Chapter 4- Lord of the Forest
Link, Jayde and Mido had been trekking deeper and deeper into the forest for quite awhile, moving at a leisurely pace. Never did the trio have to move around a tree or over a fallen log- their path cleared for them as they approached, trees shifting out of their way and branches shooting down to move fallen branches. It was one of the most amazing things Link had seen in his life, and he told his riding companion as much.
In response, Jayde smiled warmly and said, "This is only an illusion. True magic is much more subtle."
Link, who had never witnessed any kind of magic besides that of bawdy street magicians, simply shook his head. All of this was a bit too much for him at the moment.
"Where are we going anyway," he asked.
"Mido wants to take you to the Tree of Might, its in the center of the forest. We shouldn't be much longer."
"Tree of Might? What's that," he asked, a look of comical confusion spread across his face.
"After the Great Flood," Jayde began. "The land of Hyrule was only a grouping of small islands. The Great Deku Tree, father of the forest spirits who lives in the Lost Wood where no mortal may now enter, sent out his Kokri to plant his seeds throughout the islands. This they did, but only one of the trees survived the receding of the floods and the wars that followed: the Tree of Might.
"The Great One is connected to the Tree of Might, as he was connected to all of his saplings. We are to visit the Tree because Mido wants you to speak with the Great Deku Tree."
Link sat silent for quite awhile, pondering over possible reasons for a tree to talk to him. As he was about to ask Jayde another question he found that they had arrived in a great clearing within the forest, a massive tree stood at the center. It looked as if the questions he had were to be answered by this Great Deku Tree, whatever that was.
Mido hopped out of his tree, which slipped silently into its place among the others around the clearing, and went to stand before the massive tree. After a few moments of silence he turned his crinkled-leaf head to Link. "Come off that horse, boy, and stand over here by me."
Link, not sure of what else to do, complied and dismounted Bel. He reached a hand up for Jayde and she took it willingly, allowing Link to help her off of the large stallion's back. "Thank you for the ride, Bel," she said. The horse flung his head into the air as if to say that it was no problem.
Link and Jayde walked up to Mido and stood side by side next to the small forest spirit. "Link," Mido said. "Meet the Great Deku Tree, Lord of the Forest."
Just then the bark on the massive tree in front of them shifted into the form of a giant face: two huge indents for eyes, a massive bulge of bark for a nose, and a gigantic pit for a mouth. "Ah, Mido," the tree said in a thunderous voice that shook the trees, as well as Link. "Why did you summon me to the Tree of Might, my son?"
"Father, I've brought to you the boy I told you about last time we spoke."
The tree's massive face shifted slightly towards Link. "So you have. He does look remarkably like the two before him. But the two of you've only seen the first Hero, haven't you?"
"That's true," Jayde replied somewhat timidly, as if even she who had already beheld the greatness of the Forest Lord was still awed.
"The Goddesses seem to favor a certain body type for their appointed Hero," the Deku Tree mused. "And Hero he is, Mido. You were right."
Mido's leaf of a face crinkled into what was unmistakably a smug little smile. Link, however, frowned deeply at this proclamation.
"Hero," he said, rather annoyed at this giant plant's presumptions. "How do you figure that I'm a hero? I'm a damned bounty hunter for Goddess' sake!"
The Deku Tree seemed slightly perturbed by the audacity of the boy before him. How dare he challenge the word of the Deku Tree, prophet of the Goddesses themselves. "Listen, child, I have been prophet and seer to the Three Golden Ones as long as I have been a tree! I know that they have chosen you, their power emanates from you so heavily I feel as if I would choke upon it! Now sit and listen to what I have to say and remain silent until the end."
Link, after being shouted at and feeling the power of the Forest Lord, stood limp and subdued between Jayde and Mido. Jayde put a reassuring hand upon his arm, and her simple touch seemed to strengthen his posture a bit.
"Now," the Deku Tree continued. "You have been chosen by the Goddesses as their Hero. Hero of what I shall not tell you, for no man should know his destiny lest he become afraid and turn from it. I see now that you will not shun your fate once you discover it.
"Until that fate becomes clear to you, however, you shall remain lord unto yourself. I will allow Jayde to stay with you if she would wish it, and if you would have her aid. For now, though, forget about this Hero business. Continue on your way, I will say no more."
The face in the tree then shifted back to how it was before the Forest Lord had been summoned, leaving Link no chance to argue. Instead, he turned toward Mido and would have ripped the poor spirits body apart branch by branch if Jayde had not tightened her grip on his arm and turned him to face her. He found himself looking directly into her sky blue eyes.
'Goddess, she's beautiful,' he thought, his anger melting away as they looked at each other.
