Chapter Three: The Lost Woods

Feeling, all at once, like a grown up and a frightened child, Link took his first few steps into the forest. He knew the people around town had called these the "Lost Woods." The town legend was that many people who venture in are lost forever to the trees.

Some have said that the lost souls become skeletons of their former selves, reduced to a childlike innocence through their madness. They roam around the woods, stealing, singing, and dancing all day without the need for food or water. They crave company more than anything, and these 'Skull Kids' will either lure you to your own demise for the sake of company, or relish in the thought of preventing another soul from becoming trapped like they were. When you listen closely, you can hear their songs through the trees guiding you one way or the other.

Others say that the Deku Tree itself was once a traveler through the woods who became lost. Rather than lose his wits, he grew to understand the forest in ways no one else ever could. When he began to grow old, the ground swallowed him up to keep him from harm, and he began to take root in the earth until he grew to his enormous height.

A few said that the only inhabitants, besides the great Deku Tree, were a family of monkeys and several turtles. To Link, this seemed the least likely to be what lie in store for him.

Running his hands along the thick bark of the trees, Link looked behind him, almost desperate to go back. Be brave, he told himself as he forced his feet to take the next several steps forward. His foot landed on a stick with a loud crack that echoed through the forest.

He picked them up, along with several small nuts that he could eat later, and formed a small arrow to guide his way back. Snagging a few handfuls, he felt better about proceeding and picked a direction, a wave of excitement replacing the fear.

As Link walked, his footsteps followed the familiar echoing noises though the trees. Every step he took reverberated eerily again and again, followed by his new step until the forest was singing the sounds of his unsteady walk.

It was close to an hour from when Link started that he found himself staring down at his original stick message, pointing him home. He'd come back the same way he left.

With bugged-out eyes, Link spun around quickly, hoping to see a landmark that was either new or familiar. All of the trees had become a blur, and nothing looked like anything anymore. He knew he hadn't turned around. He'd barely gone any direction but straight.

About ready to give up for the night and go home in the morning, Link decided to try once more. He stepped around the sticks and headed in the opposite direction. He took a few steps before turning around, still unsure of what he should do.

The sticks had vanished.

Link gasped, his eyes scanning the ground in a desperate effort to find where they'd gone. It was only seconds since he saw the pattern, and there hadn't been even a slight breeze.

"Hehehehahahaha!" echoed an eerie child's laugh.

Link's eyes bounded from tree to tree, searching for any sign of movement, but there was nothing at all.

Straining his ears, Link could hear something, a shuffle of leaves headed in the direction he was heading. The wind began to blow through the trees, mixing with a strange hum that seemed to come from the forest itself. All of it sounded like a song, one that led him forward. He followed it until the song of the forest stopped. Disheartened, he turned around, realizing he'd never find his way out again.

But as he turned his head, the song of the forest started up again, this time to his right.

Instinct had him follow the song through the entire forest. With every passing step, he felt more at ease, more relaxed. Instinctually, he knew he was doing something right.

A high-pitched laugh bounced off the trees, and he was sure he could see a flash of orange clothing rushing away. With a deep breath, Link pushed forward until the trees thinned and a large open area emerged.

There were uniquely shaped trees scattered about, but for the most part, it was an open field with a small stream passing through the center. He'd done it; he'd reached Kokiri Forest.

On the far side of the clearing, there was a massive tree that had fallen over and been hollowed out, forming a sort of tunnel. Since the rest of the area looked like a fairly average forest clearing, he followed the tunnel.

It was long and dark, stretching on for so long that Link wondered if he should turn back. But he pressed on, determined.

Finally, the light from the other end grew larger and larger until Link was standing in another clearing. This time, a tree stood in the center, towering miles above his head. The tree's large eyes turned down to look at Link, and in a low, rumbling voice, the Great Deku Tree began to speak.

"Link. I have been waiting for you to seek me out."

Each word was slow and deliberate, carefully chosen and booming so loudly that the ground trembled.

"How do you know who I am?" Link asked as he tried to regain his footing. He hadn't expected the tree to be so tall or to shake the earth.

"You have spent many hours in these woods. I had plenty of time to learn who you were and what you seek."

Link couldn't help himself. He had to sit down on the small hill. His legs had suddenly begun to throb and he realized that he was exhausted. "It hasn't even been two hours."

With a rumble that Link assumed to be a laugh, the Deku Tree's leaves began to fall. "My boy, you have been in these woods for half of the sun's daylight cycle."

Link shot up to his feet and spun around, as if the trees themselves knew what had happened. "No! I got lost at first, but then I followed the sounds! It wasn't that long."

The Great Deku Tree sighed. "For those who do not hear will never truly listen. Believe what you will. It is as true as you make it." Before Link could argue, the tree spoke again. "Now, you have come to see me because of your dreams, yes? What is it you wish to know?"

Link sat back down. "How do you know that?"

"Is that truly your question?"

Link debated saying 'yes.' It was eating at him. "No. No I need to know what's happening to me. I keep dreaming of myself, of others, and we're dying. Hundreds of times, I die. She dies. This girl who keeps showing up. I don't know her, but she's familiar. It doesn't make sense, I know. But now, the dreams have gotten worse! I can feel my own death and I wake up in pain."

For a long while, the Deku Tree didn't say anything. "Young Master," he began finally, "I would tell you a story. When this land was naught but rock and wind, the three Goddesses breathed their life into the earth, creating several lands across the world. They answered to one Goddess, however. Her name was Hylia. For eons, she lived alone and watched life itself flourish and thrive. One day, she saw a young man who caught her eye.

"There has always been evil in this world, and there always will be. The Goddess saw this man fending off creatures of destruction. She ferried herself to the ground, where she made him her own personal knight. It was then, sensing the presence of the Goddess on the ground, that a great Demon King emerged, vying for her powers.

"The Goddess and her warrior faced the Demon King and won, but not without cost. Her appointed knight was unable to stop the King. Knowing that she herself, as a peaceful Goddess, could never truly vanquish the a darkness so potent as the Demon King, she sacrificed herself and split her soul into three pieces, granting her knight the power he would need. And indeed, one piece landed in her appointed knight, giving him the courage to face the Demon King once again. One landed in the King himself, granting him more power than he'd had initially. And the final piece fell into the mortal body that the Goddess had possessed.

"When the knight finally defeated the Demon King, he did not want to die. In order to live on, he cursed the piece of the Goddess that was inside him. It would come back and grant the powers he had to his spiritual successor. However, in doing so, he ensured that the other two pieces of the Goddess would also be passed on. Her lifeforce, split into three, is now known as the Triforce.

"I believe you are the knight's spiritual successor, Link."