The Green Labyrinth

[Zelda]

Between the treeline-span, the pair stood on even footing; the soil upturned and went onwards, leading into some far off trail. All around, the shades of filtered green light fell upon them. Not in a gloom per say, rather a flicker of beamed, but breaking, rays that parted and split the layers of leaf and branch high above. No doubt still quite early in the day, despite the time when she departed the Nexus. There seemed to be some leeway in its passage within the Realms of the Omniverse.

The air, thick and humid would have made it hard to breathe on a hotter day. Thankfully, a breeze blew. All the trees bent and swayed, and along the path, thickets, shrubs and flowers all quivered in the brief galeings. Colours of many bright hues, decorated the barks of several tones, and the rises and fall, which marked the ends of the open fields, shivered; the blades of brown and green buckled at their tips.

"I'm no more mortal than you, I suspect. As a Prime, the Curse of Immortality flows in my blood." Muse answered. Although, she wondered if she had been a goddess. She could remember forgotten times in Hyrule's past now that she was linked to it directly. All those past lives told stories. And, once upon time, she had been the incarnation of the Goddess Hylia, who kept all the world in balance, before the dark times and before evil could reign over anything.

Beneath her veiled mask, she smiled. "You may call me Muse." To show equal respect in turn, she bowed her head, closing her eyes for a moment. When it rose, she continued: "There is nothing so fair about a minstrel that sends the dying to their rest, but, she didn't want to be alone; I couldn't leave."

Muse's gaze fell in a minor remembrance of what had passed upon her arrival. The Blight worried her, but it hardly seemed real here - in a place so vibrant and filled to the brim with life and shadows that lurked within lost forms, where civilization laid no roots among the glades. In fact, much of the Tangles were tied with vines and littered with growths of moss and plant - tendrils clinging to one another for support. They could be climbed. However, there would be no need.

In the distance yet more to be seen and heard: cries of unknown predators, and the cracklings of fires doused by pouring showers that tumble, mostly though, the flowing of interlaced waters that ran deep and shallow - wide and narrow. From beyond, there were shouts as well, in an foreign tongue not pleasant to the ears. Footfalls slamming into rock and earth, that tread on. Kilometers off and still the tremors quaked. A party of hundred strong perhaps, or maybe more. The Unknown Horde nowhere near, but presently one of the dangers that laid in wait.

"What of you though?" Muse spoke a final time. "Did Omni call upon you as well?" Her hand favored the hilt of her blade; a hint of reservation at meeting a strange person in an even stranger land. Grasping it tight, she stepped forward. "Either way, I hope we are well met." She lowered her head once more.

Her wings, I wonder where she is from? They're lovely.