Alright, folks, here's Chapter 3! Today, a certain inhabitant of the Kokiri Forest receives the call to arms and begins his journey towards destiny. Here we go!
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to The Legend of Zelda or any related material; The Legend of Zelda is the property of Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto.
WARRIOR, HERO, SAVIOUR
CHAPTER 3: MEETING THE DEKU TREE
A dark warrior from the desert rides across the fields, instigating terrible events that threaten to destroy the land. His purpose is clear, his intent wicked. He will not rest until both the land and the immaterial are under his control. The corruption of Hyrule has begun, and none can halt it.
A solitary ball of light flew towards the Deku Tree, having heard his psychic call. It cut as close to the trees as it dared, such was its haste to get to the guardian spirit's clearing. The dawn was breaking, and the tree was obviously in distress. The truly worrying thing was the suddenness of the call; never had the spirit been in such pain, and never had it come on so quickly. Navi the fairy feared for her friend's life, and wanted to quickly discover what was wrong.
She raced through the natural corridor to the grotto, ignoring the Deku Babas as they snapped at her heels. As she entered the hollow, she hurtled towards the Deku Tree's massive trunk, and stopped just short of crashing into the spirit's "face". Navi flew back a bit so the tree could see her, and steadied herself before she spoke.
"I'm here, Great Deku Tree! What's wrong? You sound like you're in real pain!"
"Oh, Navi the fairy..." The tree was pleased to see that the fairy had responded so quickly; this was more urgent than ever. Still, his words came slowly and with great pain. "Listen to my words, the words of the Deku Tree. Dost thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this realm...malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule."
"But they can't get us here!" Navi protested, not fully believing what the ancient spirit was saying. "No enemy has entered the Forest for centuries!"
"For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world."
"Then we should be safe! What can possibly happen? And you still haven't told me what's wrong..."
"But..." the Deku Tree continued, cutting her protests short, "before this tremendous evil power, even my power is as nothing."
Navi was stunned. The Great Deku Tree was among the oldest spirits in the world, keeping the Forest safe and acting as guardian of the children of the forest. For him to admit that his power was useless couldn't be believed.
"It seems," the spirit went on, "the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey. The youth whose destiny it is to lead Hyrule to the path of justice and truth. Navi..."
"Yes? I'm still here, Great Deku Tree."
"Go now! Find our young friend and guide him to me. I do not have much time left."
"What do you mean?" Navi cried, despairing about the spirit's condition. "You didn't tell me what happened to you!"
"Fly, Navi, fly!" The Deku Tree knew that Navi would pester him until he told her what she wanted to know, and there wasn't time to explain.
"The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!"
Hearing the Deku Tree say that caused Navi to forget about her concern and focus, single-mindedly, on finding the boy without a fairy. She rushed back down the path from the grotto, flying under a sour-faced Kokiri who was now guarding the entrance. She circled the small Kokiri village, occasionally flitting close to some of the diminutive inhabitants. One was sitting on the arch over the Kokiri Shop's entrance, while another was foolishly trying to lift a rock that was clearly too heavy for him. As Navi scanned the area, she saw a house resting on top of a thin tree's branches, and decided that it must be the house she was looking for. She flew towards the house, bumping into an intervening fence along the way, and then continued on. A sign near the base of the tree read Link's house, and she noted this so she wouldn't have to ask his name. As she entered, she saw a boy lying on a small bed in the corner, and knew she had found her target.
"Hello, Link! Wake up!" she called, hoping to wake the boy up. "The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you. Link, get up!" All this served to do was make Link roll over in bed, and Navi lost patience.
"Hey! C'mon!" Navi flitted up and down, trying to rouse Link from his slumber. "Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?" she added to herself, already forming doubts about his ability to help Hyrule's cause.
Link finally woke up, yawning heavily as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He turned and saw the fairy floating a few feet away, and moved to sit on the edge of his bed, looking at her with a quizzical expression.
