With a resolute look in his eyes, the wandering fisherman Ray prepared to make his ascent to the peak of Mount Moon with a rucksack on his back. While some had find the climb itself exhilarating on an average day, today was supposed to be particular special for those who climbed the mountain. He had heard that on days like these, a something special would await him at the top, so Ray was especially determined. He took a few more paces towards the cavern leading to the summit climb, and read the nearby warning sign one last time. He then took a deep breath, swallowed, and made his way through the dark cavern. It wasn't exactly a long tunnel to go through, but it was enough to build anticipation for the eager mountain climber. After finally reaching the light at the end of the cavern, he took careful notice of the monolithic wall that stood before him, displaying the merciless might of Mount Moon. Slowly, Ray made his way to the cliff, and grasped a hold able ridge as he prepared for his most arduous task yet.
"Okay then, here I go..."
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
Ray's Rocky Mountain Adventure
Ray easily handled the initial endurance climb that had relatively small danger. While things began smoothly, Ray soon found himself reaching a mysterious white row of moonstone that appeared as if nature itself had painted a line through the cliff. He heard stories of how the mountain sandstorms began picking up above this dreaded point, but nothing would discourage this fisherman from reaching his goal on this particular day.
A few feet up, and still nothing happened.
"Was it merely a bluff? Had the dangers of Mount Moon actually been rumors? What about the constant rock fall? Or the sandstorms? Have I been worried over nothing?"
Ray again climbed a few more feet, and took a good look at the air above. Still nothing happened.
"I... should be thankful if the dangers are fabricated. I heard that many were severely hurt during this climb, even killed."
The active fisherman ascended a few yards on his climb now. The rest of the way felt like smooth sailing, until he heard something crash against the mountain. A boulder rolled down the cliff from a great distance to his left.
"Oh great. So this is the first of the mountain's vicious assault. Let me hope that its accuracy continues to be just as bad."
A few more rocks fell, which missed the fisherman entirely. Ray climbed a few more yards, and the mountain had showed its warnings, until his view suddenly darkened. As quickly as he could, Ray shimmied over to his left side, and a precise boulder narrowly missed him.
"Phew! That was close! But I can now see the Mountain is taking me serious. Mt. Moon must've fired a few warning shots before, but it is here where the true test begins."
Further up the mountain, Ray was forced to shimmy left and right as the boulders seemingly began a pattern of purposefully trying to nail him. His progress was slowed significantly, but he refused to be taken out so forcibly. Just before reaching the "dotted line patern" of moonstones which indicated nature's halfway point up the mountain, Ray was quickly assaulted by three boulders side by side, making Ray's dodgability difficult. He forced himself to quickly shimmy to the right. Luckily, he avoided all three boulders, but he soon found himself shimmying to the left once more, as another boulder mercilessly launched itself towards Ray's former safe spot. After finally crossing that relieving halfway point, Ray felt a sudden wind carrying him to the far left.
"Aha! The sandstorm I've heard so much about!"
This eerie sandstorm proved not so threatening, as boulders seemed to cease at its commanding power, and the force wasn't quite strong enough to blow Ray off the mountain.
"What a joke! So much for the vicious howls of the wind!"
The fisherman climbed up a few more feet, and again had to get out of the way of a few more boulders. Unfortunately for him, more and more boulders seemingly fell at once, the closer Ray got to the top, meaning that stationing his body in the precise location meant the difference of life and death. Soon, another sandstorm reared its ugly head, this time, blowing him to the left, and into a row of boulders.
"No! NO! I won't let the environment control me! I am its master!"
As long as he could, the brave fisherman resisted the flow of the wind, as he shimmied against its fearsome might. The wind seemingly put its fullest power into pushing Ray into the boulders, but its struggle proved useless. The boulders already passed Ray's struggling body, and the fisherman then allowed to carry him to the right, allowing him to dodge yet another boulder without exerting his own energy.
"Is the wind actually trying to help me? No! Don't be fooled! Everything is the enemy! Trust only your instincts!"
Soon, the wind rapidly alternated blowing left and right, greatly reducing the fisherman's maneuverability. The pattern of rock fall became even more troublesome as it began conspiring along with the sandstorms. They would fall into the area where Ray would be pushed into by the wind, or they would fall in the opposite direction, where complete resistance by Ray would instead lead to his downfall. At this point, the determined fisherman was forced to become fully aware of his surroundings. The constantly winds made it hard for him to dodge. The frequency and quantity of boulders falling made the task even harder. But Ray understood the task at hand.
No matter how long it took, no matter how much strength it required of him, Ray had to make it up Mt. Moon alive.
"I will not... falter... I will not... falter"
Ray was forced to utter this phrase over and over again as he continued his struggle against death itself. After making about three-fourths of the climb, he had come to learn the Mountain's tricks as death nearly took him by so many careless mistakes. The wind still delighted so much in toying with his mind, as the onslaught of rock fall continued.
After what seemed like forever, he finally saw the second row of moonstone that nature beautifully engraved onto the cliff above him. He saw this as the finish line, something that symbolized the end of his brutal journey.
Slowly, Ray made his way to meet the mysterious white line. Although with each inch that the fisherman climbed, he was immediately forced to shimmy left or right as a boulder headed straight at him.
