World Tree MUSH

  A mild winter and dry spring have given way to the worst summer the Kingdom of Hyrule has seen in a century. Heat shimmers over the air, bending stalks of waist-high grass together into the illusion of water. The sun beats down in a silent rage as trees wither.

  In these conditions, all it takes is a spark; a tongue of red and orange heat lightning from a dry thunderstorm.

  Whipped by the arid plains wind, the fire had surged into a towering inferno. Not even Hyrule's sages with their magic, or determined villagers armed with tools, can combat such a nightmare. All they can do in the face of thirty-foot walls of flame is run, and pray to their goddesses that they can run faster than the driving winds.

  The scene in the village nearest a timely, impromptu Vine is nothing short of a nightmare. Winds drive sheets of flame ever higher toward the foothills, having already engulfed outlying buildings. The thunder of collapsing timber and masonry join the roar of the flames. Cinders dance against the smoke-dark sky, and nos un shines through. The only light is the reflected orange of the flames.

  People are screaming, crying, and shouting orders over the din. Clusters of people try to save people and possessions from buildings already beginning to burn, and structures nearing collapse. Their faces are stained by soot or tears. Some have burns, and others go through the motions in a daze. A massive warhorse stands above the din, and standing in the stirrups of its saddle is a slender finger in a black robe. Curiously, the robe looks drenched; water streams from its hem, painting streaks of muddy water down the horse's hide and the figure's boots. She must have thrown it into the fountain in the middle of the square.

  Other sounds issue from farther afield, where things can be heard but not seen. Howling wolves, the crude shouting of bokoblins, and the squeal of their saddled swine.

  The situation is beginning to look pretty grim.

Out from the Vine comes a tall, skinny young woman in plain summer clothes, dragging along what appears to be a dark maroon sports bag on wheels -- large enough to contain a change of uniform and small pieces of equipment, perhaps -- and with a narrower and matching slightly curved duffel bag slung over her shoulder. Both bags bear a logo showing a mountain, and the text "Monadnock A.G." below that.

"Wha-- ..." She looks around in surprise, suddenly incredibly nervous; this clearly wasn't the Blossom she intended to end up in. Nor was this the kind of situation she hoped to be in. "Okay, wow," she says; she has a somewhat scratchy and androgynous voice. She flinches at the sound of a building collapsing.

Still, it's evident that she has some sort of procedure to follow in this sort of scenario. She withdraws a smartphone from her pocket. "Log redirected vine," she says, enunciating each word carefully. "Fire happening, possible monsters. End log." The phone beeps, and she puts it away.

And then ... she freezes up. She there in a mild panic of indecision. Argh, there's too many things to do and she isn't sure how she can even help in this kind of situation on her own!

    There are a few incongruous details in this scene, really.

    One of the most prominent is the presence of several short, mushroom-headed - or mushroom-hatted, it's really unclear - people amongst the villagers trying to evacuate everyone. A few are panicking, but mostly they seem to be well-trained in disaster relief. A few are trying to fight the fire, but it's not really doing much to slow it down.

    Another incongruous detail is the presence of several trucks parked outside the village, with more mushroom-people doing their best to usher fleeing villagers aboard.

    Standing by one of the trucks is a remarkably beautiful woman who is visibly doing her best not to go rushing headlong into danger. She's wearing overalls, pink boots, and a very flammable-looking straw hat, so it's probably best she doesn't rush in no matter how much she wants to.

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Don't worry, the Mushroom Kingdom is here to save the day! ... Hope those mushroom hats aren't flammable.

Soon after Lex, a mercenary comes flying out of the vine. The bird and his rider circle around a few to get a gist of what's going on, before they fly past Zelda. Temulin yells, "You in charge here? Need help? Reasonable rates." As she does, and without waiting for a response she swoops down towards some of the fleeing people, trying to get Denhes' claws to gently grab them by the shoulders so she can drop them off somewhere safely.

Duncan has no particular fire-fighting abilities; in fact the only magic he DOES have is fire-based. And he has no particular fire resistance either. He has a strong back, though, and he's willing to help.

Also fortunate is that he's trained in combat, since it sounds like there's something nasty coming in that will need taking care of. Or a lot of nasty somethings that will need to be taken care of. But, he doesn't simply ride out to meet them.

No, the third thing he is (or was, depending on how you look at it), is a soldier. And there are people shouting orders; whether they have rank or are just people who are better at organizing is of little consequence. And someone looking important on a horse. So it is that Duncan rides immediately to this person upon the horse (he has no way of knowing that it's Zelda).

Now, he's a big guy, and he's wearing a suit of armor that's pretty damn scary. Adding to that, he's mounted on a mean-looking white ostrich-looking bird that has the beak of a raptor and red eyes. And he kinda reeks of darkness. But, despite that, his words are gentle. "I don't know that I can help with the fires, but I'm a trained combatant. I think there are unpleasant things coming closer. I can try to keep these things back while the fires are dealt with."

>> SUMMARY[Duncan Ritter] >> Duncan checks in with Visible Figure of Authority, and offers himself as a combatant to fight nasty things while people who know how to fight fires do that.

