World Tree MUSH

  At the foot of the Death Mountain range the terrain gives way from withered plains to charred, rocky badlands. What few trees exist are withered and dying. Heat shimmers in waves off the parched earth. Fine dust sifts underfoot with every footfall. It's just as hot here as the plains, and drought strangles the Kingdom of Hyrule. Temperatures are soaring across the kingdom. Even distant and cold Peak Province is uncomfortably warm.

  A twisting track ascends the foothills. Before it reaches any settlements, it forks west to an alcove in the hills. Broken white marble flagstones lead to a broad basin filled with mineral-scented water. High above, a thin ribbon of a waterfall spills from a natural slot in the stone. A single row of columns flank the path and continue into the basin. Many are damaged and worn, and the cross-sections of a broken column lies submerged on shattered tiles of marble. Towering over the far end of the pool is a rounded stone statue of the Goddess Hylia. Its smooth features are so worn that her benevolent, downcast stare is almost erased; chunks of the torso and the rockslide that broke it lie submerged and jumbled in the basin.

  It's here the caravan stopped. Animals and wagons wait to the side, lounging in the shade. The sun hasn't set, but it's sunk low enough to shade the canyon. Despite the air of age and neglect, there is an air of peace about this open-air temple.

  Princess Zelda stands alone in the basin, submerged to her waist, but she does not wear her black robe, today. Instead, she wears a sleeveless white dress lavishly embroidered, white thread on white, in symbols of Hyrule and its goddesses. She wears no hood, hair plaited simply and elegantly with white ribbon; her hands and feet are bare. Her gaze is lifted to the broken statue of Hylia, eyes half-closed. Neither arrivals nor departures disrupt her focus.

  The water must be hot. Her face is flushed, and she has the look of someone consciously ignoring their own discomfort. Her lips are moving, but her quiet words are stolen by the spill of water from above. The language is unclear. While Hylian, it's a dialect so ancient it's long since passed out of living memory and into the legends of this realm.

  ...Was her hair always that close to blonde, or her eyes such a dark blue...?

    Peach is very aware that this is a religious ceremony, so even though she's sitting nearby on a deck chair, she's doing her best to remain quiet and let Sheik do her thing.

    It's curious. Is Sheik some sort of priestess or religious figure? Or is she just... very religious?

    Peach has brought a miniature freezer with her. Its power source appears to just be a box that's connected to it, and it's barely making a sound at all. Peach herself is sucking on a popsicle, because WOW it is just way too hot today.

    Slipping out of shadows, adjusting the weight of his backpack on his shoulder, and then tapping the base of his polearm in the dirt like a walking stick, a deminuative figure stops at the head of the track looking down into the alcove; upon the caravan of animals, the pool of water, the obvious rite beinf performed below, and the woman - preistess? - performing said rite. A shaggy head of curls tilts to the right quizzically, then, with a swish of tail-tip behind him, the figure slowly descends into the alcove, past the marble columbs, and toward the water. He is perhaps even a comical sight as he comes closer; a strange creature with a pair of aviators on, dressed like one would see teenagers in a human world dress, save that his odd feet are bare and seem unbothered by the heat of the stone and dirt beneath them. 

    Young Mr. Gåstol pauses at the very edge of the pool; he shifts a little uncomfortably on his feet, from one to the other, like he's swaying to the tune of some strange inaudible beat. Really what he's doing is trying to gauge the feel of the hum that resonates in his teeth here; this is obviously a place of worship, but it doesn't feel... Overly used? It could be risky to stay. But it also doesn't feel like he can be driven out *that* forcibly. At least. Not just yet. 

    Taavit thus sucks on his teeth a moment, and considers Zelda's appearance. Thus, he moves to set his backpack down, and begins to rifle through it. He has not yet noticed Peach, simply because she is not making a focal point of herself; not like the other Princess worshipping in the water.

    Of course, /someone/ here knows what is up. A smallish youth has joined up with the group at some time recently, though staying to the sides. Riding a magnificent stag(without a saddle), and armed with a bow and a sword, they've been pretty quiet.

