Ocarina of Time Chapter 23

 

Chapter 23

Children of the Forest

As he stepped into the temple, Link was sure he could feel some lingering presence of those who'd once dwelled within, their spirits watching in silent reproach.

"You don't belong here, mortal," they whispered.

The entrance hall was small, damp, and dark, with only a few rays of sunlight managing to squeeze through the tangled mess of vines that clung to the windows. The brown creepers sprawled their way across the wall, running along ancient murals that were faded and peeling from centuries of neglect. Tree roots squeezed through tiny cracks in the masonry, running along the wall and making it look like the temple was a part of the forest, just as alive, and just as ancient.

"Turn back," the spirits hissed. "You don't belong here."

Did I ever? Link wondered, suppressing an urge to shiver. Glancing at Navi and Mido, he saw that neither of them seemed troubled by what Link was hearing. Perhaps they couldn't hear them at all.

As Link entered the corridor just beyond the entrance chamber, a familiar clicking sound caught his attention. He almost jumped, fearing to find a large Skulltula waiting in the shadows. Instead, he spotted a line of tiny Skulltula crawling into a crack in the weathered stone, fleeing from the light of the three fairies behind him.

Link hoped that didn't mean he was about to find an army of their adult counterparts.

Mido seemed to be having similar thoughts, for his face was white as he muttered, "I hate those things."

"They are only tiny," Link assured him. "I think those ones are more scared of us."

Link still vividly remembered Mido screaming and running back up the tunnel beneath the Great Deku Tree, fleeing from the pincers of a fully grown Skulltula. Mido did not appear to so much as flinch this time, and Link decided digging up any memories of that fateful day would not be wise.

"I've seen how big they can get," Mido said. He looked back up, frowning at Link. "That Sheikah lady... she called you Link, didn't she?"

Link didn't answer immediately. He knew where this was going and wasn't convinced he was ready for it.

Before Link could think of something to say, Mido shook his head, looking far more solemn that Link ever remembered. "No. Link was a Kokiri, but..." his words trailed off as his eyes settled on Navi. Recognition kindled in those eyes like the stirred embers of a fire, and Link knew there would be no escaping the inevitable question that came next. "You're Link's fairy. Navi, right?"

Link and Navi exchanged glances, both certain there was little point in lying.

"Yeah," Navi answered. "I am."

"Then-" Link could see the boy was doing some serious thinking. A flash of fear flickered in his eyes and he shook his head. "Then... you are Link?"

Link didn't fail to notice Navi's imploring look. Trusting her judgment, he nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he managed, fearing what would come of this revelation. For a moment, he held his breath, waiting for Mido to yell at him, to tell him it was his fault the Kokiri had been torn from their homes, and that it was his fault Saria had been captured. In a way, he'd be right too. The Kokiri's exile from their home was his fault, but Link intended to fix that, though he had no idea how.

To Link's great surprise, there was no sudden outburst of anger, no sudden temper tantrums, or any attempts to either kick or punch at him. If anything, Mido looked remorseful.

"But..." Mido's voice cracked, and Link was even more unnerved by how much the boy had changed. "How come you're so tall? Good grief. Did you take some kind of growth potion or something?"

"I don't know..." he replied lamely, his eyes drawn to a particularly fascinating piece of stonework. Still bracing for the potential backlash, he tried to consider his words, but in the end, all he could come up with was, "It was some sort of spell."

"A spell?" Link could hear the confusion in Mido's voice. "You mean... like the Sheikah use?"

"Yeah," Link affirmed, deciding to stick to that idea. "Like the Sheikah use."

It seemed the only explanation he could give without going into detail about what had happened in the Temple of Time, an experience that Link was not willing to discuss.

Mido stared at him for some time, and Link wondered just how he would react. Would he be angry, blaming him for Saria's capture and for the state of the forest? To Link's surprise, the boy sighed, looking down at his worn shoes.

"I didn't believe it at first," Mido mumbled. He looked up, his voice becoming clearer. "It's been so long and so much happened after you left... I thought you were dead. We all did. I don't think Saria ever forgave me for telling you to leave and exiling you, or for the things I said-"

"Mido," Link said softly. "Please, stop."

Link swallowed a lump in his throat. He needed to focus. Reminiscing about the past would not help them now. Mido regarded him silently. There was no malice in his eyes and no sign of the bully that had once tried to make Link's life so miserable.

"I'm sure Saria forgave you," Link told him, finding the words hard to say. "She would never hate you for what you did."

Mido just bit his lip and stared solemnly at the ground.

Navi broke the solemn silence for them, "Come on, we have to find her."

Mido nodded, walking in silence towards an archway at the far end of the hall that led into a large octagonal room. Tree roots and vines crept through the broken slabs of stone and along the walls. The window slits in this room were choked with thick creepers that barred any sunlight from reaching the interior. The ancient carvings that adorned the walls, many of them faded and cracked, were smeared with centuries of dust. Not many of the murals were intact; the passage of time had cracked and worn away most of them. Among the more well-preserved ones was a mural that featured a scantily clad boy playing the flute. He stood behind a campfire, other children dancing around it, some with drums, wearing nothing more than what Link thought were skirts made from feathers. A few wore masks that looked like giant leaves draped across their faces. Dogs, possibly even wolves judging by their size, nipped playfully at each other as they joined the festive celebration. What the people in the carvings were celebrating, Link did not know. Other murals depicted children wielding spears and boomerangs. One group bore bows and were in pursuit of a herd of deer. Two wolves were nipping at the deer ahead of the children chasing the animal, and Link realized the mural was depicting a hunt.