    The heat is oppressive. A harsh contrast to the biting cold of Snowpeak garrison.
    And yet both are equally deadly aren't they?
    The sharp whistling trill of a chocobo can be heard amid the din of collapsing timbers and roaring flames, a distressed and warbled 'Kweh! Kweh!' of discomfort as it darts after Zelda into the nightmare, and its reason is readily apparent as to why, the bird continually casting glances askance over its shoulder to its young rider.
    A rider who is holding the reins a little too tightly, knuckles whiter than a sheet. Rydia of Mist is here. Rydia of Mist is here when she would rather be anywhere else, regretting every moment of her decision to follow the Hylian Queen-Regent. Her breath comes quick and labored, the child's hands quake, she travels as though in a fugue state.
    The screaming... The crying... The crackling roar of the flames blazing high. She moves in the same state of shock as some of the evacuees, eyes wide, pupils dilated as every ounce of her screams to yank on her chocobo's reigns, turn around, and fly.
    It's like Mist all over again.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> PTSD cranked up to 11.

  "Get the livestock out of the south pens; bring them around to the west! Get that inn evacuated before it starts burning!" Disguised she may be as a commoner, Zelda still has an air of authority, and people snap to follow her orders. They need someone looking at the big picture.

  Cinders rise up in a flurry, and the horse rears, bellowing; she sticks close to its neck, holding the reins. That momentary height gives her a better vantage, spotting the distant Lex, Peach and her toad relief army. More closely, she can get a clearer view of Temulin and Duncan.

  Before she has a chance to answer Temulin, the bird-rider's already off and gone. At least they seem to be helping. For now. Looking momentarily nonplussed, her gaze swings back to Duncan. Oh, a chocobo. An odd-looking one, but a chocobo. She's a little familiar with those.

  ...Hey, his presence makes her teeth itch just like Cecil. Shaking her head as though to clear it, Zelda whirls, holding aloft a bow wrought with royal embelleshments; gold gleaming red in the firelight. "I would appreciate that; I don't have the strength to hold them off by myself." Zelda cups a hand around the side of her mouth, as Temulin and Denhes pass by. "You, there! Bird-rider! How many monsters are there on the approach?"

  (...The answer is 'a lot, but probably manageable by this group,' and they seem to be led by a more distant lurching figure wearing very heavy plate armour and carrying a big iron morningstar.)

  Meanwhile, between one breath and the next, the soot-stained princess has produced an arrow and drawn the string back to her cheekbone, letting fly into the concentrated sound of screeching monsters.

  It's about then she notices the way Rydia's riding. Like a passenger, not the one controlling the animal. "Rydia!" Zelda takes a deep breath, and roars, perhaps impressively for her size; trying both to be heard over the din and also cut through Rydia's trauma. "I need your help! There are monsters coming, or you can help these people get away from here!" Maybe that'll snap her out of it.

>> SUMMARY[Zelda] >> Zelda is shouting orders to townfolk, thanking arrivals, and putting arrows in monsters beyond the smokescreen. Yelling at Rydia to stab monsters or rescue townsfolk, maybe that'll snap her out of it.

"Enough to make for some hard work, not so many I think it should be unreasonable to deal with them." Temulin yells in response to Zelda, "Name's Temulin of the Dotharl Tribe, we'll talk payment after we're done here." She adds on, taking the request for numbers as agreeing to accept her help. And then she, too, notices Rydia.

 She takes a few deep breaths, but realizes her client knows Rydia, and on her path towards the monsters yells out, "On my next pass, tell me if you want me to check in on the little one."

That said, she ascends for a moment, darkness shrouding her body and sword on the way up, then jumps downwards, swinging that massive darkened blade at the monsters as she falls, a few more swings before she leaps, letting go off her blade with one hand to grasp Denhes, swinging underneath the bird to come out on the other side for the saddle and flying back to prepare for another pass, still clad in darkness.

>> SUMMARY[Temulin Dotharl] >> Answering Zelda's question, offering to check on Rydia, bringing her dark powers to bear against the monster in a showy fashion.

Lex is more-or-less startled into action by Temulin's sudden arrival right behind her. "Right," she mutters, unslinging the duffel bag from her shoulder. She hurriedly gets some elbow- and knee-pads from her bag, puts them on as quickly as she can, and then unstrings the duffel bag itself.

She pulls out a medium-sized cutlass in a scabbard. It's rather plain, and looks standard-issue, though it does seem to be of a more "modern" design.

She affixes it to her belt, then gets out her phone again. "Add to last log: yes, it's monsters. Helping with ..." She hesitates, then glances between Temulin, Duncan ... and Rydia. "... Helping with evacuation. Uh, end log."

And then she rushes into the fray to help with the evacuation; she doesn't have the advantage of a great big bird to carry people, but she can help guide people. She makes a beeline for the inn mentioned by that hooded figure over there.

>> SUMMARY[Lex Brando] >> After a moment of indecision, going to help evacuate the inn.

    If Peach had any idea Rydia was actually present, she'd probably be acting differently. As it stands, though, all she's aware of is the fire, and the approaching monsters.

