Chapter 4
The Gift of Nayru

Three months passed peacefully, with no sign of Hylians throughout the forest. Farea began to believe that they were trustworthy after all—for they had not come back, demanding more trees. They had come for what they wanted and left, so what was the worry? Probably they were just still building their "factories" and wouldn't even need anymore trees. With no outsiders around, existence in the Kokiri Forest continued on as usual, with the children enjoying life in general.

Farea sighed and leaned back into her hammock, feeling the gentle warmth of the fireplace flowing to fill her hut. It had been a long day, for the Kokiri had just celebrated the World Festival, a time of merriment and love of the forest. Deep into the night hours the festivities plunged, with each minute bringing with it another tale of the forest or another game to be played. It was soon after midnight that Farea felt the heavy weight of sleep descend upon her and she was forced to retire to her relaxed hut.

As she put out the fire, darkness filled the room, but the heat remained. Briefly adjusting her pillow, Farea again laid herself comfortably onto her bed. The others had likely finished cleaning up the party and were themselves ready to depart into dreamland. Farea closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her… Instantly, consciousness faded away, leaving her in a state extremely receptive to the forest energies.

In the darkness of sleep, Farea drifted through the sea of the mind, unaware of anything and anyone. All at once, she was forced rudely from her dreams at the sound of a painful, psychic shout. She herself awoke screaming at the force of the spiritual shockwave, heart leaping wilding about. Farea took several deep breaths to calm herself and slow the movement of adrenaline. At last, she could think about what she had just felt and heard—or was it both?

Something full of life—connected deeply to the forest—had just been cut off from the world—in other words, dead. What was it? Farea thought back to the trees cut down by the Hylians—could it be? They had! They had betrayed Saria's trust and killed another innocent tree! Farea knew this was true; no Kokiri would kill a tree so alive and no animal's death at the hands of a predator was so filled with energy!

Feeling the familiar anger once more, Farea leaped out of bed, dashing over to Saria's house. Darkness still covered the forest, though light patches of blue had begun to appear overhead. As she entered, Farea cried, "Did you feel it? They killed another tree!"

Saria was already awake, sitting up solemnly in her bed. "I know. They've destroyed the last traces of our trust by slaying such a mighty thing. I must go see them—now."

"Is that a good idea?" asked Farea slowly. "I mean, these guys are crazy tree murderers! We can't just go up to them and—"

"No. If we wait any longer, more areas of our forest may fall to these men. Let's gather up the whole tribe. Come!"

Saria's adamancy showed in the next couple hours, as she brought the entire tribe—armed fully with slingshots—out to the clearing in order to confront the Hylians. Yet, when they arrived, there was no sign of the Hylians—save for the destruction of the final tree. Farea cried out upon spotting the forlorn stump that still remained and hurried to examine the new tree stump.

She bent over the stump, running her fingers across the tree rings. On her hands, she felt a strange sticky sensation that she instantly recognized as tree sap. Unlike the tree sap from sick trees, this sap was fresh meaning… "It was killed only a few hours ago," reasoned Farea. The others stood stunned for a minute, unsure of what to do. "They were here!" shouted Farea, trying to assert herself. "Let's go find them and see what they are up to!" With that final remark, she sprinted from the destroyed clearing and toward the end of the forest.

"Saria, what do we do?" wondered a Kokiri girl. They all glanced expectantly at their tribal leader, hoping that she had some answer.

"We must not do anything," Saria said finally. "For right now, it is best to let them come to us. Stay here. Return to the village. But I will go after Farea, before she does anything too reckless." Calmly and carefully, Saria strode through the fallen trees and reached the end of the forest as the other children looked on in suspense.

"Farea!" called Saria, as she looked out into the great field north of the Lost Woods. The golden grass stretched far into the relatively flat distance—very much unlike the forest, with its massive trees blockading the view in all directions. Saria scanned the view, searching for a spot of green that might be Farea's tunic. Cupping her hands to focus her voice, she cried again, "Farea!" There was no reply. Saria anxiously waited for a reply, and after several minutes, she walked out onto the grass, searching in all directions. Her worry grew thicker as she spotter twirling black smoke floating away into the sky.

