If you want to read a story about Link, then there are plenty of other fan fics that will suit your tastes. This tale is dedicated to the carpenter’s son and if you’re curious to know a little more about him, then by all means, read on.

Every legend has an untold story.

Some kind of event, person or incident, shrouded in mystery

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time saga is no exception

Every character has their own story,

Whether it be Ganondorf, the Gerudo King; Impa, Zelda’s

Loyal attendant and bodyguard; or even Talon, the lazy ranch owner

Now, Link, the great hero of time, we all know

But not everyone is given the luxury of being in the spotlight

One of them sits underneath an old tree every night

A lone soul, cast off by everyone else

Who sits and waits, and despises the world, for reasons of his own

Reasons that no one knows or even cares about

His own feelings and thoughts, kept well hidden inside of himself

His own persona, mysterious and perplexing, perfect for speculation

Those that have observed him know that many questions circle around this individual

Plenty of possibilities, but no clear answers exist

Or do they?

Every character has their own story

It’s time that his tale be heard. . .

Alone, finally, all the villagers had returned to their houses. Alone, again sitting under the old dying tree that has slowly withered away. Alone, with his own chain of thoughts, with nothing to distract him but the far twinkle of the stars. Alone. . .the only solution for peace, the only way he could achieve it. . .alone.

The carpenter's son stared upwards to the sky. Another day had passed, another humiliation gone, like all the others. It has been a terrible life to live, at a terrible time where evil and chaos has gripped its hold once again on the world of Hyrule. And things seemed to keep getting worse. . .until now. A new hope had presented itself onto him. A way that he could end the suffering, the humiliation, the scorn.

But first, before he decided to act on this new hope, he reflected again on his past. He used to have a name, when he was born, like everyone else. His name (long ago) was Zharen: a name long forgotten, replaced by such insulting names like goblin, freak, and monster. Monster. Monsters were frightening beings who were feared, who did evil. Nobody feared him. Now the great Ganondorf, that was a different story. A Gerudo thief who stole the world's most precious treasure, the King's throne, and used his sorcery and power to turn a once peaceful land into a hellish landscape, filled with demons, ghosts, and monsters, like himself. How could he, Zharen, ever be referred to such a person like that?

He started thinking about his father, the man responsible for most of the psychological damage. A hard-headed, disgusting old man who ridiculed him, taunted him, embarrassed to ever be around him. The "boss of the carpenters" who spent such a long time building such an insignificant and small village like this: Kakariko, yet prided himself on the work. Sure, he was nice enough to offer Zharen a job, as another absent-minded carpenter, but Zharen would never, ever, work for him. Instead Zharen spent his days cooped up in his room, leaving it as rarely as possible. And when night came, when the villagers returned to their houses and tucked themselves into their beds, he came outside and sat underneath the old tree to lose himself with his own thoughts. Yes, that tree had made a good companion. Such a shame it was dying. Even now, the dark brown bark had become duller and less colorful. The branches were bare and stripped from all its leaves, save one perfect, incandescent, and healthy leaf. It's only sign of life was that last leaf, and the tree seemed to know that too. It protected it with its other branches.

But the tree wasn't his only companion. No his other companion, and much more deeply loved, was a strange, blue feathered cucco named Cojiro. Zharen remembered the first time he met Cojiro. He had been still only a chick, and Zharen's sister, that cucco-obsessed woman, had helped raise him. Cojiro though, was brought to his attention because Cojiro also was an outsider. Because of his blue coat, Cojiro had never been accepted into the cucco's social class, and never would. And it was because of this fact, that drew Zharen close to him, and was also why Cojiro fell ill. Zharen's sister, Claudia, tried to help the poor bird, but her allergies to cuccos interfered. It was only because of the intervention of Zharen, and his profound love for the bird, that saved his life. Everyone could understand the attraction between the two: two beings, born different, rejected by their kinds, now bound together by their differences.

It was those very differences that also kept both of them away from everyone else. Zharen thought people were disgusting, and Cojiro had developed into a wild cucco. At least, whenever a "disgusting" person handled Cojiro, it would scratch, bite, and fly away. Where as whenever Zharen or Claudia handled Cojiro, the bird would become tame and lovable. It was strange, but it felt right. It was their hate for disgusting people that made them inseparable.

In fact, Cojiro was right next to him, watching him, with ever obedient eyes. He could tell through the cucco's eyes, that it didn't matter how ugly he truly was, or to everyone else, or how the other villagers treated him, the bird loved Zharen for who he was, and Zharen loved Cojiro too. Aside from the taunts of the other villagers, he and Cojiro had happy times. He remembered times when he, Cojiro, and his sister (when they were younger) would go inside the windmill right behind the village and dance to the melodies of the nice music man, who lived in the windmill and played his wonderful little music box. Cojiro especially loved those tunes. They would dance for hours on end, going around and around inside the windmill. Sadly, those times could never happen again. For some reason, the well by the windmill dried up and this somehow caused the music man to turn into a crazy old hermit. After all the other events that had happened around here: the death of Dampe the grave keeper, the red fiery cloud that now surrounded Death Mountain, the destruction of Hyrule castle, and the sudden influx of Hylian refugees seeking shelter at the village, it was no wonder that everybody these days seemed to be turning evil. But Zharen wasn't evil, he was not a monster. I really am a nice guy, he thought. Just misunderstood. That was definite. His father thought he was a worthless, lazy bum, his mother, broken down into a narrow-minded homemaker, simply agreed with everything her husband has said. His sister was just too busy raising her small flock of cuccos to even notice him, and Cojiro. . .well, Cojiro wasn't Hylian. Even though the cucco made a great companion, Cojiro couldn't even begin to understand Zharen. Nobody could. . .except Malon. Malon. . .