    Well... maybe she shouldn't go into the village to help with the evacuation. She'd probably just get in everybody's way, to tell the truth. Her people - and some of the villagers - knew what they were doing. Monsters, though?

    Peach reached up, pulling a side panel down to reveal a quite worryingly large hammer held in a velvet-lined interior. The princess gripped it near the head, and lifted it out of its compartment with ease, as though it were made of styrofoam despite weighing more than she herself did.

    Monsters she could deal with.

    "Princess, what are you-" one of her aides managed to get out, before Peach was sprinting off towards the horde of monsters with a determined expression masking any doubts she may be feeling.

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Oh, monsters. Well, I can help with those!

Duncan is unaware of Zelda's discomfiture with his powers. Or, if he is, he makes no mention of it. He simply nods as Zelda accepts his offered help. He pauses, though, waiting to hear the number of monsters. Good, enough for them to be manageable at the moment, even if difficult. Time to make sure things don't get worse.

He does pause, though, when he hears the name 'Rydia'. A pause, and he looks around until he finds her. There's a brief moment there, he looks at her, worried. Though his face is mostly covered by the helmet he wears. Ultimately though... here isn't a lot he can do to help, and he knows that.
 
He follows Temulin's lead, though quite a bit behind her -- his chocobo can run fast, but it can't fly -- and will set into the monsters himself. He makes a ground pass as Temulin flies back up, aiming to keep the beasts off-guard, keep the pressure on, and distract as many of them from getting into the village (or, any FURTHER into the village) as possible.

>> SUMMARY[Duncan Ritter] >> Pause for consideration of tiny summoner, but Duncan cannot help. ;.; Following Temulin in, striking when she flies up to keep the pressure on.

    Rydia moves as though she were travelling through water. Every motion sluggish and encumbered by a resistance she just can't shake. She jolts at every cinder that flits by, her breath rasps as the smokey air tickles her nose, the leather of the reins in her grasp creaks softly as she holds them just a little too tightly.
    Only dimly does she even register the princess's voice, the shout hitting her like a slap to the face or a splash of freezing water.
    Zelda needs her help.
    "Muh..." She blurts a numb response before a harsh breath hisses through her teeth. "I-... I-... ... This..."
    No. No she's not going to be useless. She can't become a burden, not here, not now.
    Words of power float from quivering lips, shaky hands form blundered somatic gestures as she musters all the willpower she has, doing her damndest to form even the simplest of spells.
    "B-... Bl... Blizzard!" She finally manages it, bolts of ice and snow forming from thin air, launching from her hands to try and blot out smaller fires from starting amid the already hellish blaze.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> I will throw a glass of water onto the raging inferno. ._.

  "You over there! With the mushroom-men!" Zelda stands in her stirrups, waving her bow wildly to get Peach's attention. "Don't try to fight the fire! Run! Get everyone out of the way! It's too fast; the wind is rising, adn you'll be in danger!"

  That done, she turns to hear Temulin's report, waving off her offer of a name. No time for that. Introductions must wait until the world isn't burning. To Temulin's offer to check on Rydia, she nods, waving an arm in clear 'go do it' gesture so she doesn't have to shout.

  Lex doesn't face any hindrance on the way up to the inn. Part of the building is already on fire and spreading rapidly, and every roar of collapsing timbers is accompanied by a flurry of cinders. There are only a few people in there, cowering behind an escape route choked by burning tables and chairs.

  Monsters are split and scattered by Temulin's aerial assault; they don't put up too much of a fight with the giant bird or its rider. They clearly don't expect their victims to actually fight back.

  Peach zips by for the pack of monsters, and Zelda marks her passage, even as she nocks another arrow and draws the string to her ear. Her gloved hand leaves a smudge of soot; her eye tracks the encroaching bokoblins, marking one and letting fly. "Look for the leader!" Zelda bellows, over the roar of fire, already kneeing her horse into a shambling advance. "They'll not press their luck without him!"

  She watches for a moment as Rydia struggles and marshalls her composure enough to hurl ice at the inferno. It's a drop in the ocean, but maybe it can help. Zelda looks like her heart is breaking, though; and it's with tearstains through the soot on her face that her attention wrenches away.

  --And her expression goes through several interesting changes, because the confluence of Duncan and Temulin in one place really makes her teeth itch. For her part, she stays where she is, guiding her horse up onto a large pile of debris for a better vantage point. Arrows hiss into the approaching monsters, their white fletching standing out even in the blaze.

>> SUMMARY[Zelda] >> Telling Toads not to bother fighting the fire, just evacuate. Sic 'em, Temulin and Duncan! Lex gets up to the inn without incident. There are people cowering in there , you can help them out of the burning lobby! Peach leads the charge and Zelda tells everybody to look for the leader, and ._. at Rydia breaking.

    One of the mushroom men has the distinct urge to say 'yes princess' as he hears Zelda's orders, but he's not entirely clear why.

    The Mushroom Kingdom Foreign Relief Army does shift its tactics at the local leader's words, however, even as their own leader is charging off into a crowd of monsters. Buckets are discarded, and more of them work on getting the villagers out of there!

