Shoko..?
Someone just entered the forest Hestu called home, and it wasn't a fellow Korok. Leaves ruffled and the grass swayed as dozens of tiny, wooden creatures hid themselves from the visitor. Hestu was not small like the other members of his species, and he could not conceal himself like his siblings. But Elder Chio had taught him another way to practice the Korok art of camouflage: if Hestu stood perfectly still, he would be invisible to all but the most searching pair of eyes. He would be yet another tree in the sprawling woods.
Just as Hestu planted his roots and stashed away his prized, red maracas, two boots announced their presence on the stone path leading to the pedestal in the center of the forest. Behind him, Hestu could feel Elder Chio climbing up his back to get a better look at the visitor. They had blond hair that peaked out from the sides of a black hood. They were small, Hestu thought, but then again, most creatures were of a smaller stature than the oversized Korok himself.
"It appears a Hylian has found their way through the Lost Woods," Elder Chio whispered by Hestu's ear.
If this Hylian noticed the growing murmurs of the Koroks, they did not show it. Their focus seemed to lie entirely on the sword sheathed in the pedestal before them. Hestu thought he saw the weapon glow for the briefest of moments. The stranger may have seen something similar, as they reached out their hand toward the light. The forest fell into a sudden silence, and Hestu thought he heard Elder Chio gasp sharply. His thoughts were interrupted by the striking sound of creaking wood and blowing wind.
"After one hundred years, you finally decided to return, Champion."
The voice of the Great Deku Tree shook the forest.
"Mr. Hero… he's here?" asked Elder Chio, who sounded more surprised than Hestu had ever seen him.
"You do not remember me," the tree remarked. "But you could never truly forget the sword that seals the darkness."
The boy, or Mr. Hero as the elder called him, flickered his eyes between the giant tree speaking to him and the sword at his feet. He pulled his hood down, and a flash of recognition entered Hestu's eyes. It was the same Hylian who could see him—the same Hylian who returned his maracas!
"Nothing rash, young Hestu," Elder Chio spoke softly in the larger Korok's ear, as though he could sense Hestu's excitement.
Being a forest spirit and a magical musician, Hestu could sense the bond between the boy and the sword. It was invisible, but it glowed brighter than any magic Hestu had witnessed. How did they spend one hundred years apart? Hestu couldn't imagine doing the same with his maracas.
"I must warn you," continued the Deku Tree, "a part of your soul is buried in the stone you stand on. It will be a considerable test of your strength to claim it once again—a test that may leave you severely weakened."
It was scary, Hestu thought. But like Hestu's previous encounter with him, the boy did not show any fear. He stood tall. His face was brave. And his hands ever so slowly worked their way toward the hilt.
Pull. Pull. Pull.
The younger Koroks struggled to communicate with words, but Hestu could feel the raw emotion flooding through the forest. They wanted the boy to succeed. They wanted the Hero to pull the sword. The boy's face scrunched in pain, and sweat rolled down his cheeks. He groaned in exertion, and Hestu's heart raced in trepidation.
A young boy's desperate cry pierced the forest air—then a metallic screech—then silence. The Champion took one look at the sword and collapsed.
The silence that had fallen over the woods broke in an instant. Koroks that were before ensconced in the shrubbery flew out in droves, and Hestu found himself wishing to join them at the Hero's side. Every spirit that called the forest their home rushed to aid the boy, whose cheeks were shining a deathly pale light. The sword pulsed again; Hestu was sure of it this time.
"Bring him to the navel!" Elder Chio's voice cut through the chaos.
The wooden creatures worked as one to delicately lift the boy—and his sword—to the leaf bed within the Great Deku Tree. Hestu whined. He was too big and too clumsy to be of any help. His maracas had no healing powers, and expanding the Hero's storage was not quite what the boy needed in the moment. Hestu was forced to watch and wait in the hollow center of the Deku Tree as dozens of Koroks stoodby. The boy tossed and turned and muttered names that Hestu did not recognize. As Elder Chio administered a healing tonic, the Hero's cheeks flushed once again and the whispers subsided slightly. The sword never stopped glowing, and Hestu guessed that the weapon and its wielder were communicating somehow.