"You finally woke up!" Navi said, relieved that this hadn't taken longer. "I'm Navi the fairy! The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, too." Link answered, still stunned by this intrusion. If this was really happening, he'd finally have his own guardian fairy, just like the other Kokiri. It might not stop Mido from bothering him, but it would bump up his own spirits. "So, why're you here all of a sudden? A fairy hasn't come to me in years, so it's kinda weird to have one show up now."
"That will be revealed in due time. Anyway, the Great Deku Tree has summoned you! So, let's get going, right now!" Link couldn't believe it. He finally had a fairy, and now the guardian spirit of the forest wanted to talk to him of all people. To think just yesterday he was breaking rocks and being taunted by Mido!
"All right, let's go. I've never spoken to the Deku Tree before. I wonder what he wants with me?"
As Link walked towards the ladder outside his house, he saw the familiar sight of Saria running towards him. He was happy to see her, especially since she'd be the first to see his fairy. The thought warmed his heart.
"Yahoo!" she called, waving. "Hi, Link!" Link waved back and hurried down the ladder to meet her, Navi in tow. Saria's eyes widened as she looked, and then her smiled widened even more.
"Wow, a fairy!" she cried, watching as Navi flew back and forth behind his head. "Finally, a fairy came to you, Link!"
"My name is Navi," the fairy told her, continuing to float around. "I have been entrusted with being Link's partner from now on."
"Wow! That's great news! I'm so happy for you! Now you're a true Kokiri, Link!"
"It gets better," Link said, smiling himself. "The Great Deku Tree wants to see me for some reason."
"Is that right? The Great Deku Tree has summoned you?" Saria knew what it was like, but decided not to tell Link that. "It's quite an honour to talk to the Great Deku Tree."
"Well, I'm glad he considers me worthy of it." Link answered, knowing he'd have to get past Mido to even get close to the Deku Tree. "Let's hope it's worth all this trouble."
"I'll wait for you here." Saria said, indicating that Link should go. "Get going! Go see the Great Deku Tree!"
"Alright then. Meet you back here later." Link hurried along until he reached Mido's vantage point in front of the Deku Tree's clearing. As he tried to walk past, Mido blocked his way.
"Hey, you! Mr. No-Fairy!" Mido's tone was as nasty as ever, and he was looking more pompous than usual. "What's your business with the Great Deku Tree? Without a fairy, you're not even a real man!" As if on cue, Navi flitted out from behind Link's head and flew towards Mido, causing the smaller Kokiri to take a step back.
"What!? You've got a fairy?"
"That's right, Mido. I've got a fairy just like you. I'm not so useless now, am I? Now get out of the way, the Great Deku Tree's summoned me."
"Say what?!" Mido jumped at this as if stung. "The Great Deku Tree actually summoned you? Whaaaaat!? Why would he summon you and not the great Mido?" The Kokiri Boss looked off in dismay, not happy at all with the way things were currently going. "This isn't funny..." he muttered.
"I'm not laughing. Now back off."
"I don't believe it. Anyway, you aren't even fully equipped yet! How do you think you're going to help the Great Deku Tree without both a sword and shield ready?"
"There's one problem with your theory, Mido. You don't have any stuff with you either, so who are you to talk?" Link was starting to lose patience with Mido. From Navi's frantic introduction, he figured this errand must be urgent, and now he had his archrival holding him up.
"What? You're right, I don't have my equipment either, but..."
"But nothing! Stop babbling and get out of my way!"
"No way! If you want to pass through here, you should at least equip a sword and a shield! Sheesh!"
That was the last straw for Link, who angrily turned away and stalked towards the Kokiri Shop. He knew that at least one of the Kokiri—maybe one of the Know-It-All Brothers, he couldn't recall—was skilled at crafting shields from Deku plants. Such shields would be sold at the shop, but mainly as decorations or to defend against particularly nasty creatures like Deku Babas. Since Mido wouldn't let him through without one, he had to go get one.
