The Legend of Zelda: Hero of Time

Chapter 1
Link's Awakening

"Navi! Come to me Navi, my child," called the great Deku Tree. His eyes were old and growing grey, but he still possessed the fullest authority of the forest, and his deep, yet soft, voice, was not heard by any but those whom he wished to hear it.

"I am here, great one," said a high pitched voice, very feminine, yet very demanding. She had known her purpose would not be the same as those of the other fairies, but she had never known quite what it would be. "What do you wish of me, great one?"

"There is a boy in this forest," the Deku Tree said.

"Oh, great," Navi said. "How many Kokiri boys are there? Oh wait, all of them have fairies already!"

"Listen to me, Navi, and heed well my words," the tree said, a gleam in his eyes. "There is yet one boy in this forest who has no fairy. This is your time and his, you will go find him, and bring him to me. Hurry, my daughter, for time is drawing short. Hurry and bring him to me."

"The one without a fairy," she whispered in awe. "He means the one they call Link! I've gotta find him, and fast!" She flew in a rush out of the Deku Tree's land in the forest, and flew off towards the Kokiri shop.

"Hello fairy," said a girl, Thessa, sitting on the canopy of the shop.

"Hey," Navi replied, looking around the small town. Link was nowhere in sight! [Where could he possibly be?] Navi flew off towards the exercise field, where, still having no luck, she turned abruptly around. [In his house! Hurry girl, the Deku Tree won't accept not finding him as an excuse.]

Rushing off through the air towards the tree where Link lived, she hit the fence, and then, quickly shaking off her shock, flew through it and into the tree.

"Link! The Deku Tree calle," she stopped abruptly, seeing that not only was he indeed in his home, but still sleeping. "Shoot. How can the Deku Tree want to talk to someone as lazy as this? I sure as sunlight can't figure it out." Deciding against just leaving, she started flying around his face and yelling at him. "Hey, kid! Link! Li-ink! Wake up!"

Link, still mostly asleep, heard the yelling and swatted at the fly over his face. Blinking his eyes, he got up and looked around.

"Rude little ingrate," Navi said. "I shouldn't even let you know this, but the Deku Tree sent me to be your partner."

"A, a fairy partner? I can't believe this!" Link looked at Navi's small figure, floating over his table, and a smile of pure joy filled his face. "I can't wait to show Mido! And, and Saria."

"Yeah, sure, but that'll have to wait," Navi said, remembering what the Deku Tree had said. "I'm supposed to be bringing you to see the Deku Tree first thing."

Link grinned even more at this. "I get a fairy AND an audience with the Deku Tree on the same day? This is great! Mido will be so jealous! Let's go, uhh, what's your name?"

"I'm Navi," she said, flying over to land on his nose. "And I am not here so you can make Mido jealous! No matter how rude and mean he may be."

"All right," Link said, getting up and eating a bit of bread and some berries. "Let's go, then." He headed out of the house and jumped to the ground, planning to go straight to the Deku Tree. When he looked up though, he saw someone in the way.

"Oh Link," she said, her green hair blowing a bit in the breeze. She looked at him and smiled. "I'm so happy to see that you finally have a fairy partner. We can go and talk about some things if you'd like."

"Sorry Saria," he said, a bit downcast. "I have to go see the Deku Tree. Maybe later we can talk, okay?"

"You get to see the Deku Tree? That's such an honor Link! I won't hold you up any more, go on." She turned around and glanced back, a smile on her face. "I'll see you later Link!" She then headed off into the woods.

"What more could possibly go wrong," Link muttered, jumping across the small islands to the Deku Tree's cove. Then he looked up, only to see Mido guarding the way.

"So, what brings you here, Link? Trying to see why the Great Deku Tree hasn't sent you a fairy yet?" Mido sneered at Link as he walked up, and then he blocked the way. "Sorry, but if you don't have a fairy, you can't see the Deku Tree at all."

"Jerk," Navi said, hopping onto Link's nose and looking at Mido. "The Deku Tree sent for Link, and you'd better let him through!"

"I have a fairy partner, Mido. And she told me that the Great Deku Tree wants to see me. Maybe you should go and ask for yourself?"

"Umm, no thanks," Mido said, brushing back his rusty red hair. "But, I can't let you go through here until you have, umm, a sword and a shield, yeah! That's right, a sword and a shield."

"But the Great Deku Tree sent for m..." Link was cut off as Mido shoved him away.