He turned his eyes back to the festive reliefs he'd seen earlier, looking again at the people depicted there.

Those are Kokiri? Link wondered, now turning his eyes to the carvings nearest the archway he was standing next to.

There were little sprites carved into the stone, one hovering near each child. The closest relief featured a giant tree with a nose and eyes, its branches sprawling across the wall and reaching up to the ceiling. At the base of this enormous forest giant, a small child sat in a meditative pose, an ocarina clasped in one hand. A boy stood beside her, bearing what Link presumed was some sort of string instrument played with a bow, like the kind a minstrel used. Birds of various shapes and sizes, from owls to honeyeaters, were perched in the branches of the enormous tree. All the animals were gathered around the glen, from the birds to even several mice, all gazing down toward the two children and the face carved into the tree's trunk.

A series of panels on the next relief depicted a boy who was reaching out to his fairy. The moment they made contact, he seemed to transform, and in the very final relief, his appearance had changed dramatically. He was now taller, his limbs resembling knotted tree branches, while much smaller boughs crowned his head, bearing a striking resemblance to a deer's antlers. This wasn't the only transformation depicted in the reliefs either. Above, another row of distinct panels depicted a Kokiri appearing to vanish into a tree, almost as if he was melting into it. By the final panel, leaves decorated the now blossoming tree, almost as if the boy's act had brought life to it. There was even a face carved into the trunk.

Whispering tales of a bygone era, the reliefs- all of them- told a story long forgotten by time. These were the ancient forest children Link had heard of, and if what he understood was correct, the Deku spirits and Kokiri shared a much closer kinship than he'd ever imagined. Quickly reminding himself of the urgency of his task, Link scanned the rest of the vast gallery that he and Mido were standing in. Several flights of stairs led to the chamber's center, which was decorated with a stone altar. A torch burned at each corner of the dais upon which the altar was perched. Oddly, each torch burned with a different colored flame: red, green, blue and violet. As nobody had stepped foot inside the temple until recently, Link guessed the torches were being lit by magic. When he considered who was responsible for it, he felt a tinge of dread.

The torches gave off very little light, and it seemed that the darkness was closing in on them. It wasn't until Link examined the altar more closely that he noticed a small shadowy form lying on top of it.

"Hey! What's that in the center of the room?" Mido asked, having spotted it too.

Dread creeping into his stomach like a pool of icy water, Link made his way towards the altar. Descending the stairs, he was soon able to make out enough detail that he knew what he was looking at. A small pale form with green hair and donned in a white tunic lay sprawled facedown on the cold stone.

Saria.

"Goddesses," Navi breathed. "She must still-"

Link didn't hear the rest. He leaped down the remaining stairs without a moment's thought. Behind him, Navi was gazing anxiously about the room. "Link, wait!"

"Saria!" he yelled. Behind him, Mido and Mori froze with a look of despair etched on their faces.

No. Don't be dead, please!

Link reached her before any of his companions. He rolled her onto her back, desperately hoping for some sign of life. Her eyes were closed, her face was whiter than snow and just as cold. He almost cried out in anguish at the sight of the gash where the phantom had struck her. Blood still oozed sluggishly from the wound, and a small smattering of blood marred the stone beneath her.

Link hurriedly unclasped his satchel from his belt and then knelt down beside her.

"Saria... Saria, wake up," Link breathed, shaking her gently until her head lolled listlessly to the side. Placing her back on the marble, he took off his left gauntlet and placed his hand on her chest, desperately feeling for some sign of life.

"She's not dead," Fora said as she landed next to Saria's head.

"How do you know?" Link spat. In the desperate chaos of emotions coursing through him at the sight of his friend's seemingly lifeless body, it did not occur to him how careless this question was. Navi gasped while Fora looked hurt and spat back an indignant reply.

"I'm her fairy, you idiot!" she snarled. "Or did you forget what that means?"

It would have been easier had either fairy just slapped him. Link looked away from them, shame burning through him.

"How could you say that, Link?" Navi whispered, sounding as appalled as she looked.

"I'm sorry, Fora, I... I didn't think," he whispered, not meeting her eyes.

"Obviously not," Fora remarked, her voice stiff with indignation.

The remark irked Link, but knowing he deserved it, he offered no reply.

"What's wrong with her?" Mido asked, rushing up to Saria's side. He gave no notice of the altercation between Link and Fora.

"I don't know," Link replied. He looked at Navi for any ideas, but she shook her head, flying over to Saria and landing on her forehead, close to the injury left by the phantom.

"It's not serious," Navi said, inspecting the wound. "But there's something else at work here." She prodded the prone girl, close to her eye, and Link saw the way the girl's eyes moved beneath pale lids. "Some kind of magic, and it's feeding off her life force. I can barely feel it, but it's there."

"I can sense it too," Fora whispered. "She's getting weaker."

What is that thing doing to her?

"Will you be alright, Fora?" Navi asked, looking up at the fairy as though expecting her to faint at any moment.

Fora nodded. "I think so."

Link didn't like how uncertain the fairy sounded.

"I think our proximity to whatever is cursing the temple is affecting her," Navi said, still examining the frail Kokiri. 

"It's not affecting us," Mido pointed out sceptically, gesturing at Fora. 

"Saria has a keener awareness of spirits than the rest of us," Fora reasoned. "Maybe she'll be better once we get her to safety."

