Live Your Own Story in Hyrule

(Yikes)

Photia felt the net she had cast snare the beast. Yet she only had a tenuous grasp on it. She could feel it in the way it screeched and writhed in the ribbons of shade. Grasping a hold tightly, Photia tried to wrangle the beast away from the group. They needed to regroup and reassess. But the beast’s struggles tore its legs off and it managed to slip free as the resistance slackened.

Photia grunted as she was dragged along one of the earthen walls the beast had thrown up. Her breath pushed from her lungs as the bone-shuddering impact crept up her tingling shoulder. Photia retaliated instinctively. A gigantic, orange hand of flamelike hair grasped for the bug. Though it missed as the bug dove back below the surface. Instead, it slammed into the earthen wall behind it, fracturing it and adding more rubble to the path ahead.

As Irina lunges forward, it seems as though the strike will land. Then the beast twists and one of its massive pincers snaps upward into the path of the spear.

Before Irina can recover from the impact, the pincer swings sideways in a swat. The full force of the beast’s limb crashes into her spear and shoulder, sending her backward through the air, behind the group, and into the fog beyond.

They can only heard a distant, muffled sound when she finally hits the earth hard, but she's nowhere to be seen.

The beast twists into a ball when it is hit by the water projectiles. Some seemed to have hit the vulnerable gaps in its shiny black exoskeleton.

The bug burrows into the earth, albeit clumsily as it is missing limbs and severely damaged. It moves about erratically now, unlike the controlled movements from earlier.

Between the destruction that Photia’s massive hand inflicted and the wild earth movement from the beast, the walls begin to tumble.

Three cocoon-like structures can be seen from where Kala and her family would have been a few minutes before. They are silent silken balls laying dormant. One is aglow. One is stirring after getting hit by the millipede-creature as it emerges.

A zora hand reaches out, pulling himself to freedom. It is Kayo. He looks rough but quickly springs to action, attempting to free one of the other cocoons with his blade.

Link, meanwhile, struggles against the silk tomb.

He manages to cut through it partially with the blades on his arms. He throws them at the beast that is emerging from the ground, sending it back underground to writhe in anger under their feet.

Only silence is heard in the direction that Irina fell…

"Alright, it's ready. I can stall the fog from coming back in the vacuum I'll make for five minutes. Make 'em count!"
_Gatu thrusts his hands and extends them from side to side, in which a burst of potent wind blasts away and outwards from him, dissipating the obscuring fog greatly. Everything is visible for 100 feet outwards from Gatu as he holds the fog from swallowing back in._

Photia watches as one of her friends is caught mid leap by the bug’s pincer. She winces as the thud of hard exoskeleton sounds against wood and metal. But it is in the aftermath that Photia’s eyes grow wide as she tracks Irina’s trajectory. An arcing path that brought her high and wide. A slow plummet into the fog behind the group, obscured from view. Photia knew there may be consequences for that later, but she could not afford to lose concentration now. The millipede like creature had very nearly wrapped up the source of light that the old Zora had been carrying.

In fact, Photia might have assumed it lost if not for the squirming of movement breaking free from one of the cocoons and the other one being aglow. Taking advantage of the sudden clarity offered by Gatu, Photia floated up above the burrow. Her shadowy parasol rewoven into the limbs of a giant bow, Photia pulled back the string with the massive hand of flaming hair upon her head. Loosing the arrow down the burrow after the creature, Photia called out.

“I will find Irina, you all concentrate on freeing the old man and the others.”

After all, Photia couldn't approach them. But she could look for her friend. Even if it felt like her heart was hammering a thousand times a minute in her throat.

As the fog dissipates, more of the surrounding area is revealed. In the periphery that emerges from the darkness a scurry can he heard, and then several lights can be seen from the shadows, glowing with the same color of the giant millipede monster but seemingly smaller in size. They blink, watching from the protective obscurity of the fog. And before them, visible now, are two neatly packed cocoons resting on the ground in roughly the same direction that Irina and Fred disappeared.

When Photia releases her sling, the creature cries out in horror. It shatters into several pieces that desperately writhe at anything they can grab onto but then fade into the inky soil.

The light from the creature's eye fades and so do the lights from the foggy forest and they can be heard scurrying away.

