Ura Zelda 64: The Goddess's Ocarina

Notus, the Kokiri Bully

The Hylian Civil War was a bloody and devastating event that almost destroyed the holy land. Greed and lust drove the people to an overwhelming thirst for the Sacred Realm's entrance. Gossip, rumors and the seeds of doubt of the new king caused the people and the other tribes to erupt in an all out war. The newly crowned king wasn't well received after the sudden death of his father, due to his troublesome childhood and philandering teenage years.

It started first among the Hylians. A few supporters of the new king defended the king, which resulted in some head butting. The Hylians grew restless and clashed, which then extended to the Gorons and then the Zoras. Whispers that the new king was hiding the entrance to the Sacred Realm. A second Civil War, a repeat of the one in 206 A.G.D, happened yet again.

When people died, children were left behind. Orphans whose parents with blood spilled over Hyrule Field no longer had a home to go back to. There was no one to look after the children and no hope left.

A beckoning voice from the forest called to the children. "Come to me. Come to the forest. I will give you a home and shelter you from danger."

The Deku Tree, a sacred and powerful deity, had bloomed and fully matured from a seed left behind by Farore. He gained a voice and power that created a protective barrier over the forest. The children flocked to the forest and a small tribe was born. The children's memories were wiped free of their trauma and they were given an eternal childhood. The Kokiri Tribe florished under the Deku Tree, who became their father figure.

One of the children happened to be the daughter of a Sage. She remained a Kokiri and became a figure of importance among the tribe. Another child, the son of a general, kept his domineering attitude and called himself the Boss of the Kokiri.

And one child, the child of an unhappy couple who quarreled and murdered each other in a heated argument, became Notus. A bully with erased trauma, yet could not shake off a sense of abuse she could not remember.

Notus was hated among the Kokiri. She was physically mean and made many girls cry. She destroyed much of the crops used for food and medicine all for fun. She loved tearing leaves and breaking branches off trees, no matter how many times she was scolded by the Deku Tree. Her mean streak continued until the day Twinrova came for her.

When she arrived in the Dark World, her bullying streak only worsened. She constantly screamed about wanting to go back to the forest and continued to destroy precious resources. Even Rala could not calm her and she was quickly ignored and outcast - even among other outcasts within the village.

When Zeth started gathering his followers, Notus was the first to volunteer. The lure of powers beyond belief was a dream come true. She received a piece of the Triforce of Wisdom and became the Evil Sage of Wind.

Wind was an enemy of the forest. Winds tore apart trees, uprooted plants and destroyed homes when they grew strong enough.

To Notus, destruction was calming. She knew nothing else. Even the Deku Tree's power couldn't erase that from her mind.

She could sense them. Two strangers coming for her beautiful palace. One with a sword, one with a rod. They weren't familiar. They were going to destroy her.

Destroy them back.

She had heard the voices all her life. Mommy and Daddy's voices. The voices of other people. The voices of monsters. Telling her she should destroy. That things were only made to be torn down.

Do it for Zeth. He promised to make you a Goddess.

She would do anything for him. Zeth let her do things other people wouldn't. The stupid tree tried to make her be a good girl. Being good was boring. Rala tried to make her be good, too.

Being good doesn't get you anything.

Zeth was absolute. Zeth was her friend. Zeth was her favorite person in this whole world.

Zeth told her she should listen to those voices.

KILL THEM!

Notus first decided to play a game. It had been a while since she played hide and seek. The Kokiri hated playing with her because she always cheated. Whenever she hid, she always moved her hiding spaces so she could never be found. When she counted, she always peeked. Winning was more fun when it was guaranteed.

First, she would get them to her palace. She would play with the two newcomers.

It was going to be very fun indeed.


The winds got even stronger as Linika and Rythern approached the forest. Linika had almost expected to see something akin to the Kokiri Forest as they entered. A small village with tiny wooden houses built in trees. Instead, the Forest of Gales was empty. Save for...

"Peahats!"

"Yeah, no shit!" Linika said. The whole forest had gigantic Peahats nestled into the ground. There was no way to get past them without disturbing them. One rustled in the ground and sprouted. To Linika's horror, Peahat Larvae began heading their way.

"Ry, get behind me and try to shoot the spawning mother over there! Peahats are weak to anything striking their roots!"

Rythern aimed his bow and let the arrow fly. The mother Peahat shrieked in pain. The surrounding Peahats began to stir until the whole forest was full of flying monsters. Linika kept her shield up and bounced the larvae off her to kill them while Rythern tried aiming again.