Saria climbed to the top of a great hill and peered over its crest, hoping to gain view of Farea. What she saw was shocking—and slightly horrifying. A great pit—essentially an enormous sore on the surface of the earth—had appeared in the field, with its entire infrastructure layered into levels each loaded with machines of mechanical ingenuity—or from another point of view, unnatural abominations of nature. These machines and other industrial structures were organized—if such a word could be used for something as chaotic as this—into a sprawling black mass of steam engines and blast furnaces. Black smoke twisted malevolently into the air, choked out by a series of enormous exhaust pipes that protruded furiously from the buildings like devil's horns. And rising above this sea of mechanical power and puncturing the sky with its sharp point was a thin and menacing spike of a tower, with needles of massive size shooting from its otherwise seamless surface. The fortress exuded a presence of great power at any cost and overwhelming authority over all. Hylians marched back and forth—in and out of the huge, forbidding gates, up and down elevators and ladders—shoving elongated stretches of lumber into the searing furnaces, while others forged weapons into all sorts of lethal shapes. And in the middle of all this was a frightened Farea.

She had never seen any sort of factory—of which this was the most extreme type—before, being from the forest. Indeed, in her mind she truly believed she was seeing the work of those who wished to destroy the forest and all other works of nature. What was all this for, anyways, if not for simply destroying nature? That was what Farea wondered, as she observed the horror of industrial might. It looked impressive—in a mindless mechanical way—that was for sure, but what was so important that they would go soiling nature to such an extreme extent? Nature. There was nothing natural here. As her mind wrapped around the shock of seeing the place, Farea realized one thing: she was in grave danger here, if she remained.. Turning around another corner, Farea hoped to see some sort of escape route…

"Ah, there you are!" cried a Hylian guard, leveling his spear at Farea. "We can't have you telling all your friends about this, can we?"

Farea's eyes were furious and intense. "What do you think you are doing?! Destroying the forest, making these… giant, metal cans! And for what?!"

She took several impudent steps toward the retreating guard. Surprise appeared across his face, but he then regained his composure. "Oh no, you don't! You're coming with us!"

"Hold it!" shouted Saria from behind. "Don't you lay a hand on her, or I'll—"

"Or you'll what?" The guard lunged at Farea, who darted backward—away from the attack. "Stop moving, you rat!" he roared at Farea.

"Or I'll do this," asserted Saria. With a single gesture, she called up an orb of green light, which hovered above her hand. The magical energy was released upon her next forward motion—that was aimed right at the soldier's legs. The orb smacked the soldier, but that was not important; upon impact, thick vines burst into existence, causing the Hylian to stumble to his knees as it enveloped his legs.

"Let me talk to Captain Belarn—now," Saria ordered. "Or those vines will get big—fast."

"I can't," choked out the guard, his voice strained. "Couple months ago… He wanted to leave and defy the king. He got taken in for treason against the crown. Doesn't matter. Lord Turul was gonna take over anyway, so he did, but he always stays up in The Cloudscraper," the soldier motioned weakly to the tower, "anyways. You can't just go up and—ow!" At Saria's command, a jagged thorn punctured his skin and he clutched his foot in pain. "Alright!" gave in the soldier. "I'll take you to him!"

"No need, Private Colin," came a dark, cynical tone. "I'm here already." Paying no heed to his soldier who lay at his feet, Turul stepped over the body and bowed elegantly with a sweeping gesture—yet there was no charm about this cloaked and black-haired man, nothing but pure malice. A slender and jagged blade hung from his belt, hidden beneath his cloak, but ready to be drawn at the notion of combat. Lord Turul, as he bowed, intoned, "How may I help you? Lord Turul, at your service."

"I order you to take these horrific machines of war out of these lands, never to return," demanded Saria.

"Is that all? I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving us any more trees?" ridiculed Turul. "We could use the lumber…"

"Use your own lumber!" shouted Farea suddenly from the side, lunging at Turul. The man twisted his blue cloak in a swift motion, dodging the failed attack easily. Turul drew his sword and seized Farea, placing the sharp edge against the Kokiri's neck. Farea gasped as she felt the surprisingly cold metal touch her skin, sucking away all the warmth in her body.

