As soon as the kids were out of earshot, the restrained adults flooded the plain with more questions for Navi and Malon. Talon let the rumble subside as the roar dulled and they realized order was expected. The first man to raise his hand was acknowledged with a little dip from the patriarch.
"What other forest beasts are gonna follow the boy?"
Navi snorted. "His name is Link. What 'beasts' do you think would be willing to follow a single child, to leave the safety of the protected woods?"
"Those demons, the stalchildren," supplied an ample woman with an impressive brow.
"Skull kids? They're bound by magic to Kokiri. Not one could leave if they tried, and picking on the Children of the Deku Tree is too much fun." A little rustle of words flurried through the crowd.
"You mean the Deity of the Wood?" another man with red ear bobs asked.
This time, Malon replied, "The Deku Tree was not a deity, or a god, but the very heart of the forest, the source of life for Kokiri." She confirmed with Navi that her interpretation was correct, and the fairy seemed pleased.
"He is also the patriarch," Navi said, adjusting for the wind that blew fitfully, trying to bat her out of position. "The Children visit him occasionally, sharing a ceremony for the Celebration of that life he passed to them."
"Do stalfos really wander the forest?" came the uncertain and fearful question.
The attention shifted back to the fairy. Navi answered, "Not for an age. The last known skeletons animated by magic died in the last cycle of the hero."
"Ah! How do children know of that Hylian prophecy?" Interjected a man in a long blue robe. His silver eyes pierced.
Talon shifted slightly. Navi noticed and watched the negative motion of a headshake. Something was important here.
Carefully, for Navi sensed some hidden hunger to this Lon, she said, "The history of the forest is long, and as a fairy, I must be familiar with the whispered words of the oldest trees and girdings of the stones themselves. We remember where the Spirit Springs bubbled, and the travelers who have tread the undergrowth to find them." Navi decided to leave her words enigmatic and pushed the robed man further. "Did you think that the Kokiri were children in mind as well as body, and Hylian adults are the only ones responsible for recording the past?"
Hardly flustered, he returned, "Only in a manner that can be studied afresh for generations to come."
"Oh, your prophecy is ingrained in every living plant and the earth itself? You can read that?" Navi sniped.
"Query for a query," the man sneered. Navi agreed silently, a controlled nod, watching the escalation with interest. "I cannot read the earth, but I can read from the Book of Mudora, the Book of Truths and the Hyrule Hystoria. Do the Kokiri indeed worship the Goddess Farore?"
"Who?"
"HA! You see, the true nature of our heathens is revealed!"
"Sterling! That's enough!" Talon barked, but the fire stoked was not put out so swiftly.
"Farore is the true Life Source, for it was her Soul that imbued us all with life, and is the Matron of children. How can it be that the proverbial children do not know of their Mother?" Sterling's face was lit with some twisted compassion and pity, like his hands snaking around themselves, as if worry gnawed at his own soul.
Navi did not like this turn. It felt like some big joke on her, that suddenly she was ignorant because she did not know the names of the local deities. "Are there any other Goddesses we should know about?"
"You who claimed to read the earth has her eyes closed to those who created the very soil those children crawl in!" Sterling crowed, waxing ecstatically. "Din the Powerful's hand materialized that soil, and Nayru the Wise used her knowledge to bring order to that soil, and Farore the Courageous began the life of every bug in that soil!" He gestured high above his head, fanatical and frustrated with new information.
"Sterling, I am not going to ask again!" Talon's glare was enough to break blue robe's concentration, and each man and woman present could hardly stand to breathe for the tension binding lungs. Only the grass-filled wind whistled and distant livestock lowed. "These people are guests, not your congregation." An unanticipated flash of pain lit his grimace. "You know the price of conversion. Don't extract it so soon."
As though his episode never passed, Sterling hid his zeal behind a show of repentance, bowing low to his patriarch, but stayed in place, his concern with spiritual priorities packed away for another time.
Questions were halting, tongues tight after another confrontation. Navi answered truthfully, partially, most of the time, seeing the crowd's hunger for gossip was stronger than learning about a culture vastly different than their own. Pride for the Kokiri was one thing: they were the Children of the Forest, promised maturation after a long, fruitful life, and so, they thought themselves the best suited to their environment. The Lons, she deduced, had pride in their ways, but it became clear most adults here were puzzled that anyone would live outside the creature comforts they knew as Hylians. As soon as she had painted the picture of daily life for a Kokiri, gathering, crafting, hunting and observing, Navi brought the session to a close and sent her enquirerers back to their chores. She would grill Malon later.
Dusk was blooming in the steel sky, and so, it was not the moisture of the plain that prevented their trek to the pasture, but the call for chow was louder than Link's curiosity. His time in the barn was illuminating and fascinating, and before he solidified his plan to accompany the Lons to Market, he was hungry for more talk with Talon and Malon. The kids and he were back amidst camp, led by the nose to the kitchen area, where Link was being inundated with words for unfamiliar objects. He wowed them with his memory, however, as he offhandedly recited their list even while he accepted helpings of every dish prepared.
