Chapter 11: A Great Tragedy
The flames had died down, leaving charred, black remnants. Thick smoke still hung in the air. The ground was littered with ash.
The Great Deku Tree was dead. Ashwin was in complete disbelief. Initially quite sceptical of the Great Deku Tree and the power it had over this world, he had come to revere it the same as the Kokiri. He had fought so hard to prevent this. Now he lay there, on his hands and knees, exhausted from battle. The arm of his tunic was soaked in blood from the gash he received from the moblin's spear. He held his hand to the throbbing bump on the side of his head, trying to process what had happened.
They had defeated Ganon, but at what cost? He had left such havoc in his wake. Ashwin was filled with anxiety at the thought of what the end of the Great Deku Tree meant for Hyrule. He wished that Zelda could explain to him what happens now, and if there was anything they could do.
Zelda still lay motionless on the bright green grass. She was still breathing.
Ashwin looked up at the statue of Ganon that was left behind. It grinned at him menacingly. What did Ganon find so amusing in his final moments? Was Ganon in some way the true victor?
"Ashwin, how could you!" A shriek from behind Ashwin rattled him. Evie had emerged from the forest. The pain in her high pitched voice was ear piercing. "After taking the sacred seeds, you've come back to finish the job! The Great Deku Tree!" Evie fell to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably. "You've tricked us! You've taken everything from us!"
"No, it wasn't me! I didn't mean for any of this to happen!" Ashwin's eyes filled with tears and his voice wavered.
"We saw you with the seeds, and here you are now. I won't listen to any more of this." Evie ran off into the forest.
Ashwin wept, filled with guilt and anger. He looked up at the Ganon statue with its horrid grin. "What is so funny?!" Ashwin screamed.
"He's laughing at us because we haven't defeated him." Zelda was now seated on the grass. "I've banished him to the dark realm, but without the Great Deku Tree, I don't have the power to keep him there. Eventually, as this world begins to wither, he will be able to return."
"What does this crazy guy want? What's the point of all this? Can he even survive in Hyrule this way?" Ashwin couldn't contain his rage.
"It's difficult to understand the workings of such a twisted mind." Zelda's voice remained calm. She swung her legs around and sat cross legged. Turning her palms upwards, she materialized the Triforce of Wisdom, and stared into it. "We could seal Ganon in the dark realm forever if we grew a new Great Deku Tree from a seed. This must be the motivation for the theft of the sacred seeds."
"Shadow Ashwin took the seeds. I have to find him and get them back." Ashwin's mind raced at this new possibility of redemption.
"It is no use." Zelda was still gazing into the Triforce before her. "Even if Shadow Ashwin has not handed over the seeds to Ganon who would have surely destroyed them, Ganon would be set free long before a new Great Deku Tree would mature." Zelda paused, then continued, "The growth could be sped up with enchanted water from the Great Fairy Fountain…"
"Which Ganon and Shadow Ashwin destroyed!" Ashwin finished her sentence. "That was his plan all along! Isn't there anything we can do?"
The Triforce of Wisdom disappeared and Zelda stood up. "There is one way." She lost herself in thought for a moment, then locked eyes with Ashwin. "The Temple of Time. You have the Triforce of Courage, Ashwin. You can pass through the temple and go back."
"I can have another chance to stop Ganon?" Ashwin asked.
"No." Zelda replied. "I can see now that this was the only way to put a stop to Ganon. The Great Deku Tree sacrificed himself for this. The Triforce of Wisdom, the Triforce of Courage, this was the way it was meant to happen. No, Ashwin, you must simply go back, collect the sacred seeds, and a vial of the enchanted water from the Great Fairy Fountain, and bring them back to us here and now. You must not change the course of what has played out here today. Avoid a direct confrontation with Ganon. We will restore life to this land."