Chapter 21
A Warning
A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.
- Ancient Greek aphorism
Fado ran off around the depression, not even looking back. She jumped down from the rock formation, and it was rather high, perhaps six metres, but she wasn't worried, and landed like a cat. She then jumped over a tiny stream running from the pond, hopped across the three blocks sitting in the larger section of the pond, and ran through the village, nearby Kokiri wondering why she was running so quickly, several of the forest children asking her just that. Fado ignored them and darted into Mido's house. Coincidentally, at the same time, Mido was about to leave his house, so Fado ran into him and the impact made them both fall over at the entrance, Mido's hat falling off his head; the two children's fairies reared in the air from surprise.
"Ow! Fado, what the heck are you doing?" Mido exclaimed, picking himself and his hat up, rubbing his forehead before snugging his hat back on. Fado just sat there, looking up at Mido with big bright eyes.
"I saw something scary." Fado remarked, hearing several Kokiri form into a group outside Mido's house to see what was going on.
"Did you? I thought you liked scary things." Mido remarked, Fado getting up and fixing her hair, staring to the sides with her eyes.
"Well, yeah, but this time it was different. I followed this guy, a grown-up, who looked so weird. I knew he was cursed, and that he would become a Stalfos soon. I always wanted to see what happens! He couldn't see me of course, only Kokiri can see other Kokiri from far away. I saw him transform into a Stalfos. His life exhaled out of him, his blood left him, and he became undead. He eventually lied down to rest, so I took a metal bucket off his head and saw his face, it was the worst thing I ever saw. It was just a skull, a meaty skull without eyes. It was very creepy. He then woke up, looking at me with that eyeless face of his, and I ran away." Fado explained quickly, a little traumatized.
"I told you to leave him alone." Fado's fairy commented.
"Really? Where did you see him?" Mido asked, putting his hands on his sides and tilting his head, concerned about the situation.
"Oh, right! He is behind the Great Deku Tree, on the cliff!" Fado cried, and that really caught the boss's attention.
"Really? Well, we'll have to do something about that." Mido said, looking at his wall full of hunting and war gear and letting his arms drop. "Hm, how did he find us? The forest would have deterred the outsider. If this creepy guy made it all the way here, he must not be evil. But still, we need to be alert, just in case." he continued, stepping out his home to warn everyone.
Meanwhile, the knight had put his helm back on his head, and jumped down below. He then walked around the Great Deku Tree to be before him. The knight sat on the ground, both knees bent, left leg on the ground, right leg with the knee up so that he could rest his elbow on it. He sat leaning forward, head low, breathing audibly as blood dripped out the bottom of his great helm as well as spatter through the breathe holes and eye slits.
"Great Deku Tree, I'm back." the knight said with a raspy and gurgling voice, and he slowly lifted his head, several tiny torrents of blood trickling down his front.
The Great Deku Tree, resembling a tall bright oak tree with limited branches and few leaves, had bark on its front that had grown to form a face of some kind, the face taking up the whole area of the front of the trunk. The Great Deku Tree was young, about a metre wide and ten metres tall, not very great at all compared to the previous one. Thicker sections of bark somewhat formed eyebrows and a moustache, and the wood beneath formed the outlines of eyes and a mouth, though eyeballs were not visible very much, just little black beads, perhaps eternally closed once the bark grew over them.
Long ago, there was a previous Great Deku Tree, who had died of a curse. He was hit by lightning and split in half, nearly putting the younger Great Deku Tree on fire and then almost causing a forest fire. Once the Kokiri controlled the fire, the parts of the old Great Deku Tree were buried into the earth from whence he came, returning him to his true home, the place he was supposed to be, the place he was meant to be.
The current Great Deku Tree groaned, its young, slender body of timber and bark creaking as he awoke. The sentient tree stretched itself, as if yawning, bark and branches expanding and contracting slowly, barky moustache and leaves writhing for a few seconds. The tree leaned over slightly, wooden hull groaning and creaking from pressure, and leaves shaking from the vibration. Even the roots felt the stress, and several birds in the distance flew away.
"Alencon, welcome." the sentient tree greeted, wooden body creaking and groaning. The tree seemed to be able to communicate telepathically, as its mouth did not open, or perhaps he spoke as the sound of moving timber in such a way that any creature could understand it. Regardless, the tree did not seem happy.