    "It's not worth it!" "We have to hurry!" "It's just stuff! Stuff can be replaced you can't!" and so forth are heard as the diminutive workers do their best to encourage, convince and ocassionally bodily drag civilians to safety.

    One of the trucks is filled to capacity and soon speeding off away from the fire, headed vaguely in the direct of Lanaryu Province. Lakes don't catch fire, right??

    Peach deftly dodges and weaves between monsters as she heads directly for the largest one. The one with the armour and the morningstar. That's probably the leader, right?

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Toads change tactics, and a truck speeds off to safety! Meanwhile, Peach is gunning for the Bulblin. Or whatever the big guy is.

And thus, as agreed, the flying dark knight heads for Rydia. She has the good sense to tone down her darkness now she's flying away from danger, and she lifts her helmet. Temulin's bird is fast, and she's trying to catch up to the girl, "Rydia." She says once she's caught up, trying to come across as gentle. "I..." And then she reaches for her head, her grip on her reigns fading as she half-slumps forward for a moment.

The vision passes, but Temulin gulps and tries to catch up again. "Rydia." She says more softly, "Let's go somewhere safe, okay? The others will be able to protect this village. It won't be like that." She offers, "Unless you think you're up to helping out, in which case, I'll be right here to make sure you're safe. Your choice."

>> SUMMARY[Temulin Dotharl] >> Approaching Rydia, coming to understand the reasons for Rydia's response, trying to be helpful.

Lex pulls up the collar of her shirt over her mouth to keep from breathing smoke, and stares at the tableau before her. "Hey!" she calls out. "I'm, I'm here to help!" Okay. Okay, she can do this. This'll be ... just like that fire puzzle in that one ruin in Vermont. Yeah.

She jogs in to the cowering people. "This way!" she says. "Let's go! Like, single file, kind of thing! J-j ... just be careful, we can get outta here, easy peasy!"

It's confidence that she doesn't particularly feel, but it's not actually that difficult once she gets started. She leads all of them out at once in a line, frequently glancing back. "Oh, no, careful with that -- yep, there you go! Whew, here we are!"

Once she's gotten everyone out, she stares at the oncoming monster horde. "Great," she mutters, and she draws her cutlass and gestures towards Peach's trucks. "Okay, uh ... just, like, head over to those trucks where those ..." She has no idea how to describe the Toads. "... people are! Take care, right?"

>> SUMMARY[Lex Brando] >> Helping the people out of the burning inn, then drawing her sword.

Duncan hears Zelda's words -- 'look for their leader'. That's a good idea -- it doesn't seem these things were expecting to face organized resistence from what they assumed would just be untrained villagers. Thankfully the Vines assured otherwise!
 
He sees Peach heading for Big 'Un, and follows her, intending to provide support if needed. Duncan is not going to call out to her to get away because she looks delicate. He assumes she's got some skill at fighting or she wouldn't be rushing in. Nonetheless, he does move to support her.
 
Duncan dismounts for this, since once he gets in close enough quarters with these monsters, they can easily swarm around his bird, and he's not going to risk Nemesis getting killed. She is however, quite capable of fighting on her own -- that raptorlike beak can take a chunk or two, and her feet are enormous (as most chocobos' feet are). Besides that, she's MEAN!

>> SUMMARY[Duncan Ritter] >> Duncan moves to support Peach once he sees her targeting Big 'Un. Not going to dissuade her, since he assumes Peach can fight if she's heading towards a monster. Dismounts so Nemesis won't get crowded; Nemesis is a MEAN OLD BIRD, and also pecks and claws.

    "Blizzard! Blizzard! Blizzard! Blizzard!"
    Rydia... Does the best that she can. Casting her spell again and again like a track on repeat, a mantra spoken through the harsh cracking of her voice as every ounce of her threatens to break down. It's minimal at best, such pitiable amounts of snow and ice amount to little better than pouring out a thimble of water onto a gas fire. She aims for doorways and windows, hoping to at least clear paths for anyone that may be stuck, trapped inside their homes. The only thing that pauses her is Temulin. It takes the child a few beats before recognition kicks in, a little too long thanks to the chaos.
    For a moment, she stares through the dark knight before eyes eyes finally come back into focus, moist and welling with tears. How she so desperately wants to take Temulin up on her offer; every part of her screaming to follow the Dark Knight somewhere far, far, away from this terrible hellscape.
    "It won't be like... How do you-" She repeats confusedly, trailing off before she marshalls. "I... N-no. ... I w-... I want to help. I can help."

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> I have made my choice.

  Nobody looks over to Zelda when the mushroom man calls her 'princess.' Either the nearby villagers aren't paying attention, or they've already decided that this can't be Zelda. She's rumoured to be dead, here, another victim of Zant.

  The biggest monster is indeed the one they want. Peach darts past the small fry, and she comes up with a big one on the hook: The biggest, fattest bokoblin is not a bokoblin at all. It's a giant, towering lizard wearing armour made of fire--

  No, it's just wearing polished armour, which reflects the roaring flames. The Lizalfos screeches as it lunges through a sheet of flames, vaulting past several cowering bokoblins. It swings in its claws a giant morningstar made of rusted metal; the chains rattle as it screeches again, advancing on both Peach and Duncan.