"Link, I would go with you if you would have me," she said, her voice sweet and melodious to Link's pointed Hylian ears.
He smiled at her, a bright smile that showed off his perfect, white teeth, and said, "I can't think of anything I'd enjoy more than your company."
Mido, feeling himself forgotten, grunted loudly at Link's statement. "I believe it is time for us to part ways then, Link. Father is going to need my help in the days ahead, so I must return to the Lost Woods. Until we meet again, my friends."
The small stick being rearranged itself just then so that his body resembled a bird: leaves sprouting from his arms like feathers and the leaf that made up his head folding into the fierce visage of a hawk. Mido flapped his leafy wings and took off into the air, heading south in the direction of the fabled Lost Woods.
Jayde, after Mido had left the clearing, broke into abrupt laughter. Link looked at her with slight concern.
"What's so funny?"
"Mido," she answered between fits of giggles. "The poor guy can't stand being ignored! Oh, he sounded so pompous with that little speech he gave. And that exit! How overly dramatic! I can't recall the last time I've seen him fly anywhere: it taxes what little power he has."
Link, now understanding the humor, joined Jayde's laughter. After they had calmed down, Link gazed at the sky and then looked back to Jayde.
"It's nearing midday and we haven't even broken fast yet. If we hurry, we can find some game before then and have something to eat. There was a spring a little ways back the way we came. Maybe some deer will be getting some to drink."
Jayde, hungry, agreed with Link and the two (after asking permission, of course) climbed atop Bel's back and the horse moved them as silently as possible into the wood. Luck was with them then and Link was able to fell a small doe that was stopped as a small clearing near the spring for a drink.
Within an hour the doe had been gutted and cooked and Link and Jayde talked and ate. From a pack that Link had tied to Bel (it was only thing that made the horse look as if it weren't wild) he pulled out a skin filled with ale so the pair would have drink as well as food.
The two decided to stay in the clearing for the night and stayed busy cleaning the deerskin and making jerky out of the meat they hadn't eaten. The doe, only a child, didn't weigh much and the jerky and hide fit easily into Bel's pack. Link set the deer's innards deeper into the forest and left the meat for scavengers.
When their work was done the sun had fallen low between the trees and the warm air caught a chill. Link and Jayde moved to sit next to each other by the fire they had made to keep warm. It was then, as night began to take hold of the forest, that Link asked Jayde to tell him about her past. She did and Link sat and listened in awe.
Link, Jayde and Mido had been trekking deeper and deeper into the forest for quite awhile, moving at a leisurely pace. Never did the trio have to move around a tree or over a fallen log- their path cleared for them as they approached, trees shifting out of their way and branches shooting down to move fallen branches. It was one of the most amazing things Link had seen in his life, and he told his riding companion as much.
In response, Jayde smiled warmly and said, "This is only an illusion. True magic is much more subtle."
Link, who had never witnessed any kind of magic besides that of bawdy street magicians, simply shook his head. All of this was a bit too much for him at the moment.
"Where are we going anyway," he asked.
"Mido wants to take you to the Tree of Might, its in the center of the forest. We shouldn't be much longer."
"Tree of Might? What's that," he asked, a look of comical confusion spread across his face.
"After the Great Flood," Jayde began. "The land of Hyrule was only a grouping of small islands. The Great Deku Tree, father of the forest spirits who lives in the Lost Wood where no mortal may now enter, sent out his Kokri to plant his seeds throughout the islands. This they did, but only one of the trees survived the receding of the floods and the wars that followed: the Tree of Might.
"The Great One is connected to the Tree of Might, as he was connected to all of his saplings. We are to visit the Tree because Mido wants you to speak with the Great Deku Tree."
Link sat silent for quite awhile, pondering over possible reasons for a tree to talk to him. As he was about to ask Jayde another question he found that they had arrived in a great clearing within the forest, a massive tree stood at the center. It looked as if the questions he had were to be answered by this Great Deku Tree, whatever that was.
Mido hopped out of his tree, which slipped silently into its place among the others around the clearing, and went to stand before the massive tree. After a few moments of silence he turned his crinkled-leaf head to Link. "Come off that horse, boy, and stand over here by me."
Link, not sure of what else to do, complied and dismounted Bel. He reached a hand up for Jayde and she took it willingly, allowing Link to help her off of the large stallion's back. "Thank you for the ride, Bel," she said. The horse flung his head into the air as if to say that it was no problem.
Link and Jayde walked up to Mido and stood side by side next to the small forest spirit. "Link," Mido said. "Meet the Great Deku Tree, Lord of the Forest."
Just then the bark on the massive tree in front of them shifted into the form of a giant face: two huge indents for eyes, a massive bulge of bark for a nose, and a gigantic pit for a mouth. "Ah, Mido," the tree said in a thunderous voice that shook the trees, as well as Link. "Why did you summon me to the Tree of Might, my son?"