"You have seen the vision, have you?" the knight asked. The sentient tree grumbled in acknowledgement.
"Perhaps the Great Deku Tree before me had a spiritual connection to the Royal Family, and perhaps that has echoed into me as I grew, I tend to know things, somehow. Whoever created that vision surely has ties with the Royal Family, perhaps forming the letter with the essence of a dream that traversed into the sleeping thoughts of those sensitive to such forces. However, the author of that vision, as well as the beholder, whoever the beholder is, well, neither have appeared to me yet." the sentient tree said.
"Then they are already too late, which is good. They are not important. Great Deku Tree, your realm, these forests, this forest, is the first line of defence for your world, to block outsiders from entering, outsiders like me. But many realms are connected by these forests, and those realms are also protected by your forests. These forests are a mighty shield to hide behind, or to hide within. If any realm were to take control, your forest would no longer be a bastion of defence, but a stronghold that would shelter invaders, perfectly placed amidst the passages to other worlds." the knight explained, and the Great Deku Tree's hull groaned.
"Well, I would not be surprised if the people of the castle came to protect Kokiri Forest. Long ago, a hero left this forest to save Hyrule, a boy who himself was a Hylian, so it is only fair for the people of the castle to repay that goodwill and help protect their hero's home. The vision spoke of protecting the immortal children, to protect this forest, the defence to deter outsiders. I do not fear what is to come. Fear and doubt, and the risks of becoming lost in the forest, and the consequences, is quite the challenge, a challenge that you have conquered many times, but not this time. I am sorry the curse has come upon you, but I told you to go back to your home, where you are supposed to be, the place you are meant to be." the Great Deku Tree solemnly said, his branches drooping.
"I allowed myself to become lost. I let the curse of the forest to enshroud me, to escape an enemy, to escape my brother knights, to escape my old life, to escape unhappy memories... To start over, to begin again, in death. There is nothing left for me in my life. I left behind everything. I left behind my family, my friends, my knights, my home, my honour, everything I knew and loved is all gone. The only thing that is precious for me is the forest, it's the only thing I love now." Alencon replied, then looking up at the sentient wooden being, blood continuing to leak down the front of the helm.
"You have met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" the sentient tree asked, but the knight shook his head, his armour now wet and shiny from so much bleeding, gambeson and surcoat soaked, mail and cuir bouilli trickling blood constantly.
"I am not afraid. I do not want to survive what is to come, and this curse your forest gave me, will guarantee I do not. I will do only what is necessary, and then fall apart. I want nothing more. But that's not why I came. I did not come here to talk about myself." Alencon explained, looking to the side as a family of deer ran along up above the cliff, his great helm shifting slightly.
"Well then, Alencon, why did you come here?" the Great Deku Tree asked, becoming a little impatient.
"You are expecting two visitors. When they come, I will kill them. What you do not know is that they are controlled by the very things they seek to destroy, and you must not allow them to leave the forest if I fail. Even if they are innocent, it is expedient to treat them as expendable. I speculate that the author of the letter is a descendant of the Sheikah, probably from a half-breed lineage, definitely a spy." the knight replied.
"Wait, what? You wish to Murder? I will not tolerate that in my forest, the Kokiri do not need to see that!" the Great Deku Tree stated sternly, leaning forward a little more, his entire frame creaking and groaning from anger. The knight picked himself up.
"I don't care. I became undead to get here, I left behind everything to reach this place, I know what I have to do. You do not understand the risks involved. If you wish to stop me, then just try to stop me." Alencon assured, blood dripping down his helm as always, and then he walked away.
"Alencon." the Great Deku Tree called, but the knight ignored him, "Alencon!" he called again, but the knight paid him no mind, only leaving bloody footprints behind.
The knight stopped, hearing the Great Deku Tree turning as best he could, and then Alencon hesitated. At first, Alencon appeared he would simply walk down the pathway through the rocky wall, but he then stopped after taking a few steps towards, considering that his appearance would probably spook the fairy folk. So he walked to the side, grasping some vines, and pulled himself up, reaching the top of the rocky formation encircling the Great Deku Tree, and he made his way into the trees up there, disappearing into the woods.
