Chapter One: Daughter of the Forest

When the world was new, Farore created me. With her rich soul, she poured her life into this earth so that those with life could uphold the law that the great goddess Nayru laid down for us. It was no simple task, what the golden ones did for us. But this is not their story. This story is our story; the story of the spirits that reside within the six sacred medallions.

I am rather proud to admit that I was one of the first. At first there were only three of us. There was my brother, Fire, and my sister, Water, and me, the Forest. I must say, though, Water and Fire fought so much that huge areas of the earth would be clouded in steam, and parts of me would no longer be a normal forest, but would grow one with the steam and create jungles, swamps, and rain forests. I suppose that sometimes good things come out of fighting. My sister, Shadow, and my brother, Light, were the next ones to come. They brought so many different things into this world, it would be impossible for me to tell you them all. Last, my sister Spirit came to be. She brought both love and hatred into this world, and alongside those many other emotions. You could say that she forged the human heart.

But rather than telling you some boring sob story on the different ways that my brothers, sisters and I brought into being, I'll tell you of the story before we pledged our souls to the elements upheld by the goddesses. The story of when we were human.

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It was late in the afternoon, and the seven of us, though one was not our sister, were running merrily through the new fields of Hyrule. Life was simple for us back then, and we, as children, indulged in our bliss. The sun was always shining, the grass was always green, and we never needed to eat a thing. Besides that, in fact for the longest time, none of us grew a day older, despite the many moons that had passed us by.

I would usually be planting the seeds of plant life. I was utterly fascinated in the growth of life, and I felt that the closest I could get to it was through the plants. I felt as though I could speak with the plants, and we could understand each other, though none of us spoke the same language.

This was probably why I was chosen to be the daughter of the forest. It was all because of my connection to life. When the goddesses first came to me, I smiled at them in my naiveté and asked them if they could hear the silent life speaking to them as well. They laughed at me playfully, and asked me if I had ever wanted to do something spectacular for this world I called home. I was young, I could not refuse them. Besides, I was more than happy to oblige.

"You may become the daughter of the Forest, a very important element that holds the balance of life in check. But if you do, you will never again see your home as you see it now. Are you still willing to oblige?"

I was ecstatic listening to all of what they were saying. I wanted more than anything to encourage life and help it grow, and if I became the Forest child they spoke of, I could. I eagerly agreed to their proposal, and kneeled down before them to accept their blessing. I wanted, no, I needed to become the holder of the balance of life. And the goddesses knew that I was the one destined to do just that.

Before I knew it, I was encased in a green light. My grey eyes became green and my ears came to a point at the tips now. Before then they had been fat and round. I felt the world's life force coursing through my body. It felt so good, like everything that had a purpose was telling me its secrets, its hopes, and that it cared for me. I had become the first Kokiri.

The golden ones broke the serenity with their soft-spoken words. "Now you are a child of the forest, the daughter of the Forest. You hold within your body the most free-willed essence of all…life. Now we leave you with these instructions: take this seed and plant it to the south east of this field. It will grow into a mighty tree, and his name shall be Deku. He will become the father of the forest, and by his branches a forest will grow. And take this seed and plant it just north of the Deku seed. This one will become the Boko tree, a tree of mystery. From him the Lost woods will begin to protect the Temple that will be built in dedication to you, who gave your mortal life to become the source of life. Your race, the race of the Kokiri, will be a part of that forest. Your race may never leave the safety of the forest, for you will all be the origins of life. The everlasting Children of the Forest," and then they handed me a single pink seed, no larger than my pinky nail and a black seed the size of my palm.

I quickly ran to the south east of my home in the field and planted the pink seed. Within moments, green sprouted from the earth. Within minutes, the green had become a tree sprout about as tall as I was which was no larger than what you mortals would call a child. I then ran slightly north and planted the large, black seed. This one did not sprout so quickly, and I became rather disappointed.

But then I heard a voice that sounded like it had come from the previous tree I had planted. I turned around, and in the distance I could see that it had a face and was looking at me, though I had no fear in me. The voice said, "He will grow in time, Forest, be patient. Come play with me while I wait to grow!"

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Many long years passed, and a great forest did indeed grow. From blossoms in the Great Deku Tree's branches, small children with pointed ears were born. The Deku Tree instructed them to build a temple in my honor, for I was the Kokiri deity and thus required worship. When the Kokiri had completed construction, the most magnificent thing of all happened. A new area of the forest with darker trees grew quickly and began to loom over the temple.

I then heard a voice, though this one was much deeper than the Great Deku Tree's voice. "I am the Boko Tree, the tree of mystery. From me I have created the Lost Woods. Let it be known that those who get lost beneath these branches will never return. Kokiri children, heed my warning." And then there was nothing. Life among the Kokiri resumed as usual.

Many more years passed, and my fellow Kokiri grew curious. They wanted to know what was outside of their secluded paradise of life. But I knew what would become of them if they left. I knew that they would die, and I could not bear to lose the Kokiri, whom I had come to love as my own brothers and sisters.

I went to the Great Deku Tree to discuss the issue. All of the Kokiri believed everything that he said because he was their father, and so he decided to come up with the Two Laws. The first one was that they were never to leave the forest, and the second was never to enter the woods. After these laws had been established, I began to feel strange.

"What is happening, Great Deku Tree?" I asked my friend. The tree smiled and motioned at me to look at what had fallen from one of his blossoms. It was a little Kokiri girl with unnaturally green hair. "The Sage of Forest has been born."

And before I knew it, I was encased in a shining green disc of impenetrable material. I felt no bitterness, however. I felt more in tune with the source of life than I ever had before. And I was grateful to the golden ones for allowing me to have this fate. The fate of the Forest Medallion.