Zharen recalled the time when he had first met the simple country girl. It had been about a month ago, when his father took him to go to the ranch. That was strange enough by itself, normally his father couldn't stand being around him and Zharen never wanted to go anywhere with that cackling fool. But Zharen had gone to the ranch once before, many years ago, and he adored the horses that were there. At least they didn't make fun of him, and his father didn't want to make the trip alone, so off the went, to Lon Lon Ranch-well, actually Ingo Ranch these days, ever since the change of ownership.

They had crossed Hyrule Field and entered the familiar looking tract of land. It seemed that nothing much had changed since the last time Zharen came, same old stables, same trees, and the horse pen was still in the center of the ranch. His father hoped that was a good sign, since he had no idea how business with the new owner was going to be. He had gotten a call somewhere in the Gerudo Valley to repair something, Zharen couldn't remember what, and his father needed a few sturdy horses to carry supplies-and perhaps a few exhausted carpenters-to make the trip. Whatever it was, Zharen wasn't interested, as long as it meant that he wouldn't have to deal with his dad for a while, and he got to pet the horses. They soon met the new owner of the place, Ingo, a brightly dressed, scrawny fellow who was only concerned in raising the finest horses to offer the great Ganondorf. The three exchanged greetings and both Ingo and Zharen's dad conducted business. Zharen grew impatient, and had to nudge his father several times to get him to ask Ingo if he could pet the horses.

Ingo replied harshly, "Of course not. I run a respectable trade here young man. You see those horses in this here pen? Those are the most finest horses in all of Hyrule. I can't have some bum like you running your filthy hands through their combed manes. This is a ranch, not a petting zoo!" Zharen's dad guffawed loudly. Already, Zharen felt going on this trip was a mistake.

"But seriously now," said his father, "Can't the lad amuse himself over something in this fine ranch of yours? If he stays around here, he'll surely wreck our business dealings." Zharen lowered his eyes at both of them. Ingo started pulling at his moustache and considered what the man had said.

"Well. . .I got two worthless cows locked up in the stable back over by the entrance, you can go pet them. Better enjoy it son, 'cause one of them you ain't ever going to see again. . .that's my dinner tonight, heh heh heh." Zharen stormed off. He couldn't believe what a disaster this had turned into. Already he missed the former owner, Talon. Talon was shorter and fatter than Ingo. He was also more laid back and wasn't all business. If Talon was still running things here he would have surely allowed Zharen to pet the horses, not stupid cows who just stared at nothing and went mooo! All the time. Lousy Ingo, Zharen thought, I hope he chokes on that cow tonight.

Zharen reached the stable door and thought it over. Why should he even bother to pet cows? He might as well head on back to Kakiriko village. As he thought about it though, that would be a long walk back, and Zharen didn't want to have come here all for nothing, so he swung open the creaky old stable door and went inside. That's where he saw, her. She was the most prettiest thing he had ever seen. She was about Zharen's height, slim, and had the most shinest patch of copper red hair he had ever seen. She had dazzling blue eyes, and wore a simple white blouse with a long pink dress that went down to her ankles and a simple yellow scarf tied around her chest. It may have only been a plain outfit, but to Zharen, it was lovely. When she saw him burst threw the door though, and saw his pasty white complexion and bald head, she looked scared. Though Zharen was pleasantly surprised, the farm girl had a totally opposite reaction.

"Wh-who are you?" she said, taking a step back. Suddenly Zharen was thrown back into reality. He regained his thoughts and immediately knew the farm girl was scared of him. She may have been a beautiful person, but she was just another person who thought him ugly.

Dismayed by this, he replied, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I'll leave." Zharen turned towards the door.

"No, wait," she replied, a little ashamed at her rude behavior, "Don't go. It's been so long since we've had a visitor, and I-I was just a little startled at how you burst through the door. I thought you were Ingo."

Brightened by her invitation, Zharen turned back. The two introduced each other, and they soon had a wonderful conversation. The girl was named Malon, and she did most of the dirty work at the ranch. She was the daughter of the former owner, Talon, and she gave the ranch a loving touch. Zharen now recalled about Talon having a daughter. The first time he came to the ranch, he was just a boy, and she was still learning how to walk. It was annoying to Zharen how he could have forgotten about her, but, these things happen.

