A. N. I wish to express my condolences to the families of the seven astronauts that passed away in the Columbia Tragedy. Remember that Space Exploration is the tip of the lance of Mankind's discoveries: as it is the most important part of it, without which no ignorance can be trespassed, it is also the part most prone to notch or break. Remember those people that open the way to new knowledge.
As this Tale is about the stars, I dedicate it to them, although it might be but the smallest of things.
Like Stars that fall unto the World.
During her time lying wounded in the houses of healing, Malon often had asked for books or scrolls about ancient history that might ease her time abed. One day, after Link had left for the castle, she received a strange scroll with the royal mark if the Triforce as a seal. With keen excitement, the young woman broke the seal and unrolled the parchment; and she found a short letter amidst the folds.
"I hope with my heart that you heal in a nearby time, for Hyrule should not be bereft of a spirit so kind and noble, and of a beauty so great and uncommon. Hylian Knight Link has told me of your love for ancient lore of the Hylia in the first ages of the world; therefore, I send to you a short tale that I am sure you will find interesting; it is, in fact, my favorite tale among all I was to read in my childhood.
"Sincerely yours, Princess Zelda of Hyrule."
'There was one time, during the Great Evils, in which the Lost Woods were crossed by hosts and lone wanderers for many a time, against the ancient custom. In that age there also were the Kokiri, the Vanadhrim, the Ever-young, the Children of the Forest. It is said that the Old Deku Tree once had a single seedling that fell and was carried by the wind into unknown parts of the wood. And from that single fruit of him came the Kokiri who afterwards called him their father and loved him. And he loved them back.
'At first, the Kokiri were mortals, subdued to the changes of the World and doomed to remain in their childish form for the joy of the Deku Tree. But he could not at first keep their hearts and minds from growing in wisdom and knowledge, and if a Hylian or Elf of old chanced to pass across the wood, he or she would often meet with the Children and teach them what they could learn. And, being of the form of young men and women, they were tender to the sight and gave the joy of childhood innocence, though they could grow as wise as any mortal man.
'Thus they were in the old times, ere the Battle against the Orcs, or the exile of Romahil, or the forging of Evil's Bane. And they were content, though they had the life of the secondborn.
'But evil is and has always been ever-reaching, and not a long time passed ere evil fell over the Children's Forest. For during the beginnings of the Great Evils, when the wolfos first entered the realm, the fell creatures passed over the wood out from the World. And they slew many a tender Kokiri that dwelt within the trees.
'The oldest tale that has come to us Hylians of days of late is the one about Fincalen of the Kokiri. She was of the first Kokiri to have come out of the seedling according to the Old Songs, and she is remembered for two things: for for her yearning for outer lands and because of her grief for the suffering of the Children of the Wood, for it was because of her pleads that the mighty wills of the Creators sent to the World the guardian spirits that accompany the Kokiri wherever they go. And because of her, too, the spell of the Ever-youth that was laid on them was altered and cast anew.
'Shortly ere the wargs crossed the Lost Woods, one day Fincalen wandered in the woods with her dear friend Galadhil, who tended a garden of willows. There, having the custom of walking for long times and sleeping under the stars, they found that day the threshold to the Outside; and they knew not what it was, for they were forbidden by the Deku Tree to leave the woods lest they grew old and died untimely. They returned then to the Kokiri Forest and told their folk about the wondrous door they had found that none could trespass or break, save if they knew the pass-word to the realm Hyrule. The Children were amazed and puzzled. And if there was something of their childhood that remained still within their hearts, it was curiosity, the desire of knowledge, be it small or great.
'Now the Deku Tree learned of the finding of the threshold to the World by a non-Hylian, and he was concerned. Therefore, he summoned Fincalen and Galadhil to him and spoke to them in earnest.
'"Elder of the Kokiri, I have not called for you to rebuke ye by any actions that you may have made to pass," the Deku Tree said to them, for they were afraid that they might have done some ill. "But rather to give ye my counsel in matters that are to be pondered by your minds. Have you found, indeed, the Door that leads to the Sea?"
'Then Fincalen stood forth and was about to answer, when Galadhil spoke ere she uttered a word: "Indeed, father, we have done so. But it was my counsel that day to walk in places that remained veiled from us. Thus, if there be any evil, slight or great, that we may have wrought, it was my doing and not that of Fincalen. I have all guilt."
