Disclaimer:The Legend of Zeldais property ofNintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto, all rights reserved. I am in no way affiliated with these companies, or any legal proceedings concerning The Legend of Zelda. This story has been written purely out of enjoyment, and is not intended to make a profit, steal ideas, or offend anybody. Any similarities between my work and anyone else's is purely coincidental.
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"Elements of Hyrule" — Chapter Six: Curses
By The Last Princess of Hyrule
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A long spider's leg emerged from a cavernous opening at the other end of the room. Link's heart skipped a beat as another rumble shook the ground, bringing the source into view. The boy heard Navi muffle a gasp as she saw it and could barely resist to scream at the sight of the hideous creature.
It was somewhat reminiscent of a spider, but blown ghastly out of proportion like a science experiment gone awry. Easily four times Link's size, the monster's flesh was covered with a hard, mottled gray exoskeleton, which fit it like armored plates. Unlike spiders, which had many eyes, this creature had one eye—a large, circular, sickening green thing that seemed to roll around on its own accord. Out in front of the grotesque body, the creature waved its two massive pinchers wildly as a terrible sound, something between a growl and a scream, escaped it.
Link began to back away slowly, hoping the thing hadn't spotted him yet. It didn't appear so. "Navi . . ." he whispered as his back hit the wall. "What is that?"
"I think . . . I think it's a Gohma," she replied slowly.
"What's a Gohma?" Link's eyes never left the creature. It made its way torpidly into the center of the room.
"There used to be quite a few around the forest," Navi explained. "Gohma are like giant termites in a spider's body; they literally eat wood and, because they're so big, they eat a lot."
The Gohma turned in Link's direction. He felt his heart quicken as the rolling eye looked him over.
"Fortunately, they died out a long time ago," she continued quietly, her eyes narrowing. "You see, the trees developed a special venom in their sap, which was only harmful to the Gohma. The Gohma ate the toxic trees and died. There haven't been any in the forest for over two hundred years."
The dank heart of the Great Deku Tree was very cold, even though it was the beginning of a warm summer outside. From a culmination of the cold, his wet clothes, and the fear blossoming in the pit of his stomach, Link began to shiver. "Is there any other way to kill them other than this poison?"
"Not that I know of," Navi replied. "But the Great Deku Tree should have this special sap. It's not like the trees ever stopped making it. Logically speaking, once the Gohma started eating the Great Deku Tree's wood, it would have ingested the sap and died."
The Gohma stretched its massive pinchers into the air and gave another horrific scream.
Link looked up at her. "Then why is it still alive?"
"I don't know! Maybe it developed a tolerance for the poison!" the fairy shouted.
Instantly, the room went silent. Link winced and glared at Navi, who covered her mouth, realizing the dire mistake she had made. The Gohma froze, dropped to the ground, and looked back to Link, its eye locking onto his every move.
"Navi . . ." he began as he took a step to the right, the Gohma following his move.
"I see it."
"Any bright ideas?"
Navi shook her head, he glossy wings beating as fast as her heart. "Not at all."
In the center of the room, the Gohma let out a terrible scream.
"I've got one," said Link as his pace quickened.
"What?"
The Gohma charged.
"Run!"
With the yell, the boy turned and ran as fast as he could away from the monster, Navi following a split second later. Risking a look back, Link realized that the Gohma was a lot faster than he'd expected. It was gaining on him, so fast that he barely managed to leap out of the way. As he fell into a somersault, Link heard the Gohma hit the wall with a loud thud. The noise reverberated off every solid surface in the room, magnifying it tenfold. The moment he came to a stop, Link leapt up and whirled around, sword and shield still tight in his grasp. At the same time, the Gohma backed away from the wall and turned to Link. They faced each other for a moment, breathing heavily, before the Gohma charged again.
The chase was off once more, Link darting deftly from left to right, trying to shake the Gohma off or confuse it, whichever happened first, and the Gohma howling and raging after. Navi beat her wings furiously to keep up as her partner veered sharply into the center of the room. This caused the Gohma to lose sight of him for a moment. Link took full advantage of its distraction and ducked into a heap of vines.