"Did Saria ever tell you what the curse was?" Link asked Fora, thankful that she seemed to have forgiven him for his outburst. He suspected it was Ganondorf's phantom, but for all they knew, it could just be making sure that no one found, or destroyed, the source of the taint.

"No," Fora shook her head. "But she did say there was something in this temple that can help us. I'm not sure if it's still there, and if it is, the demon isn't going to make it easy for us to reach it..." she flew to join Navi, her eyes pained as she stared at the blood smeared across Saria's cheek.

"There's something else going on too," Fora whispered. "I can hear Saria's thoughts, but I cannot reach her."

Link frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She dreams," Fora answered. "She speaks to someone, and I think there is a second, too. One I am certain is the phantom, the other I do not recognise..."

"Navi?" Link asked, hoping she'd have some idea of what was going on. It sounded like telepathy, but Link couldn't discern its significance. Nor, it seemed, could Navi, for she just shook her head. 

"I can only guess," she offered. She turned to Mido then, "Did Saria teach you how to clean a wound."

"Of course," Mido said, with a familiar note of confidence.

"I can-" Link was about to offer to help but Navi cut him off.

"We need to keep watch," she said.

Link accepted this, and glanced at Mido who retrieved cloth and bandage from his bag. Without waiting for a word from Link, he got to work. Link felt a strange respect for him then, noting how quickly the boy got to work. 

"Just hurry," Navi urged Mido. "We don't want to be here when that phantom shows itself."

Too late.

Link should've heard the phantom approach, but his only warning was a noise from behind him, followed by the familiar clanking of armoured. He spun around, reaching for his sword, and spotted the Ganondorf lookalike standing at the bottom of the stairs.

How did he get so close?

The figure clad in black armor never removed his mask, and all Link could see was the malevolence burning in his yellow eyes. Instantly, Link moved to stand between Mido and the phantom. The boy had halted in his efforts to clean and bandage Saria's injury, but at Fora's urgent whisper, he continued working.

"I wouldn't be overly concerned about your friend," the phantom said, gesturing towards the altar. "She is still very much alive. For now."

"What have you done to her?" Link demanded.

"My master has need of her for a greater purpose," the Gerudo explained simply.

Link's blood chilled as he wondered exactly what this purpose was. He stared down at Saria's form and then back up to see the lookalike was staring at her, too. All Link's instincts told him to attack, to run at the monster that had hurt his friend and strike it down. It was a near thing; he would have, but as he tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword, Navi glared warningly at him. Her meaning was clear enough:

Not until we know what we're dealing with.

This thing had knocked out one Sheikah and injured another. That alone called for caution.

"You mean Ganondorf?" Link asked.

"Ganondorf?" the phantom laughed. It was a chilling sound, about as pleasant as a reDead's scream. "No. The Gerudo king is merely a vessel, an instrument of the demon king's will. Ganon is the one true god of Hyrule."

"A god?" Navi choked. Her laughter was stillborn and died on her lips. "Ganondorf is no god."

"Ignorant creature. Your kind has always been so sure that the Goddesses blessed them with such a wealth of knowledge. You are no different from the Hylians in that regard. My master heralds from a race older than Hyrule itself, driven into exile by the same ones who created your world. Of course, you knew that, didn't you?"

Wait... there are other deities out there apart from the three who created the Triforce? That wasn't important right now, Link told himself; he had to help Saria, which meant stopping whatever this thing was doing to her.

"Who are you?" Link asked, gripping his sword so tightly his fingers were numb. "What are you?"

"I am a creature of shadow, a phantom, created by Ganon to guard this temple and ultimately lead the Forest Sage to it so that he may feed upon their spirit. I suspect other Kokiri have felt the urge to come here, but she was the first to arrive."

"You?" Mido asked. He seemed surprised to find his voice and swallowed. "You were the one Saria was talking about."

"I am," the phantom replied. "I never imagined a Kokiri's life force could be so... pure. It has a power that my master has not tasted in some time. A power that once allowed them to change their forms at will, and one that will ensure your plan to awaken the Sages will fail."

"Let her go you sick monster!" Fora yelled, flying toward the phantom. Mori stopped her mid-flight and struggled to force the angry sprite back.

"Blood magic, it's using blood magic!" Navi hissed, realizing what the phantom was talking about. "It's stalling us to finish the spell!"

The anger Link had felt towards Vaspin when he'd first learned Saria was in danger seemed tame to the fury that now rushed through him. With a scream of rage, Link ignored his earlier instincts and dashed at the creature as well, following Fora's example.

Ganondorf's phantom merely flicked his hand, sending a blast of lightning straight into Link before he could raise his shield.

It was like the drawbridge of Castletown all over again as tendrils of lightning coursed through him. His muscles screamed as they were seared by the energy from the blast, and Link went sailing backward, almost hitting Mido as he crashed into the front of the altar. He struck with a crack that sent stars across his vision.

"Such a pathetic display," the phantom sneered. "Is this the champion the Sheikah send against me?"

There was no missing the mockery in its voice. Link groaned, bracing the altar for support as he pushed himself back up. As he struggled to his feet, his muscles screamed in protest.

"It is ironic that a Hylian should come here intending to save the Kokiri," the phantom said. "Take a look at the walls, those children... They were Hyrule's original inhabitants, existing here before the Hylians crossed the Ranges of Snowhead. Do you know what the Hylians did to them and their kin?"

