003 ⚘ journal entry

[skyglider]

Sender: Link
To: Everyone
Subject: Hello.

[The Story Eater has been vanquished and most of the elements it summoned have disappeared. But caches of Malice that appeared during the event have stubbornly remained around Reverein. Link isn't much of a journal post person, but he decides to say something anyway.

First, an imprint of a picture appears, along with an arrow pointing directly at it and a big, bold X.]

Don't touch the purple stuff.

[... That's it, that's the post.]

Comments

[skyglider]

Still working on that. Dreamotion may be a strong contender.

[skyglider]

[Link is there; he's been trying to use the shield generated by Daruk's Protection to scoop up the Malice and move it elsewhere. So far, he's able to create a barrier, but not move it. He frowns thoughtfully at the stuff, and then lifts his eyebrows in surprise as Nico appears from the shadows, giving a quick nod in greeting.]

[refantasma]

Hey.

[Nico yawns and walks over to Link and frowns at the malice.]

Nasty.

[He puffs out his cheeks and cracks his knuckles.] Been a while since I've done this. Hazel's better at earth magic, so I've mostly been leaving it to her while I focus on death magic. But...

[He kneels and puts his hands on the ground, closing his eyes to focus, he mutters to himself, and...

A crack opens in the earth, and black stone, obsidian, shoves itself out of it; it's nowhere near as high as he wanted it. It's barely a foot tall but ten feet long.

He falls back on his butt with a gasp.]

Crap.

[bakudan_bambino]

You're not a very serious person, are you?

[daemonise]

I don't think it'll get destroyed. More like consumed. Taken into oneself instead. But if the person's got an affinity for it, then it shouldn't be an issue.

[whirlwindthrust]

Yes. If magic and elemental skill won't work, then use what we have.

[mwehehe]

D'you think it'd be possible to see what makes it work if it can be gathered without touching it? I don't really wanna be a monster, but I wanna know what makes it work, you know?

[skyglider]

[Earth magic, death magic...for someone who has no magic of his own, it all sounds fascinating -- and indeed it proves to be so, when the long obsidian wall pushes up from the ground. Link finds himself stepping back, although it's short enough that that proves unnecessary. After a moment, he approaches the wall, crouches to put a hand on it. It's mere inches from the Malice, which creeps forward at a glacial pace, like some sort of twisted, slow-moving lava.]

This is really something.

[His tone is mild, but certainly impressed. It might not have been what Nico was going for, but it'll certainly be tall and wide enough to hold the Malice...or at least, that's the hope.]

[flamberge]

But not guaranteed to succeed, so best to avoid rather than confront.

[skyglider]

Exactly right.

[lethechained]

[ Calamity Ganon. Isn't that...?

There's a strange sort of guilt that tightens in her chest when Naminé thinks on how... preoccupied she was during the Story Eater's attack. Certainly, she'd had no say in the matter, but it still sits poorly with her to imagine Link left to fight what she suspects to be such a terrifying figure from his own past. He's certainly had trouble enough with his dreams about the past for her to grasp some idea of how much the experience might have weighed on him, or on any person with such a history with the creature.

Many questions come to mind, but she doesn't dare ask them. He thanks her, and she feels unworthy - so it's purely out of politeness that she writes back, in a distracted hand, ]

Of course.
It's only the truth.

[ And yet there might be a certain hypocrisy on how her fingers curl regretfully around her pen as she considers this now-past threat. How big, how awful is - was? - this Calamity? What did it look like? Could she have done anything to help? Maybe not in her current state, but with the power of all that negative energy flowing through her, with Morgan le Fay's assistance? If only she'd kept better control, instead of--

Naminé huffs a frustrated sigh when she realizes how long she's paused. ]

Did you fight with it?
Calamity Ganon, I mean.

[retrieves]

i don't really go around touching shady things. not really great from my experience.

any way we can get rid of it?

[refantasma]

It's less than I'm used to doing. I was trying for taller and longer.

[He pulled up his legs, sitting cross legged as he scowls at the wall.]

I'm so out of practice when it comes to earth magic. And I'm still recovering from the last war. I thought I'd be more recovered by now.

[skyglider]

Probably for the best. [And not a skill everyone learns. Him included.]

Not sure yet. I've been trying dreamotion, but it hasn't gotten rid of it entirely.

[skyglider]

It's a start.

[And anyway, it's more than Link can do, generally speaking. It's probably about all they need, at least, and Link starts watching the Malice as it approaches the low wall...but pauses at Nico's mention of a war -- or rather, wars in the plural.]

Trouble at home?

[flamberge]

Got it.

From the sound of it, you've deal with this before.

[fun_thementalist]

"calamity" ganon is a name bundled with its own warning label, great job with that there, lets you know to run super fast in the other direction

*fantastic*

okay so - how does someone get rid of the purple stuff?

[oathkeeper]

oh, yeah i shoulda guessed that one

maybe if you dreamed about peanut butter

[Get it? Counteract the jelly with peanut butter? Ehhh???]

(shoot, thought I responded to this already; probably won't be able to get back to this for a bit--)

[a_sweet_little_peach]

[Did he get the wrong idea, or is Link being oblique?]

Well, those are all easy enough to make; I'll more than likely have a nice stew whenever I get around to hosting this party of mine, and there's lots you can do with rice. It holds onto flavors really well.

[refantasma]

Not any more. For the moment anyways.

[He tries not to yawn, fails.]

There'll probably be a battle next summer, too. Pretty much there's one every summer since I came out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.

[abyssbound]

Like I said, I've eaten worse, but I still can't say I recommend it. If your stomach isn't made of iron you probably shouldn't try.

[retrieves]

you have any light magic on you? maybe that'll work.

[skyglider]

Every summer... [Goddess, but that does sound exhausting. Link has spent no small share of time preparing to face his destiny, shoring up defenses for the war to come against Calamity Ganon...but starting that process anew every year?]

That sounds tiring.

[skyglider]

[It's only the truth. He lets that thread of the conversation go, but he cannot help but wonder how true it is...and by extension, how much his doubt is based on putting too much responsibility on his own shoulders. It feels like it should be his responsibility alone, but so, too, did Princess Zelda hoist blame and responsibility onto her own shoulders. In the end, they have been stronger together...an observation he has noted often in Reverein, as well.

Link pauses at the question. There, too, he faced things with friends at his side. Not always, perhaps --the dreams began to blur together-- but enough to feel the warmth of friendship.]

I did.
I thought I had defeated it, but if the Malice still remains, perhaps a fragment of the creature does as well.

[It's not a thought he particularly likes, but he cannot discount the possibility.]

[refantasma]

Yeah, it is.

[He sighed and stood, a bit wobbly on his feet.]

Three summers, three battles. This last one nearly killed me.