"Father, I've brought to you the boy I told you about last time we spoke."
The tree's massive face shifted slightly towards Link. "So you have. He does look remarkably like the two before him. But the two of you've only seen the first Hero, haven't you?"
"That's true," Jayde replied somewhat timidly, as if even she who had already beheld the greatness of the Forest Lord was still awed.
"The Goddesses seem to favor a certain body type for their appointed Hero," the Deku Tree mused. "And Hero he is, Mido. You were right."
Mido's leaf of a face crinkled into what was unmistakably a smug little smile. Link, however, frowned deeply at this proclamation.
"Hero," he said, rather annoyed at this giant plant's presumptions. "How do you figure that I'm a hero? I'm a damned bounty hunter for Goddess' sake!"
The Deku Tree seemed slightly perturbed by the audacity of the boy before him. How dare he challenge the word of the Deku Tree, prophet of the Goddesses themselves. "Listen, child, I have been prophet and seer to the Three Golden Ones as long as I have been a tree! I know that they have chosen you, their power emanates from you so heavily I feel as if I would choke upon it! Now sit and listen to what I have to say and remain silent until the end."
Link, after being shouted at and feeling the power of the Forest Lord, stood limp and subdued between Jayde and Mido. Jayde put a reassuring hand upon his arm, and her simple touch seemed to strengthen his posture a bit.
"Now," the Deku Tree continued. "You have been chosen by the Goddesses as their Hero. Hero of what I shall not tell you, for no man should know his destiny lest he become afraid and turn from it. I see now that you will not shun your fate once you discover it.
"Until that fate becomes clear to you, however, you shall remain lord unto yourself. I will allow Jayde to stay with you if she would wish it, and if you would have her aid. For now, though, forget about this Hero business. Continue on your way, I will say no more."
The face in the tree then shifted back to how it was before the Forest Lord had been summoned, leaving Link no chance to argue. Instead, he turned toward Mido and would have ripped the poor spirits body apart branch by branch if Jayde had not tightened her grip on his arm and turned him to face her. He found himself looking directly into her sky blue eyes.
'Goddess, she's beautiful,' he thought, his anger melting away as they looked at each other.
"Link, I would go with you if you would have me," she said, her voice sweet and melodious to Link's pointed Hylian ears.
He smiled at her, a bright smile that showed off his perfect, white teeth, and said, "I can't think of anything I'd enjoy more than your company."
Mido, feeling himself forgotten, grunted loudly at Link's statement. "I believe it is time for us to part ways then, Link. Father is going to need my help in the days ahead, so I must return to the Lost Woods. Until we meet again, my friends."
The small stick being rearranged itself just then so that his body resembled a bird: leaves sprouting from his arms like feathers and the leaf that made up his head folding into the fierce visage of a hawk. Mido flapped his leafy wings and took off into the air, heading south in the direction of the fabled Lost Woods.
Jayde, after Mido had left the clearing, broke into abrupt laughter. Link looked at her with slight concern.
"What's so funny?"
"Mido," she answered between fits of giggles. "The poor guy can't stand being ignored! Oh, he sounded so pompous with that little speech he gave. And that exit! How overly dramatic! I can't recall the last time I've seen him fly anywhere: it taxes what little power he has."
Link, now understanding the humor, joined Jayde's laughter. After they had calmed down, Link gazed at the sky and then looked back to Jayde.
"It's nearing midday and we haven't even broken fast yet. If we hurry, we can find some game before then and have something to eat. There was a spring a little ways back the way we came. Maybe some deer will be getting some to drink."
Jayde, hungry, agreed with Link and the two (after asking permission, of course) climbed atop Bel's back and the horse moved them as silently as possible into the wood. Luck was with them then and Link was able to fell a small doe that was stopped as a small clearing near the spring for a drink.
Within an hour the doe had been gutted and cooked and Link and Jayde talked and ate. From a pack that Link had tied to Bel (it was only thing that made the horse look as if it weren't wild) he pulled out a skin filled with ale so the pair would have drink as well as food.
The two decided to stay in the clearing for the night and stayed busy cleaning the deerskin and making jerky out of the meat they hadn't eaten. The doe, only a child, didn't weigh much and the jerky and hide fit easily into Bel's pack. Link set the deer's innards deeper into the forest and left the meat for scavengers.
When their work was done the sun had fallen low between the trees and the warm air caught a chill. Link and Jayde moved to sit next to each other by the fire they had made to keep warm. It was then, as night began to take hold of the forest, that Link asked Jayde to tell him about her past. She did and Link sat and listened in awe.