"What are you talking about?" Link snarled, finally on his feet. "I'm not Hylian."

"But you are, though you are trying very hard to deny it," said the phantom, stepping closer to Link. Mido had stopped tending to Saria, for he bravely drew his dagger and took a step forward, but Link stayed him. "Perhaps your fairy never told you," the phantom mused, "Or is it that the magic of the woods made her forget... made you all forget? The Hylians regarded the Kokiri as untamed savages- primitives that needed to be civilized- so they enslaved them, slaughtered them and burned their villages. As for those who survived in captivity for a time... well-" the phantom chuckled. "Death would have been a kinder fate."

"You're a liar!" Mido shouted in defiance. " I think I'd remember something like that."

"I am not lying. The one you refer to as the forest guardian made you forget. They call my master evil, but what of the Hylians? The chosen race of the Goddesses, exalted to a place above all other sentient life. Was what they did not evil? My master and the Royal Family of Hyrule are really not that different. There is no pure evil or good. Darkness exists in all living things, including you."

Disregarding the Master Sword that lay on the ground beside him, Link notched an arrow to his bow.

"Let Saria go, now!" Link growled, drawing the bow tight. He was glad that Sheik had given him some practice a few days ago. When he let the arrow fly, it struck the phantom square in the mask. The phantom merely flinched, reached a hand to his face and yanked the arrow out of his head.

Link stared in dismay; the phantom was unhurt despite taking an arrow to its face.

How do I harm a shadow?

The answer came to him as he remembered the Light medallion on the Belt of Sages.

"Link!" Navi's warning alerted him to the four ghosts that had appeared in the gallery. Phantom Ganondorf turned slightly, still keeping Link in view.

"Finish them," he ordered the ghosts. "Once the ritual is complete, kill the two Sheikah outside and the Kokiri with them."

Just then, Fora fainted, slumping against Saria.

"Link, I don't think Saria has much longer," Navi yelled, flying atop the altar next to Fora.

Knowing he was running out of time, Link forced himself to stay calm as he eyed the ghosts. Their robes and a cowl obscured their faces and all he could see were their glowing eyes. Each one held a lantern with a flame that matched the colors of the torches around the altar.

"Poes!" Navi warned.

"Oh good," Mido muttered sarcastically. "We know their name. That's helpful."

"A visitor!" the red-garbed ghost crowed. "Live ones too. Long has it been since the living lurked these halls!"

"They won't be living when I finish with them," the purple-clad ghost laughed.

"Quiet, Meg," the first ghost snapped irritably.

"You defile this temple with your presence, Hylian," the green-clad ghost snarled, pointing an accusing finger at him, her gloved hand trembling.

What kind of spirits are these? Link wondered briefly. The way the light danced off their cowls made them seem far less wraith-like than he'd expected.

"I could say that about you," Link retorted, eyeing the ghost who'd spoken. Its glowing eyes seemed to narrow, and before it could act, Link reached out to the plane of magic, felt the element of Light, and reached for it. The Flow seemed to answer his call easily, and drawing on its power seemed as easy as breathing.

Quickly, Link notched another arrow to his bow, noticing that the medallion on his belt was now warm.

Please let this work.

As he channeled magic, the arrow's tip glowed with an eerie white light. A second later, he released the arrow with a loud twang. Flaring with a bright luminescence, the shaft struck the ghost, causing it to drop its lantern with a shriek. Green fire burst across the floor, flickering and burning for a moment before fading. The other poes stared. Although their faces were hidden in a veil of shadow, Link was sure their mouths were open in dismay.

"Amy!" cried the ghost in purple garbs. She directed her attention to Link. "You killed our sister! We'll kill you!"

"She was already dead, wasn't she?" Mido asked, turning to Mori as if expecting her to affirm this.

"Impudence! How dare you say that!" one of the ghosts yelled. She shot a blast of fire towards Mido, who ran out of the way. It struck the floor, blackening the stone on impact.

Link let an arrow loose at the offending poe, but the ghost drifted sideways, letting the arrow thud uselessly into the stone behind it.

Link turned and shouted to Mido, "Get behind the altar and take Saria with you. Mori, grab Fora."

Neither Mido nor his fairy argued with Link's instruction, leaping behind the altar as two streams of fire belted towards it. Mido dragged Saria off the altar and flung himself to the ground. The streams of fire struck it moments later. Link leaped out of the way as a stream of purple fire was unleashed by one poe. The blast struck the stone near Link, sending him flying into the air and crashing into the altar for the second time. He vaguely noticed a jet of blue flame fly over his head. The red ghost was now gliding over to him, its hungry eyes fixed on the youth. Link rolled to grab the Master Sword, but just as he did, the ghost plunged its free hand onto his chest. An icy pain lanced through him, and his heart was agony as the ghost's hand went into his chest. There was no time to contemplate how it was doing that. The icy pain was spreading, shooting down his arm as Link thought his heart would burst if it beat much faster.

"Link!" screamed Navi.

The Light medallion grew warmer until Link was sure it would sear his skin. He'd be dead before that happened. Seeing the Master Sword just out of reach, he desperately clawed at the hilt.

"In ages past, this was the Kokiri's tomb," the ghost whispered, "and soon, it will be yours to share alongside us. Such was our fate when we intruded on the Elder Spirits' domain."

"Look out!"

