LOST
The Lost Forest was aptly named.
Link had never before dared enter it, but he knew plenty about the magic that cursed it. Looking around himself at the dark trees that seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions, he thought that perhaps in this, ignorance would have been kinder. Already, he could feel the eyes watch them as they wandered through the woods.
"How are we supposed to find this guardian?" Kin said beside him. She spoke at barely a whisper. The forest seemed to have that effect. "These woods are enormous. Even with Navi, it could take us years to search it all."
Link kept one eye on the trees. "We can't search it. Even now, we're lost. We could trace our steps back toward the beach and never see it again. Direction, distance, location – those things don't mean anything in here."
Kin shivered. Her eyes darted back and forth nervously. "Then how will we find him? How can we even leave?"
"Intent," Link said. "The forest responds to intent. It doesn't matter where we go, as long as we have a strong sense of intent, and the will to give it power, we'll eventually find what we're looking for." He clamped his mouth shut before he let himself say too much. He didn't want to scare Kin any more than was necessary.
They walked for hours, or so Link thought, but the sun never moved from its perch in the sky. Time too, it seemed, had no bearing within the Lost Forest.
After a while, they stopped to rest. With all their supplies washed away by the storm, there was nothing for them to eat or drink. Link's stomach growled, but more pressing was the growing dryness in his mouth.
"What's that?" Kin asked, suddenly pointing into the distance. Link looked up. There was something glistening in the trees.
"Stay behind me," he said, rising to his feet. Slowly, they approached whatever it was that had caught Kin's attention. Link kept a hand on his sword.
They worked their way from tree to tree, keeping to the shadows, until they stood only a few dozen feet from whatever it was. Link peered cautiously through a film of hanging moss, and he nearly gasped. With wide eyes, he led Kin into the clearing.
"How is that possible," Kin whispered, for there, standing in the middle of the small glade, was an ornate marble fountain. Beautiful flowers were carved into the stonework, and out from those flowers bubbled clear, sparkling water.
"Intent," Link said breathlessly, still hardly believing. "We needed water." Without wasting breath on another word, he and Kin plunged their faces into the gushing spring, lapping up as much as they could.
"It's delicious!" Kin exclaimed, coming up for air. Link grunted in agreement.
A sound echoed out from the trees. Link and Kin froze. Their hearts skipped a beat. It sounded out again – the muted clatter of a wooden rattle. Shivers ran up Link's back. Thankfully, Navi remained in his hat.
"Don't turn around," he whispered. "For the love of the Goddesses, don't turn around."
Kin froze in the act of doing just that. "What is it?"
He just shook his head.
Long minutes passed. Neither of them moved. Twice more they heard the echoing rattle, then once more from further away. Finally, it was silent. Link made himself count slowly to five hundred before he dared move. Beside him, Kin collapsed onto the ground.
"What was that?" she asked.
Link didn't answer. He didn't want to tell her. Struggling to keep his legs from shaking, he retrieved his Zora Cloak from where it lay against the fountain and tucked it back under his arm. "Come on, we should keep moving."
"No," Kin said. Stubborn anger flashed in her eyes. "You are going to say whatever it is you aren't telling me!"
Link met her gaze evenly. "You don't want to know."
"That's my decision," she said forcefully. "Tell me. Now."
He was trapped. Anxiously, he fingered Rulula's heartscale. "It—it was a Skullkid," he finally muttered, careful that his voice didn't carry too far. "A cursed creature of the forest."
Kin shook her head. "I don't get it. Is it dangerous?"
"Not always," Link replied. "They're mischievous – no sense of good or evil, but..." he trailed off. Kin growled at him. "But that isn't why I told you not to turn around." His stomach turned. "I told you not to look around because of what you would have seen. They—they're cursed. Cursed souls who lost themselves in the forest."
"Lost themselves?" Kin said slowly. "But you said the forest responded to intent."
"It does. Usually." He closed his eyes. "But sometimes, if that need isn't strong enough, a traveler can become trapped in the woods – cursed to wander forever. Over time, they lose themselves and become something less than human – a—a Skullkid – a lost traveler cursed to live a soulless life until the end of time." He turned back toward Kin. "That's what you would have seen – the grey, disfigured body of a creature that was once human, and eyes as empty as the spirit behind them."
Kin had begun to shake. She shut her eyes as if to wake from a bad dream. Gently, Link walked over and put an arm around her shoulder.
"Don't worry. We'll make it through. What intent could be greater than ours?"
After a moment, Kin nodded. With effort, she collected herself, and soon they were walking again. Their pace was quicker than before. Now they were driven by both need and fear. Link prayed it was enough.
Hours passed. Days. Weeks. They had no way to know. Darkness never came. The sun never shifted. Twice more they encountered the marble fountain. The sensation of walking in circles set Link on edge. His chest tightened a little more with every passing step.
No words were exchanged. Navi rarely left Link's hat, and she never drifted further away than a few feet. They all realized, without having to be told, that becoming separated might well doom them all.