  Inside the inn, the few people caught in the burning lobby are cowering and clutching at each other, trying to stay as far from the nearest flames as they can. They're quick enough to follow Lex, careful not to crowd her; an old grandmother among them who calms them and keeps them focused on following Lex. Outside the building, they run, and not a moment too soon. The roof collapses inward, with a groan so low its vibration is felt as much as heard. Embers and flames shoot skyward.

  Zelda, from her position on the hill, can still see Rydia from where she is, and every vision is like a knife twisted in the gut. She had shouted at Rydia to stay in Snowpeak when she had saddled Lynel and sprinted breakneck down the trail. The smoke and the vast expanse of fire had been visible even from Snowpeak Garrison, racing at horrifying speed on the wind.

  Yet Zelda hadn't expected Rydia to actually follow her in her breakneck ride down the mountain. This is the last place she would ever want Rydia to be. She knows the girl's past.

  The princess shakes her head, coughing at smoke; tearing a strip of cloth from her sleeve to tie around her nose and mouth. Another arrow is drawn and fired at the lizard in armour. It sinks into a crack in the armour at the neck, and the creature towers up, dropping its morningstar, screeching and clawing at its throat--

  --and suddenly, a tornado-force rush of hot wind presses down on the burning town square. Flames bend to the ground. A shadow blots out the dull fireglow of the sky, and something shrieks with force to dwarf the armoured lizalfos. It's vast, it's winged, and scaled. It's a dragon -- but not exactly. Where its head should be, there is a metal disc, and black tentacles flutter at the back of its head. Luminous cyan designs paint geometric light over its sleek black body. Some of its scales are still left untouched, but clearly this dragon has been corrupted severely by something. It shrieks again and folds its wings, diving straight for Peach and Duncan with its claws outstretched.

>> SUMMARY[Zelda] >> Peach and Duncan get to fight a lizalfos. Lex succeeds in saving innfolk. Zelda blames herself for Rydia's imminent PTSD breakdown, and also shoots the lizalfos in the throat. SURPRISE! The lizalfos wasn't the boss, this fire-spewing TWILIGHT DRAGON is!!

"I'll explain later." Temulin promises, and she thumbs up when Rydia declares she can help. "Let's go. I'll be right here." She promises, offering an encouraging smile as she turns her bird around to better be able to help, keeping an eye on Rydia at all times. Her job now is to support Rydia in helping, however that'll go. She notices the Twilight Dragon, and Temulin states words that go against her every instinct, but they are phrased gently and encouragingly. "Can you summon anything to help with that?" She asks, as she weaves an orb of darkness around Rydia. It should not hinder the girl, but it should protect her.

>> SUMMARY[Temulin Dotharl] >> The Primal-Slayer To Be requests a summoning, and provides some shielding.

    A giant morningstar comes down towards the rather diminutive - but completely unfazed - woman. She doesn't even try to dodge out of the way - she just holds up her left hand and catches it, causing it to come to a complete dead stop. The woman's body is surrounded by a glowing yellow aura, and her defiant eyes are glowing the same bright yellow, but otherwise she seems to be exerting no real effort. "...I've seen bigger," she quips, just in time for the lizalfos to eat an arrow from the OTHER princess and tumble to the ground gurgling, with Peach still easily balancing its oversized weapon on her outstretched hand.

    And then the real boss shows up, screeching and flying through the sky. Peach stares up at it. "...Ooookay uh... still seen bigger, but I'm not Mario so I'm not confident in my chances here."

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Sword-catch. Except with a morningstar. ... Whoops, that wasn't the boss? Uh-oh

Lex jumps in surprise as the inn collapses behind her! "Welp ..." She smiles faintly, and waves to the retreating grandma as she heads off ...

... just in time for a dragon to appear. She stares, not at the dragon itself, but at the glowing markings. "That kinda looks like ..." Her voice trails off.

Then she blinks, and shakes her head. Cutlass in hand, she starts circling around, cutlass held at the ready, her face displaying the expression of a woman who genuinely can't believe she's moving closer instead of further away. "Yeah this is, like, above the ordinary size-limits and stuff," she calls back to Peach. "I mean not extraordinary size-limits, b--" She catches herself. "-- right, yeah. What is this thing, anyway?" That last part directed at no one in particular.

    It takes Rydia a second to put action to her words. How true it is tha this is the absolute last place in all of Hyrule she would want to be. But she made her choice. She made her choice when she followed Zelda down the mountain and right into the belly of the beast.
    A tug on the reigns and her chocobo obediently follows her directions, the stalward avian mount just as keen on keeping his ward safe as the Au Ra. Rydia rides to follow Temulin, instinctively trusting in the Dark Knight to keep to her word.
    Dark Knights are, in Rydia's experience, some of the most dependable people one can put their faith in.
    "Uh..."
    But then from the fire and the flames a new monstrosity rears its head, the great Twilight twisted dragon blotting out the sky with its wings.
    "I..." She starts only to trail off, eyes squeezing shut, she wipes away her tears and brushes the soot from her face.
    The fire is hot. The ashes are choking. The smoke burns her eyes.
    Rydia searches herself. She searches her feelings.
    These people did nothing to deserve this. These villagers were innocent, and yet now their homes burn. Monsters and devils emerge from the fires to haunt, hunt, and kill them, and Rydia is reminded of the one terrible truth she's learned so early in her life.
    This world is sad and cold. Terrible things happen to good people.
    Is there something she can summon? Will anything listen to her call as she finds that small speck of pain beating in her breast and holds on to it?
    "I... I think..." She murmurs as the air around her begins to crackle and hum.