Zharen told her about his crummy life in the village, with some gruesome and humiliating details left out. He had to make a good impression, you know. He told her a little about the recent news that had happened that he knew, like rumors about the origin of a mysterious man named Sheik, and his valiant but futile attempts to defy the evil Ganondorf. And Malon told him about the day that Ganondorf made his appearance to the ranch when he rode in with his Gerudo stallion. It was the day that changed the entire ranch.

Ganondorf had arrived to appoint Talon as his personal horse breeder to provide him with the finest of horses. But Talon was scared stiff of his mighty presence that he couldn’t mutter a word. Ganondorf considered this as a sign of insolence and was angered, but then Ingo intervened, told Ganondorf how lazy Talon was and how unsuitable he would be to hold such an honorable position. Ingo was even so bold to offer Ganondorf a tour of the ranch, but he refused. Ganondorf keenly scrutinized both men: Talon, still terrified, could only mutter out unrecognizable words, and Ingo, though he was scared also, his head was tilted high and his eyes blazed with hope. The choice was clear, Talon just wasn’t ambitious or dedicated enough to hold its position. Ganondorf gave Ingo the title of horse breeder and even gave him the ownership of the ranch. Ganondorf was the King of Hyrule, he could do what he pleased. From then on, the ranch was never the same. Now that Ingo was the new owner, he set Talon to do all the hard work that he had done before. But Talon wasn’t used to doing the work, and made many mistakes, that eventually Ingo got fed up with his clumsiness and kicked him out of the ranch.

"I would have gone with him," Malon said, "But Ingo is so terrible with the horses, and if I were to leave, he’d treat them so. . .horribly. I do miss my father so, but I just can’t leave, for the horses’ sake."

Zharen listened intently and hung on to her every word. That vile Ingo! Zharen thought. How could he treat a lady, so lovely, so cold and mean? Why if he didn’t know any better he would go straight up to Ingo and slap him up silly. But that was something not inside of Zharen. Instead, the two talked about other things and became happier. Zharen told Malon that her father was doing fine, since he now resided at Kakariko Village, one of the many refugees who came in. At one point she asked if he talked to him lately and Zharen replied, "I don’t know, because, everytime I see him, he’s always sleeping." This made Malon laugh. It was the first real conversation Zharen had in a long time, and he loved every minute of it. Sure, the cows mooing in the distance was a slight annoyance, but Zharen had quickly forgotten that they were even there. Unfortunately, things don’t last forever. The stable door swung open and Zharen’s father and Ingo appeared.

"It’s time to go son!" his father barked, "Say good-bye to your new friend." Ingo appeared unhappy with the two of them together.

"Malon! Get up from the ground and go fill the troughs with cucco feed." Zharen got up and said good-bye to Malon, and left reluctantly with his father who had two new horses with him. The negotiating must have gone well.

As the two of them left the ranch Zharen heard Malon shout, "Feel free to come by any time."

. . .It felt like so long ago, yet Zharen could still remember every little detail. He always wanted to come back to the ranch, but Zharen feared that it would get Malon in trouble. His father had also warned him not to waste any more time with the girl, but he wasn’t around here in the village right now. He was still in Gerudo Valley with his dumb workers building. . .whatever. Regardless of what people told him, Zharen still had deep feelings for Malon, and concern for her well-being. Many times, under this same old tree, Zharen would fantasize about him and Malon together. He imagined he would dress up like a knight in shining armor, giant gleaming sword held in one hand, passing through the ranch, hunting for Ingo. He’d find the man who held a sword too, and they would have a tremendous sword fight, with Malon cheering for him. He of course, would knock Ingo’s sword away from him and Ingo, the despicable coward that he was, would go on his knees, begging for mercy. Then Zharen would have him apologize for treating Malon so badly, apologize for kicking her father out of the ranch, and finally apologize to him for even thinking he could beat him in a sword fight. Then Zharen would banish him from the ranch forever.

He dreamed of Malon, so overcome with joy, tears swelling in her eyes, and how he would take her in his arms, and give her a passionate kiss. Next Zharen would allow Talon to return to the ranch and run things again, and Malon would be so grateful that there would be no other choice but for the two of them to become married and spend the rest of their days at the ranch, together. And Cojiro, oh Cojiro would have a whole large tract of land to use for his own personal stomping grounds, and he would CUCCO! all day long, content. Then nobody would make fun of poor Zharen again. Oh, how that would be the day! But no, Malon would never accept such a hideous being like him to be her husband. Who could stand the sight of his large, bulbous head, pale white skin, and small beady eyes? No, that dream could never come true, no matter how much he marveled at it; it would never happen. . .until now.

This past morning one of his sister’s cuccos became extremely ill. No matter what Claudia did, she couldn’t help the poor thing. Now she always had a habit of staying by a sick cucco’s side until it got better, no matter how bad her allergic reactions became. She wouldn’t go anywhere, not even to eat, so it was just typical that she would ask Zharen to go to the old lady’s potion shop and buy some medicine.