"I never thought the children of the forest would be so violent," chided Turul, voice dripping with mock surprise. "I suppose you are ready to resist—to fight back against what you think is 'tyranny', correct?" He turned to Saria, who did not reply, instead giving Turul an overpowering look of hatred. "I'm here to tell you: there is no point of resisting. There is no chance of surviving the might of technology. If you fight, all of you will die. Now, tell me again what you want to do?" Turul twirled his fingers toward Saria, as if giving her the chance to speak.

Saria glanced anxiously at Farea and the sword that lay almost casually across her neck. Saria understood the threat clearly: if you wish to fight, then Farea will die within seconds. She knew that though the Kokiri are immortal and cannot age, they are still susceptible to flesh wounds and bleeding to death—among other things. Saria bit her lip nervously. Life would never be the same if she gave in—but if she did not give in, Farea would die at the hands of this cold-blooded murderer. Saria looked to Farea's eyes—in which she could see fiery anger and the will to resist. Farea seemed to be saying, "Don't give up!" At last, the Sage of Forest made her choice. Finally, Saria spoke quietly and with controlled anger, "Death is a powerful threat, Lord Turul. On one hand, if we resist, we will die. Yet if we surrender, our way of life will be utterly destroyed for all time. No matter what, we will suffer horribly at your hands. And for that reason, I have decided," Saria looked back at Farea's eyes, and noted its glint of agreement, "that we will resist against your so-called rule!" Saria twirled her arms in a complicated spell and blasted a beam of green energy at Turul.

Simultaneously, Farea suddenly began to struggle—arms waving and legs kicking. A blow was landed on Turul's stomach and he doubled over in pain, as Farea rolled away from him. The energy blast then immediately collided into him—before he could make a move with his sword—knocking him against a metal wall that was crushed by his weight. Turul roared in anger at the attack and reached for his blade. With astonishing speed, he leapt forward in a fury to strike out at Farea…

Time seemed to slow to a crawl at that precise instant and Turul himself appeared to be frozen in the air… Saria, eyes closed in silent concentration, produced a beautifully carved instrument—an ocarina—and began to play a sweet, ancient melody. Green lights of energy flickered into being around her as the Minuet of Forest summoned up the ethereal power of the forest. At last, as the song faded away into the wind, Saria grabbed Farea around the waist and light enveloped them—carried them away. Time resumed its course and Turul crashed upon the ground, where seconds earlier his foe had been standing. He turned to the sky and watched a green orb twirl away into the distance… Turul's eyes widened and he let out a great roar of rage…

The first small skirmishes occurred upon the northern borders of the forest. Armed groups of spearmen had charged straight into the forest, hoping to skewer some Kokiri. Their plan failed horribly as the Kokiri took refuge among the trees and the woods that they knew so well. Small stones, skilled traps, and a general ability to use the forest to an advantage aided the Kokiri well in their first battles. Worn down by many blows and events in the forest, the soldiers were forced to retreat in their small, weak groups. Somehow Turul seemed to sorely underestimate the power of his enemy…

Afterwards, a new tactic was quickly employed. Instead of using force to attack the children of the forest, the Hylians would use the cover of darkness and the shadows of night to remove the element that gave the Kokiri such an advantage: the trees themselves. Each night, several new trees were destroyed, removing the Hylians' terrain disadvantage while simultaneously granting them additional resources. This worked for a time, but before long, the Kokiri caught on to this plan and created a system of sentries who would defend the borders of their land from night-time attacks, as well as during the day. The ability to adapt to whatever was thrown at them proved extremely valuable to the Kokiri.

Farea grinned with satisfaction as she fired a large rock at a soldier's exposed neck. He turned around in annoyance, scanning the trees for the one that had fired the projectile, but Farea had already leapt into the branches of another tree. Night had arrived and another midnight tree-raid was underway—and failing miserably. Kokiri leapt from tree to tree, bombarding the Hylians with whatever they could get their hands on. And still, the Hylians were too slow to catch sight of any of the children, who used their green tunics and the continuously shifting blanket of leaves overhead.

