Prologue
The thundering gallop of a lone horse quickly grew audible. A young Hylian woman emerged from smoke and flame. Blood and tears formed droplets that travelled down her cheeks to land on the ash-ridden ground. Her left hand grasped the horse's reigns; her other wrapped around an infant, sobbing. The smell of fire and fear surrounded the broken family.
From her left side protruded the splintered end of an arrow's shaft, the iron head lodged deep in her flesh. Her gown was soaked a hellish shade of red. The distorted silhouette of Hyrule Castle was soon consumed by the darkness of night—there was no returning home. A bright moon fought its way through the pollution to illuminate the ground beneath the horse's hooves. When the mother dared to peel open the lids of her eyes, a magnificent field came into focus. Lush green hills laden with boulders and willow trees surrounded her on the left and the right for miles. As she rode south she saw an organic wall protruding up from the earth, dark grey in the hazy night. At its center was a canyon with two dry trees, forming an archway at the path's mouth in near-perfect symmetry.
She followed it to find a black mass of trees tunneling into a bleak darkness. After what felt to be an eternal sprint down this road, she came across a wooden bridge hanging above a small creek. She slowed her pace, crossed the gap, and found herself atop a hill overlooking a small woodland village. She began her decent, but the bottom was never reached.
As her breath became faint and scarce, she felt herself slipping off the leather saddle onto a dew-sprinkled bed of grass. She sat up off the forest floor and noticed an ancient tree towering over her, branches reaching out in the thin air to cast a soft shadow from the moon's light. It was carved in the likeness of an old man. The woman's arms quickly lost their strength, shaking ferociously from the weight of her body. She collapsed, throwing her broken figure on the ground. Her child lay in the grass, out of her reach and barely within sight of her waning vision.
Her outstretched arms fell to her side, her chest stood still, and her world was engulfed in a pale white. Whatever this child's fate may have been, it was now handed to the forces of magic that this forest breathed.
Chapter I
The spring air was wholesome and freeing, and the light shining through the window on the west side of the room made beams as it hit the dust particles in the air. A sweet, crisp breeze rustled leaves on their branches, giving life to the forest. Link awoke to the sound of his name piercing through the calm wind. He stirred as he realized how high the sun had already crept above the canopies. He sprung to his feet, slipped into a pair of brown boots and fastened a matching leather belt around his waist. After a satisfying stretch of his arms, he reached for a forest-green hat and rested it above his ears, falling behind his head in a cone, similar to the likes of a sleeping cap. He brushed his golden-blonde hair away from his eyes, fastened a bag of Deku nuts to his belt, and scurried down the ladder of his tree house with alarming speed.
"Good morning Link, I trust you slept well?" a young Kokiri girl stood in all shades of green, fitting right in with their surroundings. A green blouse, emerald leggings, and a well-kept head of forest-tinted hair could make one believe that her ancestors might have been trees themselves.
"The sun's made a good distance in its march across the sky already, I suppose that means I slept well indeed!" Link and the other Kokiri had the appearance of youth, but they each lived in a hut or tree house of their own. They were one with the forest they dwelt in, living entirely off of what it provided them. Link was unsure of the ages of the others, he only knew them to be older than he. He guessed that they had lived through some thirty cycles of the seasons, while he had at the most been alive for 13. "At least, I've slept better than you. You must wake up earlier than the first crowing Cucco of dawn! We ought to be off right away, sorry for the hold up."
"All is forgiven, friend. The rest of us are meeting at the grove of the Great Deku. I have a feeling his tale today will be enthralling."
The legends of the Deku Tree were ancient, more ancient than the tree spirit himself. Most were assumed to be myth, but the aged protector of the Kokiri tribe told them as if there was no doubt to their truth. Stories of the great goddesses who created Hyrule, forming every river, rock, and creature that any of them had laid their eyes on. About an age long past when people lived on floating islands in the sky, transporting themselves on enormous flying birds throughout the heavens. Stories of an ancient sword that was blessed by the great goddess Hylia herself and of her reincarnating her being in the flesh to walk amongst the mortals below.
Whatever today's legend might have been, they had been too late to find out. As they ran to the grove, they were stopped short by a handful of smug looking Kokiri boys.
"Hold it right there," proclaimed the leader of the pack. "No one's letting you through here! Besides, you missed today's story already. Did the bastard sleep in again?" Mido stood about the same height as Link, but his hair was darker, with a shade of red thrown throughout. His face was sprinkled with brown freckles, opposite to Link's, who was notably fair skinned next to the rest of the villagers. Link advanced with remorse, eager to make blood drip from Mido's nose down to his chin.
"Stop it!" Saria retorted. "What makes you think you are his elite? I happen to think much more of him than any of your sorry asses."