Now Zharen hated the old hag. She was probably the worst antagonists he ever had to deal with-well, except for his father and that one guy in the red shirt who always laughed at him. She had, a long time ago, went off on some sort of field study and didn’t return back to the village for a long time, which Zharen had been glad and hoped she had gotten killed, but the old witch returned and reopened her store. She spent her days fiddling with potions, and experimenting on all sorts of strange and exotic things she brought back from her trip. She even brought back a small baby tiger she found somewhere and kept it for a pet. Well, Zharen knew that when he entered the store, he would have to face a barrage of insults from her before getting the medicine. Zharen walked to the store’s entrance, took a deep breath, and braced himself for the worst.

He entered the shop and immediately became intoxicated by all the aromatic smells one would usually find at a potion shop. There were large, burning cauldrons lined up on the right wall and behind the old lady and her counter, billowing out blue, red and green smoke. There were perfumed scents, bitter sulfuric scents, and other scents too difficult to describe, all combined into one potent, strong aroma.

As Zharen turned his sights to the back of the shop, there was the old lady, her gray hair, wrapped in a bun, her eyes all squinty and alert, her long nose sticking out, as if trying to free itself from such a gnarled and wrinkled body, and her favorite possession, her baby tiger, wrapped in the old lady’s arms, sleeping lazily. She was glaring at Zharen.

"What are you doing here goblin?" she screeched. Zharen hated being called that! "I was just in the middle of a conversation with the doctor here," she waved her had indicating the other visitor Zharen hadn’t noticed until now. He was an old man, with big bulging eyes, a hump on his back and wispy pointed hair sticking out from the sides of his head. He wore a black hat and gray and black clothing. He too, was looking at him.

"Oh, it’s quite alright," replied the doctor.

"Easy for you to say, you don’t know him," hissed the old hag, "He’s a monster, and I don’t like dealing with his kind. Now what do you want, goblin?"

Zharen gritted his teeth, "One of my sister’s cuccos is sick, and I need some medicine for it."

This seemed to calm the old lady down a little, "Oh yes, your sister and her strange obsession with cuccos. Let me go in the back, and see if I can find something, and don’t touch anything goblin!" She turned, with the tiger still wrapped in her arms, and disappeared in the back of her shop. Zharen took a glance at the doctor, who was still looking at him, curiously.

"Say young man," said the doctor, "You ever been to Lake Hylia?"

"No, never been there before," Zharen said hastily.

"Well, if you ever decide to go there, come check out my laboratory. You can’t miss it, it’s the only house by the lake."

"Yeah, sure," Zharen wasn’t in the mood to talk right now. He just wanted to get out of this accursed shop. The smoke was making his eyes water. There was a slight pause.

"You know the old lady here is like a student mine. I have taught her many things, and I’m happy to now she’s put them into good use. I’m also here because I want to hear her exciting adventure from her field study. You know it’s not like I can stop by here at any time, I have important experiments to conduct back at the lab. I’m lucky to have some time today to spare," the doctor chuckled. He was only amusing himself. The old lady finally returned with a bowl filled with some sickening, mushy green substance.

"Have the cucco drink all of this and it should feel better in a few hours," she said.

"How much is it?"

"Well, if your sister was here instead of you, I’d charge 20 rupees, but since I have to deal with the likes of you. . .30 rupees." Zharen angrily threw the money down the counter and took the medicine.

Once outside, Zharen gasped for the clean fresh air. He thought that the scents from the potion shop was rancid and he stood outside by the potion shop entrance for a few minutes to breathe. Just another humiliation dealt with, Zharen thought. He sighed, what a way to begin the day. As he stood outside by the door, Zharen could just barely make out the doctor and the old hag’s conversation. She was talking about her trip to the forest, but what she said next became music to Zharen’s ears.

". . .And when I arrived I found the forest to be a dreadful place. Evil creatures ran rampant throughout the area and I could not get a chance to explore it. But it was there that I heard rumors about a large thicket of trees known as the Lost Woods. Apparently many strange things grow there, some poisonous, some harmless, and some useful. Why they even say there is a certain object grown only there, that, if mixed with a few everyday substances, could alter the physical make up of a person; make them more lovelier to the eye, or so they say. Oh, if only I could just get my hands on some of the stuff there. . ." Zharen wanted to hear more about this strange object from the Lost Woods, but for some reason, the conversation abruptly stopped. Zharen put his head close to the door to hear more, when suddenly the door swung open and the old lady appeared. "You!" she exclaimed, "I thought I still smelled your horrible presence around. Get out of here, you little spy!" Zharen was so startled he almost dropped the potion he had just bought. He ran off immediately.

So that was it. That was the new hope he now lived for. A rumor about some strange object that he didn’t even know what it looked like, found only in the Lost Woods. It sounded so quirky, but it was Zharen’s only hope. He needed to obtain it, so Malon would like him and they could spend the rest of their lives together. It was his only chance, for true happiness. He knew it was dangerous to leave the village and go crossing Hyrule Field alone. And who knows what perils awaited him in that forbidden forest? It didn’t matter, he was tired of sitting underneath this tree all the time and feeling sorry for himself. It was time to take action.

