Chapter 27

The Burial of the Kokiri

The body of the dead kokiri still held a haunting beauty. Link knelt beside her, brushing the hair from her lifeless face. She had been a silly girl sometimes, and she could be petty, but she had been his friend. She had not been unpleasant, and while she often played up to Mido, she had not been unkind to Link.

He looked inside the little house, and saw two more bodies. The twins. A ragged sword had ripped through one, he could not tell which. Her counterpart was unblemished, but as he went closer, he could see that her throat was bruised: she had been choked to death.

It was impossible to say how long ago they had died. The bodies must have lain here for a long time, that was obvious, but they had not decayed as much as Link would have expected. One thing he knew: he could not leave them here, like this.

Carefully, tenderly, he lifted one of the twins in his arms. He looked into her delicate face. It was Lara; she was distinguishable because of the freckles by her ear. Holding her gently, he carried her from the house and through the village to the Goddesses' Hill. He passed through the natural tunnel, having to duck low as he made his way to the Deku Tree's Hollow. Seven years ago, he would not even have needed to lower his head, but now he was almost doubled over to fit through the narrow aperture.

He came out into the glade. It was silent. The Deku Tree stood still, so immense and containing such potency that even after seven years, it occupied most of the clearing and rose high above the other trees. For a moment, Link remembered the beauty of the dance of the fairies, as they had articulated their grief at the passing of the great forest spirit.

Walking forward, he laid Lara's child-like form before the bole of the tree. Sighing, he looked at her lifeless body. The kokiri were the spirit of innocence; seeing one dead made him feel as if Ganondorf was no longer simply imposing his will on Hyrule but was ripping at the fabric of life. He wondered if that was the gerudo's intention.

Turning away, he returned to the village and picked up the body of Lara's sister. Silently, he carried her through to the Deku Tree's Hollow as well, laying her body next to her twin. Returning again, he gently lifted Fado in his arms and laid her with her companions. She had believed Mido when he had accused Link of the Deku Tree's murder, but Link held no grudge now. He only hoped she had not believed that when she died.

Link spent more time searching the entire village. A feeling of revulsion settled more heavily in his gut as he searched through each house, but he was determined not to leave the little bodies to lie untended. He pulled one from the pond, where they had been thrown from a stepping stone and obviously drowned. The body must have floated face down until eventually it was pulled under the water by the winter's snows.

The last house he entered was Saria's. He had even looked into the house that had once been his, but it was empty. Steeling himself to walk through the door was the hardest thing he had ever done; his exploits searching for the Spiritual Stones were nothing compared to that moment. Every time he had seen a body, he had been convinced it was going to be his best friend, but he still had not found her.

When he found that the little house did not have any bodies inside, he breathed a sigh of relief, but still he felt a nagging worry. He had found a total of nine bodies. It was too many, but at the same time, it did not nearly account for all the kokiri who lived in the village. So where were the rest? They had fled, and were still alive somewhere else, or were there more bodies that he had yet to find, scattered around the Lost Woods?

That thought made Link shudder. Putting it from his mind, he returned his attention to the job in hand. Again, he crossed the village, padding over the soft grass, and passed into the tunnel that led to the Deku Tree's Hollow. There, nine little bodies lay next to each other. Slowly, patiently, Link went to each body and knelt before it. He offered a prayer to the three goddesses for each, and gently closed their eyes.

Once he had done this, he went closer to the dead Deku Tree. During his task, he had noticed something: the hole at the base of the Deku Tree's trunk, where the gohma had long ago burrowed into the earth. It wasn't big, and it wasn't in a good state after seven years, but it had not collapsed in on itself.

Cautiously, Link edged his way around the aperture, trying the edge with his boot. It did not collapse or give way. It had survived winters and summers, rains and snows, so it seemed fairly sturdy. Link wondered if the enchantment of the glade and the engorged gohma had sustained it, but he didn't know.

Returning to the line of bodies, he picked up the first, Lara. He pulled the hair back from her face and looked at her beautiful, child-like form. He wondered how many long and ageless years she had lived innocently in the forest before death had overtaken these woods. Again, he forced the thoughts from his mind, as he carefully lowered himself into the gohma's hole.