Farea turned to meet the eyes of another Kokiri, who perched on a branch opposite hers. He raised a single, long tube to his lips and nodded to Farea, who produced one of her own. A blowgun. Farea placed a dart into her tube and situated it into her mouth. Aiming the weapon at a soldier's leg, she blew into the tube as silently as she could, yet with as much strength as she could muster. A smile spread across her face when the soldier slapped his leg as if being stung by a mosquito. Another Hylian did the same once Farea's comrade fired his own weapon. Within seconds, the poison had done its work and the soldiers both collapsed to the ground…

Farea had never really felt such thrill before as she felt on that day in which she defeated many soldiers. Her anger was truly useful during such times as she had learned to channel it toward the enemy—and thus providing her with the purpose to continue on. Perhaps then, she did not realize the enormity of the force they were facing. Little did she know that the Hylians had recently crushed much of the mighty Goron tribe or nearly annihilated the entirely of the Zora Kingdom. A much greater force then Farea ever realized… at least not until the day when the stakes moved to a higher level than ever before…

Saria paced anxiously across the woven mat that lay across her hut. Again and again, she turned to walk briefly in the other direction as she contemplated the recent events in Kokiri Forest. Sure, the Kokiri could fight off small bands of Hylians using slingshots and rocks, but what would they do when entire armies of Hylians charged in with their superior metal swords and bows? Using the guerilla-type tactics that Kokiri commonly used in the forest would no longer be such an option. And Saria knew this. She knew that the Kokiri could not face the Hylians head on in battles of massive scale. Saria sighed and tried to clear her mind, listening to the sound of crickets from outside. Night had fallen and throughout the forest there was a tense silence as the children hoped that no attack would come.

"Saria?" asked Farea, leaning on the door frame. "Can I ask you something?"

Saria nodded absently. "Hmm? What is it?"

"Do you think the Hylians will ever leave? We've been fighting them forever and there's more of 'em waiting down in that pit! We have to do something big to get them to go away forever!" Farea's voice rose in excitement and she added, "I think it would be better than just sitting here and waiting for them."

Saria nodded in agreement, realizing that Farea had put into words Saria's concerns, albeit in a more optimistic manner. "What else can we do, Farea? Entire armies of them… We cannot combat that many! Our tribe is merely equipped to battle small groups of them, maybe a few dozens, but not hundreds!"

"Well, I dunno!" cried Farea. "Maybe we should— Hold on, what's all that commotion out there?" The girls turned to look outside, where loud and raucous shouting could be heard. "What's going on?"

A Kokiri boy hurried breathlessly into Saria's hut. "Saria!" he cried. "There are a lot of them coming! More than we ever had before! Like, thousands! We couldn't fight 'em off!"

"What's that?" Saria gestured to a thick red liquid dripping from the boy's hand. "Is that… blood? Sit down; I'll treat your injury…!" Saria began to search her hut for medicine, but the boy shook his head.

"No need to worry about that!" insisted the Kokiri. "We need a plan—now! They're cutting down more and more trees right now!"

Farea winced suddenly, as a ripple of energy slammed through the hut. It was very true; the trees were already dying. "How long do we have before they get here?" she demanded. The other kid looked unsure at the answer to her question. "Tell me!"

"I dunno, couple hours?" he suggested.

"Tell us, don't ask us!!" Farea cried in frustration. "Okay, have everyone get their slingshots! Every weapon we have, use it!" The boy nodded, and quickly departed from the hut to deliver his message.

"Besides that… Saria, we need another plan." Farea's tone was serious and grim, mixed in with some panic. "What do we have?"

"I have my magic. But it will not be sufficient, especially with so soldiers," Saria muttered. "I'll ask the Great Deku Tree for additional aid. He could wield some of his magic to protect us, but other than that…I do not know," she concluded honestly. "Go join the others, Farea," she added softly. "And…good luck."

"Good luck," Farea replied in kind. She was silent for a moment as she chose her next words. Finally, she murmured solemnly, "You know, this day might be—"

"I know. The last day of Kokiri Forest." Saria's face was desperate and filled with anguish at the thought of that. "But if we are to battle, we must not dwell on thoughts such as that. Let us focus on surviving this now." Saria nodded firmly and dashed out of the hut. Farea sighed, and left the hut as well, snatching up her slingshot from the ground. She slid her hand down to her belt and confirmed that her blowgun and knife remained where they were supposed to. She knew the dangers of misplacing a weapon in battle, though it had never truly happened to her.