    But now it's time for something else. The stag is hitched nearby, and while Hawk, as the youth is called, lingers nearby, most of their attention is in staring at the eroded statue with a frown of quiet contemplation. Distracted enough that any attempt to talk would make them startle back into awareness.

Temulin is not a very religious person. Sure, she works for an entity that she thinks of a goddess, but she hardly does so out of a deep conviction. Their goals merely align. As such, while she's come to observe this ceremony out of respect for the people of this world, she's not /exactly/ feeling at ease, so she sits in the back and observes, at least for now.

    The drought has not been kind to Hyrule. The realm burns under the withering heat, and the people suffer, losing house, home, and possession to the fires. It is a rough time for the realm, and the caravan that's stopped here has seen much of the decimation. It is a sad sight, to say the least...
    Nevertheless, Zelda- or Sheik as she is known to many, is not alone by the pool. Rydia of Mist stands at the water's edge on towel duty, holding several dry linens for when the priestess-princess is done with the ceremony. But the tiny Summoner child is there for another reason as well, one that makes itself very apparent when one certain Taavit Gåstol draws too near the water's edge.
    "Back off."
    It's not normal for an eight year old to be so paranoid, but such is the case for Rydia, the glint of steel in her hand flashing as she draws the dagger at her waist, staring dead intently at the troll-- quite possibly the first person she's met in a long, long, time that stands roughtly at her own height. And here she is pulling a dagger on him.
    That other reason Rydia is by the water?
    Bodyguard duty.

  The sky is gold, and shafts of sunlight still filter over the jagged and broken rocks high overhead. Motes of dust dance in the light, like liquid gold. It might be pretty if not for how hot it is even in the shade. Not a cloud mars the sweep of pale and hazy sky.

  That quiet litany of ancient Hylian continues on, with changing inflection. She looks young, but Zelda's voice carries a confidence and a power of presence belying her twenty-some years. It sounds like an entreaty, but there is pride in the voice, though not arrogance. It's the voice of someone making their case, and expecting to have that appeal granted by its merits. She stands still for most of it,but occasionally she lifts her hands to the sky in appeal, palms up, wrists bared; or makes strange, ritual gestures that seem to flow like water.

  Maybe she has some kind of sixth sense about proximity, though, because the second Taavit gets too close to the pool, she breaks off and turns on her heel. Chestnut hair flies over one shoulder; ripples spread from her over the water. Her eyes take a long few seconds to come into focus, and even in the half-light of the shade, her hair seems just a little too blonde and her eyes a little too dark.

  It's just in time to spot Rydia suddenly stepping up and brandishing a knife at the troll traveller.

  She stares for a second or two, uncomprehending, before heaving a quiet sigh and shaking her head. Before she slips back into speaking in bizarre languages, though, she turns, eyeing Hawk sharply for a moment. That Hawk is staring at the statue does not escape Zelda.

  Neither does its significance.

  Zelda stares for a moment longer at Hawk, brow furrowing a little in evident thought, before shaking her head and returning to her verse, or whatever it is. Her voice is quiet but fervent, and the more she goes on, the more emotional her voice sounds -- quiet but intense, as though she were laying out every last thing causing Hyrule's suffering right now; as though it were an angry rebuke directed at the Golden Goddesses themselves.

  ...Over by the wagons, her enormous black horse snorts and picks at rocks with a massive flat hoof. He might shoot nasty looks at Hawk's stag, or Denhes, if he's close by; but he doesn't try to start anything.

  For now.

    Peach sees a potential altercation between Rydia and this rather short newcomer. She opens the portable freezer, pulling out a wrapped popsicle, before hopping to her feet and stepping over, all friendly smiles. She is, as a note, not wearing a dress - she's wearing a sarong bikini. It is far too hot to just stand around in a dress, after all.

    "I think it's best to do what the little lady says," she says to Taavit, conversationally, while trying to usher Rydia and the troll apart and herd Taavit towards her deck chair. "Popsicle?" she offers, holding out the still-wrapped frozen treat.

    The stare breaks when it looks like there's going to be trouble. Hawk pulls eyes away from the statue, but this isn't the Hyrule that Hawk is native to. This isn't a ceremony that needs done for themselves, right now. The distraction is something else, and after that rising trouble, the green-clad youth is suddenly hopping down to the ground, moving toward Rydia and the... creature? None of the others are familiar to the stag-rider, either.

