Chapter Four: Death's Hand

Hunger.

Feeding, feasting, dining, indulging.

Hunger.

Ravishing, relishing, appetizing, appealing.

Hunger.

Gnawing, biting, scratching, chewing.

Hunger.

But wait. That smell. There was a new smell. More food? Yes, it was coming closer. She froze. It was so hard to stop eating, but it was necessary. She gazed with her single eye at the door, hanging on the ceiling with her strong limbs...all five of them. Food. Food was near. The block rose. So very near.

An odd sight. A fairy. Blue. She liked blue. She would be good food. What was that next to it? It looked young. Fresh. Whatever it was, it would be good food.

The block fell. The strange creature looked back. Why did they not show fear? They were trapped. They were food. The room grew dark once more. She could still see. The two creatures whispered. The big one pulled out wood and...a stinger?

Potential danger. But she didn't care. Her shell would protect her. And they were food. She moved forward. They looked up. They saw her. Now the thing showed fear. It knew. It knew it was food. Pleased by her prey, she fell to the ground. The thing stepped forward.

The nerve of it! Now she was angry. Food needed to act like food. She raised herself up, threatening it, challenging it, talons and claws flashing in the dark. Her shell in parts glowed. She liked the glow. It was blue. But that didn't matter. Food mattered.

Hunger.

Insatiable, ravenous hunger.

~0~

"Navi, help me or I swear I'll pluck your wings!"

"What am I supposed to do?! Fly into its eye?!"

"Anything, damn it! Anything!"

The thing gave a roar and charged him. He threw himself to the side barely in time, then picked himself up and bolted again.

He had not imagined he would have to fight something like this. This...thing, whatever it was, was the stuff of nightmares. It was like a giant bug, except it was mutated so it only had 5 limbs, had no antennae, and that massive singular, yellow eye really creeped him out. Oh, and it wanted to eat him. Very comforting.

At least he was able to see it. The room was dark, and the only sources of light were Navi, who was not helping at all given her uselessness - aside from light, she couldn't do a thing against this monster - and the monster itself. Something on its hardened shell gave it phosphorescent glow, bathing it and the room in a dim blue light, casting eerie shadows wherever it moved.

Not that he wanted to see it. If it was up to him, he wouldn't be near enough to see it. Ever.

The sword had proved useless, the monster's armor served its purpose well. All he had was a shield and a slingshot with seed pellets. He had no idea how a slingshot would be effective, but he pulled it out anyway.

He jumped to the side again, the insect beast thing barreling past in an attempt to squish him flat. Instead of running straight into the wall though, it began climbing up and onto the ceiling. He groaned in frustration, pulling out a seed and loading it. He had to find a spot, fast.

Then he saw it. The thing's eye. It changed. From yellow to red. Navi had given him his answer only moments ago. She wouldn't fly into its eye, but he could shoot something. Of the entire beast, the eye was most vulnerable. How had he not seen it before?

"Thanks for the idea Navi!" he called, and fired his shot, hardly even aiming. The results were instantaneous. The creature screeched loudly, and fell crashing to the ground. It was still alive, but disoriented, and hardly moving. Link wasted no time, stowing away his slingshot and drawing his sword as he charged forward. With a cry, he leaped the last stretch, over one of the arms of the beast, and stabbed the center of its eye. The beast roared in its fury, limbs once immobile springing to life, clawing at the deft figure as he dashed away. It rose back to its full height, though unsteadily, and once again began to climb the wall. Link pulled his slingshot out again, taking aim for the beasts' eye.

He wouldn't get a chance to aim. With sudden ferocity, the monster slammed into the pillar closest to him, shattering it. He jumped away, narrowly avoiding a chunk as big as himself. He felt his tunic tear into his right arm, and a sharp pain emanate forth, and he hissed in pain, wincing as he felt warm blood ooze. It was a slight wound, but even that could prove fatal in this death match.

"Damn it, where'd it go?!" He cried out, scanning the earthen roof above him. The fluorescent glow had diminished, and the source had somehow vanished. Navi arrived by his side, searching with him. She was scared, he could tell, though for her life or his, or both, he could not tell.

A crack echoed behind the air. Whipping around, slingshot drawn and at the ready, he took aim at... a rock? No, it was too smooth, ovular. A crack split the surface, and the thing began to move. Link pulled back harder, hardly believing what he knew it to be. An egg.