'"If that is indeed true, then I have also part of the guilt, for I followed him on my own will," said Fincalen to aid her friend, for the love between them was great a friendship. But the Deku Tree did not told them any ill. Instead, he said: "I do not think that the Door to the Sea is to be kept in forbid to the Kokiri, nor I think of any of your actions to have been wrong. Yet, I would counsel ye two to remain away from the Threshold of Hyrule, for evil things that plague the world are yet to come to this realm; and I do not want the Children of the Forest to suffer needlessly by them.
'"What evils might be so great that would call for your concern?" asked Fincalen.
'"That is yet to be seen," answered the Deku Tree. "Though I am to ever protect this forest I cannot foresee all things that shall come to pass."
'After that, the friends took their leave and returned to their peaceful and joyful life in the forest. However, curiosity lies ever on a child's heart. And though Galadhil and Fincalen had reached manhood and womanhood in years, their hearts still yielded those many desires that children often have. And unrest for their desire of knowledge of the Outworld was ever about them.
'Now Fincalen was the most curious of the two, and time and again she had showed her intentions to Galadhil to have at least a short gaze at the forbidden Door, to which Galadhil would always rebel and say: "Nay dearest friend, I will not have any of us break the biddings of the Great Deku Tree. Did he not say that Great Evils would plague our realm should we meddle with affairs that do not concern us? Unless you want to ignore the Deku Tree's words, stay and forget your longing for the Door that leads to the Sea."
'"The words of the Deku Tree were not of forbid, but of counsel," replied Fincalen one day that she felt most bored at Galadhil's passiveness. "Therefore, I could go and behold the Gate without breaking any command. But I do not understand you, my friend: are you not also curious to find about the Door to another realm? I had thought that we shared this unrest both in our hearts; but it seems that I alone shall have to endure with this small but constant burden."
'"Not alone," said Galadhil, but he did not yield but remained unmoved; and he tried to comfort his friend. But Fincalen would not listen, and for a time the matter was forgotten.
'In that time, the Hylia began their journeys to the outside, whether to remain dwelling in other parts of Arda or to bring back to Hyrule lore and wisdom from the Firstborn, whom they had befriended since long. And they would often return with wondrous pieces of lore by the elves or engines of great minds by Men. But they would also bear great tales of places far away from the small Kingdom of Hyrule; and there chanced that a group of wanderers would meet the Children and would tell these stories of terrible beasts, fair folk, wide lands, deep seas, beautiful maidens and highest mountains. In many ways, the Hylians brought knowledge to their realm.
'Ere long, these tales reached Fincalen's ears, and the Kokiri maiden felt curiosity stir again in her inner mind. And though she and Galadhil often heard the stories brought by the Hylia when they told them, he had long ago forgotten about the Doors. So it was than when she told him about her rekindled intention to find the Gate again he said to her again that the Deku Tree had spoken against it.
'"And unless you want to risk the anger of our father, you should stay in your home and be content with the news from the Outside," he said also.
'"Why do you keep denying your own longing to know the World?" she asked in anger, for she had though that her words would be received with enthusiasm rather than with warnings. "You have seen the Hylians come and go with such marvels from other realms, and no evil has come from their journeys that has shaken the realm. The Great Deku Tree is wise, and he did not let us go forth to the Doors because the Hylia were to be the first to enter the World. But now that they have stepped into it and have found naught of evil, I shall myself venture outside of Hyrule."
'And Galadhil was silent at her words, and Fincalen departed at once for the Gates. But he rushed to the Deku Tree and told him about her intentions.
'"Moreover," he said, "I would not have her apart from me because some call of the Outside. Therefore, I beg you: please bid her to remain here amongst her folk, for the Outside was not made for the Children of the Forest."
'"My child," answered the Deku Tree, "were there anything that I could do to quench her desire for the unknown, I would indeed do it. But to hinder her path for the sake of a friend would only turn her away from thee, and her heart would never understand. Thus, I say to thee: let her be! For maybe fate has some surprise yet to show us and her."
'Galadhil, then, went forth to his house after taking his leave, but he went with a heavy heart and a concern for his friend's safety.
'Fincalen had walked amidst the trees and plants of the wood for many hours till she had stood before the Door that leads to the Sea. But were a closed and huge gate had stood years before, a great tunnel opened with the work of the Hylia of old was. And she wavered for the first time since her thought of seeing the Outside, for she remembered the words of the Deku Tree. "But I shall cause no evil to my folk and father," she thought; and the first and last of the Children of the Wood crossed the threshold to the World.