In the timelessness of the Lost Forest, the sudden appearance of music drifting through the air seemed surreal. Flutes. Violins. Link had to force his feet to a halt.
"Wait." His voice surprised him. It was dry, and altogether too loud. How long had it been since he used it?
Kin kept walking. She didn't respond.
"Wait," Link repeated. He reached forward and grabbed her arm.
She spun around, and for a moment – only a moment – Link saw a face of grey-blue, eyes that burnt with an unearthly orange glow, and a too-wide grin that nearly cut her face in two. His breath caught. Every muscle in his body clenched. His heart stopped beating. Then, as quickly as the vision had appeared, it was gone, and Kin stood before him, looking dazed, but herself.
"Sorry, what?" she said, shaking herself. "I must have blacked out."
Link had to force himself to draw breath. It was a conscious effort not to completely lose his composure. Goddesses. Another breath. "Listen," he finally said. "Can you hear that?"
Kin listened. The music still thrummed through the trees – a happy melody – one that urged their feet to dancing. Link quieted the impulse without much effort; after...that...he did not much feel like a jig.
"I don't think it's evil," Kin said after a while. "There's purpose behind those notes. Whoever is playing, it's putting its heart into the music."
Link could almost feel what she was talking about. "Come on," he said, and together they dove into the forest, following the music like it was their last chance for survival. Link stole a glance at Kin when she could not see. Maybe it was.
They surged forward, chasing the melody for hours, but never again did the passage of time seem endless. They were aware of the minutes they lost in a most reassuring way, and even though the musician seemed always just around the next bend, never coming into sight, Link began to feel like the danger had passed.
For the first time, the music began to grow closer. Link and Kin glanced at each other excitedly. They sped forward, spun around the next bend, and suddenly found themselves in a vast glade.
Link and Kin walked forward slowly, feeling for all the world like they were falling into a dream. Fireflies lazily wafted around the clearing, looking somewhat like small fairies. Around the edges of the field, enormous stumps dotted the landscape. Link blinked. In the stumps he thought he could see doors, and windows. He blinked again. What he had mistaken for clusters of wildflowers now appeared to be gardens. Looking around, though, he couldn't see any people. The field was empty. But still, the music drifted from somewhere. And...was that laughter? Little voices. He looked again – there was still no one there.
At the far edge of the glade stood the most colossal tree Link had ever seen. It towered like a skyscraper into the heavens; the highest branches disappeared well beyond the clouds.
"Hi!" Navi's voice sang out.
Link turned, thinking the fairy must have been talking to him, but nearly leapt out of his boots when he saw the small boy suddenly standing before them. He looked young – no more than eleven years on him – but his eyes sparkled with the excitement of adventure. In his hands he held a violin, and hooked in his belt was a tattered pan flute.
He looked at Link strangely, then his eyes abruptly lit up in joyful recognition. "Link!" he yelled out. "You're back!" Leaping forward, he wrapped his tiny arms around Link's midriff and held him in a tight hug.
Link was too confused to move. Awkwardly, he patted the boy's mop of light brown hair. Tangled in his locks was a large green Aspen leaf; the curves and patches on the leaf were shaped oddly. It stared at him, almost like a face. Link blinked; he could feel a memory attempt to surface, but nothing came.
Next to him, shock painted Kin's face. Kneeling down, she lay a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled unsurely. "Hi, what's your name?"
He turned his head toward her without once letting go of Link. "I'm Makar!" he said, sounding like the happiest boy in the world.
Again, some long forgotten memory squirmed within the depths of Link's mind, but he couldn't free it.
"Makar," Kin repeated with a smile. "What are you doing here, Makar?"
He laughed. Finally letting go of Link, he spun around and gestured to the glade. "I live here!"
Live here? Link let his gaze drift again to the large stumps. Looking down at Makar, he felt a thousand questions bubble on his tongue. The boy wore a dirty green shirt that looked more like woven moss than normal fabric and a pair of long brown shorts that hung to his calves. Otherwise, he seemed clean and well-fed. Where did you come from? Link wondered. And how do you know me?
"Come on!" Makar said loudly, grabbing Link and Kin's hands and pulling them forward. "The Deku Tree wants to see you!"
"The Deku Tree?" Kin asked, her nose scrunched up as if playing with the memory a half-remembered song.
"Yeah! Come on!"
Link met Kin's curious look and shrugged. "Okay," he said, turning to Makar. "We're coming."
Together, they made their way across the clearing. Makar didn't let go of their hands though, and no matter how quickly they walked, he always seemed to want them to move faster.
"You can meet everyone later," Makar said. "I'm sure they're excited to see you again too!"
"See me again?" Link asked. "Makar, I've never been here before."
The boy only laughed. "Of course you have!" His eyebrows furrowed. "And then again, I guess you haven't yet either." Another laugh. "It doesn't matter! You're here now!"