"Linika, I can't do this! There's too many of them!"

"Come on, these things are weak!"

"Yeah but I only have so many arrows and the wind is throwing my aim off!"

Linika gritted her teeth, realizing Rythern was right. "Damnit...I can try and get close to them but I can only take one out at a time, Ry! Can't you use some sort of spell?"

Rythern frantically tried to think of which spell he could use. The wind was starting to whip all around them and Linika rushed up to take the closest Peahat out. "Come on, Rythern, just do something!"

"R-Right! Uh...ETHER!" Rythern raised his rod up and whirled it. Cold wind began surrounding the air around the tip and snowflakes appeared. Rythern waved it around him in a circular motion and the winds in the forest grew cold. The wind changed direction until it was going against the Peahats and they all froze on the spot.

"Wow, this will make killing them easier!" Linika grinned sadistically and started slashing away. Within minutes, the forest was cleared and the wind had died down. "Oh wow, your magic didn't just stop the monsters, it even settled the winds down. Maybe now we'll have an easier time finding the Palace of Wind."

"Do you know where to look?" Rythern asked.

"Back in Hyrule, this location would correspond to the Kokiri Forest. My guess is maybe the palace is in the same area that the Forest Temple was located. Which means..." Linika looked around. "There should be a path to go deeper into the woods...in Hyrule, it was located up a cliff. But I don't see any cliffs here. Maybe the terrain is a bit different."

"Let's have a look around. Be careful in case we get ambushed again," Rythern warned. Linika wasn't paying attention and was already pacing around the forest. Rythern shook his head and glanced around. Now that the Peahats were out of the way and the wind had stopped blowing, the forest looked really bleak. The trees seemed half-stripped of all their leaves and branches and the ground below had patches of rot. No flowers bloomed and no produce sprouted. Rythern hadn't seen Kokiri Forest before but Linika had described it as a beautiful, green place with a lot of plants and trees. This forest was the picture of depressingly withered.

"I almost wish now I had gone with her on that errand for Dad back then...she got to see Hyrule entirely. I didn't. I just stayed at the castle and rarely left the walls."

Linika's knowledge of Hyrule was going to be useful and Rythern hated that she knew more about his own country than he did. His only experience was books and teachers. Linika had been there.

"Hey, I found it!" Linika's voice called out from across the path. Rythern jogged to catch up with her and she pointed to a strange overgrowth of vines. "No wonder we couldn't find it. She tried to cover it up with all this dead foliage. Man, it really sticks out." She took out her sword and slashed away, easily cutting through the vines and revealing a tunnel. "Nice. Let's get going. Stay close to me and try not to get lost, okay? If this really is a mirror of Hyrule, then we're about to enter the Lost Woods."

"The Lost Woods?" Rythern gulped. "Don't people who get lost become monsters?"

"That's only for people who get lost. Come on, let's move."


Linika never thought about how deep Rythern's fear of the unknown really was until he started gripping her right arm tightly. They moved through the Lost Woods carefully with Linika doing her best to recall the path and lead while Rythern was too scared of getting separated.

"Will you knock it off?!" Linika finally snapped. "You're giving me bruises!"

"Sorry! I don't mean to!" Rythern whimpered. "I just don't want to get separated!"

"You're lucky I use my left arm for fighting..." Linika removed her gauntlet and showed him a dark bruise starting to form on her wrist. "But I use my right arm for my shield. Ry, how am I suppose to defend myself like this?"

"I can cast Nayru's Love on you. Will that help?"

"I suppose." Linika sighed and put her gauntlet back on. "I'd just rather rely on something I can see and feel than magic."

"Are you absolutely sure we're going in the right direction?" Rythern asked nervously. He glanced around them. The Lost Woods just seemed to be one big maze with so many tunnels that looked like they went nowhere. Linika didn't look worried at all and just kept leading him through the tunnels.

"I'm very sure. Just try to relax and hold my hand if you're that worried. But don't squeeze it!"

Rythern still wasn't convinced and kept a grip on Linika's hand as she continued to lead him deeper into the woods. The polarizing effect of Rythern's Ether spell was wearing off and the wind had begin to pick up again. The lack of sunlight was making it hard to see and Linika felt like the woods were just getting darker and more difficult to navigate.

"Hey Rythern, can you maybe light a fireball so we can see better?" Linika asked.

Rythern didn't respond. Linika squeezed his hand. "Hey, answer me! Come on, it's getting hard to see around here!"

