Prologue
Rain thundered down in ceaseless torrents. It tore across the night in a sheet of dark malice, clutching at the high castle towers, and slamming against the lofty windows. With a sudden explosion of heat and light, the front gates of the castle were rent from their hinges, and sent blazing across the moat bridge in broken fragments. A dark shadow came hurling through the black portal. The high-pitch scream of a horse stabbed the icy night. It was the scream of a delirious mind—a twisted mind, an evil mind. Astride the fleeing horse rode two figures: one tall and massive, with eyes that flickered madly, greedily drinking in the night shadows, as if feeding some awful hunger deep inside its dark soul. Waves of fierce rage rolled from its face as it clutched at the reigns. The other rider was hooded. It turned and a sparkle of blue azure pierced through the veil. In that moment of blue intensity, a soul, as profound and deep as time, came swirling upward. Great sorrow loomed there, and a pleading that shook the very foundation of that soul. But only for a brief second, before the screeching horse galloped over the stormy horizon into the cold blackness of rain and wind...
Part One: The Forsaken
Chapter One: Kokiri Forest
"...Link! Get up! I found it! Hey, Link!" A scrawny boy burst into the doorway, struggled with the brown strip of cloth that covered the entrance, tripped over a small log chair, and smashed his face against the wooden bed where his friend lay curled up in deep sleep. The newcomer let out a tiny grunt, "Hmmggg...I always do that!" he groaned. Collecting himself, he stood up, rubbing his face.
"Hey, get up you lazy trout!" he nudged his sleeping friend with a quick jab to the shoulder. Link grunted, yawned and stretched until he was fully awake. Sitting up, he turned his sleepy blue eyes to the intruder and wheezed,
"What's up Milon? What did you find?"
Milon took a quick step backwards. Stealing a furtive glance around to make sure no one could hear, he leaned over and whispered:
"The sword, what else, you git. What do you think we've been looking for all this time, a deku nut? Seriously, you must have too much fairy dust rattling around in there. Come on, I'll show you where it is. But we can't let Mido see us. Let's go." Swallowing the growing sigh in his throat, Link threw aside his orange leaf-stitched blanket, and climbed out of the bed.
The same dream. How many times now? Where was that place....the castle....and who were those two people? Those blue eyes, they seemed so familiar...
"What! What are you doing, Link? Sleeping on your feet?! Come on." Link snapped out of his daze as his hasty friend shoved him from the small room. Out on the deck of his tree dwelling, Link looked down and spotted several other children happily playing about the water stream, and dashing between giant trees in their frolicking and game-making. Little voices floated up to Link's porch in small bursts of laughter.
A golden sheen of morning sunlight enveloped the forest clearing. Soft green hues of the trees mingled with the warm patches of small luminary globes as fire flies and fairies flitted through the forest, emitting glowing trails of light wherever they went.
Link straightened the folds of his green tunic, combed his fingers through his tousled pile of blond hair, and threw on his green cap. Then he clambered down the wooden ladder. Milon was already waiting for him below. Immediately he set off skipping toward the other side of the clearing, far to the east, with Link slowly lumbering after him.
The terrain of the forest clearing was jagged, with mounds of earth jutting up to form high hills topped with green grass and speckled with flowers of all colors. Giant trees loomed past them, where other children climbed up and down ladders that led to various tree houses. As they drew near a tree that was particularly large, with several burly stems sticking out from the trunk, Milon veered around behind it and muttered,
"Tom...he'd kill us if he knew. What a pain to have a brother." Milon silently studied his friend, "you're so lucky, Link. You don't have to deal with older brothers. Why couldn't we have been born brothers, instead?" They kept walking. After a moment Link looked over and said:
"Well, we are brothers, Milon. At least that's what Phairyn says. That all of us Kokiri children are brothers and sisters."
"Yes, that's what he said. But there are many things that he does not tell us." Milon looked up into the sprawling wall of trees that circled the forest clearing. He hesitated a moment before going on: "Like how we all came to live here in the forest. Don't you ever wonder, Link? I mean, certainly we didn't just jump out of a tree sprout. Well...maybe Mido." They both laughed.
Link watched as the blurry streak of a pink fairy zoomed past them, trailed by a yellow-haired girl. He did often wonder...how did they become children of the forest? Did they always live here? But in his dreams. Something about a mother and a father. Once he asked Phairyn what a father was, but the tree only responded with silence. Always silence. Though Link could have sworn that there was sorrow buried deep in the barky orbs of the tree that day.