Zharen had on him a few supplies for his trip. He had a small wooden box with

three small bags tied to it. One held a small sample of water, another, a red potion for extra energy, and the last one held a special powder that was believed to give good luck. His box held a few food rations, a couple of tools, a few more of his "lucky charms" and his newest edition: his father’s poacher saw. When his father left to the Gerudo Valley he had forgotten to bring it with him and left it in the house. Zharen had discovered it lying on the table, and he felt that somehow he needed to keep it, and now he was glad that he did, for the small saw with its double-sided teeth would be his only weapon against the evil creatures in the forest. He prayed it would be enough. In the middle of his thoughts, Cojiro let out a surprised squawk. Interested, Zharen turned to look at the bird.

"What is it Cojir-oh!" He jumped off the ground. Standing right behind him, was the old hag. She had moved so silently, and it was like she materialized out of thin air. She stood by him, solemnly. "Wha-what are you doing here?" Zharen asked. It was a good question, the old lady would never in her right mind seek him out. Her being here was very puzzling.

"I want to talk to you," she said.

"About what?"

"About what you heard me say to the doctor earlier this morning." She took a step further to him, which was a mistake. Cojiro also hated her, and he was on the brink of clawing her eyes out. He was already squawking and flapping his wings violently. The old lady just glanced at it. "I suggest you hold that silly bird back, before it becomes a new meal to my tiger cub." Zharen immediately held Cojiro back and wrapped the bird in both of his arms. "Now, as I was saying, I know what you heard this morning about that object, and I am fairly certain that you are foolish enough to go find it. Well I’m telling you, don’t go into the forest, it’s too dangerous for you there. Just forget this matter all together and stay in the village where you belong."

The old lady sounded sincere, but why did she suddenly care about him? "And since when did you ever care about me?"

The old lady let out a quick laugh, "I don’t. But I’m worried that you’ll upset the balance this world has with the forest and everything else. Your being there would already do that." Zharen stared at her, confused yet in awe by what she had just said.

Finally, he replied, "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"Outsiders should not go into the forest, that is a forbidden and sacred place. Mark my words goblin, don’t go chasing after some myth. I’m sure you are wise enough to agree." The old lady turned away, then she stopped and turned back. "Oh yes, while I was nearby the forest, I learned of an old saying the Kokiri, the people who live in the forest, have, ‘Those who go into the Lost Woods will be lost themselves.’ Strange words, eh?" Then as quickly as she had come, she had gone, and left Zharen alone to think of what she possibly could have meant by that.

After some thinking, he shrugged it off. Who needs her and her stupid advice anyway? He thought. She’s just trying to keep me away from helping myself. Stupid old witch, I’ll show her.

But one thing that the old lady was right about was that the forest undoubtedly was a dangerous place. A little too dangerous for a bird. He looked at Cojiro at whom he still held. There’s no way I can take Cojiro on such a dangerous journey such as this, he thought. I’ll have to leave him behind. So Zharen went to Claudia’s house, went inside her bedroom, and softly woke her up.

"Wha-what? Zharen? What are you doing here, waking me up so late at night?"

"I want you to do me a favor. Take care of Cojiro for me while I’m gone."

"What? Gone? Where are you going?"

"I-I can’t tell you. Look it doesn’t matter right now. You’re the only other person besides me who can tame Cojiro. And you’re the only other person here that I trust. I’m going somewhere that’s too dangerous for him. Please. You must look after him while I’m gone."

His sister looked at him seriously for a moment. She was wide awake now, "Zharen, what is this all about?"

"Nothing!" Zharen was losing his patience. "Look, this. . .this is something I just have to do. I can’t explain it to you but just know that this is important to me. Just promise me you’ll take care of Cojiro. Promise me!" After studying her eccentric brother for a moment, she realized there was nothing she could do to change his mind. Her brother was always a strange one. She merely nodded. "Okay, thank you sis." Zharen then turned his attention onto Cojiro. He placed the bird on Claudia’s bed. "I’m sorry Cojiro, but I can’t take you with me, it’s not safe for you where I’m going." The bird seemed to sense what was going to happen and he looked at Zharen with tearful eyes. "Don’t worry, Claudia will take good care of you, you won’t even notice I’m gone." He gave the bird one last hug, and then handed the cucco over to his sister. Zharen addressed them both, "Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long, and I will return, and as a new man, I promise." Then Zharen turned around and left. Both Cojiro and Claudia stared back at him. Cojiro, saddened, by the departure of his master, let out a long, mournful cry, and then it was silent.

Now that that was settled, Zharen could embark on his new journey. He was as prepared as he was going to be, and was just about to leave the village, when he remembered to say good-bye to his other friend. He went back to the old dying tree, that wonderful, memorable tree, where he had sat under every night for as long as he could remember. He looked at the dried bark, the withered branches, and the one green, healthy leaf that hung on one of the branches. The only sign of life left from the tree. "Good-bye my friend," Zharen said sincerely, "I must leave now, to face my destiny. But don’t you worry, I will return, and as a new man, you’ll see. Just hang on until when I get back."

And with that last line, Zharen headed out of Kakiriko village, to, as he had said it, face his destiny and only hope he could find what he was searching for. But first, he had to cross a long stretch of land, which was known as Hyrule Field, and prayed that he wouldn’t run into anything awful there.