Link groggily emerges from the cocoon. He retrieves the blades he threw at the beast and watches the mysterious woman slay the monster once and for all.

Her words also register slowly. He seems to be disoriented from the experience so his mental faculties do not appear to be completely online just yet.

He looks around, spotting Kayo and the two other cocoons near him, and looks around again. He seems to be searching for something.

“Irina…” he mutters weakly. “Where is Irina?”

Kayo, just as groggy, moves about and stumbles upon the other cocoons. He begins to slice at one to free Kala, who is curled into a ball in the silk. She appears to be asleep.

The captain moves her out and then goes to work on the one presumably holding his uncle - the glowing cocoon. He slices it revealing the old man who is awake but very disoriented. The old Zora man groans upon being free.

"So, that's where you all went!" Revali came flying in tailed closely by Red. "We tried to get eyes from above, but that fog was too thick! If it hadn't spread the way it did, I was getting myself ready to deliver some eulogies. On that note, I'd really prefer if you guys didn't have a penchant for doing that." He landed in the center of the area.

"I heard a lot of shouting and scrambling in here. How are you guys holding up?" He wondered, taking note of the way the area looked. "Hey, Mipha!" He'd called, intending to ask her for a summary of what happened, but the earth had other plans. The wall of soil that she was standing on had begun to crumble and before he could react, Red was already moving ahead to try and intercept her. "Wait, one of you is missing. What happened to Irina?"

Mipha was still very much standing atop the earth wall, keeping an eye on things with the clearing of the fog. It was only temporary, but it would be enough. She could see the movements much better from here, but she found herself distracted at the reveal of the light twinkling in her eyes.

She refocused her attention, finding the Zora crew were safe and now, secured, being cut away from their cocoons. "Oh, thank goodness." She rests a hand to her chest while the other remained occupied with the trident. With them accounted for, she turned her attention to the voice, "I do hope you can find Irina soon!"

And soon it seemed it would be. The creature's cry was heard by her, felled by whoever was out there. With the way things have been here, she's hoping it was that voice or maybe someone else that could navigate this place. If it was something bigger, she feared what the outcome would be. She sighs to herself, finding a light respite between the battle and what has taken place here. It was a welcome quiet, unfortunately disrupted by one blue Rito. "I think some of us are fine," she replied honestly to Revali. "The creature that attacked us is gone, I think and--"

Her explanation was cut by the earth crumbling beneath her. She yelped, thinking she was soon to hit the ground, but she was captured by Red and placed on the ground carefully. "Thank you. I should have been paying more attention. I believe our efforts now should be to regroup. We need to make sure everyone is accounted for."

Red captured Mipha and placed her down, "No need to apologize. I'm just glad I was here in time to catch you. Probably not the emergency things were before, but still important, I think," he jokes. "The fog is starting to clear out even more. We can get eyes on things again if that's what's needed, but if we need to be grounded, then that's fine too."

Scanning the area, he tried to recall all who were supposed to be here. "I see the Zora crew is alright, Link is here. Gatu..." He mumbled to himself. "Fred?" He looked back to Mipha as if she'd have the answer. "And Irina?"

"But something keeps bugging me... I used the Master Sword to end the Flood and recede the waters... I went with Princess Zelda and her guards to return it to its pedestal in the Temple of Time. The Door of Time were sealed shut before the flood, and only opened after she used her Sage magic to open it up so I could return it with her since we didn't have the Spiritual Stones or the other two keys. So how was it the Master Sword got taken and brought here in the first place after the Door of Time was closed?"

Mipha could understand Kala's sentiments, even if she may have been slightly disheartened at hearing her words. Still, she would hold out hope regarding the opportunity that might very well present itself.

"Evil has a way of overwhelming and corrupting what are considered sacred places. Each of the temples in the land served significance to its people in some form and Ganondorf invaded each one. The Master Sword, despite its power, I can imagine can be affected in similar fashion. However, unlike the temples, it bears a unique sentience that may have contributed to its disappearance. It may have ended up here due to fear or protection or something else," she offered her thoughts on the matter.

"That is what I think, at any rate."

