Aria: Wow! So many people guessed correctly who the spirit is! Ta da!
It's not like I DIDN'T think you'd all get it right, you know. I'm just
curious to see whether I'm being obvious enough or not.
Din: You are so freaking annoying sometimes.
Aria: Watch it, missy! Just because I got too annoyed with Darunia's
complaining and changed you three back doesn't mean I won't do it again
when I get the chance!
Nayru: *sips tea from teacup* I think she's going to zap Din again. Do
you, Farore?
Farore: Ditto.
Darunia: Um, this is a Legend of Zelda story; not a Poke'mon one, Farore.
Farore: *sweat drops* Darunia, "ditto" can mean "same here", "me too", you
get the idea?
Darunia: Oh. Silly me! *laughs uneasily*
Farore: *sweat drops* Rrrrriiiiiiggghhtt.
Aria: That's kinda annoying, Farore. But, I know what you mean.
Darunia: Shouldn't you start describing the latest chapter so I can say the
disclaimers and we can start?
Aria: Oh, yeah. Sorry! If you all haven't already noticed, I changed the
goddesses back to their original forms. Din's still being a crabby brat,
Nayru's still telling her not to annoy me, and Farore's confusing the less
informed. *smiles* Anyway, this chapter is mostly going to be the spirit of
the former Princess Zelda telling the present Princess Zelda about what
happened to the Forgotten Forest, what its previous name was, yadda yadda
yadda. I'm sure you get the idea. Your turn, Darunia!
Darunia: The very odd authoress and owner of this story, Aria Zephyr, does
not own the Legend of Zelda games, their characters, yadda yadda yadda.
AH! I'm starting to sound like her!
Aria: *sweat drops* Darunia, you are seriously scaring me now. Um, here's
chapter twenty-eight! Calm down, for goodness sake, Darunia! It's not
that bad!

Chapter 28: The Story of the Sacred Wood

"This tale is neither a happy nor a pleasing one. It is about how a great
evil came to the Sacred Wood and turned it into the evil land it has become
today," the woman began, after she had settled herself onto a tree stump.
Zelda sat opposite of her, also upon a tree stump.

"Excuse me, but what is the Sacred Wood? I only know of a few forests that
exist nowadays," Zelda interrupted. "The Sacred Wood is the place you were
just in. Surely you know that?" the woman said. Zelda shook her head and
said, "The Deku Tree called it the Forgotten Forest." "Then, with a name
like that, I suppose that few know of the forest," the woman said in a
dismayed tone.

"Um, well, yes. The only people who really knew anything, however little,
were the Deku Tree and Valoo," Zelda said. "Who?" the woman asked. "The
Deku Tree and Valoo; honestly, were you even listening to me?" Zelda said.
"No, I'm sorry. I know who the Deku Tree is, but I never met anyone named
Valoo," the woman said quickly. "He's a dragon who lives on Dragon Roost
Island," Zelda said. "Appropriate name," the woman remarked. "Now, if
you'll let me continue without any interruptions, this will go much
faster," the woman said. "Oh," Zelda murmured, shifting uncomfortably.

"Now, let me begin. The history of the Sacred Wood really belongs at its
beginning, when the goddesses created it as a sort of garden for
themselves. They created this entire place, from the largest tree to the
tiniest moss patch. They hollowed out an entire valley and filled it to
the brim with the things they each liked the most."

"The goddess Din made a small volcano at the valley's edge, to house her
fire and to provide the land with a natural source of minerals. The
goddess Nayru created a cool spring that flowed down into the valley from
the high mountains as a waterfall and a thousand tiny brooks. The goddess
Farore, after her sisters had created the right things for life, filled the
land with flowers, trees, plants, and small animals."

"When their special garden was complete, they shielded the area with a
large mountain range, so that nothing could cross into the land and spoil
its purity. The garden was created after all the rest of the land had been
made, so by then, many peoples began to populate the place that was once
known as Hyrule."
"Occasionally, a fairy from the lower lands would be able to fly over the
high mountains and catch a glimpse of the pure valley within. Those who
ever saw even the smallest bit of the place told stories of an unspoiled
place where no suffering occurred and the land was rich and fertile."

"Eventually, the people began to wonder if such a place actually existed
and tried to enter the hidden valley. Those who were more sensitive to the
power of the goddesses knew that such attempts were annoying the goddesses
and this was not a good sign. The people who tried to enter the hidden
valley often wanted to reach the place, not to respect it as it was, but to
use it for their own profit."

