Chapter seven
It had been several hours since link and Din had left the ruins, and neither of them had talked since. As they walked westward across the Hylian countryside, Link continued to lead the way, while the sullen Din followed silently behind him. When the silence finally became to much to bear, Link spoke up.
"Hey, you all right?" The hero asked.
"What?... Oh, yes, I'm fine, Link." She replied quietly. "I.. just can stop thinking about all those poor people in Katsuto town... I can't believe they were all snuffed out... like nothing!"
Link stopped, and turned to face her. "We don't know that they all perished, Din, not even Sharalsha could tell." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Some of them may have gotten away."
"Maybe... but all that death and destruction... for what?"Din shook her head sadly. "It's pointless... so utterly pointless..."
"I wish I knew why, Din." Link closed his eyes, and shook his head. "I wish I knew why Ganon's legions terrorize Hyrule... why so many innocents have to suffer from the destruction they cause. All I know is it's my job to protect them... and stop what happened at Katsuto from happening again." He turned, and continued walking.
As they walked, Din considered his words. Link was the protector of all Hyrule, saving them from evil time and again, and asked for nothing in return. He was so unlike the men she had known... and hated... who cared only for themselves. She had once had feelings for Link before, when he saved her from the Dragon Onox. Had her hatred of other men blinded her to that?
Before Din could ponder this further, her foot hit something lying on the ground "Ow! that hurt!" She yelped in pain.
"Are you alright?" Link asked, turning around.
"I'll be fine." She replied. Looking down to see what she mad stumbled on, the Oracle saw a pair of iron rails running along the landscape, half buried in the dirt.
"Link, what are these?" Din asked curiously. "They look like mine car tracks... but I don't see any mines near here."
"Wow Din, I can't believe you found those!" The hero's eyes went wide. "Those are railroad tracks! Trains used to run on them here in Hyrule!"
"Trains?" Din asked. "You mean... Steam powered carriges that run on tracks?"
"That's right!" Link replied. "They were used in the age after the flood to travel around the resettled Hyrule, one of my ancestors was an engineer on one of the trains."
"But where did these trains come from?" Din asked, curious. "And Why doesn't Hyrule have trains now?"
"Before the lands of northern Hyrule had been setteled after the flood, a Demon King named Malladus attacked the lands of nothern Hyrule. In a great battle, the Spirits of the Land managed to seal the Demon King away, and his prision grew out to become the Train Tracks around Hyrule."
Link looked to the skies, and related the tale as his uncle had told it to him. "My engineer ancestor foiled the attempt of a corrupt Hylian prime minister to free the Demon King. A generation later, King Gustav took the throne, and outlawed the Train system, out of fear that if the tracks were damaged, the Demon King would Return."
Din nodded, and looked around at the scenery they were passing. "Link, where are we headed again?" She noticed that there were suddenly more and more trees, as if they were entering the edge of a forest.
"The lost woods." He replied ominously. "An ancient forest in Hyrule, that is said to have magic portals to anywhere and anywhere in the world."
"I've heard of that place." Din whispered nervously. "You can easily get lost in there, and if you don't find you way out... You turn into a stalfos." She gulped. "Do we really need to go there?"
Link nodded. "It's the quickest way to get to northern Hyrule... unless we want to climb over the monster-infested death mountian."
"Okay." Din replied. "Lost Woods it is, then."
As they passed through lost woods, Din got the eerie feeling that they were being watched. The ancient, towering trees seemed to close in on them, as if they were intruders in this bizarre landscape. An errie fog seemed to hang over the place. Large, hollowed out fallen trees served as tunnels, connecting different sections of the lost woods.
"Link, who made these paths?" Din asked quietly.
"These were trails cut in the ancient days, before the age of the hero of time." Link replied. "Before the flood, there was a race of forest children who dwelled in these woods, and it was home to a tribe of Deku scrubs after the flood." The Hero shook his head. "Now, only a band of thieves live here."
Din looked through one of the hollow trees "Does the forest really connect to everywhere in the world?"
Link Nodded. "There are not only portals leading to other parts of Hyrule, but you can get to places like Termina and Labyrinia from here, as well. Why, the Scared Grove where the Master Sword rests even connects to the lost woods in Holodrum."
"Wow." Din replied in amazement. "That's near the Tarm ruins!"
As they continued talking, neither of them noticed a pair of eyes watching them from the trees, and were completely unaware that they were being followed. So it came as a total surprise when an arrow shot out of nowhere, and buried itself in the tree behind Link.
"Thieves!" The hero yelled. He and Din Drew thier blades, as six thieves surrounded them.
"Give us all your rupees, Hero!" One of the bandits snarled "And we may let you live!"
"Not a chance!" Link spat angrily. He knew of these thieves, a band who had operated out of Kakariko village for centuries. His ancestor, the Hero of the Four Swords, had rounded them all up and imprisoned them, but they had all managed to escape again. They were finally driven out of Kakariko when Blind, their leader, had disappeared into the dark world, and they went into hiding here in the lost woods. Link had defeated Blind the thief in the dark world, and had been attacked by these bandits when he had been exploring the lost woods before. Now, it was payback time.
Before ether side could attack, however, a strong wind blew up between them. A beautiful green-haired woman stepped forth from the trees, and raised her arms to both sides. "All of you ... stop! You shall not fight on scared ground!" Her voice spoke with a commanding authority that surprised both Link and Din.
The Hero stared at the green-haired woman, stunned. She wore a green tunic much like his, but with no leggings underneath. She looked to be about his and Din's age, but her eyes sparkled with a wisdom far older than even Sharalsha.
"Filthy thieves!" She glared at the bandits darkly. The trees seemed to shake angrily as she spoke. "Begone from this place! NOW!"
"Flee!" One of them screamed. "It is the spirit of the forest, we must flee!"
The bandits all scurried away into the forest, and the green-haired woman's face changed to a look of sadness.
"It is now safe for you and the oracle to pass now, hero." She said softly. "Those cowards will trouble you no more."
"Who... who are you?" Din asked in awe.
"I am the last of my kind." The green-haired woman replied sadly. "When my fellow Kokiri abandoned their human shapes, and left with the Great Deku tree to dwell on the mountaintops, I remained here... and used my powers to protect the Lost Woods when the flood waters covered Hyrule."
"The spirit of the Forest ..." Link said softly.
She turned to Link. "Link... if ever you see the spirit of your ancestor, the Hero's Shade... tell him that Saria watches over the lost woods still... and that she will keep the memory of the boy without a fairy alive in her heart, forever,"
With that, the green-haired woman faded away like a dream.
After a few minutes, Din asked. "Link..what ... was that?"
"A memory, Din." The Hero finally replied. "An Echo ... of an age long past."
"Lets get out of here." Din replied, and the two of them hurried through the woods.