns to look at the shadow Zora, still smiling.

The Zora woman looks again at the group. Her expression just as cold and unchanging. She lowers her trident, perhaps in an effort to deescalate the situation, but as it touches the water a slow whirlpool forms around her with tentacles of light pulsating in the spinning currents. It's almost as if the flow of water stopped and reversed in the area immediately around her.

She switches back to a strongly accentuated and older form of Hylian to address the group, "Thus it was that your forebears did exile my ancestors unto this forsaken land. Still we bear the cruel doom your fathers exacted upon my folk, sealed in eternal darkness. This realm devours whatever feeble light dares venture herein."

Link gulps when the Zora speaks, as if she were affirming something in his mind.

"I don't think the light from this blade would be feeble. It is that which seals the darkness, after all." Mipha described it in one of its many identifiers. "I would not dare speak against the fate you have experienced. It is evident before me what it is and to deny it would be greater than cruel." She steps in front of the others.

"It is not in our interest to perpetuate this fate. We don't have to fight. Our goal is only to seek what we are looking for and depart," she explains once again. "If you do not know where it is, then we can leave."

Irina watches the Zora shadow with a sad expression.

She takes a few steps towards the Zora. “Is there any way we can help you?”

The Zora woman is silent for some time, as if she were choosing her words carefully. Finally, she says with a tinge of bitterness. “You come to a land inhabited by people that were cast out of your land, and you dare ask for their help to save your land.”

She closes her eyes. Her face finally shows emotion— it is full of frustration and anger. Her eyes open again. Her expression is now calmer but her previous cold facade seems softer now. “Forgive me. Danger lurks in every corner of this land and there is no reason to trust anyone or anything here. Remember that. However, my people have held on to memories of our past and the ideals that we once lived by. Every day, that light and those collective memories fade more and more.”

She moves her trident in the water. the light now flows with water as if it were some substance leaching out into the current and revealing a path. “Light still exists here if you know how to find it.”

Mipha was resolute in the face of what was clearly an ancestor for her. A reminder, however painful, of a time in history that was a dark time for her people. She can't deny that even now, the bitterness lingers among some of the zora. "You don't need to ask forgiveness for what is clearly a very harsh truth." She lowers her weapon, resting its tip on the ground.

"You have every right not to trust us given the circumstances, but...I am thankful and grateful for your help. I imagine I can speak for the others here as well in saying this." She eyes the river and by extension, the light that flows in it. Looking back to Irina, she smirks weakly, understanding the desire to lend a hand, even now, but she isn't certain this is something that can be helped.

"I do not know if there is anything we can help with here. Well, now that I think on it..." she turns to face her ancestor. "There were creatures we faced before coming here. To us, they are known as shadow beasts. Do they behave the same way here as they do outside of this realm?" She questioned. "They have recently begun to cross over into our realm, but...I get the impression I do not have all the information to make that judgement."

_Gatu grips the chest area of his tunic tightly to the point his knuckles are white with his right hand. If he wasn't so low on Magic, he could cast a translation spell. But from what he hears and can put together is that the people this shadow land... this Twilight... have suffered here for something they done long ago, and are trying to make do with what they have left. Beneath the bandage wrappings that are partially stained from blood, wear, and tear around his right hand was a dull glow. In a way, they reminded him of his own origins, of what he went through before he came to Hyrule._

Irina bows her head to Mipha when the princess looks at her, showing her support and appreciation. When light flows from the shadow's trident, Irina's eyes widen, trying to follow the light down the river's current.

Aio stares at Naomi blankly. He clearly didn't understand her. He wonders why this girl is threatening the other girl.

As he doesn't quite understand the rules of the game, he does the same and chases after Saria, holding his hands up like a dragon as well. He calls out "Raaawr!" and something unintelligible in his language.

Saria lets out a scream as both come after her and laughs, running. She looks at Aio and points at Naomi without stopping. "Attack HER, not me! We are the good guys! Dragon! Dragon! " She repeats, hoping to teach Aio a new word.

Aio begins chasing after Naomi, too, and calls her by what he thinks is probably her name, "Dragon! Dragon!"

Fallon opens the door and is immediately met with screaming and shouts of a dragon. She hurries outside, checking the sky and surroundings to see if one had suddenly popped up. Thankfully, there was no such creature and further processing allowed her to realize they were just playing out here. Of course, that's what they intended to do in the first place, but flashbacks of moldugas and spiders said otherwise. Briefly, anyway.

So, she heads back towards the walls of the inn and leans against them, watching them play and enjoy life for the time being. A refreshing change of scenery to what she knows lies beyond.