Maintaining her hold on her trident, she turns away from the group to look towards the islands once again. It doesn't appear they're very active, which begs the question of where the others are. Were they successful? Why haven't they returned?

She'd placed a hand to her chest in a self-soothing manner to calm her heart, nearly sinking into the thought that they might very well be in trouble. Naturally, she lowered her eyes from the island feeling troubled. Yet, what was sadness was quickly turned into befuddlement. "What is happening in the water?"

She returned to the group. "Something has happened in the sea. It's filled with streams of light!"

_Gatu runs over and looks downwards to see what Mipha sees._
"Something important must have fallen into the water after what the others did over on the Floating Island. It's hard to tell, but... I think they went down to retrieve it. I think I see a craft of some sort down there, near the farthest stream of light over there." _Gatu said, pointing it out to Mipha if she hasn't spotted it._

"They went down? Are you certain?" Mipha inquired, her voice elevating as she'd stepped closer over the edge to take a look at where Gatu was looking. She couldn't quite make it out in the same way, but it didn't matter. They could very well be in danger. "But the waters... I thought--" She shook her head. "Nevermind, that. I'm going to go after them." She hastened towards the cliff that Link jumped from before. Looking over the ledge, she studied where the guiding light was leading towards. Without further hesitation she dove off the ledge and slipped through through the surface of the sea as smoothly as a knife through butter.

"Be careful Mipha!" _Gatu said after her, wishing her all the luck as she leap and dove down to see what's going on._

Kala crosses her arms and mutters something under her breath... something about "she is going to get herself killed" and "spoiled princess".

She walks to the edge then turns and gives Gatu a sharp look. "Well, are you coming or not?"

Revali came gliding in from above, circling over the area before coming to a landing. He didn't want to run into any issues on his way down. "Hey!" He calls out in greeting. "Me and Red have finally returned. We're coming to pick you guys up and fly you back to a boat out there. Seems a lot has happened and it'll be too hard to explain. Best way I can put it - A whale of light is tugging the boat." He shrugs.

"Don't ask me more, I just got there and got yelled at by Mipha."

Red comes landing soon after Blue and stretches a bit. "We've been doing a lot of flying..." He states. "But yeah, what the Blue guy says is correct. All the others are okay, though. That we know of, at least." He confirmed.

"If you all are ready, just say the word and we can carry you back. No need to get into the water."

Kala was about to jump into the water, maybe grabbing Gatu with or without his permission, but she stops when she sees the two figures on the horizon. She points and then runs to them as they land. "Boat?" She asks confused.

She stares out at murky water and frowns, then turns to the birds. Then the other thing he said clicks in her mind, "Whale... of light? What?" She looks more confused now. "Are they in danger? The people on the boat?"

Revali sighs, lifting his wing to his head to hold it briefly. "Yes, a boat. Whale of light. You heard it right. No one is in danger, thankfully. I'm not making any guarantees, I don't know anything about these waters, so they might not stay that way. But, for now, folks are fine. In fact, a lot of the crew looked like you," he pointed to Kala.

"We should probably get going before we lose sight of the boat. I don't think that whale is intent on stopping anytime soon."

Red grumbled, "I'll pick up from where he left off. There's a boat that's currently manned with a crew. Some of them look like you. Whatever happened on that island there is also responsible for the light in the water. We think they're headed towards its source." He eyes Blue. "It really wasn't that much to describe..."

He then returns his attention to Kala. "But if we stay here, they're probably going to get further away and I don't really want to be stuck here, so can we start flying off?" He thumb points in the general direction of were the boat is.

Kala crosses her arms. This wasn't exactly helpful dialogue, and she doesn't seem to enjoy small talk.

She immediately quips as soon as Red finishes, “Look, take these two…” she points at Gatu and Impa. “I can manage. A few sea serpents don't frighten me. Just try not to get eaten out there. I don't know what your kind tastes like but I am sure our local species would find you all delicious.”

She seems suddenly agitated and impatient to get to that boat. With that brief monologue, she jumps into the water with her spear. She disappears into the sea mist, practically flying across the surface of the water.