Duncan moves to try to take advantage of the Lizalfos's attack suddenly being stopped by Peach, to make an attack at a place between its armor. He may be cutting into a dead body by the time Zelda's arrow pierces it, but better 'really most sincerely dead' than 'merely dead', right?
 
"Now then..." He's thinking that, with the big Lizalfos dead, it's just a matter of mopping up the minions. But then that whoosh of force, and Duncan raises an arm before his face to shield himself from any flying debris. Once it calms, he looks up... and then frowns. "...Lovely," he mutters.

He may or may not notice the indications that there's corruption at work. He's never seen a beast like this before, so he doesn't know what's 'normal' for it. All he can really tell is that this thing is Very Wrong and needs very much to Not Be Here. And since it's coming right at them, he has a chance to try to assist in making that happen.

As it's diving down, there's not a lot of time to plan. So instead he reaches down, figuratively speaking, for that source of darkness. Feeling the 'pull' of darkness clawing at his insides and using a bit of his life-force to call darkness into his sword. Pointing the sword at the dragon, Duncan lets loose a blast of darkness.

It's a testing tactic, though. This thing looks pretty 'unholy' to him, and his powers of darkness are all but useless against them. Better to learn now, at the beginning of the battle with this thing, if it's healed by his power, hurt by it, or if it's immune.

>> SUMMARY[Duncan Ritter] >> Also striking at the big Lizalfos, but possibly late. Still, DRAGON! Uses a directional blast of darkness at the dragon, as a "feeling out" tactic.

  The dragon banks sharply into a neat pivot, changing direction and crashing earthward, shaking the ground to stalk these annoying insects on foot. It shrieks again, but the sound is strangely garbled; almost electronic. That lashing tail is a danger, too, and while it doesn't seem to have a clear mouth, it doesn't hesitate to bash at anything near its head like a battering ram.

  An arrow clatters off the metallic face mask. Its head snaps up to attention as though it had been given an electric shock, swivelling to stare sightlessly at Zelda's position, as though stricken. The distraction provides Lex the perfect opening.

  Zelda and the dragon stare at each other. It's the perfect opportunity for Duncan to call up and hurl darkness at it. It startles when the blast rolls off its flank, immediately slithering around until it's roaring straight at Duncan. Well, it definitely got its attention, so maybe it stung a wee bit.

  It's moving slower enough to suggest their actions are all having a cumulative effect on it. Even so, it's still very big, very angry, and very aggressive. Best to put it down quick... while Zelda has its undivided attention.

    Peach is very thankful the dragon decided to go after someone else!

    She frowns a little bit as she watches it move. It looks strange, of course, but this isn't her home world - maybe there are native creatures that just look like that? But there's something about the way those tentacles are writhing that has Peach a little on edge...

    Peach takes a deep breath. "It's... cursed. Or corrupted. By something. I'm not sure what, but..."

    Peach's finger begins to sparkle, and she begins to trace out a star in the air - then she considers, shakes her head, and waves the sparkles away to instead draw the sign of the Triforce in the air in front of her. When in Rome...

    "By the Stars - and the Goddesses - be cleansed!" she shouts in a commanding tone. A pair of ethereal, feathery wings erupt from her back, her body and eyes glow a brilliant piercing white, and a pulse of cleansing Star Magic suddenly streaks over the area.

    It's mostly focused on the dragon but pretty much everyone is going to find themselves cleaner than they were a moment ago.

>> GAME >> Peach spends an Edge for: Star Magic

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Zelda isn't the only Holy Power Princess in area. Peach really doesn't get to show this off too often...

Temulin keeps her word, she stays in front of Rydia as the summoner prepares to summon. She gets hit by the lashing tail ones, in an effort to prevent the tail from reaching Rydia. At that point, she attempts to retaliate with her own blade, the heavy weapon has plenty force behind it even if the darkness doesn't add much; but if it does, that makes it even scarier. She makes sure to keep her eyes open for any other threats that might harm the summoner, ready to bring more darkness to bear to shield Rydia if anything slips by the Dark Knight.

>> GAME >> Temulin Dotharl spends an Edge for: Defend Rydia /and/ Attack Dragon

Lex spares a glance towards Rydia and Temulin. That 'crackling' is catching her attention. Still, she knows better than to just gawk at any unexpected abilities her allies have, and that arrow and the blast of darkness from Duncan are giving her a chance to just leap in.

She runs forward, briefly covering her ears at that screeching noise. "Wouldn't it be funny if a Shinewander showed up right about now," she mutters, probably too low for anyone else to hear. "And it's obviously some kind of corr--"

And then she's just staring for a few seconds at Peach, even as she keeps running. She grins, and gives her a salute with her cutlass.

