Inspired by the recent re-release of Ocarina of Time for Nintendo's 3DS console, I've decided to begin adapting the game's epic storyline into novel format. I'm aware that the game is huge, so I'll be trying to cover as many aspects as possible, in as much detail as possible. This is in my opinion the greatest game ever made, and I really hope my writing can do it justice!
I will be sticking to the original script for the most part, but there will be additional, invented dialogue included where deemed necessary, to build fluency in the story.
Lines denote a change in scene, italics a dream-sequence/narrative!
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series, its characters and settings, belong to the genius that is Shigeru Miyamoto. The game is published by Nintendo. I'm getting nothing out of writing this, except, hopefully, some kind reviews from readers. : )
The Legend of Zelda
~Ocarina of Time~
A novelisation
By AngeLhearteD
-Chapter I-
The Boy without a Fairy
-x-
In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule, long have I served as the guardian spirit; I am known as the Deku Tree. The children of the forest, the Kokiri, live here with me. Each Kokiri has his or her own guardian fairy. However, there is one boy who does not have a fairy…"
The hushed silence that accompanied nightfall unsettled him. He often wondered whether his newly acquired dislike of darkness had anything to do with the recurrent dreams he'd been having. For three months he had fallen, each night, into fitful slumber, dreaming of shapeless, unholy things lurking within shadows, glimpsing intense, flashing images that would cause him to awaken, startled, from the depths of his unrest, shivering and breathless and cold.
Link sat atop the small outer deck of his tree-house, legs swinging freely over the edge as he gazed out at the evergreen landscape he called home. Tiny orbs of fairy dust floated about, glowing eerily in the dimness. All was quiet, save for the gentle rustling of leaves in the mid-spring breeze, the occasional cawing of birds and the scratching sound of insects scurrying along in the darkness. The pleasant smell of grass and dampness lingered in the air, and everything was at peace in the forest.
Everything except the strained muscles in Link's arms and back, which were groaning in agony after spending yet another day clearing up the rocks that seemingly sprouted outside Mido's house. Mido, or The Great Mido as he expected others to address him, was the freckly, self-appointed head of the Kokiri, the small, childlike race which inhabited the forest. Only Kokori-folk could dwell within the deep, vast woodland hidden away in the southern-most depths of the Kingdom of Hyrule. The guardian of the Kokiri was the Great Deku Tree, a wise, ancient spirit whose mystical power sustained all life-forms within the forest.
As Link chewed absentmindedly on a blade of grass, his gaze settled on the house neighbouring his. It was a small, yet cosy-sized hut, resting on a gently, upward sloping mound. He hadn't seen Saria in three days. She had a funny habit of disappearing every once in a while, and Mido had an even stranger habit of burdening Link with laborious work whenever she did. Link still couldn't understand exactly why Mido hated him so much. He'd often pick fights, and in the past had not been above deploying a slingshot to fire pebble rounds at Link, leaving him with unsightly cuts and bruises. In many ways it accounted for why Link possessed faster reflexes than most children his age; he'd grown up constantly looking over his shoulder in anticipation of sneak-attacks, and diving out of the path of Mido's incoming projectiles had fast become the dangerous norm.
Instead of retaliating, quiet Link, who'd always sought peace over confrontation, had found a secret spot in the forest, where he'd stuck a thick, fallen branch into the soil and made his own sword out of castaway pieces of wood secured with old vines. It had been a shabby invention, but with it Link had been able to pretend, to imagine for a few precious moments, that he was the boss. He'd taught himself how to fight, slashing again and again at the branch with his blunt sword, venting his unhappiness at being treated so unfairly by Mido. One day the sticks, stones and insults had been particularly cruel, and Link had crawled to his secret place and cried, feeling like the very wretched fraidy-cat Mido claimed him to be.
That was when the kind-hearted Saria had found him, bruised and alone. She had then promptly intervened, censuring Mido for being such a bully, and attempting to turn the other children of the forest against Link. She'd declared Link to be the same as the rest of the Kokiri, even if he was a little smaller, and his eyes a little larger and brighter. Since then, Mido had stopped physically attacking Link; but the verbal taunts and sneers had continued over the years.
They called him the boy without a guardian fairy. He wasn't a real Kokiri. He was an outsider. He didn't belong. And sometimes, a small part of Link believed them. The other Kokiri were content with their lives, thrived within the protective walls of the forest. But Link often found his gaze drawn to the tunnelled exit leading to unknown places. He wondered what else was out there.
Tossing the blade of grass from his mouth, Link rose to his feet with a sigh, rubbing at his dry, tired eyes. It was late, and if Mido somehow happened to discover that he had stayed awake long after everybody else had retired for the night, Link knew he wouldn't hear the end of it. He didn't need to give Mido any other excuses to cause trouble for him. Pushing aside the heavy, vined curtain that served as a door to his circular-shaped house, Link stumbled out of his Kokiri boots and crawled into his bed, drawing the covers over his head.
