The massive idea was breathtaking and terrifying. It was a shimmering worm with many wings, each twice as large as the muse. They flickered between feathered, bat, and dragonfly wings. It was hard to make out if it had fur, scales, or feathers. There were big eyes on the sides of its head and a mouth that opened at the top. Long tentacles with claws reached out from its body. It was eating the giant fruits in the forest. The muse could only stare with its mouth open.
“Never seen one of these things up close, have ye’?” snickered the hermit, drawing its spear and shield. “Don’t worry, this one’s not too big. Come, give me a hand. It’ll be fun!” The hermit ran toward the beast as tall as a small building in the human world.
Unarmed, the muse hurried to the nearby trees to create a weapon and shield. A tree broke off some bark to give the muse a two-sided ax. When it asked for protection, it was guided to some reeds. They wove themselves into a cloak like the one worn by the hermit. The muse took the cloak with a hard tug. Wearing the light cape, it was skeptical about the armaments. It voiced its concerns with the forest before flying off to assist the hermit. The muse flew after it as quickly as it could.
Below, the forest reached around the flying creature while it fed. The trees behind it grew taller. Their branches turned into huge claws. Vines snaked into the sky. They coiled quietly and aimed at the huge idea. What the creature was, the muse could not tell.
The muse caught up to the hermit on the beast’s back. It was fighting a small pack of dangerous ideas. More snarling monsters attacked from both sides. They had long necks and heads like snakes. The hermit laughed as it spun and dodged. Precise and powerful, each attack landed a death blow. The beasts turned into ash and left behind sparkling seeds.
Landing with a thud, the muse stumbled to stand but joined the fight with haste. The hermit’s swiftness inspired the muse, who gripped the ax in both hands. The muse swiped at the beasts, but it was not as effective as expected. Attacking the monsters after they crashed into its cloak turned out to be a good strategy. The flimsy cloak was as hard as steel. It stunned the beasts when they attacked.
When the muse turned to see how the hermit was doing, it was gone. In the distance, a dozen more of the beasts were coming. A monster grazed the muse, but it tumbled to safety. A desire to call out for the hermit swelled in the muse’s chest. Before it could, more beasts were upon it. The muse desperately swung the ax to put some distance between it and the pack of monsters. It could feel the pressure as they surrounded it.
Snarling and shrieking, the beasts bit at the cloak, and others tried to dive in while the muse was exposed. The ax turned one monster into ash in mid-air, then the muse drove it into the one nipping at its cloak. Three more rose to take their places. As hard as the muse fought, it was soon brought to one knee. Chest heaving for breath, its body shook with the fear of impending death.
A light bloomed above the battle. It shone so brightly that the muse and the monsters all turned away from the sky. The light faded and was followed by a KRA-KOOM!
The muse opened its eyes. Before him, the hermit muse held two spears. A wave of lightning rippled out in a ring around them. The stunned beasts retreated. They circled the muses while they shook off the damage. Some rolled on the ground to put out the fires from the lightning. In the sky, storm clouds had formed, and the hermit’s eyes glowed and sparked like lightning. Also, it had a vine wrapped around its chest.
“Here, newbie,” the hermit tossed the long vine at the muse. “Tie it to your ax handle.”
“Thank you.” The muse was quick to its feet, hurrying to tie the vine to the ax handle. The two merged into a vine-ax.
“I’ll let ye’ take care of the rest of these guys.” The hermit flew into the air. It removed its cloak and draped it in the air in front of it, like throwing a blanket over some grass. Then, it lay down on it to watch the muse fight.