So far his return to the Lost Woods had reminded him on numerous occasions that the last time he had been here, he had been much smaller. This was another such moment. He had to hold his breath as he pushed his way down into the hole, lowering himself as carefully as possible while still supporting Lara's body. Down he went, sure enough, until eventually his questing feet found the tunnel floor.

Letting go of the wall, he turned. The Deku Tree's root no longer glowed with luminescence as it had done when the tree was alive. The only light was Navi's own glow, but even that was not its normal blue white light. It was dimmed, diminished. She had said nothing since they had entered the kokiri village, but he could feel her pain. She was hurt by this desecration of her home, of the innocence that embodied the forest. Link was aware that she could see what he was doing, and she was thankful to him.

Moving carefully, making sure of his footing so he didn't trip, Link made his way along the dark tunnel, still clutching Lara's body to his own. He had to crouch low, it was not a large space. Suddenly though, it widened out into what had been the gohma's nest. There was no sign of the creature's corpse; Link could only hope its body had decomposed quickly as the magic it had gorged was returned into the ground.

He laid Lara on the dry earth, and turned away from her. Making his way back through the tunnel, he climbed back to the surface, forcing himself to breathe calmly as he pulled himself up the narrow shaft. As he emerged, he realised it was getting dark. Just as it had been the first time he had climbed from the gohma's burrow.

He walked to Larisa, Lara's twin, and picked her up as well, then slid back down the shaft to place her with her sister.

Emerging from the shaft for the second time, he became immediately aware of another presence. He was no longer alone. He pulled himself from the shaft and bounded forwards to put himself between the newcomer and the bodies of the kokiri, drawing the Master Sword as he moved.

Peering through the darkness, he could see a figure coming through the Goddesses' Hill. At first, he wondered if it was a kokiri, his heart in his mouth as he thought of Saria. It was not one of the Little People, though. It was not anyone Link might have expected to see. It was Sheik.

Dressed in the same ragged clothes he had worn in the Temple of Time, with the symbol of the sheikah emblazoned on his chest, he passed from the tunnel into the Deku Tree's Meadow. "Hello, Link," he said softly. His eyes ran over Link's drawn sword. "I have no wish to fight you."

Still, Link hesitated for a moment, but then he lowered the sword and returned it to its scabbard, hanging from his belt.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I've been waiting for you," the sheikah replied. He had said the same thing in the Temple of Time, but now he dropped the title he had given Link.

"What happened here?" Link's voice was choked as he spoke.

"He happened," Sheik said, simply.

Link could feel his throat closing, he didn't trust himself to say anything further. There was a moment of silence while Link waited to see if Sheik had anything to add, but when it became apparent he did not, Link turned away. He unhooked the Master Sword from his belt - it would only hinder his work – then he picked up Fado's body. He made his way carefully to the grotto under the Deku Tree, and laid the dead girl beside the twins, before again climbing back up the shaft. When he pulled himself out into the night air, he saw Sheik moving at the edge of the clearing. Link didn't know what the enigmatic sheikah was doing, and he didn't ask. Instead, he picked up the next kokiri. It was Rinku, the boy he had pulled from the pond.

This time, once Link had laid Rinku with his fellow kokiri, he saw that Sheik had built a fire near the edge of the glade. He was cooking food, and the smell wafted over to Link as he stood for a moment to catch his breath. He refused to allow himself that comfort, though. He had something he had to do. He picked up the next kokiri, and continued with his arduous task.

Down the shaft, almost crawling along the narrow tunnel, then laying the body to rest beneath their ancient guardian. Again and again, he repeated the journey until all nine bodies lay side by side. Nine dead kokiri.

The final time he left the grotto, he paused at the foot of the shaft. Here was the only place he was able to stand properly without being contorted from climbing or crouching down. He pulled the Kokiri Sword from its little scabbard, then climbed carefully, keeping a steady grip on the hilt. For the first time, the size of the shaft worked in his favour, as it meant he could push his back against the earthen wall.

When he judged he was half way up, he stabbed the sword into the wall and began to work with it, struggling to loosen the earth. He felt the wall beginning to lose its integrity and pulled himself higher, then struck with the sword again. This time, he could definitely feel the wall giving way. Chunks of dirt and mud fell away, disappearing into the blackness below him.