He crouched silently in the thick green foliage, breath coming in shallow, quiet breaths. The room fell silent and the monster stalked into view. Link could see it, fuming mad that it's prey had escaped. The Gohma's rolling eye scanned the room slowly, hoping to pick out Link from his hiding spot. Luckily, the boy's green tunic blended perfectly with the plant life around him.
"Got any ideas yet?" he asked in the smallest whisper as the Gohma passed.
"Not yet," Navi replied. "But it has to have a weakness. You just need to find it."
"How do you expect me to do that?" Link hissed angrily. "Hit it with rocks?"
Navi put her hands on her hips. "If it works," she retorted sourly. "Do something!"
"Easy for you to say," Link muttered as he put down his sword and pulled the shield off his arm, feeling around the ground for something to throw. "You're not the one fighting this thing!"
Suddenly, the thundering of the Gohma's footsteps stopped. Link froze, one hand supporting him, the other out in front grabbing at nothing, his sword and shield in a pile next to him. The creature's rolling eye scanned the room and Link could almost feel it find him as he held his breath.
For a moment, nothing happened. The room was completely silent, save for the heavy rasping of the Gohma's breathing. Then, it took a step, jolting the ground and causing Link to yelp. Through an open place between the vines, he saw the monster's eye lock onto him. Link, struggling to equip his weapons again, watched in awe as the Gohma gave a terrifying cry, waving its clawed forelegs about angrily. Then, it leapt at him.
Link didn't even have a chance to move before one of the Gohma's massive talons slashed across his back. He screamed and tried to roll out of the way, but another swipe of a claw made him stop. The Gohma screeched and lurched forward, slamming its talons into his back and pinning him to the ground.
"Link!"
Navi, who was hiding in a thick cluster of leaves and vines, saw him fall and felt something inside her spark into life. Silently, she cursed herself for acting so cowardly, making her partner do all the work in this battle. In vengeful reproach, the fairy leapt into the air and flew straight at the Gohma's eye. The monster became annoyed with Navi almost immediately. It retracted its claws from Link's back and lurched up until it was level with the fairy's darting form. The Gohma swiped at her with one of its massive clawed forelegs, which Navi dodged easily.
"Link, get up!" she shouted again, desperately.
Link didn't move. He was sprawled out on his stomach, breathing slowly. The little wooden shield was still on his arm, but he'd dropped the sword as he scrambled to get away. The Gohma must have knocked it away, for it was nowhere to be seen.
"Link!" Navi darted away from another blow. Come on, Link! Please don't be dead . . .
Then, with the last call, Link stirred. Groaning, he sat up slowly and opened his eyes, supporting his form on wobbling arms. Only a few feet before him was the immense Gohma, swinging blindly at a pale blue fairy. She seemed to be doing well in irritating the creature until she caught sight of Link. This momentary pause by Navi gave the Gohma the edge it needed, reaching up and whacking the fairy out of its face. Navi let out a tiny cry of pain as she tumbled away.
Navi! Suddenly, a strange desire came over the boy. Fire filled his veins, boiling the blood at the sight of his partner struck down and Link's only thought became the need to repay the monster for what it had done. This unfamiliar feeling, though Link could not place the name, was something he had never experienced before. Common sense and rational thought fled his mind as he stood and shouted at the monster, "Hey Ugly! Over here!"
The rolling eye whirled around and locked onto Link. The monster gave a horrific roar and charged. At the same time, Link bent down and pulled something from under the vines, something he had noticed just before the Gohma struck him. It was a big nut, covered with a hard, rough shell, which looked like it could have a positive affect on the Gohma if hit. With the nut tight in his grasp, Link straightened and threw it as hard as he could at the Gohma's head. Unfortunately, the boy did not have very good aim, nor much strength, and the air bound projectile landed with a loud crack on the ground at the monster's feet.
