Chapter 14: The Hermit

The forest opened up with unfettered arms as the sunlight finally seeped through the trees and gave warmth to the land. The expanded path meant that someone maintained this neck of the forest, and that Link and Navi were getting close. With each step through the elongated path, Link smiled, knowing that soon they would reach the Hermit.

What would this man do to enable Link to defeat the Phantom when he had failed to do so himself? Link remembered the Oracle's sympathetic words for him, still crisp in his mind.

Defeated and ashamed, the Hermit left our village then, for he knew that he had fallen. He was lucky that day, Link, for he had escaped with his life, though he had paid a dark price.

What had happened to the Hermit that day? Link thought. What could have occurred that drove him away from the village forever, forcing him to find refuge in a place devoid of all feeling –a cold merciless place, home to a beast that fit its territory's description?

"Look," Navi said, pointing just yards ahead. Just ahead of Link started a long trail of mushrooms, a trail that spread across into the distance. Link bent to his knees and inspected the mushrooms, taking notice of their unique colors, red and gold. Link concluded from the Oracle's description that these were the Swodim mushrooms –the mushrooms that could save Tetra. Link plucked one of them from the ground, smiling as he secured it away in his tunic.

"Finally," he said. "With this, Tetra will awaken again. I wish I could just turn back and save her now, but I suppose our visit with the Hermit is too essential." Link looked down to the multitude of identical mushrooms before him that spanned out across the forest floor. He gave a light chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Navi asked.

Link looked up. "It's just so strange how these mushrooms are so abundant here that they've almost become weeds. And yet, just a few miles southeast, these same tiny mushrooms are nonexistent. How valuable they are there, and yet here they are as worthless as grass."

Link and Navi continued through the stretch of Swodim mushrooms that had consumed the trail, creeping closer to the Hermit and his domain. After just a few more miles, as the blanket of mushrooms disappeared from the forest, a clearing opened up before them. In the center of the clearing, overlooked by the towering oak trees, a tiny round cottage made of yellow straw was seen.

Link, Navi hovering above his shoulder, walked up to the cottage and hesitantly knocked on the door. Almost instantly there was an answer.

"Who knocks of my door?" The voice was powerful, stern, and booming.

Link cleared his throat. "I am Link. Are you the one they call the Hermit?"

"That is my business," he answered behind the door. Then he added, "Go away."

"I'm sorry to have bothered you," said Link, "but I need your help. The people south of here, your people, are in danger of being overtaken by the Phantom and his minions. I was sent by the Oracle to find you so that you can teach me how to defeat the Phantom and bring prosperity back to your land."

There was silence for a moment. Link heard the Hermit breathing roughly behind the door. "That place is no longer my land, and they are no longer my people. This is where I belong now, home to dank, slimy slugs and hairy, brainless baboons. You made the journey here for nothing, boy. There is nothing I can teach you."

"Please," Link pleaded. "Open the door. I am sure you can teach me."

"Go away."

"Please," Link repeated. "The Oracle told me that you are strong, that you have great power and wisdom. You can teach me. I trust the Oracle."

"Does this look like a man suitable for teaching?" The door suddenly swung violently open, and Link gazed his eyes on the Hermit for the first time. He was a tall, powerful man, with a strong build. His hair was unkempt, and a thick brown beard covered his chin. But Link then noticed what the Hermit was talking about. He had one powerful, muscular arm, but the other, the right, was nonexistent –nothing more than a stump. "Well?" the Hermit repeated violently. "What say you?"

"How did this happen?" Link asked.

"I owe you no explanation," the Hermit answered.

"Was it the Phantom's doing?"

The Hermit turned his back on Link and entered the cottage, leaving the door wide open. Link and Navi followed him. The cottage was small, but warm and homely. A burning fire in the rear gave color to the place, and decorative pottery and unique curios and trinkets cluttered the room and gave it life. The Hermit sat down by the fire.

"Are you still here?" he murmured.

Link said nothing, but sat down next to the Hermit, watching him throw twigs into the crackling fire. Finally, he spoke. "Hermit, you tried your best to defeat the Phantom. It is not your fault that he beat you. You gave everything you had. That is what matters." Several moments passed, yet no words were exchanged.

Finally, the Hermit sighed, his blue eyes flashing against the glaring flames. "I apologize, Link. The wound is still fresh…The Oracle really sent you here? She is a knowledgeable woman. She wouldn't have done so needlessly. Link, I'm not making any promises, but tomorrow I will test you to see if you have what it takes, and if you succeed, I will pass my knowledge to you."

Link smiled. "Thank you, Hermit. That is all that I ask." Link watched the Hermit's eyes fixed upon the roaring fire. His face was as stiff as a rock, and he did not even turn his head to acknowledge Link when he spoke. The fire had consumed him. Link wondered what about the fire intrigued the Hermit so. He looked into the crackling flames to find the answer, but saw nothing but charred wood and the red glow. He looked back to the Hermit, deep into his eyes, and saw the fire within them, burning endlessly.