    "I don't think we should soil this place with violence, especially when we aren't enemies," comes the quiet, soft voice of the teenage adventurer. Besides, it's a good chance to assess all the others, though Peach's choice of outfit is a bit odd in their mind. Logically, it makes sense. "I'm from another version of Hyrule, but I'd still like this one respected."

    One ear flicking slightly, tail curling on the ground behind him, Taavit winces at the order to back off from Rydia- but doesn't stop looking through his backpack, in fact even shifting to crouch next to it, though he now moves to stand his polearm up at his side, leaned against his shoulder. Just a subtle defiant act! "She is burning up," He counters, a strange accent to his voice. It soon becomes obvious English (and perhaps even Common!) is not his first language by the slow, careful drawl: "When she is done, she will need cold water. Please let me give her a water skin?" His tail-tuft does a lazy, cat-like side-to-side swish.

    ZELDA turning to face him draws a firmer reaction from the youth- he pauses in his search, and to Rydia, close enough to see his eyes behind his aviator sun glasses, she would see the flinch that comes. Zelda has more power here over the Troll; she is the one speaking the Old Words. Words of entreaty to a diety can have many different phrasings and meanings but the *intent* is more often than not all the same, and it is also the reverence behind them that packs power. He sucks on his teeth again; is about to counter once more when Peach approaches. He jumps to his feet in surprise at first, eyes wide, and tail curling slightly inward his legs, before he turns, allowing himself to be herded away from Rydia based on, well, having been caught unawares.

    "I only wish to help," he says, as he turns to get a better look at- uh. Well. A tall lady, offering him a treat. He accepts the popcicle after hefting his backpack onto his shoulder again, and then peers at it like it's absolutely the most foreign thing he's ever seen for a moment, before taking a tentative lick; and deciding, yes, this is acceptable. He ends up standing next to the deck chair, staring out at Rydia and Zelda, his tail doing lazy sweeps in latet action. Idling Animation Activated! 

    "... She is very powerful." He says, to himself, then concurs with Hawk: "I do not wish to violence, no! But I am. Not from here! So do not know what is and is not dangerous."

Temulin watches the potential trouble but doesn't act on it. Zelda hasn't asked her to run security, much less paid her, and there's several competent people to handle it. Still, if things escalate, Denhes isn't far away, and her blade is with the bird. The whole ceremony has her a bit on edge, she feels uncomfortable with this kind of explicit beseeching of a greater power, makes her teeth itch.

Hearing there's someone from another Hyrule makes her curious, though, and she approaches for that reason. "Is that like how there's multiple earths or how there's multiple worlds that have horsebirds, dark knights and where the local currency is gil?" She asks casually before glancing to Zelda. "Asking for Courage, Wisdom and ... I'll call it compassion, huh?" She asks, casually.

    Everyone is burning up, Rydia included, judging from the sweat beading on the child's brow. But when Taavit is persuaded off in Peach's direction, Rydia finally heeds Hawks words.
    Zelda probably wouldn't like blood in her sacred pool, anyway.
    The dagger is put away and the green-haired girl clears her throat awkwardly, on realizing she probably overreacted.
    Probably. Maybe.
    But still! She's being the best little bodyguard she can be.
    "H-hmph."

    Well, Zelda is busy, and Temulin asks a good question. Hawk nods, turning to look at the mercenary with an uncertain fidget, for some reason. Though... the holy sword along Hawk's back may be a hint as to why the youth is on edge.

    "Something like that," Hawk answers. "We have similar creatures, but other details are different. I don't know if it's just a very similar place with the same gods and monsters, or one of us is further along in the timeline..." The statue is given a glance again. "If it's the latter, this would be my world's past, but some things don't match up well... even if a portion of our history has been lost, I'm pretty sure I'd have learned about some of this happening."

  Looks like nobody's actually going to come to blows, which seems to drain some of the princess' shoulders. It wouldn't do to sully something as precious as a sacred spring. No doubt that really would anger the goddesses, and right now, Zelda would presume they're angry enough.