As he walked into the shop, the shopkeeper leaped up to try and see over the counter. He held himself up with his arms for a few seconds, then dropped down again. After a second try, he managed to hoist himself onto the counter, and he looked across the counter at his customer.
"Welcome! What can I do for you today?"
"I need a Deku Shield," Link said, drawing out his money bag as he spoke. He knew the shield was liable to be expensive, but the money he'd saved over the years would take care of that.
"Ah, I see. Going on an adventure, are we?"
"No, but you can't be too careful. And it would look nice on my wall anyway."
"That it would," the shopkeeper answered, and jumped down from the counter to grab one of the Deku Shields hanging on the wall behind him. The shield was made from the hardest Deku wood available, and had a red spiral on the face. "Anything else?"
"No, just the shield, thanks."
"Alright, then. That will be forty rupees, my friend."
"Okay," Link extracted the amount, a mixture of green, blue and red jewels, and passed them across to the shopkeeper. The short-statured Kokiri counted out the money, and then pushed the Deku Shield over to Link.
"She's all yours, friend. Take care!"
"You too. And if you don't mind my asking, do you know where I might find a sword around here?"
"Well, we don't sell them here, and I don't even know if the Kokiri Forest has any lying around. We've never had much use for them, after all."
"Alright, then. Thanks anyway." Link left the shop, and checked the Deku Shield's feel on his right arm. It felt almost perfect, as if it was a natural part of him. He strapped the shield to his back and began inquiring around the village about a sword. Every villager he asked told him they didn't know of any—the Twins, the Know-It-All Brothers, even the Kokiri girl on top of the shop. Discouraged, he headed back towards his house, hoping Saria would know. She was still in front of his house when he arrived, and she frowned slightly at his arrival.
"What happened? Why are you back so soon?" Her voice was filled with concern.
"Mido wouldn't let me through."
"Why not? He knows that the Deku Tree's word is more important than his petty little grudges!"
"He said I needed a sword and shield to get through; he also ignored the fact that he has neither. I've got the shield, but I have no idea where to find a sword."
"There is one sword hidden somewhere in the Forest. But I have no clue where it was hidden. The sword's forging predates all of us."
"Well, at least there is one. I'd better keep looking for it." Link thought through where he'd gone already, and then it hit him—the Forest Training Centre! He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before! The area was where the Kokiri went when they wanted to exercise outside of their everyday work, and it was the one place he hadn't looked yet. It was worth a try, so he ran as fast as he could to the fenced area.
He looked around the Training Centre for any clues, and saw a small hole in the back wall of the area. A sign next to the cutout read Hole of 'Z', and as Link crouched to look through it, he saw a small path on the other side. Looking back and forth to see if anyone would spot him, Link dove to the ground and started to crawl through the hole. The tunnel was a tight fit, but he managed to work his way through and get to the other side.
As he got up and turned, he saw a gigantic boulder rolling right at him. Panicking, Link spun and jumped into an alcove, hoping the rock wouldn't roll into the recess and squash him. The rock rolled along and then stopped, bouncing off the natural barrier and continuing its momentum towards the next wall. Link sighed in relief, then ran hard along the dirt path until he found a branch, then hurried along the next path towards a small tree stump that had a large chest on it.
The chest was situated under a gap in the tree cover, which created a spotlight-esque ray of sunlight that shone as if to point out its significance. Link walked up to it, and pushed the lid tentatively to see if it was unlocked. It was, and Link leaned over the edge of the chest, trying hard not to fall in. As he felt around, his hand happened upon something hard. Instinctively, he gripped the object, and swung himself back out of the chest and looked at what he had taken out.
It was a blue scabbard with a gold covering on the end, but the weapon inside it was what Link cared about. Link grasped the handle at the end, and pulled a short sword from the scabbard. The blade was a bit longer than his forearm, and the hilt was burnished bronze with a jewel set in the middle. Link couldn't believe his luck, and Navi was shocked at what he had found.
