World Tree MUSH

It's a day of perfect weather in Zora's Domain, and a cooling breeze sighs through carved stone and over the rapids. The nights are starting to hint at fall, but the days are still the languid height of summer. This high above the valley floor, it's much cooler; the weather most days is ideal, cooled by the mists.

Today it's warm enough to wear light clothing. It also sees Zelda spending most of the afternoon going from one place to another, speaking with various groups of Zora. A group of ambassadors in the morning, a group of shipwrights next; then back to Prince Ralis and his advisors, followed by a group of royal guardsmen. No doubt she's sounding them out, gathering data to formulate plans.

Between groups, the princess is sitting on the stone ledge outside of the quarters she's been given, dipping her bare feet into the flow that carves its way down the shallow river avenue. It's cold but not uncomfortably so; fresh, and throws off enough mist to soak its way partway up the hem of her simple dress. The mist is soothing; cool enough to relieve but not enough to chill.

She's staring a little blankly out toward the downhill side, eyes lingering on the broken shadow of Hyrule Castle. There is a cold detachment in her eyes that suggests she's looking at it, but not actually seeing it.

    As usual, Lex and Shard have been in and out of the Blossom several times; however, something seems to have changed in the past week, even before they discovered the state of the spirit Lanayru.

    Now, Lex's familiar cybernetic footfall becomes audible; her robotic limbs are flesh-tone at the moment, and Lightshard 18 is on her back. She nods in greeting to any guards as she passes by, and pauses as she nears Zelda. "Hey," she says gently, her scratchy and androgynous voice cutting through the silence. She clears her throat, and hesitates. "You doing okay? I mean ..." She fumbles with her words. "All things considered, and stuff?"

Summer-blue eyes are hooded, less than half open as the princess lifts her face to the sun. It's a rare moment of downtime in some of the best weather in Hyrule. Damn straight she's going to take advantage of that.

Her eyes slide open the second she picks up the sound of footsteps over the roar of the waterfalls, and she twists to regard Lex's approach. There are several guards in their silvery scale armour, but they're professional enough to know not to be ubiquitous. They step aside to let Lex pass.

At the same time, Zelda rises up to her feet, turning to face her visitor. "Well enough, for the moment. My abiliy to plan is somewhat limited; I cannot command any Hyrulean forces. The Twilight nullifies their contribution to a battle the moment they set foot on it." She holds up her right hand, baring the back of it, where the Triforce of Wisdom glows pale against her skin. "The Triforce of Wisdom is the only thing that spares me its effects."

"I will continue to pray for answers, and in the meantime, it is a chance for rest. It has been a long, hard summer."

    Lex nods thoughtfully; she wasn't expecting a miraculous improvement to Hyrule's overall state in less than a week, but she does seem relieved that Zelda is doing as well as she is. "I hear you there," she says to the comment on the chance to rest. "Of course, I've still been running around the World Tree doing stuff. But, uh, yeah."

    "There is no rest for the wicked," says Lightshard 18. "Nor, indeed, for the good. I haven't been able to parse the origins of that expression. -- Ah, that is, I am aware of the original source, I merely can't see how it evolved into its more common usage."

    Lex shrugs vaguely at that. "So, um." She nods towards Zelda's quarters. "Is this a good time to, uh, to look at my significant-pause 'progress' and stuff, kind of thing?" She breaks into a grin as she says this, and she can't quite control it.

"I would be abroad, myself, but the Zora need guidance. Prince Ralis is willing, but inexperienced. Zora's Domain needs me, a least for a short time, as we help restore stability to the region..." Zelda's mouth twists, wry. "And I have time to think of a plan."

The Hylian's eyes dart down one side of the river, and then scan towards the other shore. Doesn't seem like anybody needs her, right this minute.

Zelda turns toward the mouth of the cavern-room, beckoning with one hand. "As good a time as any. Come. Not out here; I do not want you or I risking injury on slippery footing."

    Lex grimaces faintly, and nods. "He seems like a good kid," she says. "Really awful, everything that's happened, especially being as young as he is and having all that thrust on him." She shrugs. "But, like, that's stating the obvious again, and stuff."

    She nods as Zelda gestures, moving to follow her. "All righty," she says. "Pretty much what I'd hoped for, and all that. But, I mean, I'll say right away that things have been a total improvement over before, even if my arm and leg are still draining me and stuff."

    "Agreed," says Shard. "I will say that my initial assessment is that the curse is in precisely the condition you left it, Your Highness -- I have not detected any complications since then."

"He is still descended of royal blood, and we of royal blood must be prepared to accept such situations within our lifetime." Zelda's tone is cool and even. She's had to accept a similar situation, herself, so her sympathy for Ralis is not entirely artificial. "He will be fine. So will Zora's Domain. It has survived worse."

"In the meantime, if there are resources we need, we may acquire them here. And by helping them now, if there does come a role for them to play in Hyrule Castle, I would sooner have them available and ready for the potentiality."

"In the meantime..." No complications? "Yes? Good. I will be the judge of that, though; my eye is more objective." She gestures to a reed-woven chair. "Sit, please."

    Lex frowns, and nods slowly; she doesn't seem happy about Prince Ralis's situation; but then, there's little to be happy about when Zant is on the loose, and she knows it. She pulls Lightshard 18 off her back and sets the sword blade-down on the floor, jut like last time -- she doesn't want to have to expend the extra energy for however Lightshard 18 stays on her back. "Righto," she murmurs, settling down carefully.

    "Of course," says Lightshard 18. "You more than demonstrated your capabilities and objectivity the last time around."