He was floating in a sea of black, glimpsing shapeless, darker masses lurking within the depths of the shadows. Eyes glowed with a sinister, crimson light, watching him the way a predator does prey, impatient and hungry. Voices spoke to him in hissing whispers and melancholic echoes, and he strained in vain to hear them, to comprehend the gibberish they chattered at him.
Then, in the endless distance, he saw a point of light. It moved toward him with great speed, and in seconds reached him, and exploded, blinding his eyes with its brilliance. He felt himself plummeting, opened his mouth in a soundless scream. He drifted for a while, until he slowly began to regain a sense of awareness. He felt coolness against his skin, heard the gentle pattering of water.
Rain. The smell of damp earth hung heavily in the air and the clouds looming overhead were dark and ominous. All around him was green, an endless field stretching farther than his eyes could see. He squinted, pushing a limp, drenched lock of blond hair hastily out of his face, and turned at the clunky sound of mechanical chains disturbing the quiet behind him.
A drawbridge lowered. Three, connected triangles, set above a wing-like insignia were briefly illuminated by a flash of angry lightning. His heart was racing, because he knew what happened next, tried to make his body move, his mouth talk, anything that would help him decipher what was happening. But he could only watch, as he always did.
Hooves pounded as a brilliant white horse tore past him, offering a fleeting glimpse of that same, pale, frightened face, and eyes, so big, so clear, looking back, as if to convey something to him, something he could never understand. In a heartbeat the horse and the ghostly girl were gone, and dread overcame him as his body, far beyond his control, turned to look upon the rider of a black steed, a face so sinister that it rendered him immobile, freezing him to the spot in terror.
He could do nothing but stare in trembling horror, as the maliciously smirking man raised his hand, gathering dark and unholy magic into his open palm. It swirled, crackling and growing in power, before the laughing stranger with hair the colour of flame flung the orb straight at him, and his world plunged once again into agonising darkness.
She flew with great haste, little wings working as hard as they could to transport her to her intended destination. She knew which tree housed him. All the fairies in the forest knew about the boy who did not possess one of them to call his own.
The words of the forest's great protector echoed through her mind, fuelling her urgency.
"Listen to my words, the words of the Deku Tree. Dost thou sense it, the climate of evil descending upon this realm? Malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule. For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world. But, before this tremendous evil power, even my power is as nothing. It seems the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey, the youth whose destiny it is to lead Hyrule to the path of justice and truth. Navi, go now. Find our young friend and guide him to me. I do not have much time left. Fly, Navi, fly! The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!"
Time was of the essence. There! She had found it! In her distracted hurry, she failed to see the wooden post in time and collided into it. Squeaking in pain, she quickly shook away her dizziness and shot, undeterred, straight toward her target.
Link was drifting in a grey place, somewhere on the planes between sleep and consciousness. It was not wholly unpleasant, and an absentminded part of him was grateful that he was at least getting some manner of rest, independent of the confounding nightmares that had been plaguing him of late.
He thought he could hear someone talking to him in this new dream. It began as little more than a murmur, which soon grew to an incessant call for him to respond.
"Hey!" it said.
Weird, Link thought groggily, still within the lulls of sleep. Was the voice greeting him?
"Hello!" it said again. "Link!"
The voice knew his name? Link stirred, groaning, reluctant to open his eyes and face yet another day of being bossed around by Mido. But the voice lingered, becoming louder by the second, determined in its persistence.
"Hello, Link! Wake up!"
"Mmm," Link mumbled, rolling onto his side, as light glowed beyond his closed eyelids. He swatted aimlessly at it, before attempting to dive back into the clutches of slumber.
"Hey!" the indignant voice all but yelled in his ear, causing him to flinch. It was an unfamiliar voice, his lethargic mind finally, sluggishly, registered. Was it… a girl's? But the only girl who had ever woken him up was Saria, and it didn't sound like her. Saria had a pleasant voice. The one calling to him was higher-pitched, and more annoying.
"Isnot morning," he muttered, wishing the voice would leave him alone. "M'not up."
Something tickled his cheek, a fluttering touch of warmth, and the light behind his eyelids grew.
"Link!" it called again. "Wake up! The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you!"
Link cracked an eye open, but immediately squeezed it shut again. The Great Deku Tree had called for him? The Great Deku Tree never called for him. It had to be another one of Mido's traps to get him into trouble. He wasn't going to fall for it this time.
"Go away," Link grumbled.
"Hey, get up!" the voice yelled in his ear, completely disregarding his wishes. "Come on! Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?"