The shell shattered, revealing the miniature grotesque thing that mirrored its mother. Two more cracks were heard on either side. Without hesitation, he fired at the one before him, the pebble slamming into its singular eye. With an unholy squeal, it fell back and lay still. Whipping around, with uncanny precision he rapidly fire two shots to each. To his left the first shot shattered the shell and the second pelted its eye, and followed its sibling's fate. To his right the first shot was the killing blow, the second streaking into the dark.

Only Instinct and intuition saved Link then. With a cry, he leapt forward hitting the ground rolling. With a crash that shattered the rock below it, the insectile beast slammed into the ground where he had been only a second ago. Without pause, it rushed him, forcing him to roll away again. Raising his slingshot, loaded and ready, he took aim and fired as it whipped around. Pain seared his arm, causing his shot to veer away. The beast, seeming to smell victory, roared and charged again. He fired again, wincing as his arm trembled in pain. The shot bounced harmlessly off its armored shell, and he was forced to roll away again, narrowly avoiding a swipe from a claw.

"Link, get up!" Navi cried, watching the beast turn again. The distance was short; Link would have no time to avoid any blow. It was now or never. "LINK!"

The beast charged, and Link cried out as he pulled back and shot, feeling the pain and drawing strength from it, commanding his body to ignore it. The seed he had chosen found its mark. The monster Roared in pain as it stumbled forward over itself, its momentum too great to stop itself. Link drew his sword, rushing forward in a mad dash of adrenaline and desperation. Before the beast could fend him off, he leapt forward and stabbed the eye, repeatedly. Never had he ever wanted anything to die as much as he wanted this thing to.

~0~

The creature let out a piercing cry, amazed, astonished, and in pain. This thing was supposed to be food. This little creature was too small to be a predator. It was too small to be so strong. It was just too small. She was dying, she knew. It was the end for her.

But maybe death wasn't so bad. She was no longer hungry.

~0~

"It's dead right?" Navi asked, coming beside him as the only source of life and light in the room. Link nodded, breathing heavily. It had only lasted a few minutes, but it had left him physically drained and injured.

As if on cue, the dead carcass burst into flame, burning it away in moments.

"I don't think it's coming back either. Thanks again for the tip."

"Tip?"

"It's eye was its weakness. You gave me the idea."

"Oh...well, whatever, let's just get out of here."

"Yeah, let's."

~0~

"Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage, Link. I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes."

Link and Navi stood - Navi on his shoulder, Link on the ground - At the entrance to the glade once again. They were relieved to be in fresh air, and even more so seeing the Great Deku Tree in good health. While the climb out had been exhausting, Link still insisted on standing in respect. He took the praise silently, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

"Now, There is yet more I have to tell thee. Thou wouldst do well to listen, and watch."

Watch? How do I-

He never had to finish the thought. Darkness, from nowhere, crept into the glade and obscured everything from sight, even the Great Deku Tree, even Navi, though he was sure she was seeing this too. Everything was black. But it was not the fearful sort of darkness. There was no grim feeling, no wicked sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. None of that. It was just, darkness. Pure and without taint.

The Great Deku Tree spoke, his voice breaking through the darkness, strong and clear. And with his words, a vision began to form in the darkness around him.

"A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me."

Flames erupted all around, burning what was not seen. He could sense he was soaring through the blackness, though he could not feel it. A black horse galloped through the flames and darkness, and upon it a rider. A huge, imposing man, though hardly like any man he had ever seen or imagined. His blood-red hair flowed freely, whipping around and obscuring his face as he bent low over his steed. His skin, whatever wasn't covered by black armor, was a sickly green.

Now he showed fear, or imagined he did; he could not see himself. He could sense the evil this man possessed, blacker than the darkness surrounding him. He could imagine the hatred in this man's eyes, and joy of inflicting pain, the craving for power, and control, and domination. He could feel it all within his soul, and he despised it. He wanted it gone from him. His only desire was to flee.

And flee he did. As soon he had wished for it, he fell away from the man, or the man fell away from him. The flames remained as he faded from sight, the crackling of the fire becoming the only sound.

"This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for what is the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule, for it is within that Sacred Realm that one shall find the divine relic, the Triforce, in which the essence of the gods is contained."