    Lex nods in agreement, and with that, she relaxes, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself. It's visibly easier to relax this time around, too.

"Mm." It's a soft acknowledgement of Shard's avowal as Zelda splays her fingers, hands hovering somewhat away from Lex. White-gold light blooms from her palms. The sensation of warmth gently pushes against the senses; the bright, clean warmth of the sun. It seeks out concentrations of the curse, burning a litle more away each time it finds it; pinpricks of light and heat against the subconscious.

It's precise, detailed work. Zelda licks her lips halfway through. She doesn't notice the thin trickle of blood from the right corner of her mouth.

Her voice, when she speaks, is distant and muzzy. "This is looking much as I expected it to. It has spread, but only minutely, and I am confident that I can burn away more than its total spread. It is persistent, and I risk injury to you if I remove more at a time, but enough sessions like these, and I will be able to eradicate it."

"Try to remain still. I know it must feel strange." She's looking down at Lex with hooded eyes, completely unfocused; the light glowing from her palms might make her blank stare a little eerie. "This may hurt."

    Lex opens her eyes, winces at the sight of blood, and closes them again. "Right," she murmurs. "Well. That's better news than I expected!"

    She's able to remain still. It is, with Zelda's skill, relatively easy to handle this aspect of the curse. Lex grimaces when the pain comes, but this time, the grimace is all there is, and there's barely a twitch of her fingers.

    ... There is a very slight pushback from the curse. Said pushback is immediately completely absorbed by Zelda's purification.

"Good. That is good. You are very stable, Lex Brando." Zelda's observation is distracted and soft. "I cannot imagine this is not causing some degree of pain; this curse is well-woven, and whoever designed it had a very good idea of how these things can be made to work. Vicious, nasty things, designed and used by those without remorse."

She leans back a bit, pulling her hands away and flexing her fingers as though they were stiff. Squinting until the room comes back into focus, she reaches up, noticing the thin trickle of blood and wiping it away with a finger. Her eyes snap back to Lex, solemn. "That is all I can do safely, for the time being, but it is on the retreat." Zelda smiles, faintly; although it doesn't quite reach those summer-blue eyes. "Another session or two, and I believe it will be eradicated."

    Lex takes a few deep breaths, and nods. "Okay," she says. "Okay, wow." She shakes her head. "I mean, yes, ow, but, uh, yeah. Thank you!" She smiles faintly, but then frowns at the pronouncement about the makers. "Yeah, 'nasty, vicious, and without remorse', that's the Dawnfall all over," she says.

    "Indeed," says Shard. "I'm fairly certain that we've mentioned before, but my creators have claimed credit for the catastrophe which befell our world two and a half millenniums ago." She tilts slightly in Lex's hand. "But yes. You have my thanks as well."

    Lex nods, and stands up. "One more thing worth mentioning," she says. "I mean, I trust everyone here that you trust, and stuff, but, uh, I'm trying to keep it mostly quiet ..." She shakes her head. "Anyway, I'm ... a Shinewander now. A transforming hero like Yumi, and stuff. Shinewander Sky. We're, we're putting on a cover story that 'Shinewander Sky' is actually Lightshard 17, the sword that was captured before I got Shard, acting by herself. Just so I don't have, like, the Dawnfall coming after me where I live, and all that." She shrugs. "But, like, it's your business to know that, so, uh. Yeah."

"What I do, the breaking of curses, is an act of faith." Zelda shakes her head, mouth flickering in an almost-smile. "You are welcome."

She tilts her head at Lex's halting pronouncement, before lifting a shoulder in a shrug. "I do not have many to tell. In any case, unless you have failed to notice, I have had my hands quite full with matters in Hyrule. I do not have time to indulge in foolishness like gossip."

"I am a fugitive in my own kingdom. It is critically important to my plans that rumours of my death remain both strong and convincing." Zelda tilts her head the other way, eyeing Lex coolly. "I am the highest authority of law in the Kingdom of Hyrule, but that does not mean I do not know the value of occasionally bending these rules. You need not fear retribution from me." A shrug, faint. "So long as you do not attract much trouble here to Zora's Domain, or to Snowpeak, I do not mind."

    Lex smiles, and nods. "I know, I know," she says. "I'll ... I'll do my best not to bring any trouble to your doorstep."

    "I believe it is reasonably likely that I will be able to prevent it utterly," says Shard. "I should be able to detect any Dawnfall if they try to follow us, well in advance of our entering Hyrule."

    Lex raises her eyebrows. "Oh, nice," she says. She nods to Zelda. "That part is one less thing to worry about, then, kind of thing."

"And I will do my best not to attract the eyes of Zant to you," Zelda sighs. Everyone's got their problems, around here, huh? She flexes her fingers again as though her hands were stiff, eyeing Shard. "With sufficient advance warning, I may be able to form a strategy. They shall not have you on my lands. Not on my watch."

She stands, smoothing her skirt. "Was there anything else I can do for you, Miss Brando...?"

    Lex shakes her head. "That's all for now," she says. "Thanks again, and all that."

    "Yes indeed," says Shard. "We'll take our leave now, if there's nothing more you require from us, Your Highness."

Zelda says nothing for a long second, merely eyeing both Lex and Shard evenly. After a few seconds of scrutiny she only shakes her head. "No, not at this time. I will need to determined the extent of the curse's spread again, one more time, but not yet."

"Goddesses watch over you." The princess raises a hand, formally. "Author of Law lend light to your lamp."

    Lex looks nervous under Zelda's scrutiny, but that's nothing new. She nods simply, bows, and raises her hand in return. "Yeah," she says. "You take care, all right? I'll see you later."