Mido frowned at this, but quickly regained his poise. "Where does one begin? Ah, perhaps on the fact that he is an orphan—the Great Deku Tree raised him out of pure pity," Mido informed with complete self assurance. It was not news to anyone, but it brought him a sick joy to repeat it. "Still, the real reason for his impudence is clear." He pointed above his right shoulder to a small orb of glowing blue light, about five inches in diameter. With a close look you could observe the tips of four wings poking out from the ball, fluttering quickly to keep it aloft. Though the supernatural light caused pain to the naked eye, it was possible to make out the shape of a tiny feminine humanoid to whom the wings were fastened.
Every Kokiri had a fairy, at least for as long as history could recall. Even Saria had one, which at this moment she appeared to be more or less ashamed of. Having any feeling of being on the same side of an argument with Mido enraged her. "Just because Link isn't exactly like you doesn't mean you're any better than him. For all we know, maybe it means he's more important than you. Maybe it's a sign from the goddesses themselves!"
"Do you really believe those myths? I don't understand why you would waste your time with this imp. I don't consider him to even be one of us. Maybe someday you can be brought to your senses as well."
With that Mido and his followers strutted off. Saria wrapped Link in her arms and whispered, "Don't worry Link, they've got it all twisted up in their narrow minds. They just envy that they can't be as magnificent as you." It was just loud enough for Mido and his goons to hear. She marched back off into the village without another word. Link followed, but he didn't have the same stride as her, and his attempts to mask his discouragement were weak. Snacking on his Deku nuts, he returned to his home in the trees. He dropped himself belly-up on his bed and began to question why he had been excluded from the bond that the Kokiri and fairies shared. What if he was meant to be different? Link tried not to think about the outside world. Kokiri's feared it, although the Great Deku Tree had always avoided telling them his grim stories of dark magicians and brutal warfare. Those stories he hid deep in his roots. Still, at this moment the thought intrigued him more than it ever had in his past. The way that the Kokiri acted became too much for him, even if Saria and the Great Deku tree had always shown him compassion. He wished to scale mountains, to trudge through vast seas of sand. To explore each corner of the world that had been described to him by the Great Deku. The Tree was the closest thing to a father he would ever know. With these thoughts Link wasted away time until the evening. Finally the sun fell behind the horizon, and Link eagerly followed it into a deep slumber.
Link's dreams were invaded by a bright light. He passed from his sleep and observed the luminescence in his house. It was very early in the morning, hardly even dusk. Was he still dreaming? In his house for the first time in his life floated a Kokiri fairy. He was immediately drawn in by her words. "Listen, Link! Do you hear that? That scraping sound? Something is attacking the Great Deku Tree! I have been sent here to aide you in his rescue."
In the trance of partial slumber, her expedited message was difficult for Link to follow. "Rescue? You've made some mistake here. I'm a mere a child." He stretched his legs and yawned, detatching himself from sleep. "What could I possibly do?" Link's confusion was indeed appropriate. After all, how could such a call to action be intended for him? The messenger alone made the situation complicated enough. "I am in the twilight of sleep, I must be," he whispered to himself. "A most vivid dream indeed."
"Before you were able to even speak, a great destiny was placed upon your life. You are far different from the rest of the Kokiri, this is why a fairy never came to you. But I have been sent by the Great Deku Tree himself to bring you to his side. You are destined for something beyond the hold of this forest's borders. Follow me if you wish for the Great Deku Tree, the mighty spirit and life of this forest, to survive! Please Link, with haste!"
The fairy left through the window and waited for him at the foot of the oak tree's ladder. Without a moment's delay, Link slid down it to where the fairy bobbed. She sliced through the air, and Link worked to keep up with her trail. She led him through a small crawl space that opened up into a rounded cavern. Momentum from their entrance flung cave dust all about, particles that had not stirred for an age. Light emitting from the fairy revealed a wooden chest about three feet wide.
"In this chest are secret tools of protection given to the Kokiri people," she explained. "The gift givers are still unknown, but the knowledge of their hiding place was revealed. Only to the highest authorities of the forest." Link stepped forward and unlatched the chest to reveal a short sword, steel forged into a miniature broad blade with a wooden handle. At first glance it was a thing of little significance, but closer observation showed intricate carvings. An ancient script long forgotten to the common dwellers of Hylia was etched into the blade. Beneath the sword rested a small wooden shield with a swirling red whirlwind painted upon it.
"Take these weapons and become a hero of the Kokiri Forest."
"I will risk anything to aide the great Deku Tree." Link turned away from the chest and exited the way they had come. Pure, foolish passion ignited in Link.
"Oh Navi, noble fairy of the forest, you have fulfilled your duty to me." His voice still held power, but it was beginning to crack. "Link, at this time there is a foul beast of darkness trying to tear me to the ground from the inside out. Some call her Ghoma. She is the minion of a master of evil and has been sent to retrieve something for him . . . something more valuable than anything else to the Kokiri people. Her master is the very enemy I have told you of in my tales. Find this fiend of the dark world, slay her Link! Steal back this precious stone I've sworn to protect. Please, child! With it's safety lies the life of the forest."
The Great Tree opened his bark mouth until his jaw met the ground, creating an entrance to the hollow of his trunk. Link entered the damp cavern cautiously, with only Navi behind to light his way.