He pulled himself higher again and began to kick at the disintegrating wall. Twisting, he used the blade again, opposite the weak points he had already created. More and more of the wall was giving way now, and Link began thumping the sides of the shaft with his heavy boots.

After a few moments, he knew his work was done, and he quickly clambered up, reaching for daylight. Below him, he knew the entire shaft was giving way. He reached the top and through an arm over the edge of the hole, then heaved himself clear. Looking down, he could see nothing, but he knew the shaft had completely collapsed, lower down. No one would be able to use it again.

Tired from his exertions, he sat to lean against the dead bark of the Deku Tree. Sheik remained by the fire, which he had obviously added to several times while Link worked. It was now late into the night, and the glade was dark except the light of a waning moon and the flickering, crackling flames.

Once he had rested for a moment, Link stood, and walked over to the little fire. He stood uncertainly, unable to think of anything to say. Sheik looked up at him, his red eyes impassive.

"I made food for you," he said, picking up a plate and putting some roasted meat and cooked vegetables on it. He held it out to Link. "Sit," he encouraged. Taking the plate, Link sat and felt the warmth from the fire. His exertions meant he was not cold, but it was comforting nonetheless. He began to eat, thankful for the food. He could see the empty plate that showed Sheik had already eaten his fill.

Eventually, the sheikah began to speak. "I believe at first the Evil King struck here to assert his power. He believed this was a bastion of vitality, enduring regardless of the darkness that swept over Hyrule. He wanted to show that he ruled the entire land. Of course, he did not know how to bring the power of the Lost Woods under his thrall. The Evil King believes power is best shown by subjugation, but the forest's power is in life and innocence. The only thing he could do was to destroy that power, and so he brought death and desecration to this sacred place."

"How long-" Link managed, but his voice was raw, his throat dry. Sheik understood.

"Not long after he first conquered this land. The bodies of the kokiri do not decay even once life has left them, just as they do not age while they remain alive. They will lie whole in their resting place for many long years."

"They will not be disturbed, though." It was the first time Navi had spoken since they had entered the forest, and there was pride in her voice. Pride at what Link had done. In an abstract way he noticed that he was more aware of her than he had been for a long time; their bond was still not what it had been when he was a child, but it was strengthened. Her disappointment in him and her frustration at his inaction was completely gone.

"No. They will not be disturbed again," Sheik agreed. He was silent for a while, then continued. "The night the gerudo first attacked Hyrule Castle, the Evil King's troops seized the entire city. Any resistance were slaughtered, brutally. Within six months, he had brought Hyrule to its knees.

"After the fall of Castle Town, the rest of the land tried to unite against him, and war engulfed the whole country. None could truly resist him, though. We realised too late how formidable his strength was, and augmented by the Triforce of Power there were none who could stand before him. Once we knew he held the power of the gods, it became clear no weapon we had would be able to stop him.

"We won battles, able to defeat his army, but he proved himself a mighty commander, and wherever he went victory was assured. He marched ahead of his troops, slaughtering our people thoughtlessly. He decimated the free people of Hyrule.

"The war ended swiftly. A small force stood against his army while the main body of troops tried to take back Hyrule Castle Town. Perhaps we should never even have tried. I was not there, protected from the bloodshed.

"Somehow he predicted the move and he was waiting. He needed no soldiers. The Evil King left no survivors, slaughtering everyone with his own hand. From what we were able to learn after, he allowed them to enter the walls, to strike all the way to the castle, and then he cast his theurgy over the whole city. Everyone was killed, their bodies left as his victory markers. Most buildings were destroyed, the castle itself was razed to the ground. It was after that that he built his own dark tower. The Temple of Time was the only thing left completely intact, even with his new power the Evil King could not scar that."

"So why did he turn on the forest?" asked Link, despondently.

"Once the war was over, he set about ensuring all Hyrule would obey him. There was no true king, our army had been wiped out, most of our best commanders were dead. Only the big brother of the gorons remained. He had led the army that did not go to Castle Town. He had too small a force to have ever won a real victory. He was captured, and the Evil King allowed him to live, telling him that he would be forced to watch his people suffer. The gorons were exiled to the mountains. Some remain on Death Mountain, where the Evil King treats them as slaves, and their big brother is demoralized and emasculated." Link thought of Darunia, defeated and powerless. It was not a pleasant thought.

