Chapter 14: Sacred Seeds

The merchants dropped Ashwin off at a trading outpost in Kokiri forest, far from the Kokiri village. Apparently this was a journey they made often. They came to purchase hand crafted goods made from deku wood, deku berries, and various other goods that only grew in the forest. It was still quite a distance to the Great Deku Tree that Ashwin would have to make up on foot. He decided to take a route bypassing the Kokiri village.

As he trekked through the forest, he wondered what the effect would be if he would encounter himself from the past. "You must not change the course of what has played out." Ashwin recalled Zelda's words. It was important for him to interact as little as possible with anyone from this past.

By this time, Ashwin was quite adept at trudging among the trees and bushes of Kokiri forest. After a long hike, he was finally nearing the site of the Great Deku Tree and was now constantly looking over his shoulder for Shadow Ashwin. Did he manage to get here before Shadow Ashwin?

Emerging into the clearing, the gigantic tree came into view. Every time Ashwin laid eyes on the enormous trunk with its branches and leaves high into the sky, it filled him with awe. It was strange seeing the Great Deku Tree alive and well again. It was as if it had miraculously come back to life. Ashwin felt relieved to be in its presence again, but also grieved at the tremendous sacrifice it would soon make. He dropped to his knees, both out of reverence and exhaustion from the long journey.

The loud rushing of wind and creaking started. "Ashwin, you have returned so soon, and yet, I sense the burden of time weighing heavily upon you now."

"Great Deku Tree, I've got the Triforce of Courage from the Farore Temple. I've also found the others with the Triforce, except there are four of us, not three. There's Zelda, princess of Hyrule, the evil wizard Ganon, and there is an identical copy of me with his own Triforce." The sadness Ashwin felt for the Great Deku Tree made it difficult for him to speak loud enough to be heard. "I've come because something terrible is about to happen." Ashwin bowed his head. "I need your sacred seeds."

Ashwin resisted the temptation to reveal everything that would happen, despite the guilt this brought him. Zelda had directed Ashwin to avoid meddling with the sequence of events that would lead to the pacification of Ganon. Even if Ashwin wanted to divulge this, he wasn't quite sure how he could even bring himself to speak of such horrible things.

"There are only three of the Triforce." The Great Deku Tree began his reply in his agonizingly slow but powerful speech. "The tallest tree in the forest is the first to see the changes in the seasons. It has seen enough of them to welcome this inevitable cycle."

Ashwin never quite understood the cryptic manner with which the Great Deku Tree spoke, but he got the sense that this ancient sage already knows all, and has accepted it. Tears filled Ashwin's eyes at the tree's magnanimity.

The Great Deku Tree seemed to agree with Zelda's notion that a fourth Triforce is against the nature of the Triforce itself, but then which of the four is illegitimate? Ganon's Triforce of Power was the only one Ashwin had not seen for himself. He had seen Zelda's Triforce of Wisdom and witnessed the many marvels she performed with it. Perhaps Shadow Ashwin's Triforce was an illusion, just as Shadow Ashwin himself was an imitation. Zelda seemed convinced that Shadow Ashwin could not have entered the Water Temple with a forgery. Is it possible that Ashwin's Triforce of Courage was not genuine? The power he received from it felt all too real to him, and he too was able to pass through the Water Temple entrance.

A loud thud marked the first seed dropping from the Great Deku Tree. Ashwin got up and ran over to it. He opened up a leather pouch that Impa had provided him. She had also supplied him with a glass vial for when the time came to retrieve some of the enchanted water. As Ashwin gathered the large seed into the pouch, more seeds fell to the ground. They were much larger than the seeds of a regular deku tree, but fewer in number.

"Thank you." This was all Ashwin could manage to say after having collected the seeds. Seeing that the Great Deku Tree also seemed to be done with words, Ashwin bounded back into the forest.

By this time, evening was approaching and Ashwin was starved. He had not eaten since breakfast in Hyrule. He would not make it all the way to Lake Hylia tonight and the Kokiri village was on the way. Perhaps he could sneak in and get something to eat without being noticed. By the time he made it to the village, it would be quite late. The thought of some deku berries made his mouth water.

The village was, in fact, quite empty when Ashwin slipped in unseen. Seeing the tree houses and makeshift wooden structures made Ashwin miss the time he shared here with the Kokiri. He located the storage containers where they kept their deku berries and helped himself. They had left a bonfire burning unattended, so Ashwin decided to warm himself while he enjoyed the berries. The berries were an absolute delight and the warmth of the fire was very welcoming. He relaxed a while as he rubbed his bruised temple and the wound on his arm. Inadvertently, Ashwin dozed off by the fire.

He did not realize how much time had gone by when he was jolted awake by Ornus' exclamation. "What've you got in here?"

The sun had just come up. Ornus had taken the bag of sacred seeds and began rifling through them. His long orange hair covered his surprised eyes, but Ashwin could see his mouth drop open when he discerned the contents of the pouch. "The sacred seeds!"

Ashwin, still disoriented from being woken so suddenly, struggled to come up with an explanation. He certainly couldn't have told him a tale of time travelling from a future where the Great Deku Tree was scorched. He didn't think Ornus would accept a story about keeping the seeds safe from an evil shadow of Ashwin.

Ashwin drew his sword and pointed the tip at Ornus. Ornus instinctively dropped the pouch on the ground and took a step backwards. Still holding the Master Sword with one hand, Ashwin gathered a couple of seeds that had rolled out, and collected the pouch.

Still finding it difficult to say anything, Ashwin noticed he had drawn the attention of several other Kokiri kids. Soon the whole village would converge upon him. Ashwin darted from the spot and sprinted off in the direction of Zora's River.