"Oh vicious mountain... you will not take me now! Not when I have almost conquered you!"
After his last few moments of struggle, Ray was almost there. The relief of the "finish line" was within his grasp. Ray took a deep breath as he looked forward to climbing the last few feet, but as soon as he reached out to carry himself over, the boulders had prepared for their final assault. Although Ray fought desperately to avoid the boulders, there appeared to be no break in the line. Ray saw shimmying to the far right as his best bet, but the wind had prepared for this course of action, and utilized its might to slow him down. Despite his struggle, Ray had met with a sharp pain from the boulder that grazed his right shoulder.
A good portion of his strength left him. He could not force his right arm upwards with his injury. He was so close, and yet it was one instance of pain that stopped him in his tracks.
One more boulder was sent crashing down directly at him, forcing Ray to jerk his body to dodge. Unfortunately, the damage to his shoulder worsened, and he still found it hard to advance.
As if by twisted mockery, the mountain ceased its aggression, leaving poor Ray to suffer by himself.
"No, this can't be it... this can't be the end! I'm... I'm so close now, I can feel it... please body, let me finish this!"
He begged and pleaded for his body to get better, for his strength to return, but nothing worked.
The mountain remained silent as Ray's hope drained. It was merely one shoulder, and yet he found his overall strength suffer from the impact.
"How could I be this pathetic... I've fished hundreds of times without struggling so much, even with injury! Why is my body shutting down because of one shoulder!"
The rest of his right body started numbing. Although the boulder initially collided with his shoulder, it had somehow dealt a serious blow to the rest of his body without his realization.
"No... this... isn't the end... I know it isn't... I had a purpose... I had a reason... Mountain, is this your way of telling me that I am not worthy, after all?"
In his moment of doubt, a sole rock came crashing down to deliver the Mountain's answer to Ray, however, the ever-vigilant fisherman forced his body to the side. At that careless moment of near-death, a beautiful face he cherished flashed into his mind.
"That's right. She is my reason. I've failed to connect to her so many times, that her memory has become my downfall. But no more. From this moment forward, she must be my symbol of strength."
Despite the numbness in his right body, Ray continued on. The winds soon picked up into an unimaginable fury. Seemingly out of ammunition from above, the winds itself saw its duty to throw Ray off the mountain personally.
"You will not... defeat me! She is my strength! She is my... reason!"
Ray inched closer and closer to that line once more, while valiantly fighting against the sandstorm. There was a determination stronger than ever before. Somehow, his true brush with death had strengthened him beyond his normal limits. Closer and closer he came, as the winds responded by growing more and more forceful. Finally, after regaining his position so close to the end, he did not hesitate. Another surprise rock fell from above, but Ray dodged appropriately. He then reached out and grabbed the moonstone line.
The sandstorm ceased. The boulders halted.
After his long, arduous climb, Master Fisherman Ray finally defeated the dreaded Mt. Moon.
Ray smiled as he made the last few feet up the cliff.
"I see. So the Mountain still had some mercy to spare, after all!"
At the top, the fisherman was greeted to a beautiful snow cap. The air at this altitude was colder than ever, yet unusually refreshing. At the center of the snow, a beautiful blue feather displayed itself as it stood out amongst the snow.
Slowly, the fisherman made his way to the treasured feather. He then snatched it swiftly from the snowy floor, and glared at it with curiosity.
"A blue feather? What's this doing here? I didn't know the legendary blue bird would still be traveling around in early winter!" he said to himself.
The fisherman shrugged as he put the blue feather in his pack.
"Oh well, no sense in letting this go to waste. I'm pretty sure it was used for something special, but my memory's a little rusty. Whatever, I'll figure it out eventually."
He then made his way to the cliff's edge. From Mt. Moon's towering peaks, the proud fisherman was treated to an impressive view of the beauty beyond Flower Bud Village. Ray soon found himself in nostalgia.
"I remember... when my brother Cliff and I used to make treks similar to this. Although the journeys weren't quite as dangerous, I remember how the two of us used to share such breathtaking views. Still, this is definitely the greatest view nature has ever treated me to."
He then recalled the words of the painter that made his way to Sunny Lake every so often.
"They say that after the first snowfall of Flower Bud Village, making the climb to the top of Mt. Moon would reveal a sight so picturesque, that an artist could make all his dreams come true. It is a shame that one such as me isn't the rugged mountain man type, otherwise, I would be more than happy to seek out something so magnificent."
Ray nodded. This is indeed the kind of sight worthy of a painter's canvas.
Again, the image of that beautiful woman he was so hesitant towards flashed in his mind.
"...Maria..."
He always remembered how much the admirable librarian loved paintings. In fact, he remembered how often she would visit Sunny Lake just to see that artist at work. There was always a look of awe in her face, a look that he always wished to see, if he wasn't so much of a coward to constantly run away from her.
"My cowardice must end here..."
He then carefully took out a portable painting set from his pack, and dipped his brush to blend a few colors of his choice. Ray then made his first few strokes onto his canvas, ready to begin his nature-inspired masterpiece.
"To be honest, I've always wanted to try my hand at painting" he grinned.