Chapter I: Awakening
The time...has come, my time left in this world is very short...I must...bring the boy, and inform him of his comings in destiny.
The old and wise Great Deku Tree stood rooted, sheltered by the canopies of nearby trees. The Sun was just starting to come up; dawn. Rays of light drifted lazily into the heart of the Kokiri Forest. The Kokiri Forest wasn’t exactly big, nor small, just in the middle. The forest was very unusual, especially its residents—the Kokiri. But, the Kokiri had a very strange lifestyle; they were kids. And, one of the funniest things of all, was that they all wore tunics that were that of the greenest fields.
The Deku Tree furrowed his brow, concentrating. “Navi? Navi, where art thou?” he called into the distance. After a few heartbeats a small light blue sphere with transparent wings came fluttering in the direction of the Deku Tree. “Ah, there thou art...” the tree rumbled gratefully.
“Navi, Navi the fairy, listen to the wise words of the Great Deku Tree,” he began.
“Yes, O Great One.” the fairy chided.
“An ill fate has befallen us...It seems that evil is at work in this magnificent land of Hyrule... On top of this, my time here on this earth is very brief—please, do not grieve, little one,” Navi looked pale and more white than usual. “Anyway,” he continued. “It’s now time for the boy with no fairy—Link, to face his destiny and undertake this task. Which is what brings me to why I called you. I want you, Navi the fairy, to go and awaken him...I want you to be his partner. I want you to teach him as he grows, and in fact, you will find yourself growing in knowledge, just like he. Which is why I must say,” the old tree rattled. Navi absorbed all these revelations intently, then looked up at the wise one. “Which is why I must say...Go! Now! Time is of the essence, and it cannot be spared one bit!” Navi was blown away by this sudden outburst, but obeyed.
She fluttered away, a little quicker than usual. As she left the clearing, the tree rattled, “Will...we, make it through these times...? Din, Nayru, and Farore...?” He gazed up towards the heavens, as of asking the legendary goddesses, if they were really there...
At the end of the path leading to the clearing, Navi passed under a boy with orange hair, freckles, and like all the other boys—was wearing a green cap and tunic. He was the leader of the Kokiri, Mido. He never really cared for anyone except himself. His main target was Link—simply, because, he had no fairy. Many called him ‘Mr. No Fairy’, and usually ended up teasing him until he went home crying and sobbing. Mido himself thought the Great Deku Tree honed him as his favorite, but it wasn’t the exact calling Mido was looking for.
The fairy continued on into the heart of the village. She glanced back and forth, looking for Link’s tree house. She had seen him many times in the village, or out in some part of the forest somewhere. She’d seen him enter his house before.
There!
The fairy fluttered off in the direction to Link’s house. She passed the Know-It-All Brothers’ house, then—Wham! She collided with a picketed wooden fence and was knocked out of the air. Shaking the dizziness from herself, Navi flew through one of the small cracks and under the yellow-stained sheet that served as Link’s door.
As in the other Kokiri homes the fairy had been, Link’s house was pretty empty. Extra underwear, tunics, and boots lay in one corner, folded nice and neat. On one of the walls was what looked to be a daily planner: a list of things that the boy wished to do. And finally—there was Link himself, sleeping on his bed; nothing covered his shivering body from the gentle yet cool breeze that came through an opened window.
Blank, just blank...He couldn’t remember. Link tried to absorb every thought that had left him in his dream that he had. But, to no avail, it was useless. A dream is a dream. Sometimes it’s impossible to remember a dream.
He could hear someone’s voice...someone calling him...Who was it?
Go away, Link said with his mind, trying to go back to sleep. Nothing happened; the nagging and annoying little voice continued on. What was funny was that it sounded like a fairy’s voice. Who would want to see him?
Link! The little voice commanded.
Link, get up! You have been summoned!
Link’s eyes snapped open, but were blinded by a sudden blast of the sun’s rays. He squinted against the light and pushed himself up with his arms. Slowly and carefully, trying not to get dizzy, Link sat up and yawned. He rubbed his eyes gently, trying not to irritate them. The fairy chided him as he scratched his long and untidy blonde hair.
“Hello! My name is Navi!” the fairy said cheerfully. This made Link realize it was a she. He should’ve known. Practically all of the fairies that the Kokiri children had were a she. But, nothing like a cheerful and annoying little voice to wake you up!
“You have been summoned to see the Great Deku Tree!” she continued, in that cheerful mood. Link greatly accepted the cheerfulness, compared to that dark dream that he had been having for the past few weeks.
Link nodded slightly and hopped up from his bed. He grabbed his rupee pouch and strung it around his belt (to hold the pouch). With a simple reply: “I’m ready.” Link and the fairy walked under his parchment-colored sheet, and out onto his balcony.
