After finding the red chest, the two wandered for only a little bit longer before stumbling into the Greater Hyrule Forest, home of the Koroks. The area seemed like heaven compared to the cold mists in the forest. A massive tree was in the glade, with Koroks all around it. Inside the nearby clearing, a golden shaft of light seemed to shine on a sword in the ground.
Kaladin could tell that there was a shrine on the other side of the tree root, and started to walk towards it.
A slightly smaller tree than the main one started to speak to him. "Link, have you finally returned to claim the master sword?" Kaladin turned to face the tree. "Ah, you aren't Link. Then what brings you here?"
"My name is actually Kaladin." He then explained how he might have swapped with Link, and his goal to defeat the Calamity. He also added,"I've got some of Heshu's seeds, which I came to return."
The tree examined him in silence for a moment. It then said,"My name is Great Deku Tree and I am the guardian of the forest. Your story is very interesting. It seems that the Goddess has transferred the right of the hero to you. If you would like, you can try to claim the Master Sword. It has a long and complicated history, but it's called Evil's Bane for a reason. I think It would be a great help to you in your upcoming battle."
Kaladin really didn't understand why everyone kept asking him to take weapons. "I'm not really a sword person."
"Humor me, won't you?" The Great Deku Tree sensed his hesitation. "Also, it will not break."
Nobody needed to tell Kaladin twice. He was sick of how quickly weapons fell apart on Hyrule. He stepped up to the pedestal the sword was buried in and gripped the sword. Slowly but surely he pulled it out of the ground. He had to burn quite a bit of stormlight to retrieve it. The tree said nothing, so Kaladin continued. It sort of acted like Szeth's blade, which he'd heard fed on stormlight. The sword did the same, except it was stealing his life force.
Right before Kaladin would have given up, because he was running low on stormlight, the sword pulled free and all the koroks stared in shock at him. A blue and purple personage appeared.
It said in a feminine voice,"Master? I have been asleep for many years. I wonder why I would have woken up?"
Syl leaned in and said,"She's a spren, but her and the sword exist at the same time?" Fi looked right at Syl as she spoke. Who was this being?
Fi replied,"I do not know what a spren is, but I am the spirit of the Master Sword, guardian on behalf of the Goddess. And you aren't Link. Unless you've changed a lot over the centuries."
"The name's Kaladin. We didn't mean to wake you. The Great Deku Tree said that the Master Sword would be helpful in a conquest against Calamity," Kaladin said. He was kind of worried that something had gone wrong,"If I'm not worthy or whatever, I can return the blade."
"It is nice to be awake again. Is your blue friend also the spirit of a sword? Or what did you call it…a spren?"
"Syl is kind of both. Where I'm from we have spren. They are small spirits that represent ideas and feelings. Some can bond with humans and turn into swords. Syl is one of those."
"Then I think I am something like…a spren. Though not entirely the same. I also sense the connection between you and Syl. Something is stopping Syl from turning into a sword. If I just reach out…"
Fi didn't make any physical motions, but her brow furrowed in concentration. Syl suddenly glowed brighter, as if a weight had lifted.
"I can turn into a spear again!" Syl said as she transformed. "Let's go give Calamity a piece of our minds."
"Thank you…" Kaladin didn't know her name.
"Fi. But I owe a far greater debt to you, Kaladin. It is a blessing to be awake and able to interact with the world. I wish to speak with Link again. It has been many years."
"Then I think that you should stay and wait for Link. You are his sword, after all," Kaladin said.
The Great Deku Tree spoke,"I have never heard of the Master Sword having two masters. But it stands to reason that any worthy soul could claim it. I'm afraid, Fi, that it is safest for you to be entombed in stone again. I will stand watch until Link returns."
"Very well. It is nice to know that I can awaken. Thank you, Kaladin, for bringing me to life again. May your quest be successful."
Kaladin slid the Master Sword back into stone, and left to go find Heshu. Hopefully Link would be able to awaken Fi when he returned.
First he activated and completed the shrine he'd seen earlier. Nearby, Heshu was standing in a clearing and Kaladin walked over.
"I found more of your seeds." He handed over a few dozen of the gold things.
Heshu slipped them into his bag and said,"Thank you. That's a great many. Do you want me to upgrade your weapon capacity?"
"You really don't need to. Just take the seeds as a gift from me."
"Oh thank you! Shakalaka!"
"Out of curiosity, how many of your seeds were stolen?"
"I don't know but it must have been like," the Korok paused for a few seconds but then said,"a thousand!"
"I want to help more but it would take ages for me to find them all for you. Why don't you spread the word? I'm sure plenty of people have found seeds but don't know what to do with them."
"That's such a good idea! I'll get started right away." Heshu ran off to the big tree with a door.
Kaladin teleported out of the forest to Tarrey Town to gather supplies. He may have had access to a shard now, but he needed all the arrows he could find. He also bought food from other towns. He didn't know how long he'd be in the castle, and there was probably no possibility of foraging.