"That done, he ensured that any sheikah he could find were exterminated, for he fears the Shadow Folk. The zoras, too, he drove back to their ancestral homes, but they have suffered greatly. Then he turned his eye upon the forest, a place that he felt he had not conquered. First, he came here to bring it under his heel. The kokiri fled, though as you have seen not all escaped. No one knows what has happened to the others. They have not been seen. But the Evil King's suppression of the Lost Woods was not complete.

"He had realised that while he had conquered Hyrule, he could not maintain a continuous presence. He does not trust any of his commanders, refusing to divulge power to anyone other than himself. His army of gerudo and those of other races who support him is not large enough. As such, he cannot have a continued presence everywhere he would wish too. And so he found a solution. Soldiers who ask no questions and seek no power. We don't know when he first began to use moblins for their brute strength and unquestioning loyalty."

"He had them when he attacked the castle," Link interjected.

Sheik nodded. "Yes. We know he had already enlisted them by then, willing to reveal them as he usurped the Triforce and the throne. He had nothing left to hide. It's possible he had been using them for years before that, helping him achieve his ends where he could not trust the gerudo."

"Why wouldn't he be able to trust the gerudo?"

"They may be distrusted, but they are an honourable people, in their way. There was some dissent when the Evil King first came to power amongst them, but it is their way that their king must be their leader. Even so, there are some things they would question, for it would have been obvious he was not simply seeking unity with Hyrule. Since his rise to power, we have seen that he did many things no gerudo would have countenanced. So we surmise he had servants who would obey, without question."

"Moblins," Link finished.

"Exactly. They are not numerous, though. They used to be, but they are vile creatures. They were driven from Hyrule, long years ago. All the races of Hyrule fought in the Moblin Wars, during the time of King Brennin. Wishing to create an army, thinking then he would be able to keep all Hyrule under his heel, the Evil King struck upon an idea. Where better to swiftly breed an army of monsters than a place thick with enchantment, and so rich in life and potency? The Lost Woods were the perfect place."

"He used the forest to breed moblins?" said Link in horror. Sheik nodded sadly. "But you said he used the enchantment?"

"Yes. With his own twisted power, he corrupted the puissance of the forest."

"But that power is there to protect the forest. It's to keep outsiders out, protect the kokiri, protect what they stand for."

Sheik looked away from the flames for the first time and gazed at Link. For the first time there was emotion in his eyes. "Precisely. A stroke of genius, for it ensured that his destruction of the forest's power, his subjugation, was complete."

"Can we undo what has been done here?"

"We can restore the barriers of the forest. We can break the Evil King's spell, and drive his power from the Lost Woods. They can be restored."

"How?"

"Where do you think the magic of the forest is at its strongest?"

Link thought for a moment. "The Forest Temple, I suppose."

"I believe it is the centre of the Evil King's spell, as well."

"Then that's where we have to go. We have to save the Lost Woods. I have to save– " Link stopped, catching himself. He couldn't bear to think of Saria, in case she had met with the same fate as those he had buried.

Sheik looked as if he was about to say something, but then he hesitated. He looked away, towards the Deku Tree. "The flow of time is always cruel," he murmured. "Its speed seems different for each person, yet none can change it." Looking back at Link, it was almost as if he knew exactly what his companion was thinking. "A thing that doesn't change over time, is a memory of younger days."

They were both silent after that, consumed with their own thoughts for a long while. Eventually the silence was broken when Sheik stood and began to move around. He picked up a pack, and began pulling out blankets. It occurred to Link that his pack was still in the twins' house, where he had dropped it earlier. He was about to say something, when Sheik passed him some of his own blankets. "You need some sleep before we go," he said.

Link considered arguing, but he suddenly became aware of how tired he really was. He nodded, dumbly, and wrapped himself in the blankets. For a moment, he thought about everything that had happened, thinking of the undefended kokiri as Ganondorf and his moblins walked into their village, and all that Sheik had told him of. Within another moment, though, he was fast asleep.