Still no answer. Linika yanked on his arm and turned to face him. "Hey! At least acknowledge-EUYAH!" She screamed, realizing she was no longer holding onto Rythern at all. Instead, a Stalfos leered down at her with its menacing grin and glowing red eyes. "Shit!" Linika quickly let go and put up her shield as the Stalfos swung. "Did I take too long? Where is my brother?! Rythern, that can't be you, can it?" Linika asked in a panic.

The Stalfos didn't answer. Instead, it continued to fight her and Linika kept dodging. "Rythern, if that is you...no. No. I can't accept that that is Rythern. You don't have any of his characteristics! You're just a fake!" Linika unsheathed the Master Sword and swung back. "Fuck you!"

The two swords clashed and within minutes, the Stalfos collapsed and all its bones scattered. Linika breathed heavily and fell to her knees. She was safe now but what happened to Rythern?

The area surrounding her began to brighten and come into view. With a jolt, she realized she had made it to the end of the forest. The tunnels were all behind her and the forest sprawled out with a pathway. There was no maze here, just a straight shot to an imposing building on the other side.

"I don't have a choice. I have to go on without Rythern and hope that I find him soon," Linika realized. "Shit, he's going to be so mad at me."

The wind began to blow harder now and the trees rustled so hard that a few branches came loose and started to fall. Linika put her shield up to stop them from hitting her and kept walking. She called out, "Rythern? Ryyyyyyyyyyyyytheeeeeeeeern! Where are you?"

"Maybe he's playing!" a childish voice called back.

Linika stopped in her tracks and looked up. A small child dressed in a Kokiri tunic was looking down at her from atop the trees. She had wide green eyes and brown hair tied into pigtails. An impish grin spread across her face. "Do you like hide and seek?"

"Who are you?" Linika asked.

"Hide and seek!" the child giggled. "It's been a long time since I played hide and seek! You're looking for someone, aren't you? Can I play, too?"

"This isn't a game!" Linika yelled. The Kokiri girl laughed and jumped out of the tree. Linika started for the girl when she noticed her hand glowing. "You...you're Notus, aren't you? You've got a shard of the Triforce."

"Maybe I do. Maybe you're just seeing things. You're in a different world now. How do you know you can trust what's in front of you?" the girl asked.

"Enough with the games! I need that Triforce shard you have! I know you have it or my piece wouldn't be resonating!" Linika was getting angry.

"This whole world used to be sacred. For all you know, maybe you're looking at a holy child! I'll tell you what!" Notus smiled up at Linika and Linika felt her resolve start to slip. The child looked so innocent and sweet...could this really be one of the Evil Sages? "Come and play with me! I'll hide up in there! If you win, I can show you something really cool!"

"I'm not here for games..." Linika said weakly.

"Come on, pleeeeease?" The girl looked up pleadingly. "I haven't played with anyone in a long time! If you're already looking for someone, you can seek me out, too! Maybe you'll find who it is you're looking for!"

"You-!"

"So you don't really have much of a choice." Notus smiled as the winds began to blow harder. She laughed as a gust picked her up and made her float. "Come on! Come to my place! Let's play!" With that, Notus vanished and Linika was left confused and conflicted.


The Evil Sages...they're nothing like the real Sages. Truthfully, they're not actually Sages, either. It's more of a name they decided to pick for themselves.

A.G.D is the year system I've made up for Hyrule time. It stands for After Goddess's Descent. It's suppose to represent the years that have gone by since Hyrule's creation. I am working on a timeline to represent my story and the events circling this, plus my planned prequel and sequel. I'll likely post it on Ao3 since I don't think I can really post it here. Maybe as a bonus chapter after I finish this work in progress trilogy I have going on.

The civil war mentioned in Ocarina of Time never really had much backstory. Why did it happen? What was the conflict? The only thing we did know about it is it was a convenient excuse to kill off Link's mother. Here, I try to give that civil war a reason for it to happen and even explain the Kokiri. I can't really find any sort of origin story for the Kokiri and the idea that the Deku Tree gave them life just didn't really work for me. So I tied it into the civil war. The Deku Tree rescued the orphans of war, erased their memories and gave them an endless, happy childhood.

Notus suffers from a lot of trauma, which is why she hears those voices. But instead of being hurt, she lashes out. I also wanted to make her appear different from a typical Kokiri. Most female Kokiri have either blond, orange or green hair. Notus being a brown haired girl sets her apart.

This is late, yeah...I was starting to get a bit discouraged from a lack of an audience. But I'm really loving this story and I want to write it, even if I'm just writing it for myself.