"Finally, after someone like this did stumble into the land, the goddesses
put a terrible curse in the surrounding mountains, so that if anyone
without good intentions for the valley, ones that would not change it, ever
entered it, they would be cursed for the rest of their natural lives."

"This extreme measure was doubly needed because of the special gateway that
resided within it. The goddesses, after they had created their special
garden, decided that they should make another place for the souls of the
pure of heart to go after they had died. In order to do this and to make
it easier for the souls to cross into the world, they built a gateway in
their garden that would allow the souls to pass more freely. They
certainly did not want mortal crossing from their own lands into those of
the dead, so the curse had that for another reason."

"The people acknowledged how foolish they had been, to provoke such wrath
from the goddesses, and gave the land a proper name. They called it the
Sacred Wood, as there was an enormous forest within the valley and the
place was indeed sacred."

"It was centuries before anyone thought to go to the place at all, but one
person with a truly evil heart wanted to see the place and turn its purity
into something for evil purposes. Somehow, this person evaded the
goddesses' curse and entered the valley. Upon its entry, this person
quickly set about to draining the land of all good within it."

"This was an extreme problem because the trees of the forest were not
ordinary trees. They each had their own spirit who could roam about as
easily as they pleased. When the person, a witch, entered the forest, she
began to twist and torture the tree spirits, robbing them of their
abilities and power. She also stole the power of Din's Mountain and used
it to petrify many of the powerless trees. She raked up as many of the
petrified trees and built herself a monstrous fortress in the heart of the
valley. She then used whatever strange power she had and forced up the
ground around her fortress so that a high wall of rock was between her
fortress and the few living trees."

"It was a while before the witch's destruction was noticed, as the people
feared the Sacred Wood and still remembered the goddesses' anger when they
had last ventured there. Eventually, one person knew something was wrong
in that place and decided to go there. That person never returned."

"After that, the witch began to threaten Hyrule, saying that the dark king
would soon return and destroy the kingdom. Most of the people did not heed
her threats, but as some began to realize that the six sages of the land
were missing, they started to worry. The sages kept a significant amount
of power on the seal that held Ganondorf in the Evil Realm and their
disappearance arose great concern."

"Just as many of the people began to take the witch's threats seriously, it
was too late. Ganondorf returned and immediately started to take over
Hyrule in his wrath. After hearing the desperate pleas of the people, the
goddesses released an unstoppable rainstorm and washed away Hyrule beneath
great floods. The goddesses chose two new sages, who would uphold the
power of the Master Sword and seal away the wicked witch and Ganondorf."

"It has been many years since then, but when Ganondorf did escape, someone
else freed him. Of that, we are very certain. Someone had to have freed
him the time before as well, or he would not have escaped. It seems that
whoever released him before, did so again and allowed him to enter the land
you now know. Unfortunately, we are unsure of how this was accomplished.
But, the mysterious vanishing of the sages may have had something to do
with it."

The woman stopped and sighed heavily. "And, yet again, the witch has come
forth and is trying to take the valley for her own," she said. "Did she,
the witch, have powers similar to Ganondorf's?" Zelda asked tentatively.
"Why, yes, she did," the woman said, surprised.

"Then, I think that she may be the one who kidnapped my friend," Zelda
said. "Your friend? You think that she may have taken your friend
prisoner?" the woman asked. "Yes, because a monster that I thought only
Ganondorf could create took him," Zelda said, struggling to keep from
crying.

The woman looked very troubled at this news. She got up from the stump she
was sitting on and started to pace around the area with anxiety. "My
child," she said finally, "You may not like to hear this, but often times,
those who become the witch's captives never return alive." "What?! But,
she can't! She couldn't!" Zelda cried in denial. "I'm afraid it is so,"
the woman said sadly. "You might never see your friend again."

Farore: You are very evil at times.
Aria: *smiles* I know. Don't you just love evil cliffhangers like this?
Din: Has she flipped her lid yet?
Nayru: I can't tell. She's always like this.
Aria: Don't make me turn you into goldfish!
Din and Nayru: Eep!
Farore: *sweat drops* This is getting very weird here.
Aria: Whatever. This is a pretty long chapter and the cliffhanger isn't
THAT bad, so maybe I'll leave you all here until I update again.
Nayru: You're not serious!
Aria: Yup.
Din: AGH! Mad authoress! Somebody save us! *the goddesses start running
chaotically around in circles*
Aria: *sweat drops* I think they were saner as guppies.
Darunia: How can you tell?
Aria: *stares at him in disbelief* *eventually walks away, shaking head*
Darunia: Is it something I said?