But then Lex is right up in the dragon-monster's business. A couple slashes at its legs, and an upward leap to slice at its underbelly, and she doesn't slow down -- she just keeps moving forward at the same pace for a few more seconds, before she hard-swerves to the right to preemptively avoid any possible counterattacks!

>> SUMMARY[Lex Brando] >> Failing her own mental piece of advice, but then going slashy-slashy with her cutlass from below!

Getting roared at by dragon? That just means its mouth is open! ....Hopefully. This thing is of a shape Duncan has never really seen before. So yeah, he's going to run up to it. To its face and the roaring mouth.
 
As he runs, he murmurs under his breath, "...Fira Sword." And thusly, flames leap to life around the blade he carries. Darkness hurt the thing, but he's looking for a different result here.
 
Duncan hears Peach's words, not to worry. Right now he's going to just present -- horizontally for now, so it doesn't impale the beast -- a flaming sword for the thing to bite down on while Peach does her thing. Hopefully that will cleanse it. But if not? He's going to twist the blade and make for a stab into the mouth!

...He is stupidly reckless, yes.

>> SUMMARY[Duncan Ritter] >> If it roars at me, that just means it's exposing a tender place! Sets sword on fire, runs up, and wedges the thing's mouth open. He's waiting to see results of Peach's magic, but he's also putting himself into a position he can stab at the thing's mouth if it doesn't work.

    It's too much. It's all too much. The town burns. It burns just like Mist did, and there's almost nothing Rydia can do to stop it. The dragon rages, just like the Bombs did as they burned everything in sight, and Rydia's hands clench on her reins, knuckles whitening once again.
    The child squeezes her eyes shut and clenches her teeth. She can still feel the heat burning on her cheeks. The smoke still burns in her throat. The soot still stings in her eyes.
    Her heart hammers in her chest as she holds on to that pain in her chest.
    She can hear Temulin fighting. She can hear the impact of that tail against heavy armor, the sound of the air itself being cut by the Dark Knight's sword. Once again someone is getting hurt because she can't do anything, and that pain in her breast worsens.
    "I hate this..." She whispers, voice hoarse and cracking.
    Tears roll down her cheeks, trailing in the soot that dirties her face, at least before Peach invokes the stars themselves. But feeling clean on the outside does little to help the anguish roiling within. And somewhere, deep inside Rydia of Mist, something breaks.
    It is her heart.
    It is said that before a Summoner may call an Eidolon that they must first defeat that Eidolon in combat and earn their loyalty. But it is also said that children make for the best Summoners, as the purity of their hearts makes the Eidolon's more inclined to listen to their pleas.
    Somewhere.
    Deep in the Feymarch.
    Something listens.
    The air around the child roils with power, and Rydia's hands clench on the reins.
    "I hate this... I hate it all... And I hate Zant for starting all this!" She shouts.
    And then it is suddenly so cold.
    There the ground smoldered and burned around Rydia and Temulin it suddenly freezes over, fires snuffing in an instant as snow begins to fall.
    "Shiva! Help us!"
    The air grows so bitingly cold that Rydia and Chocobo begin to choke on it, a freak blizzard coming in from out of nowhere. And when called, the Lady of Ice deigns to come... A gorgeous woman with ice blue skin, appearing from seemingly nowhere, gently embraces the last Summoner from behind in a tender hold for just a moment, before she streaks away, trailing ice and frost so cold that fire freezes and flames die out. Her path is for that dragon, and circles it once, flitting out of reach of claws and scales, the Lady of Frost draws a breath.
    Her exhale is like a plume of liquid nitrogen, freezing the air on contact and sending hundreds of thousands of shards of ice upon the beast.

>> GAME >> Rydia spends an Edge for: Summon: Shiva - Diamond Dust

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> I HATE YOU!

  "It is cursed by the Twilight!" Somehow Zelda heard Peach over the din, and when her voice rises above the roar, it's cold and hard and angry. She's nocked another arrow and drawn the feathers back to her ear, her shot aimed at the dragon. "We must not let it pursue the villagers!"

  She looks on with arched brows as Peach invokes her Star Magic, drawing her shot back further as Temulin lashes back out at the dragon, lips thinning in exertion. She's waiting for the perfect opening.

  Lex slashes at the dragon's legs, and earns frustrated roars for her successes. It half-scrambles and half-limps away from her, aiming that battering ram of a head at her in a crushing blow, followed up by the folded frame of the wing on that side. It's not actually fast enough to hit her after she moves, swinging wide.

  It doesn't hesitate as Duncan prises its jaws open, and it attempts to close down on it, roaring again when its mouth is singed for its trouble.

  Zelda's focus is the first to break as the temperature drops. Her head swivels around to Rydia, eyes wide, and knowing what's about to happen doesn't make it any less of a shock to bear when it does.

  Shards of ice carve the dragon like so many knives. It shrieks even as it dies, stumbling forward a few paces, and finally collapsing to the ground in a spreading pool of its own black, ichorous blood.