Suddenly the forest opened upon them. The dank smell of leaves and other plant-life drifted up from the forest floor. Distant sounds echoed through the leafy abyss. Link reached out and snatched a handful of red tulu- berries from a near-by tree. They crunched sweetly in his mouth. He grabbed another handful for Milon. They crunched on the red berries together, slipping past trees and moss-covered rocks.
"We're here" Milon suddenly announced, coming to a halt. Motioning for Link to follow, Milon crept up next to a cluster of trees, and slipped sideways into the center of the tree fold. That gave way to a small opening, where a hole in the ground was now visible rearing up into a small cave entrance. Milon whirled around and flashed Link a devious smile, then plunged into the black aperture.
Link groaned audibly and crawled in headfirst, mumbling as he followed. What was Milon about to get him into?
At first there was no light. The two boys had to use their hands as guides. They managed to gain a few scratches and bruises as they bumped against the rough stone beneath them. Soon the walls of the cave began to emit a phosphorescent glow in random places. The light grew in intensity until they could see well enough without using their hands. The ceilings had risen high enough to walk freely under.
Without a warning, Link was thrown back by a blinding blast of light. He toppled backwards and scrambled up, face forward with arms stretched behind him, palms to the ground. Milon crouched low, near the wall. The ball of light came from the far end of the cave. It floated over a small pool of water that rippled with iridescent streaks. Slowly, the orb of light thinned into a single ray and ripped through the cave until it finally blinked out with a purple flash of smoke. There, wrapped in a ribbon of luminous beams, hovered the biggest fairy creature Link had ever seen.
"Welcome, little friends. I have been waiting for your arrival." It spoke with a voice so musical that it mesmerized Link into silence. He stared, mouth open, eyes gaping. "Young Link, your friend tells me that you are looking for something." Link tore his gaze from the creature and looked over at Milon, who also seemed to be completely bewitched by the beauty of the fairy.
"My name is Palara," she continued, her shimmering body glimmered and soaked in the myriad colors of the water beneath her. "I am glad to see you. My children are spread wide throughout the far reaches of the world. They bring many tidings, both strange and terrible. They also tell me of a young boy who is more than a boy." Link only gawked. "Yes, I think they are correct, my children. But this is as it should be, as it was foretold." Tiny streams of light twirled and shifted around the radiant figure.
"But I am not the one that should tell you of things untold. That is for another one...older and wiser than I," she made a graceful gesture with her slender arms. Link still said nothing, though a deep yearning unfolded in his heart, a yearning for knowledge that was long hidden from him. Was he about to find out more about his past? He waited for Palara to continue.
"Now you are here, and the weight of the world is bearing down on this one spot. But you do not feel it yet. Be brave, little hero, in time you will feel it. And you will not be alone when you do"
"Hero?" Link blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" he stammered.
"Ah, you will soon find out. But here I have something to give you," her body seemed to twist in a strange manner—her gold hair floated and hovered in the air, each strand flecked with diamond droplets. Reaching down, Palara dipped her arm into the glittering water beneath her. Slowly, she pulled her hand back, and the bright glint of a blade gleamed as it was drawn from its watery scabbard. Palara brought the blade up and held it before her like a queen wielding her royal scepter.
"This has been cluttering up my pool for too long. It is yours now, little hero. Use it wisely." Link stared in disbelief. The Sword of the Kokiri...it had to be. Phairyn had told him many stories of the Kokiri Sword. But could it be... Stepping forward, Link gripped the sword by the hilt, and drew it closer to inspect it. The blade stretched nearly a foot and a half, with a silver finish. Small leaf designs were etched at the base of the blade, near the hilt. It was the image of a deku leaf. From Kikiri Forest.
"But isn't this..." Link started to ask, but Palara had already begun,
"No time for questions. Someone is looking for you at this very moment. Go back quickly, and remember that whenever you are in dire need, my children are always nearby. They are hidden in dark places of the world, but they will gladly aid you in your quest." Palara turned to Milon, "you are a true friend. Never forget that Link loves you as a brother." Her light faded to a dim flicker, and before she faded completely her voice trailed off with, "Good luck, little hero. There will be another time."
With that she was gone, and the two boys were alone in the soft glow of the cavern. After a long pause, they started out the cave and back down to the village.