"Chicken, brush, grill, tongs, oven," A healthy steak was hooked from the hot surface and slapped onto his nearly full plate. "Beans, shoes, spoon, fork, I know knives, awning." For the first time, Link noticed his accent, listening to his very Lon pronunciation of the words, except the drawling "Naff" got its full "I" sound in the Kokiri inflection. There was no miscommunication on either part; both parties of Hylian were perfectly understandable to the other. It was merely striking, and he wondered how dialects and accents changed over time and distance, though he doubted an answer would be forthcoming. "Kettle, plate, sugar, coffee, bricks. Corn, ear of corn, hook, ladle, is this that pumpkin you were talking about? Squash, trough, cleaver, chopping block, table."
"What progress!" Malon gleaned, watching the children follow her plan exactly. "How were the stables?"
"He thinks horses are tall!" said Lean, who picked at his ears.
"To youngsters, I suppose they are," the woman indulged as she gathered her plate and motioned with her free hand for Link to follow her back to their tent. "Thank you, Mullick, for entertaining Link while we squared with the boring adults."
"Yeah, they were more excited than us," the oldest boy observed dryly. Malon tapped the side of her nose and left the group to find their own parents.
"You've made an ally," Navi commented from somewhere behind Link's ear.
Recognition and excitement filled his lungs with a satisfied sigh. "I'm trying to make a friend."
"Another? So soon?" The fairy saw him watching Malon sway through the camp.
"I'm getting better with the seasons," Link quipped bittersweetly.
She flicked herself ahead of her friend, an understanding smile just for him glowed with pride. "I kept most of the misconceptions from growing."
"Thank you."
"Some situation, eh, Ingo?" warbled Gerick, saving a bean sliding down his chin with a single knobbly finger.
The slim man with a mustache "harrumphed" from his place across the tent.
"Yep, ain't seen no excitement like this since a War!" he continued, biscuit now bubbling from his loose lips. "Kid's gonna hear all about 'em tonight. Introduce him properly to the Ladies, or Sterling, oh, he'll hop on that opportunity like a rabid peahat!"
Ingo glanced out of the corner of his eye at the old man. "Isn't that his job?"
Gerick finished the rind of beef in his hand. "Sure is. Only, his method works for people who already believe. Remember Aveil's confirmation? Why, I never been so sad for any person, Hylian or not."
Softening just a little, Talon's lean brother set aside his plate. "I agree." He went to reach for the dregs of his food, then stopped, eyes far away. "I hope Talon and the fairy can break him in gently."
"My ears are burnin', you must-a mentioned me," Talon cracked when he pushed the door out of his way, letting Malon and Link in after Navi.
"Truly, brother," Ingo sneered, managing to keep it polite.
"Anything good?" the man continued jovially as the others took seats around the fire, fairy hovering near her friend.
Gerick shared a communicative look with Ingo, but he deigned not to reply.
Talon wore speculation. "Is it serious?"
Gerick's wattle bobbed as he swallowed a last mouthful and wiped his mouth. "Depends. I think if we're keeping our guests around, we need to have a certain conversation. I'm sorry to be cryptic, Link."
The boy with blue eyes surveyed his new acquaintances. All of them swiveled to Talon's attention, expectant for some answer. A familiar creeping over his scalp put Link on alert, unsure how this conversation was tied to him. Even Navi looked evasive, for the moment, until she broke her friend's ignorance with her empathy.
"I was in the same place, earlier," she told him. "There's a man in camp I want you to avoid, for now, at least, as he tried to persecute me for not knowing things I couldn't possibly know."
"What kind of things?" Link plumbed between bites of biscuit, giving his hands a job to do so his head would stay above the confusing current.
"Well," Navi started, unsure how to proceed. "Kokiri Lore is extensive, but not all knowing, right?" Link concurred. The neigh of a stabled horse echoed in his memory. "Well, you see, most Hylians have a book in their community. Uh, books are words made visible, like the map." Her motion to the wall was unnecessary.
"Yes! The kids told me about letters."
"Oh! Neat. So, this book, or there are a few books, actually, they contain the story of the Beginning of the World."
Link's brow crinkled. "And it is different than ours?"
Food was going cold on plates and the fire crackled merrily unaware.
"Very," Navi sighed. "I'll ask Talon to carry on with the rest of the story, but to some men, not knowing this story is a bad thing. I'm glad our hosts are so understanding." She bowed to those she mentioned.
"Of course," Talon responded, plate forgotten beside him on the ground. He patted his thighs and launched, "Before I begin the Legend of Creation, I would like to tell you about something else that is important to Hylians: family. The Lon Clan is an extended family, which means that I look after Ingo, my brother, born of the same woman and man. Malon is my daughter, sired by me and her mother."