  Her eyes flick forward. She ignores the potential altercation. It's under control, and she hopefully won't need to be begging the goddess' forgiveness for desecrating a sacred spring.

  ...There is a subtle air of irritation about her, though. It's hot, it's uncomfortable, Hyrule is tearing itself to shreds while her prayers fall on deaf ears, and--

  --and she is being interrupted. Right over the end of her prayer.

  Without skipping a beat, Zelda folds her hands over heart, inclining forward in a deep and respectful bow. The intent is clear; an apology for the offworlders interrupting sacred ritual.

  Her utterances right afterward are along that vein, too, and her voice sounds just a shade irritated. She finishes out with another bow, an elabourate gesture that has her bent forward over the water, arms extended, fingertips barely brushing the steaming mineral water, the ends of her hair darkening with spring water.

  Turning, she sloshes over to Rydia, accepting a towel from the girl and briskly towelling off. Donning a pair of sandals, she stalks wordlessly over to where the wagons are, to climb into the back and put proper clothing on. It doesn't take her long to come back in a plain peasant-style dress, gathering wet hair over a shoulder and wringing it out as she goes.

  "In the future, I would appreciate it if you spared any interruptions until I am finished. I do not bring you here to disrespect my goddesses." A blue eye is cocked toward Temulin. It's dark. Darker than it should be, like an autumn sky. Her hair seems a little too light, too, wet though it is where it was dipped; closer to blonde than chestnut.

  The aura of supernatural power about her is not overpowering, but it may be significantly uncomfortable to the likes of Temulin and Taavit. Zelda tilts her head slightly, regarding Hawk. She'd heard what was said. Her gaze keeps flicking to the holy sword at Hawk's back. "Or if we are divergent timelines. That too is a possibility... there are elements I recognise, too, from Master Hawk's world. Elements that bear far too much similarity to dismiss as mere coincidence."

  "I do not doubt that you would have heard of the Twilight Realm, at the very least, if your world's royal archives were not lost." She turns briefly to look downhill; further distant, Hyrule Castle is visible, broken and in defeat. A pall of smoke hangs about it. "Unfortunately, ours most likely did not survive." She's been itching to get back to the castle and see what might be salvageable, after they've all kicked Zant to the curb, but... not yet.

  Rydia is given a glance, and a slightly sardonic half-smile. It's the 'don't get blood in my sacred spring, but you did good, kid' look.

  "Summertide is concluded. The sun is at its full, and another season passes." Zelda pauses, wringing out her hair again. "...The weather is usually much more agreeable than this."

    "You'll have to forgive Rydia," Peach comments idly to Taavit. "She's... well okay honestly she's suffering from a pretty severe case of post traumatic stress disorder and could really do with some therapy." She then puts her popsicle in her mouth and rummages inside her freezer to pull out a bottle of water. It's not frozen - it hasn't been in there long enough - but it is very, very cold.

    Wordlessly, she approaches Zelda to offer her the bottle, while sucking on her popsicle. Rydia is given a hair ruffle as she passes.

    Zelda's words cause another flinch; yeah, okay, Taavit is not liking the idea of angering someone who's causing that hum in his teeth to feel opressive. Yeah, especially as she gets closer to him (the wagons anyway!) and he can just sort of.. feel it. She must be a very powerful Priestess, who conveys directly to dieties. He sucks on his teeth, his tail does a frantic side to side switch like a cat contemplating its next move. Then, taking a long draw from the popcicle in his mouth, he closes his eyes, and coughs politely into a closed fist.

    "I apologise, I did not mean to interrupt. I wished to be respectful. Polite." He offers to Zelda; though he looks from Peach to Rydia and away; thoughtful! Hm! "Trauma is something humans feel," he says to himself, tail swishing. Then looks back to the two princesses, and nods: good, Peach has Zelda covered; he was genuinely worried about her from the appearance of distress! .. But with all rites aside, and now he is among new people, he sucks his popcicle again then approaches, keeping a respectful distance, and offers an outstretched hand- but carefully! Rydia is a possible threat!

    "I am Taavit," he says, "I am from the Troldwald, but I reassure! I am not Mountain or Bridge Troll."