At Navi's shout, Link turned and saw Mido grasp the Master Sword in cloth-wrapped hands and swing it awkwardly. The ghost saw this, quickly withdrawing its hand from Link's chest, and glided away from the sword, knowing its touch alone was dangerous. Link rolled, narrowly avoiding being struck by his own blade.

Thanks, Mido. You nearly hit me.

Mido tried to toss the sword to Link, struggling and tossing it awkwardly. Link clambered onto all fours, his racing heart slowing to a less dangerous pace. The red ghost was moving forward again. As the spectre raised its hand to finish what it started, Link grabbed the Master Sword, seized the currents of magic again and thrust the blade into the Poe. The spectre screamed, erupting in a ball of red flames. Link jumped, avoiding the blaze that scorched the specter.

"Joelle!" the remaining ghosts shouted in unison. They sent two blasts of fire towards Mido, who ran back behind the altar before either ball of fire could hit him. Then, with a laugh, both ghosts disappeared.

"Where did they go?" Link asked nobody in particular.

That was when he noticed white lines appearing in the stone in front of him, shaping themselves into runes that looked like they were burnt into the stonework. They were arranged in a circle, and Link leaped back as a bar of light shot out from the runes, shaping itself into a translucent white window. A stalfos stepped through the light and into the room.

"Portals," Navi exclaimed.

Link darted back towards the center of the room as six more portals appeared in the gallery. He flung the Master Sword against the altar and reached for his bow. Before he could notch an arrow, the nearest stalfos was on him. Link kicked the skeleton away from the platform as he grasped the Master Sword and brought it straight through the skeleton's neck.

By now, the other skeletons were jumping onto the platform. One ran at Mido, who ducked beneath its large blade and hacked off one of its legs, causing the creature to fall.

"Sever its head!" Link yelled as he blocked the blade from another skeleton.

Mido obeyed, chopping the skeleton's head off so that it went limp. Then a second monster plunged its sword towards him. Mido yelped, the Kokiri Sword meeting the skeleton's blade. The latter struck Mido's sword so hard it was sent flying out of his hand. Mido grabbed the nearest object he could reach, a femur bone, while Mori distracted the undead by flying straight through one eye, causing it to stumble backward in apparent shock.

"Hey! I have a bone to pick with you!" Mido shouted at the skeleton as Mori whizzed out of its other eye, looking stunned. Mido jumped forward, crashing the femur bone straight into the undead's skull, knocking the hapless undead to the floor. The glowing eyes dimmed before Mido retrieved the Kokiri sword and severed its head.

"That's the best you can come up with? I have a bone to pick with you? Really?" Mori asked. "If I have to put up with this for long, I will get annoyed, Mido."

Ignoring Mido and Mori, Link swung his sword straight through the head of the third skeleton. Another undead thrust its sword toward his abdomen. Link gasped, bringing his shield and blocking it just in time. Mido struck one skeleton from behind, giving Link a chance to cleave the undead's head from its shoulders. The next stalfos cleaved its jagged blade through the air, slicing towards Mido's throat. Link leapt forward to knock the blade away. He didn't make it. Instead, Mido stumbled backward, the blade coming within an inch of his neck.

Link knocked the skeleton's sword aside before it could strike again, then sent its head flying from its shoulders. The other skeletons fled for the doors upon seeing their fallen companion. Link ignored them and turned to Mido.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks, deku scrub," he gasped. "Nice to know someone taught you how to fight."

Smiling at the comment, Link sheathed his sword and reached out his hand. "You can thank Forenz once he wakes up."

He managed to sound confident, despite knowing how grim their chances were.

"Yeah," Mido said, grabbing Link's hand and getting to his feet. "I guess I will."

They walked back over to Saria. She was still cold, her lips now a tinge of blue. Link picked her up, feeling for a pulse. Her heartbeat was faint and slow, but it was still there, still fighting whatever it was the phantom was doing to her.

"We have to get her help," Link said, picking up the listless Kokiri.

"We can still get her to Sheik and Rin," Navi suggested. She paused, hovering above the girl.

Link quickly cast his eyes about the dimly lit interior of the hall, but they were its only occupants. Cradling Saria, he bolted up the stairs, Mido behind him. He ran towards the archway, and barely noticed something rather peculiar about it. The surrounding air was shimmering, and a veil of faint blue energy stretched across the entire archway, rippling like a curtain disturbed in a breeze. It was almost completely transparent, and with so little light, Link didn't see it until he ran straight into it.

A loud crack echoed through the air as Link hit the barrier. It was as if a pulse of lightning had struck him, and he was knocked backward, losing his hold on Saria, and crashing into the stone steps. Mido stopped a few feet from the barrier, his expression both alarmed and bewildered.

"Link! Are you alright?" Navi yelled.

Mido ran to Saria's side, kneeling beside her while Link gritted his teeth at the pain in his left shoulder and dragged himself into a kneeling position.

"What was that?" Mido asked. Whether that was meant for himself or the two fairies, Link wasn't sure.

Before any of them could say more, a cackling laugh came from behind.

The two remaining ghosts were gliding up the steps.

"You didn't think our master would let you escape so easily, did you?" the blue ghost taunted him.

She waved her free hand in the air, a wave of blue fire erupting in front of her, rippling towards Link. He rolled out of the way, ignoring his arms aching in protest as he pushed himself up. Almost instinctively, Link reached out in his mind to channel a spell of Light, feeling the currents of magic flow into him. He drew far more magic than he meant to, and its current surged through him.

Too much! Link realized belatedly.