'The light she saw at the end of the tunnel blinded her for a while, for the Kokiri had never seen brighter light than that which entered from above the hanging boughs. But she quickly overcame it and gazed at the lands about the Gate; and it is said that when she saw the sea and the havens of the Hylia she was afraid of its vastness. She nearly turned round and returned, but her longing for the Outside held her still. A few miles away thus, she saw for the first time the clouds unhindered that melted away with the horizon that far out-reached her gaze, the gulls crying about the main tower in the Hylian haven of Eärost, the waters of a hugely immense pond that stretched away as the ocean, the white sand that burned her hand if she touched it carelessly and the people that came and welcomed her.
'Great was her joy among the Hylia that dwelt beside the sea; and she would often dream of bringing Galadhil to share with her the bliss of the ocean. But each time she thought of returning to the wood, her yearning for the World of Arda stayed her.
'Now it came to pass that the Great Evils were soon to come, though not even the Deku Tree of the Lost Woods could have foreseen it. But the time of the return of the Hylia was drawing near, and the Sheikah were beginning to appear before the lords of Hyrule; and the Shadow Folk that the Elves name the Daeridhrim were seen at first as an omen for the things to come, though they aided countless times the cause of the Hylia thereafter. Although the other races that dwelt in the realm did not perceived it at once, the Deku Tree of the wood was aware of the events that would cause the wan of the Hylia, and he was ever loth for his children to suffer in a war that had naught to do with them.
'Ruefully, the warg invasion came in an hour unexpected. And it is said that there was a terrible battle between the beasts and the Hylia of Eärost, and that in that dreadful noon the wolfos turned away from the sea and entered the Lost Woods from the east. Being unable to hunt them because of their wounded, the Hylia by the Sea were troubled by these things; and they knew not whom to turn to in their aid and that of their kindred. Scouts they sent into the woods to alert the people of Hyrule, but none of them came back afterwards.
'Now Fincalen had seen dreadful things in that battle, and her love for the Outside was quenched and she longed for the woods again. Thus, against the counsel of the Sea-Hylia she bade farewell to the haven of Eärost and went forth back to the Lost Woods. A scout went with her, but upon arriving to the Gate of the Wood, he grew afraid and did not want to pass it. Therefore, she went on alone and unaided, back to a realm where the fell creatures would roam and rape the fair things that there were for many years. Long and dark were her hours of journey through the woods, for her fear for the wargs was great. She who had walked in the wood many a time for many a year and had grown to love all trees was afraid of the same hanging boughs above her; for she thought they concealed the sun's light from her eyes with a mean purpose.
'After that terrible journey through the Lost Woods, there she came at length to the house of her beloved friend Galadhil, but he was nowhere to be found about it. She saw, though, that the house had been empty for a long time now, and that the green weeds had been wilting so, as did the trees in his garden. Fincalen was worried for her friend thus; and she wondered for a long time about him. But sleep began crawl into her, and she stayed the night in the deserted house. And that was the last night she would rest at ease in her life as a mortal Kokiri.
'The day came with a gray sky, and Fincalen awoke with heavy unrest even with the peaceful sleep she had had the last night. But it was, perhaps, that her heart was still as heavy as a felled trunk. She took a last gaze at the house in which many blissful times had passed in the company of her friend and turned to the woods again. She then strode amidst the same plants and trees she had known in her youth, but where the sounds of fair birds and tender children had rang a mist of silence hung. Wonder overtook her again, for she had not yet guessed the reason for this unquietness amidst this silence; but she went on, ever with the looming branches above her. Thus, she came across the pond in which a tunnel to the Zora River opened. Again, where the fish had swam in pure and clean waters, defiled yellowness floated about now; and the tunnel to the River was shut. And now Fincalen stood in doubt, for the entrance to Kokiri forest was near and she wanted more than aught to see her kindred again; yet, fear for the unknown struck her, for she began to guess what the wolfos could have done to the Children of the Forest. At length, she made her mind, and she crossed the last tunnel to the forest.
'The horror that struck her was beyond anything that words can describe. She saw the marred bodies of her kindred all scattered about the ground, hundreds of them. And the pond amidst the clearing was all reddened, and the air was foul and stank with the scent of dead. The plants green that had stood about were all thorn and broken, and so were the young trees that could not have had more that a dozen months of life. The child ran down the slope to the valley in which the Children's Forest was, but she could only weep in her grief for the loss of life.
'After many hours of quiet tears, for a strange form of madness did not let her cry aloud, she remembered suddenly her father. And with what speed her short legs allowed her to use she ran to the Deku Tree's meadow, jumping over the bodies of her friends and leaping over the ground in the defiled pond. But when she had crossed half the way to the meadow, she came across the last Kokiri that had died in his attempt to reach the Deku Tree; and the madness was soon to pass when she saw the face of her most beloved friend: Galadhil the Tree-friend.