"Kokiri knows of mothers," Link volunteered. "We do know about family. It's like tribe, community. Animals mother and father their young, and so we know how to care for our new additions. Even those picked at the same time call each other 'brother' or 'sister,' and we are all Children of the Deku Tree, so we are all siblings, in a sense." He pursed his lips. "I do see what is different out here, though. With so many more relations and distance, your family and tribe would extend."
The adults nodded indulgently. Gerick said, wiping crumbs from his frock, "And I'm an uncle, from Talon and Ingo's mother's side, she was my sister. Don't suppose you know any of your Hylian family?"
Link's head wagged in refusal. "Only the description of a letter that probably came from the home where I was born. Saria snuck out of the forest, once, after I was adopted, looking for a Hylian settlement nearby. She found one building that showed evidence of birth, and took some papers with what she believed were drawings. I now think they were actually letters. I doubt that home has survived thirteen years, though." Belly voicing its displeasure, Link stopped there, for now, to take another bite from his laden plate.
"Alright then. I guess I'll start," Talon settled in while Malon in tucked in and Ingo tried to recline on his pallet, aloof as Gerick was eager to listen.
"Before Time began, and Nothing existed, Three Beautiful Goddesses descended from the Realm Above. The Goddesses looked at the swirling chaos, displeased, and felt Creation welling up in their souls. Din, with her strong hands and Power, made the earth solid. Nayru, the Wisest and Most Beautiful, lent some of her knowledge to the land, and law was born of her fertile mind. And Farore's Courage led her to pour some of her life onto the land, and Created the people and animals who would bow to the laws of Nayru. Now pleased with the world that lay before Them, the Beautiful Goddesses decided to watch Their Creation from the Realm Above, listening with open ears for the prayers and hopes of the people.
"Before long, the people of the world were drawn into conflict with one another! Lives were lost in the thousands when Hylians and the people of the West, the Gerudo, learned of a Golden Relic left behind by the Goddesses, and both searched with blood running from their weapons. These horrific wars bewildered Nayru, who thought her laws would help the people live in harmony, and in a wise flash, sent Her Chosen Agent to claim the Golden Relic. If only Farore and Din had not decided to do the same, another hundred years of war could have been avoided. Luckily, the insight granted to Nayru's Agent allowed the cooperation of Farore's Agent, and the Two against One overcame Power with Wisdom and Courage. In a unanimous decision, Nayru's Chosen was voted to be the Ruler of Hyrule, and began the Royal Family's lineage, Fathers and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters working to make this land prosperous, and an Age of Golden Peace, possible only with the Triforce, the Golden Relic of the Goddesses, or the Mothers of All."
"And so," Talon was concluding much to Link's dismay. "Our world was shaped by a history touched by these Goddesses."
Stunned, the ex-Kokiri's mind was racing, grasping implications like lightning and letting them go as fast while he tried to imagine this fantastic story as truth. Maps and locations that stayed were understandable. Words that were visible, even, that he could comprehend with ease, and gossipy, undisciplined children could be clay in his hands, he discovered. This. This story. What did it mean?
"There was nothing before time," Link commented, concentrating hard to make sure he was getting the picture. "Where did the Three come from if there was nothing and no time?"
"In the physical realm, there was nothing. But the Goddesses descended from the Realm Above," Malon stated helpfully.
"So there are two worlds?" Link's gorge worked to dislodge nothing but the feeling of bile rising. "And there was some Relic they left here?"
"Listen, Link, I'm going to shoot straight with ya," Talon shook his head, trying to prevent a potential meltdown in the foreigner. "As far as your concerned, this is only a story for now. You should know the details, even if you don't understand it yet. It's important to most Hylians, like Navi said, and now you're aware of it, at least." His eyes held some of the deepest understanding Link had ever seen, and his heart calmed a few notches. "There's no rush for ya to wrap your head around the legend yet. Most kids your age are just starting to take it seriously."
"And you believe all of it?"
Talon was reaching for his plate, but Link's question halted every motion in the man. Grinning with only one side of his mouth, he replied, "That's impolite, to ask a man how deep his faith is." Gerick was gravely agreeing.
"I'm sorry!"
"Heh," He retrieved his plate and shoveled a bite of steak into his mouth, swallowed and said, "If it's all the same, I'm not sure that version is completely accurate. But it's enough for now. Finish your food 'fore it ices over."
"It's all hogspit, I tell ya!" Ingo spat loudly. Everybody started a little, surprised with an outburst.
"Now, wait a minute-" Gerick got out before Ingo uncoiled to his feet, fingers curled into fists, glaring directly at Link.
"Know the names. That's all you need. Don't waster yer time tryin to make sense of any of it," His eyes held more bitterness than Link himself had ever felt, even with his childhood, and the ex-Kokiri nodded solemnly. Ingo stalked from the tent, punching the door out of his way.
A/N: We know the Legend of Creation a little differently. Please take it at face value what I've posted so far. I feel the Deku Tree's version was very impartial, but to a people native to worshiping Nayru, the best lines would be about her, don't you think?