A bolt of lightning erupted in front of him, white tendrils streaking straight into the blue-garbed ghost which shrieked in pain. Link might have found this far more spectacular if he was not rendered momentarily blind by the light of his own spell. He cried out in pain and slid sideways, slipping off the lip of the stair he was perched upon and onto the next one. Fortune spared him the embarrassment of tumbling all the way down the flight of stairs.

"Good grief! Were you trying to aim at the poe or yourself?" Mido called out.

Link dragged himself onto on all fours, his vision dim.

I am so not trying that again.

As his vision returned, Link looked around for the final ghost. Instead, he saw no less than four ghosts standing around him. For a horrible moment, he thought he hadn't killed the ghosts at all, and now they'd just decided to reappear. Then he realized they all wore purple robes, and that just confused him more.

He leaped up, swinging the Master Sword down into the ghost closest to him. It merely laughed, and the air around the poe seemed to warp and shimmer as the ghost disappeared.

It's an illusion, Link realized.

"Beth, Joelle, Amy. You killed my sisters! You call yourself good; they say you're the Hero of Time, but you are a killer. A murderer."

Link tried to ignore the voice cackling in his head. I only did it because I had to.

"They left me no choice," he rasped.

"There is always a choice!" the ghost replied.

Link hacked at the second ghost to his right. It simply vanished, just like the last one. Link caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye and jumped to avoid a ball of purple fire. It slammed into the wall, and Link hacked the Master Sword down on the caster. It gave a cackle and disappeared.

The final ghost laughed gleefully, and Link only just realized the sound was coming from behind him when the ghost shoved its hand into his chest.

Not this again, he thought.

There was no time to do anything. Pain lanced through his chest and arms at the ghost's icy touch, bringing him to his knee.

"You took the lives of my sisters. Now I will take yours," the ghost whispered.

Blood pounded in his head. Link was paralyzed, unable to move as the ghost's hand clenched tighter in his chest. Everything was going dark and cold. He tried to focus on the plane of magic, but the agony in his chest was excruciating, and he could not concentrate.

Just then, the ghost jerked backward, screaming. Link rolled over weakly to see Mido pulling the Master Sword out of the creature's back, having used it like a spear, albeit a poorly wielded one. He hadn't used a cloth this time, but he appeared unharmed. Sentient as it was, it appeared the sword was permitting Mido's touch.

Seizing his chance, Link scrambled to his feet, grabbed the Master Sword, and then rammed the blade straight into the ghost's pale form. The spirit gave one final scream and vanished in a ball of purple flame that nearly engulfed Link and Mido. Sweating and clammy from the close encounter, Link willed himself to stay on his feet and turned to Mido.

"How is Saria?" he asked. Both Navi and Mori looked at him before realizing he wasn't asking them.

"Do I look like a healer to you?" Mido asked.

Link ignored the comment, turning to the two fairies. "Navi? Mori?"

Both fairies flew over to the girl.

"I don't know how long she has," Navi said quietly, hovering near the girl's chest. "Fora was right. It's like there's another presence inside Saria's mind. Two of them..."

"What does that mean?" Mido asked. "Is it telepathy, like what the Great Deku Tree used?"

"I think so," Navi answered. "It is impossible to know for sure without Fora's help."

Link stared at Saria, pondering what to do. With the barrier still intact, he was cut off from Sheik, unless Navi could fly out and get the Sheikah to find a way to reach him. He wasn't sure Saria had that kind of time.

There was something else Link hadn't considered.

"Fora said there was something in the temple that could help us," Link said, wishing desperately that they could wake the fairy. "Do you have any idea what she meant?"

Navi shook her head. It was Mido who spoke up.

"She said something about there being an ancient grove inside, like the Great Deku Tree's," Mido said. "She said there was a tree there, older than the Great Deku Tree, but she doesn't know if it's still alive."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Link asked incredulously. Although he knew that the Great Deku Tree had to have come from somewhere, he had given no thought as to where. Nor had he expected it to come from another tree here in the Lost Woods. How old would this tree have been? He slipped his gaze towards the wall, examining the carving of the enormous tree with the girl sitting underneath it. Was it depicting the same tree?

"I don't know if it's still alive," Mido said, sounding despondent.

"Maybe it's dormant," Mori suggested.

"Maybe, but how do we wake it up then?" Navi said, looking like she was madly trying to absorb this new information. "Wait... have you got the ocarina on you?" Link could tell by the sudden rush of her voice that she'd realized something he hadn't.

"How does that help us?"

Then Link knew. He could use the reservoir of magic in the ocarina to draw Earth. If this ancient spirit could sense it, or sensed the magic in the Light medallion, perhaps it would respond.

"I guess we try that then," he said, unable to think of anything else. His chance of saving Saria was rapidly fading, so if this was a chance that he could save her, he'd take it. Resolute, he led the way to the door on the other side of the gallery.

Navi flew through the door first and narrowly avoided a jagged blade as a stalfos leaped from the shadows. Link reacted quickly, hastily setting Saria down before stepping forward to meet the undead's blade. Sacred steel slamming against the battered remnants of the skeleton's shield, Link sent the creature stumbling. Mido dashed brazenly in from one side and sliced the Kokiri Sword through its pelvis. The top half of the skeleton went tumbling backward in a heap of bones, leaving Link to make quick work of its neck.

"Thanks," Link said as they stared at the stalfos. "I think that makes us even."