'Her cries rang across the air, across the wide and thick air. And it is even sung that they reached the fields of Hyrule and even the stars in the sky of night, though it was still noon. But her voice, filled with grief, anger and utter loneliness, can be still heard by those who get lost in the wood with an evil heart, and they shudder in their fear for the strange bellow the wind carries ere they vanish from the living world and go to a fate unknown.
'Indeed, louder than any voice any mortal has ever had was that of the last Child of the Wood. And in that hour, a thing that never had happened, nor has happened again, came to pass in the halls of the Creators. Although it was no song of grief but a desperate cry, they were moved to pity. And when they stooped to see that which issued such a sadness in her grief they were struck to see her. And they spoke to the Deku Tree afterwards:
'"Hear now, elder of Hyrule: Thou hast heard the cries of one of thy children in her sorrow. We know that thou hast felt pity immeasurable and that thou wouldst do aught to avert the terrible fate of the Children at the hands of the Fell Creatures. Wouldst thou, then, hearken to our words?"
'And the Deku Tree, who had been sunk in grief comparable to that of Fincalen, answered: "Yea I would, as ever I have done"
'And the Creators proceeded: "Then listen to our bidding, elder of Hyrule: Thou shalt yield anew a fruit from which new life shall spring forth, and thou shalt call your offspring the Children of the Forest again. And again they shall dwell in the Children's Forest. But thou shalt forbid them to leave it lest a more terrible doom fall over them."
'"But I shall not be able to keep their growing minds from yearning for new knowledge," the Deku Tree answered. "How shall, then, come to pass that my children will die not again, whether by age or sickness or mischance?"
'"We hear thy words, eldest," replied the Creators, and their voice was like thunder in the storm of eternity. "And we deem you right. Therefore, a sign shall be given. Mortality shall not be amongst the Kokiri hereafter; and their minds shall not grow, nor shall their bodies. In perpetual innocence they shall remain."
'"May the word of the Creators be", said the Deku Tree. And the Creators made a fruit grow out of him and took it. And out of the seeds came a new generation of Kokiri that were as stray and confounded as the first children had been when they came out of the seedling. But then they saw with their eyes for the first time; and the first thing they saw was their father, the Great Deku Tree, and they were content. The Children of the Forest would never grow into full grown Hylians in body again, nor in mind this time. Thus, they did not understand the Deku Tree's purpose nor they do in these days of late, save by the Sage of Forest.
'But to Fincalen the Deku Tree said: "It is not right for thee to remain with the memory of grief thou hast suffered. I shall, then, forge thee a new mind. Thou shall dwell with me, but only thy spirit shall come; they heart and body will remain in this world."
'So the Deku Tree gave life to the Kokiri we know, and so Fincalen's spirit was stripped from her body as a memory; and should he choose to do so, the Deku Tree can return the memory to the body of Fincalen so she would remember the elder days of the Hylia.
'Then, when all the doing was over, the creators spoke again to the Deku Tree: "Now we shall show thee the sign of which we had spoken. Behold the stars!"
'And the Deku Tree did so, and he was content, for he understood at once the sign: down to the World, from the night sky, many stars descended upon Hyrule. And each one went and dwelt ever after with a child as a guardian, preventing the Kokiri from going forth from the woods.
'At last, when all fairies had known their child, a last one of bright green lay on Fincalen's hair while the last of the Firstborn Kokiri slept before the Deku Tree. And great friendship arose between them for the rest of their lives, even until these days of late.'
Malon noticed the stars outside through the window; and they shone brightly for the realm. "Well, Fairy Boy," she thought. "I sure hope you treated well yours: after all, not everyone has the chance of talking to a star."
Sleep overcame her, and the red potion she had drank was making her feel tired. Closing her eyes and sighing softly, the young woman fell into a deep sleep filled with fair dreams.
A. N. 'Galadhil' means 'Tree-friend' and it's an original character. 'Fincalen' means 'Green-hair' so I think it's pretty obvious of whom I speak. 'Eärost' means 'Sea-fortress' and 'Vanadhrim' means 'People of the Ever-young'.
Thank you for this wonderful experience! Thanks to all reviewers but special thanks to Snowsilver, Snoopy, wayofwater, Sondilyn the Canadian Deku Scrub Lumberjack and, of course, Link no Miko! You have supported me since the beginning and I hope to repay you somehow in a near future.
Again, I wish to express my grief for the seven astronauts of the Columbia tragedy. Remember those who open the way to new knowledge.
I cannot say a definitive farewell, since I already have my idea for a new fic, so goobaiu my friends! Namarie, melloneth nim!
(Is that well written Paul?)