Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time fanfiction/novelization ❯ An Unlikely Hero ( Chapter 1 )

The Legend of Zelda

Ocarina of Time

Novelization by animetayl

The Legend of Zelda and all characters associated with it is the property of Nintendo Inc.

Prologue

"In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule... long have I served as the Guardian Spirit. I am known as the Deku Tree. The children of the forest, the Kokiri, live here with me. Each Kokiri has his or her own guardian fairy. However, there is one boy who is without a fairy..."

Chapter 1

An Unlikely Hero

The Deku Tree towers above all other trees in the forest. A giant of a tree resembling an ancient oak, his dense foliage rustled in the eastern breeze which had sprung up around midmorning. If looked at closely, a rough impression of a face could be seen etched on his rugged bark. The expression on this face, though never changing, has the uncanny tendency to show emotion, through some unknown means. The Deku Tree is rooted in a glade which connects to the village of the Kokiri. The lone path which leads to the Deku Tree is obstructed by a strange sort of magic, one which would confuse a traveler into turning back the way he had come. Only those summoned by the Deku Tree may enter the glade unhindered. These chosen are few and far between and thus, the Deku Tree has not come into contact with another being for over a hundred years. All can see his towering canopy, however, and the knowledge of the Deku Tree has never faded from the minds of the Kokiri, his children. An elf-like race whose bodies never mature, the Kokiri are forever young, and the Deku Tree their guardian.

The Kokiri forest is one of those ancient, enchanted woods, filled with mischievous spirits and magic. Halting the aging of their bodies, this magic is essential for the survival of the Kokiri. Without it, a Kokiri's body would age at a rapid pace, and in the span of a day they would grow old, sicken, and die. Thus it is forbidden for the Kokiri to leave the forest, as it is forbidden for the people of the outside world to enter it. It is said that those who lose themselves in the Kokiri forest become wandering spirits who never find peace in death.

Now the Deku Tree `frowned', in his peculiar way. It was time.

The Deku Tree's deep, strong voice rumbled throughout the forest, startling the birds into a dark, screeching cloud.

"Navi... Navi, where art thou? Come hither."

Presently, a smallish, white-blue globe of light came drifting from among the trees. If one looked closely at it, one would see that it wasn't a ball of light, but rather a tiny figure with wings; a fairy.

The Kokiri share the forest with the fairies, who act as their personal guardians. Each Kokiri is given a fairy partner at birth, which flies about just behind their shoulders whenever they are out of doors. For a Kokiri to be seen without their fairy is considered a taboo. That Kokiri would be said to be 'incomplete' and looked down upon, but this, however, is a very rare occurrence.

To a mortal eye, Navi would look very similar to all other fairies who inhabit the Kokiri forest. Apart from differences in color and gender, and slight facial and form differences, the fairies are almost uniform in appearance. It is every fairy's wish, however, to preserve their own distinct identity. The fairies put great emphasis on their downy hair, which they will style in unique and often bizarre ways in order to look different from the others. Navi is a whitish-blue female fairy. Her short-cropped hair, accented with a tri-sprig of vine, a shiny ice blue. She is also an oddity, for she is a fairy who has never been selected to be a Kokiri's companion, and because of this, she is ridiculed by all the other fairies in the forest.

Navi flew toward the Deku tree and settled herself noiselessly on one of his outstretched branches. Light blue dust fell from her wings and she bathed the wood of the branch in her bright light.

"What do you wish of me, Great Deku Tree? Is something troubling you?" Navi's wings quivered in the slight breeze. The Deku Tree did not respond at first, and Navi became uneasy from his silence.

"Deku Tree...?" Navi's tiny heart began to beat faster as she sensed that something was amiss. She flew off her perch and hovered near the Deku Tree's face, weaving anxiously. Finally the Deku Tree spoke, but it was not much more than a whisper.

"...Dost thou sense it, Navi?"

"Sense what, Deku Tree? I do not understand." Navi's beautiful face frowned as she puzzled over the Deku Tree's words.

"The climate of evil that sweeps over the land, Navi. An evil power so strong that even my power is as nothing..." Navi almost fell from the air. She settled again on the Deku Tree's outstretched limb but this time she leaned against the branch as if supporting herself and one hand was placed over her heart. "Your power... but surely our forest in not in danger, Deku Tree?"

"This Darkness spares nothing, Navi, and overlooks no place."

"Then we are trapped! We have nowhere else to go. You must save our forest, Deku Tree. You must do some-"

"Navi." The Deku Tree thundered, and Navi stopped, her eyes wide with shock. The Deku tree sighed a great sigh, his leaves rustling in response.

"Navi, there is something I must tell thee." The Deku Tree waited until she was calm enough to listen. "Navi, the Kokiri and the fairies are as my children. But Navi, ye must knoweth I cannot save this forest. ...My end is drawing nigh."

Tears welled up in Navi's eyes. As they trickled down her face, she wiped them away with shaking hands.

"But, Deku Tree, if you die, then ...then..." Navi could say no more.

"Do not weep for me, Navi, for my death is not without purpose. With it, I shall prepare one whose destiny it is to save this forest, ...and this world." Navi looked up, and her eyes were red and swollen, her expression one of wonder.

"So the legends are true, Deku Tree? There really is a hero born of the forest?"

"Yes, Navi, and that is the reason why I have called thee here. Ye hast an important role that only thee canst fill. That is why ye must accept my fate."

"What do you want me to do, Deku Tree? I'm ready for the role you have chosen for me." She hovered in her eagerness.

"Calm thyself, and I shall tell thee what ye must do to prepare for the coming battle. Hast ye ever wondered what thy purpose is? The purpose of the wisdom which I have bestowed upon thee?" Navi stopped in midair.

"I have always wondered why it was I who was chosen to be your student, Deku Tree. I, the one without the Kokiri child."

"Thou art special because it is thee who must leadeth the hero to me. The time for his awakening is at hand."

"But Deku Tree, surely his own fairy could..." Navi's words faded as she began to realize what the Deku Tree's words must mean. "You mean the boy without a fairy? Him! But he's no hero! He's an outcast!" Navi's wrinkled her nose in protest.

"Navi, look at thy own position before ye begin to judgeth others. Thou art also an outcast among them. I thought that of all the fairies, thou wouldst understand him." Navi hung her head. She knew that the Deku Tree's words were true. She was often alone, or with the Great Deku tree himself. The fairies did not readily show kindness to her. Whenever she approached, most would laugh in her face and fly off. It made her ashamed, and fearful of their company, and now she realized that it must be the same for this little Kokiri boy who had never received his own fairy. Oh, how shameful she felt!

"Deku Tree, I should never question your judgments. I'll help this boy find you, if that is what you wish. What is his name?"

"The boy's name is Link. It is time for him to begin his journey, and I have many words to speak to him before he begins. Ye must find him Navi. Find him and bring him to me, before it is too late for me to do so."

"As you wish, Great Deku Tree." Navi flew away from the Deku Tree's face. "I will not fail you!"

"Remember Navi, the fate of the forest, nay, the world, rests upon thee."

The Deku Tree watched as Navi sped away, leaving a trail of sparkling dust in her wake. He sighed, and a few leaves fell from his canopy. They were red-black and shriveled, a sign of the plague which weakened him as it devoured his strength. So little time...

"Fly Navi, fly with all thy strength. My mission must not fail."