He, along with many of his fellow Koroks, would stay by the Hero's side until the following morning. Upon awakening, the boy introduced himself as Link and expressed his thanks toward the spirits for their care. Despite Elder Chio's protests, he insisted that he ought to get going. The newly recovered weapon gave Link a purpose, and that Hestu could understand. He was kind enough to return some seeds to the musician, and Hestu worked some expansion magic on Link's packs in return. It made the Korok feel better that he could be of service to the Hero. The boy was important to the Deku Tree, he was important to grandpa Chio, and he was evidently important to Hyrule. Hestu hated fighting, but he was eager to help the warrior nonetheless.
Link did not dilly-dally, and he left Korok Forest as quickly as he entered it. But he remained in Hestu's mind long after the brief visit. Hestu thought of the struggled and determined way that Link pulled the sword, the kindness and gratitude he showed the forest's natives, and most of all the words he mumbled on that leaf bed.
What did she want to say to me?
Of course, Hestu hoped that the Hero of Hyrule would succeed in his quest against evil; Elder Chio had made the stakes of the battle clear. But after meeting Link himself, and seeing firsthand what weighed on the Hylian, Hestu wished more clearly that the boy would find the answers he desired.
…
"New sword Linky?"
Beedle was making the rounds at Foothill Stable when he called out to the blond boy he met back at Dueling Peaks.
"Yeah," Link replied cryptically and gave an obvious warning glance.
Oops. He forgot that Link wasn't the most trusting with strangers, even if Beedle liked to think of them more as business partners.
"Sorry, I wasn't trying to make an offer. I actually wanted to see if you had any goodies to exchange!" Beedle figured that would defuse the tension.
Link relaxed a little and even gave a cheeky smile. Did that mean what Beedle thought it meant? Link reached into his pack, which Beedle always thought held more items than it had the space for, and pulled out a rugged rhino beetle. Oh yeah. The merchant dug around in his own sack until he found a bundle of arrows. The two had established a nice rate of bugs to arrows, and Beedle was more than happy to make another trade today.
The goods swapped hands, and Beedle decided to make another offer.
"I can also get you some fireproof elixir on the cheap if you'd like." He leaned in a little closer and whispered, "I'll give you a way better price than that scalper at the stable."
Link snorted at that remark and waved a hand to decline.
"Thanks, but I'm all set. I'm actually just coming back from Death Mountain."
That was disappointing, but Link had already given him so much business that Beedle couldn't be too sad.
"You might want to keep those elixirs for yourself. I have word that the path up to Goron City is safe for travel," Link suggested.
"No monsters?" Beedle asked.
"No monsters."
"I don't suppose you had anything to do with that or the red beam of light coming from the volcano."
Link's eyes narrowed slightly and the corner of his mouth curved upwards.
"Or, you could make a trip to Akkala," he said, ignoring Beedle's comment.
"I'm a merchant, Linky, not an explorer like you." Beedle rolled his eyes.
"I'm serious. There's a new settlement up by Lake Akkala. It's called Tarrey Town."
"And who lives in this Tarrey Town?"
"Well, it's still under construction right now. But already there are Hylians, Gorons, Rito, and even a Sheikah. Building a town from the ground up is hard work, and I'm sure they'd love to have someone to buy food and supplies from.
Oh, it was frightening how well Link could push Beedle's buttons. But the trader had one more question.
"And will you be there?"
Link nodded. "It's my next stop. I visit every now and then to drop off raw material for construction."
Well, that sold it.
"I'll be there," Beedle confirmed.
Link's eyes lit up and he gave a toothy smile. Beedle figured that the boy must really care about this Tarrey Town project.
"In a matter of months I've seen you go from torn clothing without a rupee to your name to helping construct a brand new settlement in Akkala. Have you always worked this hard?"
Link shifted upwards as if trying to remember something and then looked back to Beedle.
"Yeah."
"Never change, Linky."