The Great Deku Tree tilted farther, wooden hull creaking and groaning, watching the knight go away, and then grumbled disappointedly, branches drooping, crown shaking, wondering what to do. If only he had legs, or could uproot himself, he would, to stop Alencon. But he could not.
Suddenly, perhaps fifty Kokiri appeared, running to the scene, all with their fairy guardians flying nearby, the kids simply fading-in from thin air, Mido leading the crowd with a little heater shield and a double-edged sword. All of the fairy children were armed with swords, spears, bows, axes and slingshots, and with them were the guards, as well as some hunters and Picti. The green-clothed kids looked around as they ran to their guardian, wondering if the knight would return or not, chirping amongst themselves about what happened. They had probably kept their distance from both their guardian and the scary knight, to hide from them, waiting for the outsider to leave.
"Great Deku Tree! We were not summoned to see you, but we came anyways, so that nothing bad happens." Mido exclaimed, loud and proud. The sentient tree tilted over to see what was squeaking, and then chuckled, wood creaking rhythmically.
"Oh, hello children! Nothing bad happened, nothing at all." the Great Deku Tree said calmly, watching the children come to a halt, their fairies whizzing after them and then bouncing around in the air excitedly.
"Well, then who was that?" Fado asked curiously, a few other Kokiri repeating her question, Fado scratching her head with her kukri, and a pause came.
"Great Deku Tree?" a boy asked, he, and many others, awaiting the sentient tree's response eagerly.
"Not even he himself knows. But he is an old friend, an outsider who comes from a faraway realm. He is on our side. But remember what I am about to say, because something important is going to happen soon." the giant tree said, instantly grabbing the children's attention, who looked up to him as if a grandfather, and the tree waited, to make the children a little impatient.
"What's going to happen?" a girl asked nervously, eyes darting to the side for a moment. The Great Deku Tree suddenly became upright, wood popping aloud, causing some children to flinch.
"Ah, what will happen? Well, it is important to remember, children, that for a little while, only come to me when summoned, or if the situation is very, very important. I have to be alone, to meditate, because my friend who just left has a very important task to do, and he really needs me to help him. I have to help him. This is very important." the Great Deku Tree said with a captivating voice, outstretching some of his branches and leaning over to make his storytelling more dynamic. The Kokiri looked relieved and interested.
"So, everything's OK?" Mido asked.
"Yes, everything's OK." the guardian replied.
"Will you tell him what happened?" one of the guards asked, a girl, looking at Mido.
"Tell him what?" Mido pondered, touching his forehead for some reason, a habit that suggested he was in some stress.
"Well, you know, what happened." the girl guard continued, Mido then figuring out what she meant. Luna.
"Oh, um?" Mido exclaimed, wondering what to say. Should he tell the Great Deku Tree that Luna ran away for real this time?
"Is something wrong?" the Great Deku Tree asked, and everyone looked at Mido, who kept his arms low at his sides, face frozen, eyes big, he not even blinking, but no one said anything.
"Well, um, we had a, uh, a little bullying." Mido mumbled, "But we took care of it." he continued quickly and quietly.
"Glad to hear it! Did anything else happen?" the Great Deku Tree asked, but Mido shook his head, and no-one else said anything. They were all afraid of mentioning Luna in front of their guardian. "Why are you all so quiet?" he asked.
"Oh, we're just a bit spooked because of that guy who came, but he's gone now." Fado remarked with a voice lighter than usual, eyes looking side to side for a second, hoping that what she said was enough to convince the Great Deku Tree, rubbing her shoe in a bloody footprint left behind by Alencon and apparently quite interested in it.
"Yes, he's gone for now. He is no trouble for us, but he wishes to protect us. He will be good for us." the sentient tree assured.
"Um, can we go now?" Mido asked nervously, eyes and head low. The guardian chuckled.
"Of course you can go! No-one's in trouble, I just want everyone to be happy!" the Great Deku Tree heartily said.
"Yay!" Fado exclaimed artificially, and all the kids and fairies took their leave, some of them saying "Bye-bye !" or "See you later!" to the guardian before going, just glad they had a chance to go away.
Nevertheless, the Great Deku Tree noticed their odd behaviour, and pondered about that. He did not seem to realize that Luna had run away, but there were more serious concerns. He tried to think of a way to stop Alencon, but he had a feeling he could not do anything. But, he would contemplate, learn, and act. It would take much more than curses and evil to stop him.