Prologue

Long have I served as the guardian of this great forest, that which serves as a barrier against all manners of evils. Long have I served the gods, and long have I raised my children. I am known as the Great Spirit of the forest, Father of the Wood, and all that lies therein. I am the Great Deku Tree.

My children are the Kokiri, a forest folk that are no more than that, children, in the eyes of all, yet they live exceptionally long lives. All are accompanied by a fairy that chooses them.

However, there is one that is without a fairy...

~0~

The glade was silent, save the rustling leaves as the breeze swept through. The sky was clear, the sun already high in the sky. With the breeze, it was neither warm nor cool, but somewhere in between. The perfect day.

Yet it was not so.

The Great Deku Tree mentally sighed. Had he actually sighed, the entire glade would have trembled. He had hoped that he would not need to call the boy so soon. He was still young...so young...but there was no alternative. Sometimes, fate moved in unexpected ways, and as wise as he was, he could not always foresee the times.

"Navi, I bid thee, come hither." The earth rumbled and the air shook with his deep voice, as if the earth was pulling and pushing on itself. There was no apparent source for the voice that came forth; it came simply from him. Several seconds passed as he waited, but he was patient. He had lived for so long, since the beginning. Patience was something he had perhaps too much of. She would come.

The tinkling sound of wings was heard long before he could make out her presence. She was small, small enough to fit in a child's palm, and surrounding her was a blue shine that fluctuated and pulsed. She paused several feet before him, and could just make out the figure hidden in the glow as she bowed low and rose, waiting for him to speak again.

"Navi, listen well, for time is short and of the utmost essence." He paused to gauge her reaction, and to further gather his thoughts. He had not expected her to remain silent, yet she did. She expressed her thoughts well enough by her face; there was concern and curiosity.

"Summon unto me the boy without a fairy. Thou knowest the one. His time hath come."

Navi nodded, a strange look on her face, before turning away toward the village. Everyone knew that boy. He had hoped that the boy would be accepted as he had accepted him all those years ago, but that had not been necessarily the case. Only Saria, one of the Kokiri, was kind enough to him. The two were good friends. Everyone else though, and particularly Mido...

"Be kind to him, Navi," he suddenly said, forcing Navi to turn to him once again. "He hath received little enough." With that, he turned his thoughts to other things, waiting.

Navi remained where she was, hovering before the Great Deku Tree, pondering his words. She still was wondering why him, of all people. He had always showed some favor towards the boy, that was true, ever since he had arrived...

The evening sky, darker still from the thunderheads above, flashed white, and was followed shortly by a loud prolonged clap. The wind howled and whipped through the air with such fury, even the great boughs of the Great Deku Tree groaned in protest. The Kokiri hid in their homes, their doorways and windows shielding the interiors via canvas strapped tight across the openings. About the village, the storm tore through all that it could. It was the worst storm they had had in nearly a century.

A woman, tattered, beaten by the storm, stumbled into the glade. She carried with her a blanket wrapped in her arms, which she held close to her dearly. Even above the cries of the wind, one could hear moreover the cries of a newborn.

The woman laboriously spanned the open ground to the foot of the Father of the Wood. She collapsed then, even then holding her child protectively about her. She spoke, her voice lost to the storm, but it was clear she was desperate. Then, utterly spent, she was still.

Within the protective confines of the Great Deku tree's branches, Navi watched as the ground opened up, and His roots gently lowered the slight frame into the ground. The babe was brought close and the roots came over it, sheltering the child from the harsh weather.

"This child shows promise. His mother was wise to bring him here. I shall honor her wish: from this day forth, I shall call this child my son, and I shall be his father."

Navi, among the other fairies present, was amazed. None had ever entered the forest that was not of it and lived. Until now.

Curious still, even as she mulled over the memory, she turned away once more, and sped towards the village. The Great Deku Tree's commands were absolute.

Chapter One: The Boy Without a Fairy

His eyes were closed, but he was awake. He had been lying there, facing the wall curled under his blankets, for quite some time.

He was afraid. Not the type of fear that you got when you suddenly tripped or fell, or when you were faced with a hard or sudden decision or when you had an examination of some sort. No, none of those even came close. He had the fear that left the pit of your stomach knotted and cold, where your skin grew cool and pale, and you break out in cold sweat. The type of fear that left you numb and helpless, where your mind only thinks to run, run away, run as fast as you can, and faster still, but you cannot move.

The dream had been so vivid, so real, he was afraid to open his eyes even for fear of seeing what his dream had shown him. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the dream, weaving through his mind, playing over and over, the most horrid parts the clearest. He was paralyzed by this fear, and it was torturing him, and it made him sick. Blackness. A monster. Pain. Evil.

A voice from beyond the walls of his home reached his ears, calling his name, and his eyes flew open. The dream's curse that had overshadowed him was shattered. And he was glad to see the dream had not reached reality.

He turned himself over, tossing his blankets to his side as he rose to a sitting position on the edge of his bed, shivering momentarily as the cool air brushed the skin of his bare chest. The faint outlines of muscle traced his body; 12 years, his whole life, of playing or working all day had strengthened him. His hands already were beginning to callus around the knuckles, though not nearly as much as his feet, yet the rest of his skin was smooth. He was somewhat tan, only a little, due to exposure to the sun on a regular basis, but it clashed well with his blonde hair and blue eyes.