    A cocky grin, "I am just best Underhill Troll there is. Great at music. And good with food!" He seems overly proud of this statement! ... and also seems to fail to realize it may not do much use for anyone around.

    "This Hyrule is much different than mine in some ways, but so similar in others," Hawk agrees. "We've spoken about it before, and while I'm not sure what's happened, I do know that they are close enough that I might be able to help. Especially right now, when my own world's problems are in some kind of lull." That makes Hawk frown though. "I suspect that's a calm before a storm, but if I can gather allies to help me for when the storm breaks..."

    Head shaking, Hawk dismisses the idea for now. The present is more important. "An... Underhill troll, and a very enthusiastic bodyguard." Not going to mention Rydia's age right now. It's pretty obvious that Temulin and Peach are getting an eye as well, considering how they might help. "The sword upon my back is to fight evil. I don't think it matters that the evil is this Hyrule's rather than mine."

"My apologies, I did not mean any disrespect." Temulin answers with an incline of her head towards Zelda, "I was listening to your... prayer?" She sounds uncertain, "And was curious, that's all. Hydaelyn told me to hear, feel and think. So I'm doing that." A pause, "Not very good at the thinking part, but I'm trying." She shrugs, slightly. The way she says Hydaelyn, she clearly considers that name to be the name of a divine being.

She gets somewhat uneasy when Hawk mentions a sword made to fight evil, and nods. "Just to be clear on something, I know in some worlds Darkness and Evil are basically the same thing, but not in mine. My darkness is a blade to cleave tyrants, not a boot with which to oppress." She shrugs, "You should be worried when I abandon the darkness, there's nothing good to come when I do."

The dark knight looks towards Taavit and extends a hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Taavit. I'm Temulin of the Dotharl tribe." She looks even less human than the troll, but doesn't seem like she feels the need to explain what she is.

    No girl Rydia's age should be as paranoid as she is.
    But Rydia of Mist brooks no possible threat to her closest ally, Sheik, who is totally not the princess of Hyrule. But with the ceremony over and Zelda provided with a towel, Rydia visibly relaxes by degrees, nodding slightly to the wordless look from the princess before her attention shifts. To Taavit as the uderhill troll approaches and holds out a hand. There's a beat of hesitation, but at least the girl doesn't draw steel this time as she takes the hand.
    "Rydia." She gives her own name before detaching, amid getting ruffled en passant by Peach.
    Zelda is a big girl and can take care of herself. "Excuse me, I need to tend to to the chocobos and horses."

  Commentary on Rydia's mental state are more or less ignored. The girl may be traumatised but she's more than proven her worth to the Hyrulean cause. Besides; Rydia knows Zelda is just as significantly damaged as she is, in other ways. Each makes up for the other's brokenness.

  Besides, Hyrule isn't exactly the kind of place where things like therapy exist. It has more immediate problems to deal with, what with the kingdom burning, invaded by Twilight, overrun by monsters, and its government in total collapse for over a year.

  Priorities.

  "Prayer. Appeal. Frustrated railing at the goddess." The princess lifts narrow shoulders and lets them fall in a shrug. "Call it what you like. A ceremony is observed at Summertide and Wintertide to beseech the goddesses for Their continued protection. This Summertide, I beseech Them for Their mercy." She glances sideways, to regard the smoke that hangs over the distant plains; the broken castle. "Clearly They are wroth." Despite her matter-of-fact observation, there's a thread of worry in the princess' tone; a little unease in the lines of her shoulders and the slightly drawn look to her expression.

  She does take the water bottle with a grateful dip of the head, before eyeing it blankly. Let's see, Yumi's brought her things like this. How did that work; clutch the cap just so and twist--

  Ahh, delicious. A quarter of the bottle is gone before Zelda straightens. Hawk's mention of the sword earns a look. Zelda regards Hawk solemnly for several moments, before eyeing the scabbard over the youth's shoulders. The sword in particular is given a long, hard look. It would solve so many problems, wouldn't it...?

  Zelda frowns, thoughtfully, staring directly at the youth. The weight of her stare is almost a tangible thing; the face of a young woman no older than her mid-twenties, and the eyes of something far more ancient, more wise. She regards Hawk thus for several long seconds, that frown deepening.

