Prologue
A woman clad in an elegant, vibrant blue dress sat on a fallen tree in a forest. She held a harp in her hands, strumming out graceful chords as she sang along with her song. As she sang, various animals from the forest gathered around her to listen to her music, put in a trance-like state. She continued singing like this, not paying any mind to the time or weather. Suddenly, a red-haired boy wearing strange, deep blue robes burst out of the trees, scattering the animals.
"N-Nayru!" the boy shouted.
The woman looked up and said to the boy in a calm voice, "Yes, Ralph? What's wrong?"
"It's the Maku Tree! She has fallen ill!" Ralph shouted, gasping for breath between words.
"Oh? Well, let's just go see, then."
"Okay, but hurry!" Just as quick as the boy ran to Nayru, he ran back to the Maku Tree. Nayru ran behind him as fast as her dress would allow it.
After about ten minutes or so, the two arrived at the sacred spring the Maku Tree grew in, her massive canopy towering miles above them. Usually, the Maku Tree was very lively and colourful, for a tree. But today, her bark looked drained and grey, and her usually-smiling face was set in a painful grimace.
"What... What has happened?" Nayru asked.
"I... I don't feel well. My energy, it is being sapped from me. I feel myself growing weaker with every passing moment," the tree responded.
"My... Do you know what has caused this?"
"No, I do not..." Suddenly, Nayru felt a strange, dark force tugging at the back of her mind. "Hmm..." Nayru closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. "I believe we have found our problem... There appears to be a rift in time, feeding out dark powers..."
"Rift in time?" Ralph questioned.
"Yes. Time itself has been distorted here, allowing a great evil to seep into this spring. Should I attempt to seal it?"
"Uhh... Sounds dangerous... Are you sure you won't get hurt?" Ralph asked, clearly worried.
"Of course not! Now... To start..." Nayru pulled out her harp and began playing a song. The air around her began to distort, and Nayru found herself staring into a foreign world, as if looking in a mirror. This is it, she thought. She continued playing, causing the air to distort more, to the point where Ralph and the Maku Tree could see the rift as well.
"So that's it?" Ralph asked. Nayru didn't asnwer. She just continued playing and mending the rift. Suddenly, a dark figure passed by the rift. It looked straight down at Nayru, and she could hear a chuckle from the other side. The laugh seemed to pierce right through her skin into her soul, frightening her immensely. She immediately stopped playing and staggered backwards. "What... What is this?" Suddenly, a claw extended from the rift she opened. She slowly backed up and turned to run when the claw shot out and grabbed her by the arm, causing her to slip on the shallow water below. The claw began rapidly dragging her into the dark rift. "Ralph!" Nayru shouted.
"Nayru!" Ralph jumped at her, grabbing her by the leg. Another claw knocked him off, and he stumbled back. As he struggled to his feet, he watched the dreadful scene of Nayru being dragged into the rift, her feet dissapearing within. In a last-ditch attempt, Ralph lunged at the rift and followed Nayru through, leaving nothing behind but his cap. In just seconds, the rift clamped shut. Nayru and Ralph had dissapeared into a foreign world, leaving the dying guardian of Labrynna to suffer. The Maku Tree died, and Labrynna fell to evil. . .