The scene changed then. The fire and shadows vanished, driven out by the sudden eruption of white light. It was not blinding, and he had to assume he was not seeing these visions with even his own eyes. The light dimmed, bringing finer details into fruition.

And what a strange, mystical sight it was. Everything was grey, clouds and fog dominating the scene. Rain droplets fell from nowhere, going nowhere. They shined from within, producing their own small lights in the gloom. It was a beautiful scene, he thought to himself. He could watch this for hours and not be bored. It reminded him of rainy days in the forest, where he would lie atop a tree or house and watch the rain fall, never minding that he got soaked. It was refreshing, rejuvenating, revitalizing. It made him come alive.

Three specks of light shone from a distance, quickly growing larger and brighter. He quickly realized that each light was not a light itself, but something - or someone- that gave off that light. It was not so much a person, or three, rather, but three separate presences.

"Before time was begun, before spirits and life were begot, three golden goddesses descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule."

The three goddesses passed him then, for he knew now who they were, one after another. They were flashes of red, blue, and green, and gold, too. They traveled at such speeds that tails of light flew from their path that they travelled upon. He was travelling with them now, an observer of an event before even time was conceived.

The Great Deku Tree called their names, as if to acknowledge their divinity. Din, the goddess of Power; might and strength were hers. Nayru, the goddess of wisdom; order and law were what she maintained, and all knowledge was hers. Farore, the goddess of courage; life and soul were hers.

Then the voice of the Great Deku tree began his narration again, the vision aligning itself with his telling. From Din, a powerful burst of red light exploded from her, expanding far across the empty expanse. Then it came together, spinning, weaving itself, creating...

"Din, with flaming arms strong, created the red earth, and formed and cultivated the lands."

The earth was formed before his very eyes. He watched as the ground shifted, creating valleys and mountains, plains and hills. The raindrops gathered into pools and streams, becoming lakes and rivers. All of it done carefully by the work of Din.

But the earth was barren, and the heavens were empty. A radiating light shot across the sky above the earth, the clearest blue. The light encompassed all the earth, stretched forth into the skies.

"Nayru, pouring her wisdom upon the earth, gave the spirit of law to the world."

The light scattered, and revealed the work of Nayru. The sky was lit by the light of the sun, surrounded by the blue expanse. Wisps of clouds travelled slowly across, going nowhere but where the newly made wind took them. He watched as day became night, and witnessed the first stars and the moon. He looked upon the earth, and found it lush and green. Forests and grasses grew where they were permitted, as dictated by the law.

But active life - animals, people, insects - was bereft of the world. The world did not know creatures. And from the earth shot forth a brightest green, and from its source the light poured out, encompassing all the earth.

"Farore, with her rich soul, produced all life forms that would uphold that law."

The light dissipated, and the earth was revealed to bear all manners of creatures; on the earth, in the ground, in the sea and sky; spirits were formed, emissaries of the goddesses. They populated the earth, and they flourished.

Then he saw the three goddesses ascend, and come together at the highest point of the heavens. There was a great light, and the sound of a rushing of wind, and they were no more, but instead a glowing object remained. It was made of three parts, but it was itself whole. Each piece was a triangle, and each piece was connected to another on two points, so that the whole resembled an even larger triangle. And all of it was bathed in a gold light, for golden it was, and it spun slowly in its place in the heavens.

"The three great goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens. And sacred triangles of gold remain at the point where the goddesses left the world. Since then, the sacred triangles, the Triforce, have become the basis of this world's providence, and the resting place for this relic has become the Sacred Realm."

Then everything went white, then dark.

Link opened his eyes, before he even realized he was himself again. He breathed deeply, taking in the scents of the forest. He watched the clouds drift as light bathed his face. The rustling leaves of trees were all around him, and the grass beneath him was thick, yet soft.

He sat up then, wondering when and how he had gotten on the ground. A weight on his shoulder told him Navi had perched herself upon it.

He looked to the Great Deku Tree, a newfound respect for him, and everything else he knew he had taken for granted. He felt suddenly small and humbled before his revelation, his newfound knowledge. Everything was created by these three goddesses, and the Great Deku Tree, old as time itself, was able to testify to their wonders. He was a spirit, born of the goddesses, imparted wisdom and power. And he had now given that knowledge to him, in such a way that he would never forget.