"That's the Kokiri Sword! It's a very old, secret treasure of the Kokiri, forged thousands of years ago. Very few forest dwellers know it's here. It must not have even been touched for centuries!"
"Brilliant," Link said, only half-paying attention to Navi's description. He now had a sword, and Mido would let him by. The sword itself was sharp, and had obviously been forged with Kokiri in mind; it felt like a natural extension of himself, like he was meant to carry it. He darted back through the secret area and crawled back through the Hole of 'Z', then took some practice swings at some nearby bushes. The motion was effortless, and the keen-edged steel sliced the bushes cleanly, not snagging on the leaves at all. Satisfied with the sword's cutting ability, Link ran back to Mido's post and faced down his rival again.
Mido looked Link up and down, his disdain clearer than ever.
"Eh, what's that? Oh, you have a Deku Shield..." Mido trailed off as his eyes moved to the weapon hanging across Link's back. "And what's THAT?! Is that the Kokiri Sword?!"
"Yes, it is. Now back off." Mido began tapping his foot as he looked away, then shouted again in frustration.
"GOOD GRIEF! Well," he continued, calming down, "even with all that stuff, a wimp is stil a wimp, right?" Mido pointed at Link angrily. "I, the great Mido, will never accept you as one of us! Shoot! How did you get to be the favorite of Saria and the Great Deku Tree? Huh?" Mido began to grumble angrily, and moved aside to allow Link access to the Deku Tree's meadow.
Link ran past Mido before he could change his mind, and then stopped as he spotted a Deku Baba sticking straight out of the ground. Instinctively, he drew the Kokiri Sword and slashed at its brittle stem. He heard wood snap as the Baba fell to the floor, and he grabbed the stick it left behind; somehow he got the feeling he might need it. The remainder of the corridor was clear of any hostile creatures, so he raced through before anything could surprise him. When they reached the grotto, Navi flew ahead of him towards the enormous tree in its centre.
"Great Deku Tree, I'm back!" she called, getting the tree's attention instantly. The spirit mumbled a bit, then recognized his friend.
"Oh, Navi...thou hast returned." Turning his attention to Link, he continued. "Link...welcome."
"It is an honour to meet you, Great Deku Tree." Link answered, inclining his head.
"And I thou. Now, listen carefully to what I, the Deku Tree, am about to tell thee..." Link nodded, and the tree went on. "Thy slumber these past moons must have been restless, and full of nightmares..."
'You don't have to tell me twice.' Link thought to himself. 'They won't go away.'
"As the servants of evil gain strength, a vile climate pervades the land and causes nightmares to those sensitive to it. Verily, thou hast felt it...Link..."
"Yes, Great Deku Tree?" Link asked, realizing that the tree was about to reveal its reason for summoning him.
"The time has come to test thy courage...I have been cursed...I need you to break the curse with your wisdom and courage. Dost thou have courage enough to undertake this task?"
"Of course. Whatever curse has taken hold of you, I'll break it." The Deku Tree's 'mouth' then lowered, forming a huge entrance.
"Then enter, brave Link, and you too, Navi. Navi..."
"Yes, Great Deku Tree?" Navi already knew what the tree would say, but listened nonetheless.
"Thou must aid Link...and Link..."
"Great Deku Tree?"
"When Navi speaks, listen well to her words of wisdom." The tree fell silent, and Navi flew back to Link's side. Link drew his sword, and ran into the darkness to the inside of the Great Deku Tree.
Aaaand there we go. A bit longer than the other two chapters, but I wanted to keep the current tradition of cliffhanger endings going for a while. Next chapter will see Link try to break the death curse on the Deku Tree, so you've got that to look forward to. Please do read, REVIEW, and let me know how it was! I'm hoping to run this all the way to the end this time, so the feedback keeps me going (that and a ton of black tea ツ). See ya then!