The sights and sounds of the Kokiri Forest greeted the boy and fairy as they ventured out onto Link’s balcony. Rays of the Sun drifted lazily in between the leaves of trees and bushes, showering the flowers and grass with light. Birds chirped back at one another, making their morning rounds and getting food for their young. Squirrels hopped from branch to branch, playing. Numerous other animals immersed themselves into the beautiful morning. And, finally, many of the Kokiri were outside.
Some were shopping at the little store that sat near the center of the village. Others were just wandering around, taking in the fresh air and sounds of the morning. And, one thing that enlightened Link even more was the sight of a girl running towards the ladder sitting up against the edge of his balcony; Saria. Saria had been his best friend ever since he was little. He had no idea what age she was.
The Kokiri never grew up; they obviously lived for an eternity...But what about him? Link? Sadly, he didn’t know.
“Yahoo! Hi Link! Good morning!” Saria yelled up at him. Link jumped slightly, waking him from his current thoughts. He smiled and waved, then climbed down his ladder.
“Good morning,” he began. I should probably tell her the good news, he thought brightly. Link made a gesture with his fingers, signaling Navi; avoiding Saria. Next he made a fist with his hand and held it out to Saria. She looked from him to his hand and back again.
“What is it, Link?” she asked curiously.
Link sighed heavily and opened his fist to reveal Navi. The fairy was resting on the center of his palm. A grin started to spread across Link’s face. Just as he had thought, Saria exploded into a shower of joy.
“Oh! You’ve got a fairy! Link I’m so happy for you!”
“Hello,” Navi chided. “My name is Navi.” Navi fluttered to about the height of Saria’s fairy, which was a green colored fairy. Saria beamed at the fairy. Then she looked back to Link for more congratulations.
“Yeah,” Link began, getting ready to tell hear the good news. “And I’ve been summoned, by the Great Deku Tree!” This only made Saria explode harder, and force her to cry in joy.
“You’ve been summoned! Link, that’s wonderful! You should probably go right now,” she said honestly. Link looked at her seriously; he didn’t want to leave her alone, unless it was necessary. “I’ll wait here, just go and see him. I’ll see you afterwards,” she urged.
Link hesitated, then nodded knowingly. Saria was right. It would be wise to go and see him now. He waved and ran past her. Link slowed to a walk as he entered the heart of the village. He glanced past the Kokiri shop to see the path that lead to the heart of the forest, which was also known as the Great Deku Tree’s lair.
He started walking to the entrance of the path and was almost there when a freckled face blocked his. The boy had reddish hair, a short nose, a green tunic like everybody else, and a cap like everybody else. He was Mido, leader of the Kokiri.
“Oh great...” Link muttered under his breath. Mido smiled like a rat.
“Where do you think your going Link?” he sneered. He revealed his shiny white teeth. “You think you’re off to see the Great Deku Tree?”
“What if I am?” Link asked icily. He was starting to get irritated by this malicious rat. Mido had always picked on Link, ever since he was little. Simply put, because Link had had no fairy at the time, but he did now. At that moment, Mido noticed Navi hovering around one of Link’s temples.
“So...You got yourself a fairy...” Mido eyed Navi carefully.
“Yeah, so?” Link asked defiantly.
“So...It doesn’t matter, Mr. No Fairy! Just because you got a fairy, do you think that I’ll accept you as one of us? Ha! I’ll never accept you as one of us!” Mido busted out laughing. Link stood, annoyed by Mido’s behavior. Shouldn’t Mido have known that Link wouldn’t have really cared what he thought? Besides, Link had an idea that Mido would say that.
“But anyway,” Mido began, getting back in control of himself. “You may NOT see the Great Deku Tree unless you have a sword and shield! And, I know that you don’t have any of those two items!” with this comment, Mido once again started to laugh.
“What?!” Link exclaimed hotly. “What do you me a sword and shield?!” Mido, however, couldn’t stifle an answer over his laughter.
“Come on, Link. Let’s just forget about him, for now...” Navi said in Link’s ear. He agreed gratefully.
Together, both of them stepped away from Mido and once again into the center of the village. Link looked up towards the training ground, where most of the boys of the Kokiri trained for fun and practice. A boy stood up there, practicing his flips and following the commands that his fairy partner gave him. Link knew the boy’s name, Arbor. Slowly, Link walked up a path and past a wooden fence into the training ground.
“Link, what are we doing up here?” Navi asked curiously. No answer from him.
Link approached Arbor, who now noticed both the boy and fairy. He brushed his long brown bangs up out of his eyes and looked from Link to fairy. “So, Link,” Arbor said. “You’ve gotten yourself a fairy, interesting.”
Link had liked Arbor somewhat. Usually he would hang around the training grounds, practicing and practicing constantly. His fairy moved away from the rock that he was focused on and met Navi’s height.
“Yeah,” Link replied. “Uh, Arbor? Could I ask you something?”