Rain thundered down in ceaseless torrents. It tore across the night in a sheet of dark malice, clutching at the high castle towers, and slamming against the lofty windows. With a sudden explosion of heat and light, the front gates of the castle were rent from their hinges, and sent blazing across the moat bridge in broken fragments. A dark shadow came hurling through the black portal. The high-pitch scream of a horse stabbed the icy night. It was the scream of a delirious mind—a twisted mind, an evil mind. Astride the fleeing horse rode two figures: one tall and massive, with eyes that flickered madly, greedily drinking in the night shadows, as if feeding some awful hunger deep inside its dark soul. Waves of fierce rage rolled from its face as it clutched at the reigns. The other rider was hooded. It turned and a sparkle of blue azure pierced through the veil. In that moment of blue intensity, a soul, as profound and deep as time, came swirling upward. Great sorrow loomed there, and a pleading that shook the very foundation of that soul. But only for a brief second, before the screeching horse galloped over the stormy horizon into the cold blackness of rain and wind...
Part One: The Forsaken
Chapter One: Kokiri Forest
"...Link! Get up! I found it! Hey, Link!" A scrawny boy burst into the doorway, struggled with the brown strip of cloth that covered the entrance, tripped over a small log chair, and smashed his face against the wooden bed where his friend lay curled up in deep sleep. The newcomer let out a tiny grunt, "Hmmggg...I always do that!" he groaned. Collecting himself, he stood up, rubbing his face.
"Hey, get up you lazy trout!" he nudged his sleeping friend with a quick jab to the shoulder. Link grunted, yawned and stretched until he was fully awake. Sitting up, he turned his sleepy blue eyes to the intruder and wheezed,
"What's up Milon? What did you find?"
Milon took a quick step backwards. Stealing a furtive glance around to make sure no one could hear, he leaned over and whispered:
"The sword, what else, you git. What do you think we've been looking for all this time, a deku nut? Seriously, you must have too much fairy dust rattling around in there. Come on, I'll show you where it is. But we can't let Mido see us. Let's go." Swallowing the growing sigh in his throat, Link threw aside his orange leaf-stitched blanket, and climbed out of the bed.
The same dream. How many times now? Where was that place....the castle....and who were those two people? Those blue eyes, they seemed so familiar...
"What! What are you doing, Link? Sleeping on your feet?! Come on." Link snapped out of his daze as his hasty friend shoved him from the small room. Out on the deck of his tree dwelling, Link looked down and spotted several other children happily playing about the water stream, and dashing between giant trees in their frolicking and game-making. Little voices floated up to Link's porch in small bursts of laughter.
A golden sheen of morning sunlight enveloped the forest clearing. Soft green hues of the trees mingled with the warm patches of small luminary globes as fire flies and fairies flitted through the forest, emitting glowing trails of light wherever they went.
Link straightened the folds of his green tunic, combed his fingers through his tousled pile of blond hair, and threw on his green cap. Then he clambered down the wooden ladder. Milon was already waiting for him below. Immediately he set off skipping toward the other side of the clearing, far to the east, with Link slowly lumbering after him.
The terrain of the forest clearing was jagged, with mounds of earth jutting up to form high hills topped with green grass and speckled with flowers of all colors. Giant trees loomed past them, where other children climbed up and down ladders that led to various tree houses. As they drew near a tree that was particularly large, with several burly stems sticking out from the trunk, Milon veered around behind it and muttered,
"Tom...he'd kill us if he knew. What a pain to have a brother." Milon silently studied his friend, "you're so lucky, Link. You don't have to deal with older brothers. Why couldn't we have been born brothers, instead?" They kept walking. After a moment Link looked over and said:
"Well, we are brothers, Milon. At least that's what Phairyn says. That all of us Kokiri children are brothers and sisters."
"Yes, that's what he said. But there are many things that he does not tell us." Milon looked up into the sprawling wall of trees that circled the forest clearing. He hesitated a moment before going on: "Like how we all came to live here in the forest. Don't you ever wonder, Link? I mean, certainly we didn't just jump out of a tree sprout. Well...maybe Mido." They both laughed.
Link watched as the blurry streak of a pink fairy zoomed past them, trailed by a yellow-haired girl. He did often wonder...how did they become children of the forest? Did they always live here? But in his dreams. Something about a mother and a father. Once he asked Phairyn what a father was, but the tree only responded with silence. Always silence. Though Link could have sworn that there was sorrow buried deep in the barky orbs of the tree that day.