Link just shook his head. Next to him, Kin giggled.
As they walked, Link turned to get a closer look at some of the house-stumps they passed. He was amazed to see other children – boys and girls – laughing and playing around the gardens. He wondered how he hadn't noticed them before. Occassionally one would yell and point at Link as he passed, but when he looked back to see if any were following them, they all disappeared.
Lost in the wonder of the place, he barely noticed when Makar brought them to a stop in front of the massive tree Link had seen from the other side of the glade.
"Here they are!" Makar yelled up at the tree. No response. Link and Kin looked at each other uncomprehendingly. Makar laughed. "Wake up, you overgrown beanstalk! They're here!"
A breeze rustled the higher branches of the great tree. Suddenly, Link's heart leapt; there was no wind. The tree was moving! The tired creaking of the giant oak turned into a sleepy groan. Link gasped as what had before seemed to be just moss, moved across the surface of the tree. Eyebrows; nose; mouth; an entire face suddenly seemed to appear from the shadows and contours of the bark.
It yawned – a great booming yawn that caused the ground to quiver beneath their feet. Looking down, it studied them with eyes hidden beneath enormous mossy eyebrows.
"Rinku! Anata ga saigo ni kaeshimasu. Doko Saria wa nanidesu ka? Watashi wa anata, watashi no taikan no nemoto ni asonde ryōhō no oto o nogasu." The Deku Tree's words vibrated through the air, but were not overloud. His voice sounded like the whisper of a fall wind as it pushed against an aging tree – wooden rumbling as it creaked against the breeze.
Makar looked down sadly. Kin seemed more confused than ever.
After a moment, the Deku Tree spoke again. "I apologize," he said slowly. Link was surprised to realize that his words were of modern Hylian. "For a moment, I saw you and became lost in a time gone by."
Link bowed.
"Welcome to the Forest Haven, Hero of Time," the Deku Tree continued. "I knew to expect you as soon as I felt the echoes of evil again rise from the earth, and so I set the Koroks to watch for your approach. The Lost Forest has grown too large, and too dark, I fear."
Koroks? Link wondered. He looked down at Makar. The name seemed to fit. "Vaati has returned," he explained. "I have come for the Oni."
The Deku Tree did not respond at first, but his upper branches shook with unrest. "The sorcery of the Picori is beyond what you can fight alone, I think," he said uneasily. "But to seek the Sands of Time is just as dangerous to the kingdom, in its own way."
"I must follow this path to its end," Link said, remembering the Fairy Queen's words.
The Deku tree sighed. "Perhaps you must, but there is much you do not yet know."
"I know I cannot use the Oni without magic," Link replied, thinking that was what the guardian referred to.
"That is true, but there is more. To unlock the Sands of Time – to access the memories and abilities of all your predecessors; it is a dangerous thing. The spirits of the Hero of Time are strong, so strong that without meaning, they will try and pull you into themselves. Should you use the Oni without unquestionable strength of will, you will be taken by it. You will lose yourself within the memories of your ancestors, and you will become a mindless being of greater power than has walked the earth since the era of the world's creation. In doing this, you may well prove a larger cataclysm than Vaati could contrive in a thousand years."
Link shivered, and for the first time, tendrils of fear gripped his heart. "What would you have me do?" Link asked. "Let Zelda die? Leave Vaati to his dark schemes? His murders?"
"I cannot tell you what should be done, only to be mindful of what is best for all of Hyrule. There is evil in both paths; do not let your own desires plant your feet on the more bloody road." He looked down at Link sadly. "That said, I shall give you the Oni," the Deku Tree continued. "The choice rests with you."
Link's voice finally returned to him. "But how could I use it? The magic within me is dead."
The Deku Tree shook his head, causing the branches above him to shake vigorously. "I do not know," he said. "But should you find a means to that end, then take heed: many have lost themselves in the Sands of Time who did not fully know themselves. That is the key to victory."
Link was quiet. The Deku Tree had given him a lot to ponder, and none of it easy.
Grunting, the Deku Tree began to shake again. His leaves and branches swung side to side more and more forcefully until something came dislodged. Link watched as it fell, and, stepping forward, he caught it in his outstretched hands.
"The Oni," he whispered. It was heavy, for a mask. The material felt unlike anything he had ever touched, though it looked almost like some sort of crystallized wood. The face of the mask was haunting. Swirling red marks surrounded the two sunken, hollow eyes that stared up at him. There was no mouth, only a thin, disproportionate crack in the mask where lips should have been, and upon the forehead had been painted a hollow blue diamond that curved back on itself in ways that were hard for the eye to follow.
Carefully, Link wrapped the mask in his Zora Cloak.
"Makar can guide you out of the Lost Forest when you are ready to depart," the Deku Tree said. He sounded tired. "May the Goddesses shelter you."
Quietly, Makar led them away. Behind them, the old oak tree creaked and groaned – settling in for the coming storm.