"You still owe me for that other Poe," Mido replied, staring at the reliefs that decorated the corridor. Light spilled in from a doorway up ahead, revealing the intricate detail of the carvings.

"Do you reckon it's true, what the phantom said about the Kokiri?" Link asked Navi.

"I'm not sure," Navi said slowly. "Nobody can recall any of the Kokiri's history back past a thousand years ago. It's like somebody or something wiped our memories."

So everybody would forget?

Maybe there was some truth in what the phantom said. Link didn't like where that thought was taking him. Had the Hylians really attacked the Kokiri?

Link shook his head, trying to clear his mind as they stepped out onto a balcony. Pillars lined the edges of it, all with carvings of children and the tree-like entities they morphed into. There were even other creatures with stout frames and thick, muscled arms.

Gorons.

That took him by surprise. Did they help build this place? It would make sense. They would know how to work the stone.

The balcony wound its way around a dilapidated garden choked with weeds, the few trees in it draped with vines. Only the enormous tree that occupied the bower's center appeared untouched, its long limbs stretching over the roof of the gallery. Link could sense a magic resonating from deep within it. A face was carved into its enormous trunk, and beneath that sat a statue perched in a meditative pose, snuggled in between tangled roots.

Descending the gallery steps, Link found himself at the edge of a wide shallow moat with a small bridge across it. He approached the tree, walking across the ancient plaza's wide expanse to where the statue stood before the tree. There was a medallion clasped around the neck of the statue, scintillating a dull green in the feeble light.

"This must be it," Link said quietly. He wondered if the medallion he could see was the very same one that Sheik said Rauru could sense.

Link only noticed the statue and the medallion for a moment, before a noise startled him. Standing beside the tree, and almost hidden beside the enormous gnarled roots, was the phantom's horse.

"How did it get in here?" Mido wondered aloud.

"No idea," replied Link, just hoping the phantom Ganondorf itself was not nearby. He told the two fairies to keep an eye out in case it should return.

He placed Saria down in front of the seated statue and reached for the medallion. Just then he felt a consciousness touch his mind, ancient and powerful.

"I had wondered when we would meet, friend of Saria. Welcome to my grove, or rather, what remains of it. You and your companions are safe here, for the moment. Saria has spoken much of you."

Link froze, gazing up at the face of the giant tree. He was so close to the massive trunk that he could not make out more than the nose. The shock of realising the ancient sentinel was alive and speaking to him stilled him into silence.

"That tree... it just spoke," Navi gasped, echoing his astonishment. "It's not dormant at all."

"Who are you? Link asked apprehensively.

"Has it been so long that those who claim kinship with me do not recognize me?" the ancient voice boomed again.

"I'm sorry," Link offered, not sure what else to say.

"Your ignorance is unsurprising," the Elder Tree answered with no hint of affront. "But you have been known to me, Link. Indeed, when you carried that gem Saria gave you, a gem made by the First Sage, I was with you. A part of me, a mere memory of who I was, remains in that emerald. It was I who sought to reach you in your dreams, where the veil between the worlds of spirit and mortal is yet thinnest. It was I who sought to comfort you through the trials you have endured. Do you not recall that?"

"I..." Link searched his memories, and faintly, he could recall the briefest sensation of something trying to reach out to him whenever he held the emerald. But reaching him in dreams? Link couldn't recall that, but he did recall the calmness he'd known when the emerald was close to him.

"The Spiritual Stone of the Forest... it was yours? Then..." Link paused, considering something that he thought couldn't be possible. "Then, you knew who the First Sages were?"

"Knew them? I was one of them, the Sage of the Forest..."

"What... you're a Sage?" Navi asked, incredulous.

"I was, but now no longer."

"What do you mean no longer?" Mido asked, sounding as if he wasn't quite sure he believed what he was hearing.

"When the First Sage of the Forest merged his spirit with mine, I absorbed both his powers and memories. From that point on, I became known as the Elder Tree. My descendant, the one you referred to as the Ancient Forest Guardian, was created by the same means, by one of the descendants of the First Sage."

"How did that happen?" Mido asked, then sounding suddenly uncertain, "Does that mean Saria has to do that too?"

Link frowned, not liking that idea. He'd gone through too much already, seen too much change, to want to have Saria's friendship snatched from him.

The flow of time is cruel... recalling Sheik's words, Link shivered. She was right though, it flowed ever onward, eroding and reshaping the world around it. He could try to swim against the current as he had, only to be swept under by its relentless pull, or he could travel with it. Pain pulsed deep inside his heart as he realised what this meant. He glanced down at Saria's pale form, wishing he could change everything that had happened, but knowing that he couldn't. Not now, and likely not ever.

"Fear not. Your friend does not need to follow the path her ancestors took to protect their race," the Elder Tree answered. "Cursed as I am, I can no longer help her to undergo that transformation."

"What do you mean?" Link asked, as yet another understanding dawned on him. If the Elder Tree spoke the truth, and he had no reason to doubt it, then what he had suspected since seeing the carvings in the temple was true. The bond between the Deku spirits and Kokiri was no mere happenstance. The Deku spirits had become what they were because a Kokiri had chosen to bond with them. "Can't you help us?" Then reluctantly, he asked, "Are you dying?"

It would be just his luck. Always too late to save what was dearest to him.

"The curse placed on me by the servant of shadows has worked its corrupting influence, eroding my memory and power as surely as water erodes the bed of a river. Unless the curse is broken, I will indeed die, but for now Hylian, I will aid you as much as I can."