Overcome with confusion, Link finally opened both eyes and blinked back his surprise as they came to focus on a small, white orb of light, floating inches before his face. Delicate, intricate, transparent wings fluttered in the air, occasionally shedding sparkling, magical dust. Link squinted, staring into the bright sphere, noticing that it was tinged with the palest of blue around the edges. Slowly, he sat up in bed, yawning, his curiosity reluctantly caught. What was a fairy doing in his house?
The voice spoke again. This time it sounded more akin to a squeak, and Link was silently astonished at how such a tiny creature had managed to yell at him at all.
"You finally woke up!"
"Who are you?" Link asked, rubbing at his bleary eyes. Pushing back his blanket, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
"I'm Navi the fairy!" it replied. Link blinked at the orb, as it continued, "The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on. Nice to meet you!"
Link blinked again, but before he could say anything, the fairy rushed on, "The Great Deku Tree has summoned you! So let's get going right now!" Navi began to float toward the vined curtain, but Link jumped up after her, stumbling over the boots he had so carelessly discarded by his bed the previous night in the process.
"W-wait!" he exclaimed, his balance quickly regained. "Did- did you just say you're going to be my partner?"
"Yes," Navi replied, hovering impatiently. "Now come on!"
"You mean," Link continued, feeling a sense of giddiness rapidly escalating within him, chasing away the last lingering remnants of sleep, "You're to be my fairy? I have a fairy, now?"
"Yes," Navi's sigh was less than enthusiastic, but Link hardly noticed. He was too busy grinning. Now Mido had no excuse in the world to taunt him. He was a true Kokiri. A fairy had come to him at last!
"Yes!" Link whooped, jumping about in delight, almost stumbling back over his boots, much to Navi's displeasure. "Alright! I've got a fairy!"
"You won't if you don't come along this instant!" Navi threatened. Link's eyes widened and he grabbed his boots and Kokiri hat, putting them hastily on. Snatching an apple from his humble fruit bowl, he rushed out after the fairy. The grin was still plastered stupidly on his face as he stepped into the pleasant sunshine. Just a few minutes ago, he had been dreading seeing Mido. Now he couldn't wait to see the big bully's face when he saw that Link had his own fairy, and a white one at that.
"Hi Link!" a familiar voice called out. His gaze fell to a familiar green-head, running up to his house. Saria waved up at him, smiling brightly. She reminded him very much of the forest; her chin-length hair was green, as was her long-sleeved tunic and boots Link clambered down his tree-house's ladder and bounded up to her.
"Saria!" he began eagerly, excited to tell her the news, "I've-"
But Saria's eyes had already widened as she spotted the ball of light hovering over Link's right shoulder. She gasped, and clasped her hands together, a look of delight illuminating her pleasant, child-like features.
"Wow! A fairy! Finally, a fairy came to you, Link! That's great news!"
Link beamed. "Her name's Navi," he said, looking shyly to his new companion.
Saria giggled. "Is that right? I'm so happy for you, Link! Now you're a true Kokiri!"
"Link, come on!" Navi squeaked impatiently.
"O-oh. Sorry, Saria," Link apologised, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his hat. "The Great Deku Tree wants to see me, now."
Saria's deep blue eyes widened at that. "Really? The Great Deku Tree has summoned you?" At Link's nod, she added, "It's quite an honour to talk to the Great Deku Tree! I'll wait for you here," she made a shooing motion with her hands. "Go on; go see the Great Deku Tree!"
Link didn't need to be told again. As he hurried after Navi, he felt the happiest he had been in a long time. Suddenly the troubling dreams he'd been having seemed far away and unimportant. Now that he had a fairy to call his own, everything was going to be fine.
"This way, Link!" Navi urged, flying ahead, trying to remain patient when other Kokiri called after her young charge along the way.
"Hey, Link! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to see the Great Deku Tree!"
"What? You've been called by the Great Deku Tree? What an honour! Hey, maybe he'll give you a special gift!"
"Is that a fairy? A fairy finally came to you, Link!"
"He's got a fairy!"
Link was all smiles as he hopped over the square platforms allowing passage over the stream that welled from the forest's flowing, crystal-clear waterfall. The Great Deku Tree's meadow was hidden away in the eastern corner of the forest. As Link approached the clearing that led to the forest's great guardian spirit, he caught sight of a familiar figure standing in resolute guard before it and his stomach knotted with dread. Mido's blue eyes narrowed and his right hand shot up, its palm displayed to halt Link in his tracks.
"Hey you!" he sneered, his nasally voice grating roughly on Link's ears like sandpaper. 'Mr. No Fairy! What's your business with the Great Deku Tree?"
Author's note
First chapter done! Please consider leaving your thoughts, as I'd really value the feedback. Thanks! : )