Suddenly the forest opened upon them. The dank smell of leaves and other plant-life drifted up from the forest floor. Distant sounds echoed through the leafy abyss. Link reached out and snatched a handful of red tulu- berries from a near-by tree. They crunched sweetly in his mouth. He grabbed another handful for Milon. They crunched on the red berries together, slipping past trees and moss-covered rocks.
"We're here" Milon suddenly announced, coming to a halt. Motioning for Link to follow, Milon crept up next to a cluster of trees, and slipped sideways into the center of the tree fold. That gave way to a small opening, where a hole in the ground was now visible rearing up into a small cave entrance. Milon whirled around and flashed Link a devious smile, then plunged into the black aperture.
Link groaned audibly and crawled in headfirst, mumbling as he followed. What was Milon about to get him into?
At first there was no light. The two boys had to use their hands as guides. They managed to gain a few scratches and bruises as they bumped against the rough stone beneath them. Soon the walls of the cave began to emit a phosphorescent glow in random places. The light grew in intensity until they could see well enough without using their hands. The ceilings had risen high enough to walk freely under.
Without a warning, Link was thrown back by a blinding blast of light. He toppled backwards and scrambled up, face forward with arms stretched behind him, palms to the ground. Milon crouched low, near the wall. The ball of light came from the far end of the cave. It floated over a small pool of water that rippled with iridescent streaks. Slowly, the orb of light thinned into a single ray and ripped through the cave until it finally blinked out with a purple flash of smoke. There, wrapped in a ribbon of luminous beams, hovered the biggest fairy creature Link had ever seen.
"Welcome, little friends. I have been waiting for your arrival." It spoke with a voice so musical that it mesmerized Link into silence. He stared, mouth open, eyes gaping. "Young Link, your friend tells me that you are looking for something." Link tore his gaze from the creature and looked over at Milon, who also seemed to be completely bewitched by the beauty of the fairy.
"My name is Palara," she continued, her shimmering body glimmered and soaked in the myriad colors of the water beneath her. "I am glad to see you. My children are spread wide throughout the far reaches of the world. They bring many tidings, both strange and terrible. They also tell me of a young boy who is more than a boy." Link only gawked. "Yes, I think they are correct, my children. But this is as it should be, as it was foretold." Tiny streams of light twirled and shifted around the radiant figure.
"But I am not the one that should tell you of things untold. That is for another one...older and wiser than I," she made a graceful gesture with her slender arms. Link still said nothing, though a deep yearning unfolded in his heart, a yearning for knowledge that was long hidden from him. Was he about to find out more about his past? He waited for Palara to continue.
"Now you are here, and the weight of the world is bearing down on this one spot. But you do not feel it yet. Be brave, little hero, in time you will feel it. And you will not be alone when you do"
"Hero?" Link blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" he stammered.
"Ah, you will soon find out. But here I have something to give you," her body seemed to twist in a strange manner—her gold hair floated and hovered in the air, each strand flecked with diamond droplets. Reaching down, Palara dipped her arm into the glittering water beneath her. Slowly, she pulled her hand back, and the bright glint of a blade gleamed as it was drawn from its watery scabbard. Palara brought the blade up and held it before her like a queen wielding her royal scepter.
"This has been cluttering up my pool for too long. It is yours now, little hero. Use it wisely." Link stared in disbelief. The Sword of the Kokiri...it had to be. Phairyn had told him many stories of the Kokiri Sword. But could it be... Stepping forward, Link gripped the sword by the hilt, and drew it closer to inspect it. The blade stretched nearly a foot and a half, with a silver finish. Small leaf designs were etched at the base of the blade, near the hilt. It was the image of a deku leaf. From Kikiri Forest.
"But isn't this..." Link started to ask, but Palara had already begun,
"No time for questions. Someone is looking for you at this very moment. Go back quickly, and remember that whenever you are in dire need, my children are always nearby. They are hidden in dark places of the world, but they will gladly aid you in your quest." Palara turned to Milon, "you are a true friend. Never forget that Link loves you as a brother." Her light faded to a dim flicker, and before she faded completely her voice trailed off with, "Good luck, little hero. There will be another time."
With that she was gone, and the two boys were alone in the soft glow of the cavern. After a long pause, they started out the cave and back down to the village.