Naomi blinks at the swift derailment of her CAREFULLY CRAFTED FANTASY WORLD. o.O; At least Saria seems to get the idea and is trying to explain it to Aio -- but it looks like he still thinks _he's_ a dragon. Okay, well, maybe he can be a knight AND a dragon! Like some kind of...dragon man!

<https://i.redd.it/xcbi8yj0nhv81.jpg>

"Ummm...OHNOES IT IS THE DRAGONBORN! BUT YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME UNLESS YOU FIND THE, ummm, MAGICAL HELMET OF RAINBOW FLAMES! IT IS IN, ummmmmmmmmm...aaaaaa SECRET PLACE THAT--THAT ONLY THE ROYAL FAMILY KNOWS ABOUT!" Yeah, Naomi is totally engaging in AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION and not dumping her DM responsibilities on Saria. n.n

Those were a lot of words and Aio understood none of them! He continues to chase Dragon and shouts her name. He giggles with excitement as the air and sun and open space combine to create a volatile reaction of fun.

As the screams of the children echo through the field outside of the Wolfos, a tall imposing Gerudo woman cuts the horizon perpendicularly. She holds a spear and walks in a relaxed pace but with a serious expression. The expression softens when she sees the children playing, particularly the boy.

She stops and observes them by the stables outside of the inn.

Saria laughs and nods, pointing at Noemi! "Yes! Catch the dragon!"

Seeing Risa arrive, Saria hmms, touching her chin with a finger. She approaches Risa and Fallon and brings her hands to her back. "Excuse me, I have a question."

"As you know, Aio is living in the Kokiri Forest now. Do you know of any grown-ups that may help us build a treehouse for him?"

Risa crouches down to become eye-level with the forest child. She rests her elbow on her knee and says, "A treehouse?" She thinks, and says, "Sweetie, I am from the desert. I don't know much about trees. But I will find someone who can help."

Fallon laughed to herself. Of all the things Naomi could've been, a dragon...born was not one she expected. Yet, she could appreciate her imagination. Those bedtime stories must've sounded far more spectacular to her than she'd thought.

Spotting movement in the distance, she looked towards it and found it was a friendly face upon closer inspection. She smiled as Risa approached, acknowledging her presence with a nod.

With Saria now approaching, she then pondered her question, "You need help with one, hm? Well, I'm not much of a builder, but I can assist in whatever way I can. I'll have to ask my husband if he has any suggestions or ideas. All else fails, I could just read about trees and houses and then attempt to replicate it."

Saria grins, her hands on her back while she listens to them. "You are big and strong women, so I knew you could help! Thank you." With this, she goes back to playing with her friends.

GUUUHHHH!!! &gt;_&lt;; Being a DM is so FRUSTRATING! You put in all this work to give the players an intricate world to interact with, and they just want to be MURDER HOBOS that solve every problem by charging at it swords waving! "Okay, fine! TAG, YOU'RE IT!" Naomi shouts to Aio. Then she turns and dashes away.

Aio didn't quite understand but he understood perfectly what she meant and what his job was now. He gives chase to Naomi and also Saria.

Saria laughs and runs away from Aio, happy to see him enjoying himself. There were some things they needed to figure out but this was probably what he needs for now.

Jabu's whiskers, that was quite the incident! Mipha certainly wasn't expecting that activity up here, but she's honestly glad it's over. Not that she needed to, but her desire to keep a low profile continues as she creeps her way through towards the graveyward. "My word, I honestly didn't think a moblin would make an appearance here. They ususaly don't find much reason to come this far..."

Wolf Link continues on to the <#C9UT1C3BQ>

_With the villagers' nerves settled, and some of them expressing they're glad he was okay, they left to go back inside and turn off their lights. However, looking over at the inn and starting to walk over there, he finds that it was closed for reservations- meaning there was no place for him to stay the night. Walking over and picking up the Moblin Spear, the young warrior breaks a section of it off so it was more his size and making it balanced so it wasn't unwieldy._
_Checking on their friend in their hat, they seemed to have gotten knocked out from the force of colliding with that tree along with them. Hopefully in time they'll wake up... Using what magic he has access to, they heal themself up a bit so it would be easier to breath. Doing so however making his Life Gauge 'glitch' through different styles until it settled on a different one; causing him a moment of pain._

_With the moment passed, the young warrior adjusts their bunny hood on top of their head after putting his hat back on and fixing their hair. Since loitering wasn't allowed in town, he'd have to go to the graveyard to rest there. Hopefully Dampé was going to be alright with it. They have in the past the few times he came and there wasn't any available rooms in the inn._

_Gatu proceeds, unknowingly, towards the <#C9UT1C3BQ>_

(See <#C5FAAGN80>)

Suddenly, a black crystal slams into the ground at high speeds, with a sudden flash of light in the form of a beam slamming into it, setting it off. Once the dust settles, one can see a Fog begin to form.