"And if you can't get 'em, go pick up the rocks in front of my house," Mido said. "They obstruct my view of the pond!"

"Fine then," Link said, walking slowly away. "umm, Navi, could you please get off my nose? It kind of tickles when you stand there like that."

"Sorry," she said, looking a bit ashamed. She then flew off his nose, and hovered around his head. "Say, he said you'll need a sword and a shield, right? Well, I've heard talk of a sword hidden somewhere in the village. I don't know where it is, but... Oh well, maybe you should just focus on getting a shield first."

"Good idea," Link said. "I'll stop by the shop, Gaal said he'd give me a Deku Shield once I got a fairy partner."

"I guess that sounds like a plan. Still, I wish I knew where that sword was supposed to be," Navi murmured, following just behind him as they headed for the shop.

Inside the shop were a few small racks, mostly filled with Deku Nuts and Seeds, and a few of the Deku Shields the Kokiri used in their games. "Hey, Gaal," Link called out. "You there?"

"Of course not," came the snappy reply. "What brings you here on this fine day, Link?"

"I have a fairy partner now," he said, looking at the other. "And Mido says I need a shield before I can see the Deku Tree, even though I've been called."

"Well, I guess you think you can cash in on my deal, right? Here ya go, then," said Gaal, handing over a wooden shield with red paint on it. The paint was in the Kokiri symbol that meant "courage", and Link felt a little weird about the whole thing. "No money involved. But if you need a new one, it will cost ya."

"All right pal," Link said, forcing out a small grin. "Say, you don't know where I might be able to find a sword, do ya?"

"Sorry, friend, but we don't sell 'em here, so I got no idea. You might try asking Mido or Saria though. I hear they know things about this forest no one else, except the Great Deku Tree himself, knows."

"All right," Link said, a bit glad that he could now keep his word to Saria. "I'll check it out." Link left the store little happier than when he'd entered, but more prepared than he had been. As he headed towards the Lost Woods to talk with Saria, he remembered a recent conversation. "Y'know, Saria did mention something about the Kokiri Sword once. I think she said it's up by the exercise field."

"Then let's go," Navi said, a bit excited about this. "Anything to save time."

"Yeah," he said, following the fairy. "Anything to save time."

As they arrived at the exercise field, they saw a small, cavernous passage, but it seemed like a very tight fit. "Umm, maybe you can squeeze through it?" Navi didn't sound especially optimistic, but Link set down the shield and crawled through. It was a tight squeeze, and he wondered how he would ever get back out with a sword, assuming of course it was in here. Navi flew through as well, and joined him as he stood up.

He didn't bother dusting himself off. He'd just be covered in dirt again after he went out, and he set to work. He saw that of the three paths available, two were clearly dead ends, but the other seemed to turn in two areas. "I guess it would be this way, huh?" He headed to his left, and was nearly bowled over as a round boulder rolled down the narrow groove in the path ahead. After it turned, he followed it, checking at corners for any sign of the sword.

After first turning right and next turning left, he saw a wooden box one the ground to his right. [Maybe,] he thought. He went and opened it, and inside of it was a sword with a reddish handle of wood but a blade of metal. It looked like a nice weapon, but He wondered if it was really okay to take it. Turning it over, he saw symbols on the other side of the blade. They were Kokiri symbols, and they said "Sword of the Kokiri".

"I guess it's all right to borrow it," he said, sticking he sheath, and the sword, on his back. "Come on Navi, let's go. I just hope it's not any harder to get out than it was to get in."

"So do I," Navi whispered, hanging behind. "So do I."

Grabbing his shield, Link saw a few of the other Kokiri coming up. He hung the shield on the handle of his sword and headed off, greeting his friends as they passed. After he left the field, he ran off for the Deku Tree's cove, to show Mido that he was prepared.

"So you got a shield, huh," Mido said, still almost taunting the boy. "I didn't figure that would be too hard. But you couldn't find a sword, could you?"

"You mean the Sword of the Kokiri isn't good enough," Link said, readying the shield and sword. "Or did you just not see it?"

"The Kokiri Sword? But that's the village's hidden... Ah, all right. But you better make sure you return it once you're finished," Mido said, a scowl forming on his face. "And I'll be watching, so don't try anything!"

"I wouldn't," Link said. He proceeded then through the hollow the Mido had blocked entrance to, and then he stood in awe as he looked upon the Deku Tree. "Navi, is this the Great Deku Tree?"

"Yes," Navi said, landing once more on Link's nose. "So we should listen to whatever he's going to say."