As Farea dashed off to join the band of Kokiri, she cleared her mind and focused on the task at hand. The thrill and surge of battle had not yet arrived, only the painful and tense calm before the storm. A deadly storm of the outside world catching up to their utopian forest, in the worst way possible. The sky emulated her emotions, gathering up gray clouds to unleash a torrent. Lightning flashed through the air and thunder rumbled toward them. This was it. At that thought, Farea tightened the grip on her slingshot. At Mido's call, the group of children advanced into the forest to defend their way of life. Farea knew in her mind this was a final, desperate dice roll in the game called "survival of the fittest". The only problem was that their opponent was cheating…

Turul lifted his face to the black sky and took a deep breath, feeling the wind rippling his dark cloak in sinister waves. Face obscured by shadows, Turul calmly fingered his sword with heavy gauntlets, admiring its twisted beauty and fatal edge. The Duskblade was an extremely powerful weapon, Turul knew—for it had been forged by the dark master smith serving a single lord with single name, charged with ancient, ominous power --Meldarus. King Daar and General Link had not trusted it to him lightly—as they knew its great ability to cause suffering to those of good heart.

Suddenly, Turul clenched his fists around his sword. How had those accursed children escaped the Duskblade so easily!? Turul nearly roared in anger at the thought of his failure, but calmed himself, remembering his grim mission: to destroy the stronghold of the forest once and for all. He smiled another of his unsettling smiles and muttered to himself, "At last, my true master will have achieved another of his goals." Ah, his master. King Daar was weak; a fool, to be put simply. Link? Link was nothing more than a feeble servant of a weak king. What right did he have to order Turul around? Still, Turul knew that they too would eventually serve his master's purposes. All these soldiers would too, though they knew not their part in his deadly plans.

Lightning cut through the sky in a jagged arc and Turul turned to the sky once more, to hear the enormous booming call of the thunder that soon followed its swifter brother. Again, a streak of light sliced through a cloud and was accompanied by a blast of noise. Turul watched and listened meticulously to the pattern of thunder and lightning, as if searching for a specific combination…There! A stream of lightning flashed for an instant, revealing an ancient insignia among the black clouds. Turul created a quick gesture against his chest as if to call upon its power and then turned to face his army. At last, the message from his master had arrived. It was time…

His eyes scanned the ranks of his massive army, not as a caring general looking out for the needs of his men, but rather as a cruel overlord searching for any careless blunder that would destroy his plans. Turul raised an arm and called to them, "It is time! We must crush this resistance! MARCH!" With this final order, Turul turned away from his army and drew The Duskblade in a single fluid blur. As the lord stepped forward, his men followed in perfect time with his steps. Turul grinned crookedly with pleasure; the greatest army the world had ever seen had at last arrived…and it was under his control. Turul formed the gesture once more as if to notify his master of his near success. Meldarus would be very pleased.

Farea, squinting into the darkness, scanned the trees for any sign of the enemy's approach. No sound could be heard, so she nimbly leaped up onto a nearby branch to report her observations. "No one there, Mido. Where are they?"

"I don't know," admitted the older Kokiri. "I'm not real familiar with how these guys do things. Saria is better with stuff like that, you know, 'cause of Link, right? I guess we gotta wait for 'em," he concluded uncertainly.

"I think so too," agreed Farea. "From what I've heard, there are lots of them. If we go after them, we'll end up losing. So, I think we should create an ambush instead of going for an all-out attack. What do you think?" Farea turned to the older boy.

"I—Hey, how'd did you get so good at this stuff?" Mido asked suddenly. "You haven't been around that long—no offense—but you might be better at this strategy stuff than me!"

Farea gasped in mock horror. "Oh no! The great Mido has been dethroned!" Mido grinned. The two shared a quick laugh to relieve the tension that was building up, but afterwards resumed their battle preparations.

"Hey, what's Saria doing?" Mido inquired. "She could be a big help here, since she's a sage and all that."