Uh oh . . . But, just as this thought passed through Link's mind and the nut struck, the shell shattered, emitting a blinding flash. Link closed his eyes and raised his shield. His arm hadn't even stopped moving before the light vanished, not even a split-second after it'd erupted from the nut.
Cautiously, Link lowered his shield, the feeling of rage draining like water from his body until all he felt was exhaustion, and looked up. Towering over the boy was hideous monster, Gohma. Link gasped and leapt back a step on impulse, but the Gohma didn't do anything. It didn't seem aware of Link anymore. In fact, Link noticed as he examined the monster, it didn't seem aware of anything. Its great rolling eye had stopped moving and was glazed and unfocused, staring at nothing. The monster's legs were wobbling and it swayed uneasily.
Link took a step forward, his left hand hovering near his dagger, examining the Gohma uncertainly. It was hard to tell whether or not it was dead. He reached out a shaking hand toward the creature when suddenly, Navi's frantic voice came out of nowhere. "Link! Kill it before it recovers!"
Link's eyes lit up and he was filled with relief as he heard his partner's voice. "Navi!" Link called to his partner, but it was drowned out by a great cry from the Gohma, who seemed to be very much alive and coming out of its shock quickly.
It wasn't that he consciously knew what to do in this situation, but Link automatically drew his dagger the same moment the giant eye began to spin and refocus. The gilded steel in his hand no longer felt awkward, but natural, as if he'd been born to fight like this. As the monster leaned in to snap at him, Link, with expert timing, whipped the blade around and plunged it into the Gohma's eye.
The minute the tip pierced the eye's gooey membrane, everything froze. Link, with his hand gripped tightly around the hilt, splattered with thick green eye gook; Navi, fluttering a little way to the left; and the Gohma, staring down at the boy through a mass of blood and pulp. For a single moment, everything was perfectly still.
Then, the Gohma's legs collapsed beneath it and the body tumbled to the ground. No longer was it the unbeatable physical representation of the enigma of the Great Deku Tree's curse, but a dead creature, no more mysterious than the body of a mouse being preyed on by an owl. Link slowly pulled his dagger from the eye, staring at the mess of battered limbs with mixed feelings.
He felt triumphant that he had beaten this monster, but also sad. Only a lifetime living in such close proximity with a forest could teach a person to love all life, from the most insignificant to the most majestic, from the most harmless to the most deadly. Confronted with this myriad of emotions and the utter exhaustion he felt from traipsing around inside the Great Deku Tree, Link collapsed onto the ground.
"Link!" Navi saw him fall and whisked over to her partner. The bright smile that had consumed her face as Link struck down the Gohma quickly faded from existence. The tiny fairy hovered a few inches in front of his face, countenance becoming worry. "Link?"
The familiar voice brought Link into wakefulness. The boy's eyes fluttered open, slowly focusing on the pale blue light. "Navi . . .?"
Navi let free her pent up breath. "Thank the spirits you're all right."
Somehow, Link managed to force himself into a sitting position. He put a hand on his forehead and groaned. "Are you all right?"
Navi nodded, her relief becoming somber again. "I'm fine, but I found something I think you should check out." She looked him over. "Can you stand?"
Slowly, Link pushed himself up, standing unsurely before her. "What did you find?"
"When the Gohma hit me, I fell into a pile of some funny-looking round things." Navi led him to where she had fallen. The boy followed torpidly, his pace inhibited by the pain racing through his gored back. Fortunately, they reached the objects soon.
It looked like they had stumbled upon a nest, one as out of normal proportion as the Gohma had been. The nest was made from thousands of wood chips, lengths of crinkling vines holding them into place. Inside the nest were at least a dozen huge, round objects, which Link realized were eggs. Each egg was twice the size of the boy's head. They were a mottled white color, speckled with red and green spots that looked like paint splatters. All the eggs were covered with a clear film that reeked like nothing either fairy or boy had ever smelled before.
Link plugged his nose and Navi covered her mouth to keep from retching. "These better not be what I think they are . . ." Link began warningly.