“Hm?”
“Since you hang around the grounds all the time, I was wondering, do you know of where a sword may be?” Link asked hopefully. Arbor, however, stared at him for a moment, then answered.
“Yes. Just go through there,” he said, pointing at a little whole in the side. It was just big enough for someone to crawl through. “And then, you’ll find a sword. I can’t guarantee that it’s there though, because many have tried to get through, but a boulder blocks their path, so, many think it’s just a story made up. While others believe there’s a chest in there that holds the blade of the Kokiri, the Kokiri Sword.”
“A boulder?” Link questioned.
“Yeah, they say that it rolls back and forth along a square route,”
“How can a boulder just move on a flat surface?” Link said incredulously.
Arbor shrugged and simply replied, “Got me.”
After a few moments Arbor went back to his training, while Link stood pondering for a moment. He had made up his mind: he was going to go through. He squatted in front of the tight entrance and eyed it carefully. There was probably a possibility that he could get stuck. Even though it toyed with his mind, Link started easing through the passage.
On the other side, Link met the same surroundings: trees and other numerous plant-life organisms that he had seen in the forest on the other side. Navi soon came whizzing though the air from the tunnel. Link took a step, but then stopped immediately. A faint rumbling filled his elf-like ears. Slowly and cautiously, he stepped around a corner and found the source of the noise and the truth of what Arbor had said; there was a boulder. It was rampaging around a piece of earth that was sticking up from the ground. Link stood, staring in disbelief at the sight. How, how could a boulder just go around a piece of earth? This world was full of surprises.
“This is going to be simple; no sweat!” Link grinned sheepishly from ear to ear. Navi fluttered beside Link as he pointed out the path. “See, Navi? The pattern is very simple; if we just follow it going all the way around, there should be a path on the other side, leading to the chest that holds the Kokiri Sword!”
“And if it doesn’t lead to another path?” Navi questioned, in a slight sarcastic tone. Link’s heart immediately sank like a stone in a lake. Doesn’t. He had forgotten about that. What if there wasn’t another path? Link decided to take the latter.
As the boulder took another round and passed by them, Link chased after it, running around the next corner beyond that. Taken aback by this sudden attempt, Navi fluttered as fast as she could, trying to keep up with the boy. She went round the corner to find incidentally another path. And, Link was standing before a chest that was sitting on a stump. The fairy glided up beside Link, who was once again grinning, and eyeing the chest.
It was a piece of fine work. Whoever had made the chest had made it luxuriously. Gold rimmed the side of the chest, through and through. It’s dark colored wood showed signs of age. A keyhole was positioned where the top and bottom part of the chest met. That was one thing that made Link turn pale. A keyhole. Hopefully it didn’t require a key...
Holding his breath, Link walked up to the chest and put his fingers in the keyhole. Slowly, he put force on his fingers and lifted open the chest. And, inside was indeed the Kokiri Sword. Link took the sword from the bottom of the chest, but then noticed a navy blue sheath lying at the bottom, along with a belt-like buckle to loop around the sheath and strap it on. He held the sword up, gazing at its own structure.
The stainless steel blade reflected the image of the Sun’s face back at him. The handle was a lot heavier than it looked. Near the hilt was gold before the blade with a nicely polished ruby in the center. Link stood for a second looping the strap around the sheath. He then buckled the strap down his shoulder and across his chest. And, finally he put the sword in the sheath. A slight cling! echoed in the forest around him and Navi.
The boy and fairy ran along the path of the boulder and to the crawl space. On the other side of the space, Link found Arbor doing the same thing he had been doing when Link had gone through. Arbor looked back at Link.
“You found a sword I see,” he commented, surveying the blade in the sheath.
“Yeah, and its just like you had said, the Kokiri Sword!” Link said, grinning at Arbor. Arbor looked abashed at this sudden announcement. The Kokiri Sword? He thought.
“Listen—Arbor, I have to go, but thanks for your help!” Link said, running back into the center of the Kokiri village. Arbor nodded, still unsure what Link needed it for. In fact, hadn’t asked Link earlier!
“Uh, Link?” Navi asked as they walked towards the Kokiri store, which was also the way to the Great Deku Tree.
“Hm?”
“You also need a shield, remember?”
“Yeah, but we can get one—in there,” he replied, pointing at the store. “I think they sell what’s called a Deku Shield. The shield is made from bark that has decayed and fallen from the Deku Tree.” They were now right outside of it. Navi found this piece of information interesting. She never knew that shields were made from the bark of the old and wise tree.
Link walked through the doorway and into the shop, which was a hollowed out tree. A few other Kokiri were in there as well, buying what was necessary. A few commented on Link now having a fairy as he approached the shop owner. The shop owner caught sight of the boy and fairy and welcomed them.