"She's asking the Deku Tree for help, Mido," Farea replied. "That way we can—hold on, I think I hear something!" Farea quickly cupped a hand around her ears in time to hear a great rumbling noise rush through the clearing, immediately followed by a slightly louder but otherwise identical noise. Farea, without delay, began to search around the clearing for the source of the sound, which she suspected to be the heavy, thumping boots of the Hylians. Still, there was no sign of the Hylians besides the noise…

Then, a flicker of movement caught Farea's eye along the edge of the clearing and she silently pointed at it. Suddenly, an entire rank of Hylian soldiers burst into view, followed by another. As new ranks emerged from the darkness to complete the army, the sound of the soldiers marching grew ever louder, each foot in tune with the man standing at the army's head, sword drawn. Farea shivered as she felt the familiar cold darkness radiate from the Duskblade—this time more deadly than before—filling her heart with sudden anxiety and apprehension. Lord Turul himself had finally come to strike at the heart of the forest. Farea glared at the cloaked figure, willing her anger to rise to the surface. Her focusing struggled against the horrid debilitating effects of the Duskblade, but at last her fury overrode the power of the sword and suddenly she was ready for battle.

"Get them!" whispered Mido. His own slingshot was at the ready and he quickly fired a spiked rock at Turul. The valiant attack failed, however, as Turul was able to sweep his sword through the air and destroy the projectile. The battle had begun.

The first shot had been fired and—as in many battles throughout history—once that occurred, more suddenly followed. Dozens of precisely aimed rocks flew through the air and took out several soldiers who hadn't the sense to protect themselves against them. Immediately following this barrage, many Kokiri produced their blowpipes and released a wave of poisoned darts at the enemy, hoping to disable several of them before the main segment of the battle had arrived.

The Kokiri seemed to be winning the first part of the battle, but the Hylians were also skilled fighters. The archers readied their bows and fired up into the canopy, attempting to catch any Kokiri off-guard. Some arrows were easily dodged, but others struck some children, sending them plummeting to the forest floor, where they were finished off with sharp swords or pointed spears. Farea grimaced at the horrific sight and turned away. No Kokiri had yet died against the Hylians—until now. The intense reality of it all came hard upon Farea and the other Kokiri and they began to despair at the loss of their friends.

As if appealing to their prayers, the power of the forest suddenly turned against the Hylians. A perfect circle of saplings—quickly maturing into great pillars—appeared around the army, entrapping them. Even Turul paused, as if mildly amused. Then, on cue, Saria's voice called out, "Continue the battle! The Great Deku Tree has agreed to aid us with his powers of the forest!" Saria, perched on a branch like the other Kokiri, raised her arms and muttered several ancient words. A huge tree burst into existence right in the center of the circle, catching several soldiers off-guard and propelling others into the night sky.

The battle then continued, almost heading in the favor of the children of the forest. Saria, with her sagely powers, aided greatly in the battle, summoning deadly animals to the fight and turning the plants against the men trampling them beneath heavily booted feet. The Great Deku Tree perhaps did not aid so directly as Saria; instead, he gifted the Kokiri with additional vitality and agility and enhanced their combat abilities. From the trees, the Kokiri struck with their poison darts and their slingshots, catching soldiers unaware, while others began to take to the ground, fighting either hand-to-hand or using what few swords and shields they had to combat the weapons of the enemy. The battle dragged on, until Farea realized that going after the soldiers would not do…

"Everyone! Get Lord Turul first!" Farea directed a rock toward the cloaked man, but he easily deflected it with a twirl of the Duskblade. Saria drew a quick rune in the air, summoning up a small glowing seed. With a flick of her fingers, the Sage of Forest threw the plant grenade at Turul's feet, where it erupted into a mass of leaves, vines, and thorns. Turul was caught up in the maze of plants, but a few sweeps of the Duskblade caused the magical plant to instantly wilt. A brave Kokiri child leaped at his back at that moment, dagger raised, but Turul countered with a quick stabbing motion of his blade, killing the valiant charger.

Saria tried again with the seeds, hoping that several of them might be strong enough to completely immobilize the man. Again, the plants wilted and Turul escaped. Saria muttered, "Great Deku Tree, grant me your power." Then, she allowed his presence to touch her mind, as he allowed much of his energy to flow to Saria. Finally, Saria raised her arms and spoke a long, complicated spell that flowed with archaic, wild energy. The released life energy was channeled into the trees and instantly, spikes shot from their sides, skewering many soldiers through the chest. The barbs made no move to strike at the Kokiri, only the Hylians that ventured too closely. The battle seemed to be almost won.