"Thou must never permit that desert man in black armor to lay his hands on the Triforce... Thou must suffereth not he, with his corrupt heart, to enter in that Sacred Realm of legend..."

Something's wrong. Link rose to his feet slowly, for his body still felt like it was not his own. He would have to get used to that if that's what visions did.

But that was not the problem. The Great Deku Tree...something was off. The way he spoke was different. Perhaps it was the rasp that had entered his voice, and the strain, as if it was taing immense effort to speak. Or maybe it was he pause he was putting into his words. Or even perhaps some intangible cue that alerted his intuition. Regardless, he was certain now that something was amiss.

"That evil man who cast the death curse, upon me, and sapped my power..."

A chill crept into his spine. No...

"Because of that curse, my end draws nigh..."

"No..." The realization hit him, washing over him like a tidal wave. He couldn't accept it though. How could he?

"Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful...I was doomed before thou hath even begun..."

Tears welled up in his eyes, and his already weak knees gave way. He had broken the curse. He had saved the Great Deku Tree, hadn't he? He had done what few Kokiri could ever hope to do. And it had been for nothing. What was the point of making him do it if it meant nothing?

The Great Deku Tree...He couldn't just die, not like that. He just couldn't. He was their father, their teacher, their protector. And his. He had cared when no else, save Saria, did. He had given him a reason to stay. With him gone, that all was finished. And it was his fault, wasn't it? That's what everyone would say. It was his fault the Great Deku Tree had to die. No, he would not stay, he would leave before he could face that scorn.

"Yes, I shall pass away soon...but grieve not for me, for your efforts were not in vain, for by them I was able to tell thee of these important matters... This is now Hyrule's final hope...Link, go now to Hyrule Castle...where there thou shalt surely meet the Princess of Destiny..."

It took everything he could muster to stop the tears from flowing, and he willed himself to composure. The Great Deku Tree, even so close to his demise, was instructing him. Like a final wish, his last will. And he would hear it all.

He considered his words then. He was to go Hyrule Castle, and meet a princess. How many princesses were there? He had heard of Hyrule Castle, but never before considered where it was or what it looked like. But The Great Deku Tree was commanding him to do this, and it would be done. He nodded, looking up to the ancient spirit before him.

"Take you this stone upon you, and carry it always; that which the man desired so much as to cast this curse upon me..."

There was a flash of green light that filled the glade, and Link was forced to shield his eyes from it. Within seconds the light faded, and when link lifted his eyes, he was met with an amazing sight.

The Kokiri's Emerald. The Spiritual Stone of the Forest.

It was an object all kokiri's knew of, but none had seen. It was a legend, a myth. A story passed down through centuries. Yet here it was before him, as real as he was. Here before him, and all the descriptions of it he knew of did not compare to the truth.

The centerpiece of the object, the Emerald itself, was completely rounded and smooth, a perfect sphere, and it glowed with a fiery brilliance from within. It was held within a gold casing that was purer than any gold he had ever seen. It wrapped around the sphere, first from the top, thickening toward the bottom, and then split into two tendrils that wound toward the center, efficiently cupping the stone so that it was secure. The thicker, bottom portion extended out away from the swirl, creating a vague leaf shape.

It hovered, circling, a few feet before and above him, so that if he stood he would be able to stretch out his hand and take hold of it. Well, the Deku Tree was giving this to him. He rose steadily, testing his strength, and was relieved to see it was returning swiftly. He took hold of the stone, and found it surprisingly heavy for its small size; it could fit into the palm of his hand. He looked at it for only a few moments, before placing it within his spare, empty pouch. He would appreciate it later.

Now the Great Deku Tree's voice was more strained than before now, and it was quickly growing softer. He spoke in earnest, trying to say everything he could with his strength before passing away. "The future depends upon thee, Link... Thou art surely courageous... Navi, trusted fairy, aid Link in his fulfilment of my will... I... Entreat ye, Navi... Good... bye..."

His voice faded, and with it all sound. Silence dominated the glade and the forest surrounding. And with it a coldness swept through, and he knew that it was not just him; every creature living in the forest knew. Every creature that was graced by the ancient spirit's power felt it.

The Great Deku Tree was dead.