"They are," Navi assured him. "They're Gohma eggs."
Link groaned. "No . . . you have got to be kidding."
"Afraid not." Navi alit on his shoulder. "All of these are going to hatch into little Gohmas soon. Probably in another day or two."
"There're at least twenty eggs in here!" Link exclaimed, hands on the rim of the nest, looking down into it. "There're gonna be twenty more Gohma soon?"
"My point exactly," Navi agreed. "We need to get rid of the eggs right now, before they hatch." She gave Link a skeptical look. "Do you think you can climb down there and cut open all the eggs?"
"Cut them open?" Link repeated. "How can you be sure that will kill them? Maybe they're ready to hatch now and cutting open the eggs would just help."
Navi sighed. "If they're alive when you open the eggs, then kill them! They'll barely be any problem. Infant Gohma are practically defenseless for about a week after hatching. They'll be very vulnerable to your dagger."
Link glared at Navi, then looked down at the eggs. "Fine, I'll do it," he said. The boy sheathed his dagger and slowly climbed into the nest. Standing next to the eggs, Link found them to be almost as tall as his waist. With a last, uneasy look at Navi, Link drew his dagger and plunged it into the egg. There was a sickening squelch and the egg sprayed forth a nasty gust of air from inside. Link gagged and backed away, gasping for fresh air, which was not to be had in the musty nest. With a few breaths, Link recovered and went back to the egg. He grabbed the hilt of the dagger and slowly cut open the thick shell.
An impossible amount of green goo poured out through the egg and onto Link as the shell fell away, exposing the nearly formed embryo within. The creature was about as big as a beach ball, but looked like a perfect miniature of the monster Link had slewn just minutes ago. Fortunately, the little creature didn't seem to be alive, but Link, fearing what he knew it would become, drove his dagger into its skull for good measure.
This process continued for quite a while as Link moved slowly from egg to egg, cutting them open and stabbing the unborn Gohma larvae within. By now his mind was numb to the killing. At first, he had been able to feel it haunting him, as it had right after he slew the giant Gohma, but now he ignored it, justifying his actions with the memory of the first.
Finally, Link climbed out of the nest and back to where Navi waited. Every egg had been opened, every Gohma child stabbed, and there was no longer the prospect of the race ever returning to plague the forest. "Let's get out of here," he said quietly, starting back the way he'd entered the room.
The only thing on the boy's mind was sleeping as long as possible. He didn't want to think about the Gohma, the Great Deku Tree, the strange curse, or anything of the sort. All he wanted to do right now was sleep and forget any of this had ever happened. Link collected his scattered weapons slowly, Navi pointing each out with her glow, and left.
Leaving the heart of the tree proved to be a lot more difficult than coming in. All of the tunnels he'd come through before sloped up now, making the expedition quite a hike. Luckily, he found the hole leading out of this forsaken pit covered in vines snaking their way up it, leading up and out of the tree. If he hadn't been so tired, climbing them would have been simple. Then at last, after what seemed like hours of walking, Link spotted a shaft of light at the end of one cavern.
"Light!" Navi exclaimed as she leapt from her seat on his shoulder and sped to the opening. Link followed at the same tired, limping pace as before, mind focused only an taking the next step.
The sun was right overhead when he emerged from the bowels of the tree. The boy shielded his eyes against the intense glare, his head throbbing with the sudden change from darkness and drab to vivid bright life. Link stopped when he was out, breathing heavily with exhaustion, his hands supported on his knees. His heart began to beat faster and faster, blood pulsing rapidly through his veins, breath coming quickly and shallow to his lungs. The open wounds on his back burned with the sunlight beating down on them.
"Navi?" he said between breaths. "I think . . . I'm going . . . to faint . . ." Link began to feel dizzy and the world tipped from under his feet, throwing him face forward into the grass.
"Link?" asked a concerned voice above him. "Link?"
Link tried to look up, but all he saw before he blacked out was a flash of green light.
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