THE LOST WORLD
In the land of Hyrule, there echoes a legend... A legend that tells of a boy who, through time, became a hero. A boy that waged war against a great evil that ravaged the land in a time, no longer. His battles over, and his friends gone in the winds of the realm, he embarked on a journey – secret and personal.
A journey in search of a friend whom, through his crusades, remained loyal and steadfast in the face of doom. A friend, who's companionship and wisdom gave the boy the strength to push on in his travels in the past and in a future that exists no more.
A friend who's light guided the hero through the darkness, and uncertainty. A friend who's bond could not be severed, no matter how fate wished otherwise.
He began his journey in a wood with no end, but many doors and paths in every turn. Astride a red haired, white maned mare who had shared his burdens of travel, he marched in the quiet forest. His eyes wandered around his surroundings, darkness was everywhere in this ancient and mysterious place.
Odd sounds, here and there that came from the lingering shadows, continued to harass his senses and disappear for a time. Crows sometimes cawed in the distance, never leaving the lonely wood to peace for long. A deep, depressive feeling weighed heavy upon the land, and the hero's shoulders. He felt himself slump further into his saddle, with his eyes closed as he pushed the dark emotions from his mind.
The humidity was heavy, his eyebrows dripped sweat onto his young chest. Perspiration left marks in his rich green tunic, and made his thick brown boots uncomfortably warm. He opened his cooling blue eyes, revealing a stern glare, cautious of what may lie in wait within the area.
He felt no gazes on him, but he was deeply disturbed all the same. The Lost Woods was an unnatural phenomenon that was, ironically, naturally constructed by the world itself during the Goddesses' Ascension. No known records described anything about the Lost Woods, only the Kokiri were faintly acquainted with its existence. Even they knew no more than he did.
It had a strange world all its own under the thick canopies. The sheer, raw energy that it radiated was almost sickening as it was unsettling.
True to its name, if one did not know the way, they would lose themselves in the wood. The Kokiri told stories of Kokiri children and outsiders alike who lost their way amongst its never ending, constantly winding paths, and had been consumed – body and soul – by the forest. The Lost were transformed and transmuted into entities known either as Skull Kids in the case of the Kokiri, or Stalfos in the case of non-Kokiri.
The young hero never liked this place, he felt as if it was pulling him into the darkness whenever he had traveled within its borders. He hated the Lost Woods for its unsettling atmosphere, but respected it for its mystery. Luckily, he knew how to traverse its paths without ever getting lost.
Some time ago, a friend of his whom he had known all his life, a Kokiri who frequented the forest regularly, discovered the secret to traveling it with success.
"The secret is, to know where you are going. As long as you keep your destination in mind, you'll never get lost. If you stay focused, you will know the way."
He had remembered her words; the advise was at first thought, questionable, but he discovered that her words were, in-fact, true. It was the only way he could find a temple in the depths of the forest when his friend had disappeared and her music stopped flowing from its endless bark.
However, the flaw of that technique was in not knowing your destination. He was here to find a friend who had parted ways with him. She never said good bye, and he found life without her companionship to be unbearable. He felt lost without her guiding light, so lost that he did not hesitate to enter the Lost Woods to find her.
She was as a sister to him, and he did not wish to lose her presence. He may have argued with her on occasion throughout the journey that made him legend, but he still valued her friendship above all others. And so, he marched on. Into the unknown, without a second thought of what may become of his life. Soon, the noises of the Deep Wood stopped, and the night waned in on the twilight hours.
Darkness took hold of the forest, the Deep Wood had been completely veiled in the shadows of the night. The trees swayed in a weak, bone-chilling wind, forcing the hero to hold the scruff of his tunic in. The Lost Woods was said to be nothing but a massive forest land that stretched on seemingly forever, but it was actually a gateway to a dimension between dimensions. A world between worlds. This explained why he did not emerge on the other side of the forest, because there was no other side. Not when one attempts to push through the thick foliage and fauna within.
It had been a year since he locked the Sacred Realm away. Time had flown past after the target of his quest unexpectedly departed, within days he remembered approaching the princess of the kingdom and giving her his farewell before he began to search Hyrule for his comrade.
Time passed as the path before he and his ride continued to lead on, endlessly. His eyes alight with determination, continued to scour the environment for signs of the fairy Navi... or something else that could be lying in wait for him. The weight of the Kokiri Sword brought him comfort in trying times, the blade had been the determining factor of many of his battles as a child. The metal shield that the princess had given him, strapped to his back, felt as if he was being shielded from the swallowing force of the Lost Woods.
He reached up and pulled on the strap holding his sword and shield, tugging on it to readjust its position for comfort. His mare continued her walk, slow and steady for she too was filled with a disturbance that this place emitted. One wrong step, and neither would ever see the end of the forest, and a terrible fate would befall them both.
He reached down and patted his friend, she shook her neck in response, shivering from anxiety. Lowering his hand further, he checked the straps of his travel sack, ensuring the flap was secured and nothing had fallen out. It was then that the temperature began to drop. His breath became a white mist as it left his nostrils.
Raising his gaze at the sudden cold, he narrowed his vision. He sensed something afar, intently locked on his form. He lowered his head more, pretending to be preoccupied.
A shutter nearby caused his Hylian ears to twitch slightly, catching the flap of small wings. It could not be the one he had come for, Navi. The shimmer this presence had given was not of the same as her own, it was darker, and tainted. A low wind rustled his unkempt blond hair, brushing it against his cheeks. The tail-like hat on his head swayed to the invisible force.
Sitting straight, he gave a slight kick with the reigns. His mare acknowledged him, continuing their trek into the unknown before them. If the young hero had been looking, he would of seen a shadow race across the treetops behind him and around his blind spot, escaping further into the trees with silent motion.
Clip clop clip clop
The only noise he could hear now, was that of his mare's hooves, planting firmly against the forest foliage and the occasional rock she kicked.
The warrior looked to his left slightly, sensing movement but unable to determine more. Not wishing to deviate from his current course and be trapped in the forest, he ignored his feelings perhaps for the first time since he took up a sword. However, he could feel an ominous dread seep through the forest realm, the hair on the back of his neck began to rise up in caution.
The sound of a high pitched scream echoed far away, otherworldly and almost inaudible. The sound could be described as something from a nightmare, resembling a hushed sigh from fallen divine creatures. Childish giggles resounded all around the hero and his mare. A quiet wind pulled at the two, tempting them to come closer to the scream. Whispers in the wind spoke in smooth tones, a language of mystery and silence.
His mare neighed loudly, shaking her head up and down while backing up. The hero hushed and hushed her, holding tight to his reigns and patting her neck.
He muttered into her ear, his soft and gentle voice easing the mare of most of her panic. She grunted and with one hoof began digging at the dirt, displaying her hesitation and desire to not continue in the direction of the eerie shriek.
He gritted his teeth, and swallowed his fears. His senses had become alerted of danger. The wind was still pulling at them, not violently but as if to beckon him in. The hero reached up and placed his hand on his sword, the triangular mark on the back of his hand glowed in defiance of fear.
The air was getting thicker, and the cold had not stopped dropping in temperature. His eyes wandered in all directions, seeking any sign of his unseen watcher.
Suddenly, Epona yelped and reared up. The hero was not prepared, as Epona stood tall on both her hind legs, causing the boy to topple over and land on his chest.
His head struck a rock, and the darkness consumed his vision. The last he heard was the giggles and laughs as Epona jabbed at a pair of light sources with her front hooves. She pranced to the side and back, taking a defensive stance in front of him, as if to shield him from whatever had spooked her, and clawed at the dirt threateningly.