The circular room he occupied, which he called home, was not large, nor did it need to be; he spent little time indoors. The bed which he sat on was directly across from the entryway on the far side of the room, which only had a thick unadorned woolen drape that served as a barrier to the outside elements. Only a small table was between the two. A candle lay in the center, providing the only source of light apart from the sun's rays. To his left was a basin full of water on a low standing set of drawers backed by a mirror, to his right, a desk with some various items and papers. Beside the door was a small wardrobe, serving as storage for various other items he possessed.

The same voice as before was heard once again, bringing him back from his wandering mind. He smiled as he stood, stretched, and got himself ready for the day.

~0~

The small forest village was for the large part quiet, save for the sounds of the wild; the trees rustled in a melodious chorus, their branches swaying in tune. Here and there, a bird would sing along, announcing its good morning to the forest.

Normally it would be bustling with activity at this hour, with so many chores being done and games being played, but today was a holiday. The harvest was over, and tonight, they would celebrate under the boughs of the Great Deku Tree. Everyone was busy preparing themselves in their own houses, only leaving to procure what they would need, no more. But everyone she had seen bore a smile and a warm greeting.

She had finished her own work long before today, working on it on her spare time over the past few days. Today was special to her in its own way, and she didn't want any silly harvest project to get in the way.

Arms crossed, standing at the foot of a giant tree, only yards away from the ladder that ascended up to a small balcony protruding halfway up, she stood waiting patiently.

She was small in appearance, like a child, like all Kokiri. Everything she wore was green: green long-sleeve tunic-dress, green boots, and green hairband. This wasn't unusual, everyone wore green. However, she even had green eyes, and dyed her shoulder-length hair a vibrant green shade. This made it particularly easy to spot her, and it only served to better her appearance.

A small plaque beside the ladder signified this as her friend's house. His house was unusual; his was the only tree house above the ground. They all lived in trees, hollowed out and decorated, and made their own. But they preferred the ground over the treetops. Some other Kokirian from long ago had owned this house, and when he had died, or so it was told, it was left abandoned, but not uncared for. Eventually someone would live there, was the reasoning. That someone had turned out to be...

"Link, how long are you going to keep me waiting?!" she called, mocking impatience, betrayed only by her smile. She didn't expect an answer, and laughed when she did.

"Till I'm presentable to everyone else," Link replied, moving aside the flap as he stepped outside into the warm light. He wore a green tunic as well, the traditional color of the Kokiri, belted at the waist, with leather boots just reaching his knees. He also wore a green cap which fell down to his upper back, and served well to hide most of his long blonde hair. He carried a slingshot, sandwiched between his belt, and a pouch of seeds; his only weapon which he prided himself on. Respectively, he was the best shot of all the Kokiri.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he called down, descending the ladder two steps at a time, barely holding the ladder with his hands. When he was still several feet from the ground, he simply let go, letting gravity bring him down. With a twirl, he landed firmly on his two feet, in front of his only friend.

"Saria?"

His only friend. But he was happy with that. He had learned long ago that he wasn't really accepted by the Kokiri, for some reason. The worst of them was Mido, the self-proclaimed "boss" of the Kokiri, who was adamant about allowing Link to do anything at all. Most everyone else just played along so they weren't targeted next; without Mido, they probably would be his friends too. Saria was the only one who stood up to him, and unfortunately Mido had a soft spot for Saria. This made any argument between them quite comical.

"Hmmmm, I give it a six."

"A six?! I thought that would have been at least an eight," He whined, bringing himself to full height, smiling as they exchanged hugs. It was a game they played, he would ways drop the last few feet, and one day Saria had started to score jumps. It was just something silly they had started, but he enjoyed it.

"Well, I did consider a seven, but you flailed too much in mid-air," she teased, laughing. She grabbed his hand. "Now come on, I want to show you something."

"Alright, but you don't have to pull my arm out of my socket."

She laughed again, and slowed down so she didn't drag Link along the dirt path leading up and away from his house. She could be a little too excitable at times, she knew. Normally she was more reserved and well mannered. Not this time: she had discovered an ancient entrance to some temple in the forest. The Great Deku Tree had called it the Sacred Forest Meadow, and had said it was a very important place. She had spent some time clearing it out, and wanted to show it to Link. She liked it; it was her favorite place now, and she knew he would like it too.

A tinkling sound met her ears at the top of the hill where the path parted in either direction. She had been intending to go left, but she turned her head towards the right where most of the small village lay and where the sound originated. She slowed to a stop, a curious sight before her. A lone fairy? She looked at Link, who apparently had seen the same thing; he was staring at her with the same puzzled expression.

The single fairy darted towards them, and they turned to face it. It stopped directly in front of Link, forcing him to take a step back, both in alarm and confusion. She was of like mind; no fairy had ever come to him. Was this, perhaps...?

"Link, correct?" She asked, for the fairy they could see now was indeed a female. He nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. She had already begun speaking anyway, clearly confident in assuming this was Link. "My name is Navi. The Great Deku Tree has summoned you, it is urgent that he speak with you immediately. I'm to escort you to him. He is to go alone," She added, seeing Saria open her mouth. She closed it, a look of disappointment and concern on her face. It wasn't what she thought after all. She turned to Link.

"Sorry Saria, looks like either later or tomorrow will have to work." He shrugged, not knowing what else to do. Saria shook her head.

"It's not your fault, don't apologize. Promise you'll find me afterwards?"

"Promise." He smiled, in a sort of reassuring way. Then he turned once again to Navi. "Lead the way."