“Oy! Link! Good to see you!” the owner commented cheerfully. He was very short and was barely able to look over the shop counter, but nonetheless did his job. Link looked over the counter and could see the little guy standing on a stack of old books.
“Hello Iris,” Link said, now scanning the shelves that were behind the shopkeeper. A variety of items sat on the shelves, with a little number carved underneath the items, a price for each individual item. His gaze stopped on a smooth flat piece of seasoned dark wood with a red spiral-like design across the front. That must have been the shield. Underneath, Link could see 40 etched, stating the price.
“Do you have forty rupees Link?” Navi whispered in Link’s ear. She received a satisfying nod.
“Iris, I would like to buy a Deku Shield, please,”
“A Deku Shield,” Iris repeated, raising his eyebrows high up under his bangs. Iris shrugged the curiosity of Link wanting a Deku Shield and walked back to the shelf and took the shield off of its space. He placed it down on the counter in front of Link. At that time he noticed the Kokiri Sword, but didn’t say anything. “So, that’s forty rupees, please,”
Link pulled his pouch from under his belt and held it in his hands. The fabric felt smooth and had a velvet-like presence to it. Link untied the string fastened around the top and poured out eight sapphire-colored rupees. He then laid them on the counter as they shimmered in the rays of light drifting from outside.
Rupees came in several kinds. Emerald rupees were worth one, sapphire rupees were worth five, yellow rupees were worth ten, ruby rupees were worth twenty, silver rupees were worth one hundred, violet rupees were worth two hundred, and orange rupees were worth three hundred.
Iris scrapped the rupees into his hand and put them into a pouch that held the shop’ s earnings from customers. He fastened his own piece of thin rope on the top of the pouch and put it under the counter. Link took the shield and found holders for an arm that were carved when the shield was made. He slid the shield on his forearm, making sure it was the right size. Then he put the sheath through the holders so the shield was able to rest on his back.
“Thanks, Iris!” Link said, walking back into the rays of sun with Navi fluttering behind him.
“Thanks for stopping!” Iris shouted out the doorway.
Now he was ready. Ready to show Mido his new—toys. As he approached the foul rat, the Kokiri leader started to smirk at Link.
“So,” he started, smiling with evil glee. “Trying again are you? Remember—”
“Listen, Mido,” Link cut in. “I have a sword and shield right here with me—” He then turned slightly so Mido could see the Kokiri Sword and Deku Shield. Link grinned at Mido, who stood flabbergast at this sight. The leader soon turned angry.
“What?! You have a Deku Shield?! And, what’s THAT?! The Kokiri Sword?!” He eyed Link up and down. “Good grief! Even with all that stuff, a wimp is still a wimp!” he said, tapping his foot. Finally, however, Mido surrendered. “Shoot! How did you become the favorite of Saria and the Great Deku Tree?” he muttered, clearing the way for the boy and fairy.
Link edged down the path, waiting to see the great tree. Everything around him on this path was green, like the rest of the forest. He had wondered what the outside of the Kokiri Forest looked like. Many tales had stated that if a Kokiri were to leave the forest, he or she would die. But then, Link wondered whether he was a true Kokiri or not. He was so little at the time he could see the first parts of the forest, which he couldn’t remember. As he stepped down on a plant, he heard Navi cry out loud.
“Watch out!”
Link looked down at the ground and saw shiny jagged teeth appear. Just as it came up, Link flipped backwards as it started biting up at the air. Its jaws kept clamping open and closed. Alerted, Link drew his sword and shield, eyeing the creature. Before he could ask, his fairy partner filled him in with the information on the creature.
“Its known as a Deku Baba,” she chided in a matter-of-fact way. “Hit it when it lunges at you, and it will stand upright. Once it stands erect, cut it quickly!” Link nodded.
The plant-like creature had a dark blue head with the jagged teeth, but no eyes. A bright green stem was what held its structure firmly and still. The Deku Baba then stopped biting the air and focused its attention on Link. It snapped as a warning to him. Once again it showed its teeth. Link’s brows furrowed.
“You don’t scare me!” he muttered, running up to the Baba. He avoided its next snap and struck it directly into the mouth. And, just like Navi had said, it stood erect. He then slashed it across the stem in a simple stroke. The head stayed on the stem, which was lying on the ground. Blood the color of blue-green shimmered on the blade of the Kokiri Sword. Link bent down and wiped it on the grass, coating it with the blue-green ooze.
Link continued down the path with the fairy fluttering right above one of his shoulders. He kept an eye on the ground and watched for any sign of movement. Toward the end of the path, he encountered two more Deku Babas and took them down in one simple stroke. Link and the fairy veered around a corner and saw the enormous tree before them.
They both walked out in front of the massive tree and gazed up at it. Link put the Kokiri Sword in its sheath and put the shield on his back.
“Ah...Navi the fairy, you have returned. Welcome, Link...” a grumbling voice echoed in the area around them...