Zharen was so eager to leave the village that he never felt the slight cold breeze of the wind blow. It wasn’t any fierce gust at all, but it was powerful enough to rip free that last shiny leaf, the last sign of life, that remained on the tree’s gnarled old body. And as the wind passed through its branches, it was like as if the tree’s entire body shuddered, in one last death throe, and finally gave up its life.

While only taking a few steps into the vast field, Zharen stood gazing at it in awe. Definitely this would take a lot of walking to get to the forest, it lied on the other side of the field. The trip could take about a day or two, maybe even three, but Zharen didn’t have enough rations to hold that long a time. With a deep breath, he regained his wits and started moving, the soft crunch of the grass sounded delightful to Zharen as he walked.

While walking, Zharen took in all the sights, though there really wasn’t much to be seen: a few large boulders were lying around, several old and broken fences stuck out from the ground, their usefulness and purpose were long since done. A flock of birds flew above him in the night sky, in their V-shaped form, cawing incoherent commands only they themselves understood. And to his right stood the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town. Zharen thought about that. The town, who, long ago, used to be the most majestic, lively, and eye catching place of all Hyrule. And on the top of the hill directly behind the town stood the tall spires, walls, and towers of the most famous landmark of all, Hyrule Castle. Zharen always wanted to go there, he always hoped his father would have some business to do over there and they could both go, even if he did hate his dad. But the stubborn old man refused to leave Kakiriko Village until the worthless old town was built, and by the time it was finished, Ganondorf had taken over Hyrule. And now it was too late: the town was in ruins and the castle was totally demolished. In its place, stood the dark, intimidating shadow known as Ganon’s Castle. It was built by dark magic by the Evil King. A permanent residence, built by his majesty, for his majesty. That town used to stand for peace, justice and prosperity. Now it stood for oppression, futility and malice.

My, my, how things can change in time. Who would have ever thought things would have become as bad as this? Zharen stopped thinking about the castle and turned his sights on Ingo Ranch. He wasn’t that far from the place anyway, and as Zharen started thinking about it and Malon, he unconsciously started heading in that direction. Before he became really close to the ranch, he started wondering why he was going there instead of the forest. It was very clear that Zharen just had to take one more look at Malon again. This was ridiculous though, it was the middle of night, she’d be asleep, and Ingo would not appreciate him arriving at his ranch at this time. Nevertheless, a deep urge in Zharen made him walk over to the ranch and before he knew it he was right outside the door of Ingo’s and Malon’s living quarters.

He thought it over, he wanted to see Malon again, but there was no way he could sneak past Ingo. Instead he looked up, and saw that the second story of the house had a window, which was now open. There was no way of climbing up the house itself, the walls were just too smooth. But there was a tall tree lying a few meters away from the house that he could climb and look through the window. Zharen went up the tree, and climbed high enough to look inside the window. What was he doing? He had to concentrate on his quest. This whole idea of watching her sleep was stupid, but. . .he just couldn’t say no to it, and there he was, peering through the window and seeing an ordinary bedroom. There was a wooden dresser lined up to the wall farthest from his view, a small table right in front of his perspective, with a few vases and a short, single burning candle on it. Then there was the bed, right behind the table, with the sleeping form of Malon tucked away inside! Zharen’s eyes grew wide, she looked so cozy, and ever so beautiful. Why, he wished he could be in the bed with her! He also thanked the lone, melting candle and its reliable flame, the light was just enough to illuminate her and her hair, which seemed to shimmer by the candle light. Zharen started wondering why she had forgotten to blow it out. Perhaps she had been waiting? Waiting for someone to whisk her away from all her problems? Zharen was becoming uncomfortable with all these strange thoughts. Why did he think of such strange things amidst her presence, and why couldn’t he take his eyes off her? Finally, Zharen started to think logically. He knew he wasn’t doing himself or her any good by just watching her bedroom from this tree. He needed to continue his quest. Still, it had been a long time since he had seen her, and in doing what he did, he had fulfilled a need deep down inside of him. It brought back his morale and determination. Don’t worry Malon, things will get better soon.

He climbed down the tree and walked back to the ranch’s entrance. It was time to resume his quest. Now though, he felt more alive and energetic, he would succeed in his quest. With a new profound joy, he began to walk back on Hyrule Field, much more confident with himself. Perhaps a little too over confident, he wasn’t just walking, now he was strutting, nor was he aware of his surroundings anymore; he started having delusions of grandeur. It was probably for these reasons, that fate had come by and played a vile trick on Zharen. He had only been walking for a few minutes when he heard a strange whirring sound behind him, which then changed to a sound of something floating in the air. The hairs on the back of his neck stood stiff, and Zharen got a bad feeling when he slowly turned around to see what was behind him, and what he saw, nearly made him jump out of his skin. A hovering shape stood right behind him. It had a large grin on its face, but not a friendly one; it was much like a crocodile’s when its hunting for prey. It had yellow glowing eyes, and it carried an old lantern in one hand. There was no mistake, that thing was a poe!