Hylian? The comment struck Link, and deaf to the rest of the Elder Tree's words, he felt a sudden irrational rush of anger.

"I am not a Hylian!" Link almost shouted that aloud, stopping only because he did not want Mido to think he was crazy. Then, as some hesitant part of his mind chose to face a truth Link wanted so desperately to deny, he asked, "Am I?"

Deep down, he knew the answer and knew that it changed so much of how he'd perceived both himself and his world. A part of him didn't even want the Elder Tree to answer. Distractedly, he glanced at Mori who'd resumed her lookout, then turned back to the tree.

When the tree spirit spoke again, its blunt honesty left Link reeling. It was more than he wanted to know.

"Though raised as a Kokiri by my successor, the Great Deku Tree, and those under his care, you were born of noble blood. Your mother brought you to the woods to protect you from the ones who would do you harm. She perished before the forest children could save her. You are indeed Hylian. No doubt, your fairy companion already suspected this."

Link looked over at Navi, who was looking stunned.

"You... You knew?" he stammered. This shouldn't have been a surprise to him. Mido and his friends, and indeed most of the Kokiri, had suspected that he was different. Physically, he had looked unusual for a Kokiri. Try as he might, Link knew he could no longer deny this truth. He wasn't a Kokiri, and somewhere deep down, he'd always suspected that there was a reason he was different. It had been easy to deny it, but now confronted by the truth, he knew he couldn't.

Still, he wished Navi could have said something.

"What... No, of course, I didn't know," she looked shocked. "I mean... I always believed that when a child came into the care of the Great Deku Tree, he or she, was turned into a Kokiri. But, I thought maybe I couldn't bond properly because of what happened to Doran... after he..." Navi's voice trailed off sadly, and Link wanted to comfort her.

"Doran's spirit still lives." Navi looked confused, so the ancient tree elaborated, "A Kokiri never truly dies; their spirit lives when the body breathes its last, and they become one with the woods just as the First Sage bonded with me. They are the ones who you call the forest spirits. Some, those more gifted in using magic, chose to preserve themselves in the form of Deku Trees. Others chose to undergo the transformation that turned them into dryads, or Koroks as Hylians once called them, though their tales give a far different idea of what one looked like. "

A Korok? Link thought. Wait...

Hadn't Malon called one of her toys a Korok? It had looked more like an oddly decorated sack with a leaf stuck on it than anything else.

"In undergoing this transformation," the Elder Tree continued, "they could ensure the Kokiri would continue to prosper. You have come because my children are in danger... I have sensed their distress, but my powers were rendered useless by the shadow within these walls. Even now, I can sense the curse he has placed on your friend, and I have offered her what aid I can. I have touched minds with her, anchoring her spirit against the force that threatens to destroy her."

"Can you save her?" Link asked.

"Place the medallion worn by the Mother Goddess around her neck; it will further numb the curse's hold on her. "

"What exactly's wrong with her?" Mido demanded.

"She fights her own battle with the phantom, for it lurks in her dreams as easily as it lurks in the waking realm. I have aided her, but soon my aid alone will not be enough." Link's horror at those words must have been plain, for the Elder Tree added, "Do not despair though; the medallion will be enough to protect her."

Link hastened to grab the medallion, but just as he did, a warning flashed through his mind. "Do not forget my warning. Only a Kokiri can remove it."

Mido stepped forward and grabbed the medallion, then he knelt down to place it around Saria's neck.

"Now what?" Link asked, looking at Saria and hoping she might wake up. "Is there anything else we can do to help her?"

"You must first kill the shadow that lurks within these walls," the Elder tree answered. "If you do this and awaken my successor, they can order the forest spirits to attack the ones who kidnapped the Kokiri and free them-"

The Elder Tree paused, and fear suddenly surged through the bond. Something was coming. Link tensed, one hand already clasped upon his sword's pommel.

"Beware the dark one. He comes!" came the tree's warning. Link turned around to see Phantom Ganondorf striding towards them.

One final thought echoed through his mind from the Elder Tree, "I am sorry I cannot help you, Link. My strength wanes. Finish him quickly, my fate and the life of your friend depends on it."

"I didn't expect you to kill those ghosts." The phantom's voice was rich with mockery as it came to a halt beneath the canopy of the ancient tree. "Don't expect that useless sack of kindling to help you. So long as I am here, it cannot. Now step aside; the girl belongs to me!"

"Over my dead body," Link snarled.

The phantom regarded him coolly for a moment, and beneath its mask Link could just imagine the creature's sneer. "That can be arranged."

The specter charged forward, swiftly raising its spear and bearing it down towards Link's heart. Link spun, dancing to the side, only to realize that Mido was standing directly behind him. The cruel, cold steel of the lance plunged down through the air, knocking the Master Sword's flimsy strike aside. Before Link could do anything, the lance found its target, plunging straight into Mido's stomach.

Next Chapter

Reviews

SunPraiser31 chapter 24 . Nov 29, 2016 Okay hold on what? Link was actually a Hylian child the whole time? Was that detail carried over from the game? If so, I apparently wasn't paying any attention. But it makes sense I guess. As big of a dick as Mido was at the beginning, I don't want him to die. He's obviously changed a bunch over the last few years. If Link can't save Mido, Saria and Forenz, he's gonna hate himself so much for failing. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Good work as usual. This is making me want to find my 3DS and play through the game again. My memory of it is a bit hazier than I thought, apparently.