  "I would speak later, on that, if you do not mind. But now is not the time." It's too hot, she's too exhausted. And it's too hot. Sleeping for a week before she talks to anybody or does anything else sounds really appealing.

  She looks over, watching as Rydia leaves, but it's Temulin her attention returns to.

  "It is a different story, here." It's okay, Temulin makes Zelda's teeth itch and her temper twitch, so they're even. "Darkness exists in counter to the light. Such creatures and powers have been a problem as long as Hyrule has existed; as long as the Power of Gold was left behind by the goddesses in the Sacred Land."

  Introductions. Meetings. Zelda bites her lower lip and considers. While someone from this kingdom would know that her leading such ceremonies and interceding with the goddesses so directly would mark her as the princess, the priestess, these people have no way to know that.

  "I am Sheik. I was a handmaiden of the royal family, before..." She gestures with both hands at the broken castle in the distance. Before a thing happened. Hawk and Rydia know better, though; this is no servant of the royal family, but what's left of the royal family. "In any case, I must rest. We will continue our ascent at first light... Death Mountain is not terribly far distant. Two days' climb, perhaps. Three, if things do not go our way." Another long drink of water, and she tightens the cord serving as her belt, reaching up to gather her hair up off her neck for a second or two.

  The others are given a long look before she offers a faint half-smile, turning to pad after Rydia towards the wagon. "I will take my leave, now, I think. Thank you all for coming. Stay as long as you please."

  With that, provided no one else tries to stop her, she'll turn and follow after Rydia toward the wagon.

    Peach mutters something under her breath as Zelda totally ignores her mention of Rydia's mental state. She's going to need to sit down and have a long chat with this Sheik...

    "Just a handmaiden? Hm. I wouldn't have thought a Sage would have such a position, but I must admit I haven't gotten a lot of time to know anyone higher up than village cheiftains since I've been visiting this country." How does she know what a Sage is? Well... she's been talking with a lot of the peasantry during her relief efforts. She knows a thing or two about the Hylian religion.

"Darkness is opposite light in my world too." Temulin agrees, "Much like how hot is opposite cold, or dry is opposite wet." She shrugs, "I know it's different in this world and in many others, so I don't begrudge people for their assumptions or instincts, but I did figure it worth bringing up so..." She glances to Hawk, "This fine fellow knows not to draw the wrong conclusions."

The dark knight then shrugs, "Anyway, Sheik. I don't need you to like me, or even trust me. But Rydia trusts you, and I want to see her safe." There's a conviction in that voice, and for a brief moment; however faint and fragile it may be, those attuned to such things may well notice the Blessing of Light.

    Hawk nods slowly to Zelda, and then remembers. "Yes, we've spoken a bit before, but I suppose the others here don't know." The youth turns to Temulin and the others, "You can call me Hawk. My Hyrule is having its own crisis, and I've been working hard on trying to figure that out. 'Sheik' here helped with a local problem, and we've spoken now and then ever since."

    Hawk gives a small bow of the head to Zelda to bid her good night though. "I was going to scout out the local area one last time before sleep, from the ground." With Temulin here, the air is covered.

    Speaking of Temulin, Hawk smiles, "She's got a lot of fire, but she's still a tiny one isn't she? I understand." Peach and Taavit needed the introduction too, so it's good that's out of the way. So Hawk concentrates on what the Dark Knight says, because the Sage bit isn't about to be something to chatter about right now. "I've been around the World Tree enough to know that appearances can be deceiving. It's something I've had to learn in my own Hyrule too. I won't make assumptions." Though, curiously, Hawk is staying a conspicuous distance from Temulin anyway...

    "...Oh! How rude of me. Princess-Regent Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom, at your service, Sir Hawk." She does a little curtsey, which looks kinda weird in just a sarong. "I... am afraid I don't really know miss Dotharl very well, so I'm not sure I can really comment on her inner fire."

    With that said, Peach heads over to her deck chair to begin packing her things away. "I'm afraid I won't be following you the rest of the way up Death Mountain. Frankly... I'm supposed to be working right now, eheh~"