"I don't want to find that out. This is exactly why I want to fly away from here and eventually, out of here entirely." Red slouched a bit, thinking about being some sort of sea serpent snack. He took off and grabbed up Gatu, leaving Blue to pick up Impa. "N-not without helping out. I mean, we did sort of make an agreement and I'd hate to be the one to break that..."

"I'm in peak form and I take very good care of myself, so I would assume my taste would be sublime. But, I'm not about to be anyone's snack. I work far too hard just to become some mince meat for a sea serpent out here. Should it come to pass that I am unfortunately eaten, I will make sure the sea serpent that did it will have the worst stomach pains of its life every step of the way." Revali flies over to grab up Impa. "Alright, just hold on and we'll get back to the boat in no time."

"Let's head out. The faster we can go snag that orb of light that fell off the island, the faster we can hopefully stabilize BOTH realms." _Gatu replies, willing to head down and rejoin the others. The sooner they get the Master Sword out of the Twilight Realm, the faster it can stabilize._

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. >~< 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. >O A small girl runs after it, wrapping her arms around its neck and tugging fruitlessly. "No no Duke, get back!" >n<

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.

Kagetora moves quickly through the edge of the fog, intercepting the small girl and her dog before they can get any closer. He drops to a knee just long enough to steady her, guiding both back with firm but careful hands.

“Stay with the others,” he says, voice calm but urgent. “Do not approach the fog under any circumstance.”

Rising immediately, his gaze looks around the village. He tracks the spreading fog, the panicked movement, the flashes of light where people vanish into it. “This is the same phenomenon reported in Castle Town,” he calls out to those nearby. "Everybody, fall back now! Move to higher ground and keep distance between yourselves and the fog!”
He pauses only briefly, weighing the situation—then the decision is made.

He turns toward the direction of the road leading out of Kakariko, expression resolute. “I need to inform the castle,” he says, more to those who can hear than anyone in particular. “The Princess must know at once.”

Without hesitation, he breaks into motion, moving swiftly and silently along the outer edges of the village, leaving the evacuation in capable hands. He needs to carry the warning now.

Kanali watches Kagetora and hears him. He checks on the man he just helped one last time, then says, "Sorry, I must go. Please keep people away from the fog."

He jumps into the air and takes flight, catching up to Kagetora. "Sir!" he calls out from above. "Sir!. There is a similar fog near the castle. I can help you get the message to the castle if you want."

heads for the stairs leading up to the gate to Death Mountain with his burden. >_<; As they make it up the first flight and turn toward the north exit, the old man glances down worriedly and sees the spreading fog rising up to the ledge they just surmounted. >.>; "J-just leave me, we won't make it--" "Save it!" John snaps, tightening his grip on the man's arm. They stumble forward together, walking a deadly tightrope between going too slow and losing even more time by pushing too hard and falling down. Fortunately, the higher the fog goes, the more space it has to spread out in, so it moves outward slower...but it's definitely creeping along the ground behind them now.

In fact, it's also coming from their right. >.>; John watches tendrils form along the second set of stairs, cutting them off. Well, just have to hope they can hold their breath and withstand a little--

"Up here!" The gate guard kneels on the ledge on the left side of the stairs, holding his arms out urgently. o_o John quickly leans the old man against the wall, then crouches down and wraps his arms around his thighs. With a grunt of effort, he lifts the man upward. The guard grabs hold of the old man's arms and pulls from above. With the weight partially relieved, John switches hold and grabs the old man's feet, pushing him the rest of the way up just as the fog closes in around him.

After a tense moment of blindly following the wall to mount the stairs with eyes closed and breath held, John turns around and chances a peek. -xo The fog appears to be paused in its ascent, coming no higher than midway up the stairs. Whatever was releasing it must be running out. John exhales and trudges over to the old man and the guard. "Whew...that was a close one."

The old man doesn't look around. "He should've saved himself," he says sorrowfully. "He had so much life still ahead of him." v_v

John gives a short-breathed guffaw. "Hey, I think I'm gonna be okay. Stop moaning." X)

The guard peers cautiously over the ledge. "He just...disappeared. I can see the ground below us through the fog, but I can't see _him_. It's like it _dissolved_ him." o.o;

John furrows his brow. "Hey, I'm over here! Behind you!" John goes to put a hand on the guard's shoulder -- and it passes right through. o.o;