Turul watched as his men fell to the powers of the forest. This had gone on far longer than he had hoped, thanks to the intervention of the Great Deku Tree and the Sage of Forest. At this rate, the pathetic soldiers would never get anything done. Turul knew that his time to truly take charge had come. At last, he roared, "ENOUGH! This resistance cannot be allowed to remain! Archers, ready your bows!" His orders were immediately followed and the bowmen looked around uncertainly, unsure of where to fire. "Aim at the trees," ordered Turul. Confusion filled the men, but they again obeyed, hoping to see Turul's plan. Turul then snapped his fingers and the arrows burst into flame, filling the dark clearing with light.

The archers marveled at Turul's control of magic and now understood his plan. "Fire!" commanded Turul. Streaks of blazing fire shot through the air, setting many of the trees on fire. The arrows were incinerated, but the fire remained upon the great trees, quickly spreading to the underbrush. Uncontrolled fires had occurred before in the forest, but this time, there was no time to gather up buckets of water from the river. A battle was still raging, but now, the Hylians had the upper hand.

Turul grinned malevolently. There was no need to continue the battle, he noted. The enchanted flames would easily finish off the heart of the forest. Still, his master enjoyed a good battle, otherwise it would all have been over long ago. "Let the fire handle the rest," he called out. "Return to base!" His orders were immediately followed.

"No! No!" cried Farea in horror at the flames. "They are getting away!" She glanced around for anything that would help them, but there was nothing. The soldiers vanished into the night. The fires crackled menacingly, overshadowing the booms of thunder from above. Farea suddenly felt a creaking beneath her feet and realized that her tree branch had been weakened by a surge of fire. Farea leaped to the ground and looked around at the confusion.

"Retreat!" ordered Saria at last, realizing that there was no hope in winning the fight. "The battle is over," she added solemnly. She turned and jumped from her tree, following the remaining Kokiri children, except Farea.

"No!" shouted Farea with a surge of anger. Everything had gone wrong. The soldiers had come to destroy everything and succeeded. Farea felt hot tears drip down her face and she ran out into the inferno. Nothing mattered anymore. Farea continued to run, faster and faster. Everything in her world was going to be gone, so what was the point? Anguish, confusion, and exhaustion at last overtook her and she fell to the ground, enveloped in darkness. As she did, a single thought rose to the surface. Would the Great Deku Tree survive this?

Farea felt familiar anger course through her blood again as she thought of these final events, but she knew it would have no help in shielding the Great Deku Tree, so she reluctantly forced it down. The flames drew ever nearer and she realized the desperation of the entire situation. The Great Deku Tree was silent as well, stoic in the face of his own death. Father and child of the forest both sat together in the clearing, awaiting their respective dooms. They seemed almost calm, but inside, Farea's emotions continued to churn into a massive maelstrom. There had to be something! Anything! Farea's resourceful and desperate nature commanded her to search for a solution, but the rest of her felt tired; and besides, there was nothing anyone could do.

Still, Farea knew better. She knew what trying nothing would do to her in the afterlife; her conscience would forever torture her with the single fact that she did not go down fighting. Determined, she stood and raised her arms to the grayed heavens and called out. To whom, she did not know. Perhaps she directed her pleas to any celestial being—the goddesses, most likely—who could respond. And so, she cried out, voice choked with desperation, "Someone! Anyone! Help me!" The only response was a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder.

She did not know how long she continued her pleading. An eternity? A few minutes? For that time, the crackling of fire and her desperate calls were all that filled her ears. Suddenly, she was startled to hear a soothing voice fill her mind, whispering, "O child of Farore, accept the Gift of Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom…"

Farea felt a mysterious, cool power flow into her body, relieving her briefly of all her tensions and negative emotions. Such a relief this was that she felt darkness—strangely silent and comfortable darkness—overtake her once more. The soothing energy was too much to resist and Farea fainted. The last noise she heard before she collapsed was a combination of the rhythmic pattering of rain being expelled from the heavens and the hissing of the flames as they were extinguished…