Another day, another round of looking for odd jobs to keep body and soul together. -.- It's better now than when John first started at least, he's gotten used to approaching folks at random to ask for work and they've gotten used to the idea that there's this guy around who can save them some trouble in exchange for a few rupees. Still, it's wearisome having to _hunt_ for employment all the time.

"I'm tellin' ya Johnny-boy, ya oughta just sign up wi' the castle guard," Scruvo remarks, guessing John's thoughts. "Gals love a chap in armor."

John rolls his eyes, trying to remember how many times they've had this conversation already. "And what do you think will happen when they ask about past experience and references? 'I was part of the army in the Dukedom of Loranis until I was banished for insubordination.'" e.e

"Cor blimey, an' you think _I_ take liberties in recountin' stories! At least I add stuff IN instead of leavin' all th'good parts out! Tell y'wot, why don't I tell 'em wot happened an' then you can just shoot down the embellishments, that'll get th'full story across AND show 'em you're humble ab--CRIKEY, INCOMIN'!!!"

John dives for the nearest cover, the corner of a building. He hears a dirt-spraying impact followed by an explosion, accompanied by a brief flash brightening the surroundings. After a moment, he straightens up against the wall and takes a peek around the corner, assessing the situation and looking for casualties and at-risk civilians. &gt;.&gt; Maybe nobody's _paying_ him to be a soldier, but the trained response doesn't stop to think about things like that.

In the distance, between the mountaintops, glides a yellow object. It takes note of the strange object that just flew into the town. The young messenger Rito swoops down on the town to take a closer look.

Not too far from the town, a royal guard sees the fog and hurries to ensure everybody is safe. Upon seeing the fog, Kagetora stops before he reaches it. He is aware of what will happen if he touches it... and frowns.

"Everybody, step back! Do not touch the fog!" He warns lifting his arms, stopping any villagers that attempt to approach the area.

The young yellow bird was near the fog but perched slightly above it on a stone chimney. He hops down to the roof and asks the soldier, “What is happening?”

Kagetora looks up to see the Rito while he tries to block people from entering the town. “This fog contains dark magic and is similar to that in Castle Market Town. Those who touch it will be cursed and turned into poes. Please warn everyone to stay away!”

The young Rito squawks in affirmation to the warrior's command, and then hops a few times before taking flight over the town. He begins to call out, "Beware! Beware! Everyone abandon the village! Avoid the fog!"

Ohhhhhjoy. &gt;~&lt; John pushes off from the wall and runs over to the building's door, yanking it open. "ANYBODY IN HERE, GET OUT FAST!!! THERE'S A POISON FOG FILLING THE TOWN!!!" John of course actually doesn't know if the fog _is_ poisonous, but it's a decent assumption based on the bird-man telling people to avoid it and it gets across the desired action quick and easy. A few confused townsfolk come tumbling out, including an old man with more wisdom than speed. U~U; John grabs his arm and throws it over his shoulders, trying to hasten his hobble toward the edge of town.

Meanwhile, the resident sky-watcher who's always hanging out on that roof is still rubbing his eyes from witnessing that sudden bright beam come down from Death Mountain. :dizzy_face: By the time his vision clears, the building he's on top of is already surrounded by fog, and it's starting to creep up the shingles toward him. He waves his arms up at Kanali. "HELP! I CAN'T GET DOWN!"

Over near Kagetora, a dog darts forward to bark and growl at the encroaching phenomenon. &gt;O A small girl runs after it, wrapping her arms around its neck and tugging fruitlessly. "No no Duke, get back!" &gt;n&lt;

Kanali pauses, catching a glimpse of the curious man that is standing on the roof. He looks around, watching the fog rise. He sees a woman holding a cucco and both are transformed immediately into orbs of light as the fog touches him.

"Oh no... this is terrible." the bird mutters under his breath.

"Hold on!! Stay away from the fog!" he shouts at the man on the roof as he hops up and takes flight, being careful to put some height between himself and the encroaching haze. He swoops down and grabs onto the man, already struggling to keep aloft, but says, "I got you! Hold on to me!"

At that, he kicks down on the roof to give himself a boost, breaking several roof tiles in the effort and sending them tumbling into the fog. Kanali takes flight with the man and attempts to carry him to safety, although his piloting skills are rough with the added weight.

Kanali crashes off to the side with the man, away from the fog. "Quick! Run away from the fog!" He dusts himself off, then picks himself up and flies back to the rooftops to see if he can spot anybody else.