Terrified, there was only one thing Zharen could do, and that was to run! Zharen took off, frantic. He heard the poe let out a sinister laugh, and saw it chasing after him. This was not good! Normally poes disappeared quickly when spotted, but this one was different. Poes were ghosts filled with concentrated anger. They hated the world! And with the world so screwed up as it was, who could blame them? But the problem was that with more evil spreading through out the land, the more of them there were, scouring the land. The only thing poes wanted to do, was to find living things, spook them well, harm them, and/or kill them, and this poe was no exception.

"Geez! Somebody help me!" Zharen screamed, his pleas going unanswered, with nobody around to hear them except for the poe bearing down at him, taking special delight in his fear. This was too much, Zharen was running around the field and was quickly running out of breath. He sure wished he had exercised a little more. No matter how quickly he ran though, he couldn’t shake this spook off. He quickly learned that running around in circles wasn’t going to stop the poe from chasing him, so he thought desperately. He then recalled a time where he had heard a couple villagers talking about the growing presence of poes in the graveyard behind the village. It was from that conservation that Zharen learned that poes hated water. That was it! It was the only pure, good, and life giving source left in this land, and poes were the exact opposite of that. He had to get to a water source, and fast! His lungs were collapsing. There were two water sources in Hyrule: Lake Hylia, which was way down the other side of the field and way too far of a marathon run for Zharen, and then there was Zora’s River, which slowly crept its way down to the lake. That river was about 300 meters away from him, but it was his only chance. He quickly changed direction and headed for the river. He could barely breathe now, he was gasping for breath and his legs were starting to fail him, but he dared not stop, for that would mean certain doom. Finally he reached the river and he quickly plunged in, unthinking, the poe was a mere inches away from him! When he ran straight into the river, he tripped over a small rock in the river bed and landed stomach first into the freezing cold water. As for the poe, which had chased Zharen at such a high speed, couldn’t stop in time and Zharen’s fall splashed the water onto the ghost’s body. It let out a high pitched scream, and quickly dematerialized.

It took a few moments before Zharen realized he had lost the Poe. When he landed on his stomach, it knocked the wind out of him and his body just floated in the water. But as he started breathing again, his body recognized the cold temperature of the water and he rushed out of the river, shivering. What a terrible start to his quest. Now he was tired and he was freezing. He sat huddled by the river and allowed his body to rest from the run, and recover from the water. He then remembered that the river’s source, Zora’s Domain, had frozen over, which caused the river to become so cold. Plus the night air didn’t help much either, Zharen only hoped he wouldn’t catch pneumonia. He couldn’t believe how quickly things had turned bad. He had just gotten even farther away from the forest, been chased by a ghost, and was dripping wet. Well, it was time to start moving, if Zharen hoped to reach the forest in just two days, and before the poe returned. He took off at a fast pace, wrapping his arms around himself, still shivering from the cold.

After about 2 hours of walking, the morning sun came out, and it spread its warmth throughout the land. However, Zharen’s body was completely dry by then, and his pants were just damp, but it still felt good. After a couple more hours walking, the time being close to noon, Zharen stopped, ate a ration, found a comfortable spot on the field, and slept. When he awoke and continued his trek, the sun had already begun to set. By midnight, Zharen had reached the entrance to the forest and without any other poes or monsters chasing him. By the forest entrance, there was a couple of dead trees spread about, outcasts from a society who was still growing and living. Zharen looked at the cracked and splintered trunks, the decayed branches and the termites that were undoubtedly chewing up their insides. Zharen ran his hand onto the trunk of one and sadly replied, "I know how you feel."

Turning back to the forest entrance, Zharen took a deep breath. He had made it, he was about to enter forbidden territory, where his kind wasn’t supposed to venture into, and he was a long ways from home. Who knew what dangers lurked in this peculiar and mysterious area or what he would see? He still didn’t even know what exactly he was looking for. He only hoped he recognized it when he saw it. This was it, there was no turning back from here. Zharen collected every ounce of his courage and determination-he knew he would succeed. Slowly but surely, he proceeded into, the deep unknown.

Chapter 4

As Zharen passed by the first group of trees grown in this region he got scared. It was the eve of night and the trees steadily grew taller and thicker as he kept walking. Soon, the next group of trees were so tall and thick, they blocked out the moon’s light; Zharen’s only light source. As he continued walking there became more and more trees around him and it soon became pitch black. Zharen found himself groping blindly through the darkness, occasionally tripping over twigs and rocks and bumping into trees. It was so hard to see, Zharen could barely make out the outlines of the trees. It became very unnerving, and it was so quiet. The silence was broken only by his raspy breathing and rapid heart beats.

Then Zharen thought he had heard a sound. He stopped, and tried to look around, but the darkness would not relent. He couldn’t see anything, so he started walking again, convincing himself it was just his imagination. But he knew he had heard something and his ears strained to hear it again, and after a few minutes, his ears did pick up on the same sound.