  And then

    with a puff of black flame, the remains simply vanish, bursting into a cloud of strangely geometric, twitching shapes that flit skyward and vanish.

  The town, by now, is empty of survivors; Lex's efforts have helped clear the last of them. And apparently running is the wise thing to do, because even mighty Shiva can't stop all of the fire. Zelda turns her horse and knees it into a gallop, vaulting cleanly over the collapsed remains of a house. She leans low as she passes near to Rydia, aiming to scoop the girl up onto the saddle -- but only if the Summoner lets her.

  "Run!" she ushers, of whoever hasn't started doing exactly that yet.

>> SUMMARY[Zelda] >> The dragon gets star magic'd by Peach, chopped at by Temulin, cutlass'd by Lex, swallowing a sword courtesy of Duncan, and being julienned by Shiva. Dragon dies. Zelda decides we better get this show on the road because the fire is catching up fast; let's go to a safe distance and then we can talk.

Temulin flinches at the summoning, holding back her instinctive response to charge at what is so obviously some kind of primal to her. It's cold, but she can deal with cold, and doesn't abandon Rydia. Even as the dragon falls, she stays near Rydia, intent on keeping her promise to protect Rydia. She doesn't see the need to step in when Zelda approaches, however, satisfied to merely stay close to the two if they leave together.

>> SUMMARY[Temulin Dotharl] >> Denying her instincts, and keeping her promise to Rydia.

    Peach stands stock still, eyes burning brightly - but then the light fades, and her regal bearing gives way to a tired girl who can barely stand. "Whoo that took a lot out of me. Anyone got a Power Star...? No...?" She isn't even sure if it DID anything. She'll need to do some experiments with Twilight corruption to see how effective her magic even is against it...

    Wait. Shiva. Rydia was here? But wasn't she afraid of fire...? Oh no. Peach has to go find her! She takes one step forward - then stumbles, and leans on her hammer for stability. Luckily for the exhausted princess, one of the final two remaining evacuation trucks pulls up right beside her, toads ushering her - and anyone else nearby - in before they speed off. The other truck, meanwhile, is still working on securing the last remaining civilians before it, too, speeds off in the direction of Lanayru.

>> SUMMARY[Peach] >> Shiva. Rydia! Oh no where is- oooh, woozy

Lex somersaults forward to avoid the monster's counterattack. She furrows her brow as she catches sight of what Duncan is doing. But then she whirls around at the sound of that shouting. "Wait, who's Zant --!?"

And then there's a lot of cold. Lex shakes her head; with the threat cleared out, she decides she can afford a few seconds of gawking. "That's ... wow," she says softly under her breath.

But there's nevertheless still a lot of fire. She looks around and books it back towards the bag she left to go rescue the people in the inn -- which, thankfully, isn't that far away. "Lex Brando, by the way!" she adds, turning around and heading right back towards Peach's truck. "I sorta, like, just kinda dropped into this suddenly because of that vine!" With the practice of someone who's had to get out of someplace in a hurry before, she gets the bag into the truck.

She takes a few deep breaths once she's settled down. "Man this is gonna be one heck of a story to tell when I get back."

>> SUMMARY[Lex Brando] >> Dodgeroll, gawking at Shiva, then grabbing her stuff and getting the heck out of dodge.

The sense of something magical isn't lost on Duncan -- both of his parents are mages, and he knows some magic himself. His is aspected to fire though... whether that makes it more or less easy for him to sense that something is coming, is unclear. But it's impossible to ignore when the icy woman appears. "That's..." He trails off. Does he know? Hard to say.

Shiva's nearness prompts a thin, icy layer of frost to form on Duncan's armor, and the flames around his sword sputter and die from the woman's icy wrath. He feels his body glowing colder and more sluggish; the armor only magnifies the bite of the cold around him as the metal pulls heat from the padding under it, thermal energy seeking to equalize, as thermal energy tends to do. He holds his place though -- he isn't sure this beast is down, and he's not going to retreat until he's sure.
 
He does however, back away when the black flame puffs up -- he wants no part of what is obviously bad juju. And he sighs in relief. But no, now's no time to relax. There's fire, and it's not going out, not even with Shiva's power. Forcing himself to move, he raises a hand to whistle for Nemesis. The white bird comes charging through the flames at his call, and he snags the saddle as she runs past, swinging into the seat. He'll wait until the rest have started moving, before bringing up the rear. Not just because he's wanting to make sure everyone else is out, but because his mount is probably among the slower of the group.

>> SUMMARY[Duncan Ritter] >> Duncan also gawks at Shiva, gets frozen a little. BWAH, COLD! But is able to back away from the bad juju, and retreats with the others.

    Rydia... Wobbles in her saddle. Remaining upright just long enough to watch the dragon's last moment, it becomes evident how much that taxed her.
    The girl is pale. She trembles from both the cold and the flood of adrenaline coursing through her body. But most of all. Her eyes grow heavy.
    "Unh..."
    Zelda swoops in just in time to scoop Rydia up as the child falls out of her saddle, utterly devoid of consciousness.

>> SUMMARY[Rydia] >> Good night.