"Who’s there?" Zharen shouted. But there was only silence, and nothing responded back but the resonating echoes of his last remark. As he walked again, he sped up his pace, and listened cautiously and alertly. The sound came back, only this time, it became more distinct. The sound were whispers, he heard them all around him. At first he couldn’t make out what they were saying, but as he continued to move forward, through each step, the whispers became more and more louder, and Zharen swore the words they were saying sounded like the word "Outsider." Outsider, that word was coming from everywhere. "Who’s doing that?" Zharen demanded. Still, nothing responded back, only the constant whispers that were not fading out, but growing louder. As his fear and paranoia increased, he thought the murmurs were coming out of the very trees themselves. They kept saying the word, "Outsider, outsider," and as he changed his pace into a fast run, the murmurs turned into "turn back, turn back, turn back!" The trees were saying this to him? Was he going insane? How could it be? Zharen placed his hands over his ears and continued running, tripping over roots and shrubs. The whispers would not go away. A snag finally caught his ankle and he fell onto the ground.

"Outsider, turn back, turn back, turn back now!"

Zharen closed his eyes and screamed with the top of his lungs, "Leave me alone!" Immediately after he had shouted this, the murmurs were gone, silence returned to him and the only sound he heard was his wild panting and the echoes of his last command. Slowly, he opened his eyes, got up from the ground, and dusted himself off. He then noticed that he could see more clearly in this area. The thick growth of trees were finally subsiding. Zharen walked and passed the last barrier of trees when he saw a large forest clearing. As he scoped out the area, he saw that this clearing was made for a village. They were several trees strewn about the area, but on closer analysis, these trees had doors, windows, and chimney pipes integrated with the bark. They were tree houses, so to speak. Aside from them, there was a massive growth of grass and plants, there were two large hills placed to the sides of Zharen’s current position. Vines grew on their steep walls, and a small river ran by on the far side of the clearing. He had never seen so much green before. But the most important part to Zharen was that he could see the night sky again.

Still, Zharen stared at this place in awe. It was wonderful, a whole civilization, hidden from the rest of the world by forest-well civilization wasn’t the right word. A good-sized village was fine. It was thrilling to Zharen to see how different this village was compared to Kakariko. Here, it seemed that the villagers had a strong relationship to their environment-instead of destroying the landscape to build the village, they simply integrated it together, how ingenious. I’m glad to have come here, thought Zharen, a few people have only seen what I now see, and many will not get the chance. Zharen started walking towards the village to get a more closer look. He then noticed something odd about this forest paradise. Though it was beautiful and impressive, it was so. . .dead. It was unnaturally quiet. There wasn’t anyone outside, the houses looked deserted, and there wasn’t any torches lit from outside. Why? What could have caused such silence?

The answer came right to him as he had finished that last thought. He heard a loud "plop" from his right, and before he knew it, a giant plant burrowed straight out from the ground. That is, it looked like a plant. It’s size was impressive, since it was a few feet taller than Zharen. It had a long, slender, green stem and a large, dark blue flower bulb on the end of the stem. But as its stem started to move around and its bulb split into two halves, it started resembling some sort of carnivorous animal.

"What in the world?" Zharen began to say, but then was cut off when the plant made a lunge at him. Zharen barely avoided it and rolled away to his left. It now seemed that the split bulb resembled more of a gaping mouth, and it looked like it wanted Zharen as a next meal! Zharen immediately ran back from it, not beliving what he saw. The thing started clapping its bulb/mouth together, sort of a Hylian equivalent for licking one’s lips, and it seemed to stare at him, awaiting his next move. It couldn’t possibly be though, it had no eyes. As Zharen tried to make something out of this thing, he heard another "plop" directly behind him and another one of those things sprung from the ground. This one wasted no time in trying to take a bite out of him. But Zharen moved fast and leapt away from it also. How many of these things were there?

But when Zharen walked away from them, he noticed they weren’t giving chase. Apparently, they really were plants, for they were fixed onto the ground. All they could do was stretch their stems out as far as they could reach. Thank goodness they weren’t mobile. However, they both were staring at them and clapping their mouths together, daring him to move closer to them.

Zharen walked away from the plant monsters and hoped there weren’t any more surprises around. He kept looking back at them, who still were poised to attack, and he glanced at all directions, trying to anticipate another attack, but even in doing so, he didn’t see the flying hard nut that hit him in his back.

"Oww!" Zharen exclaimed. That blow felt like it had shattered his back, and it knocked him down. Where had that come from? As he turned towards the direction of the flying nut he saw a weird, bushy looking thing staring at him from several meters away. That wasn’t there before! It was wearing this coat of bright red and orange leaves and had a broad, gaping mouth. It was only half the size of Zharen and although it looked harmless, it shot out another nut form its big mouth. It was aimed directly at him again! Zharen rolled out of the way and the nut exploded on the ground a foot away from him, the detonation sending bits of shrapnel that lodged into his skin. Zharen winced in pain and quickly clambered back on to his feet. Suddenly, the leafy creature let out a quick, high-pitched whistle, and shortly after, a dozen more of those things popped out of the ground. At first they looked disoriented and stared at each other, but then they all set their sights on him, and he gasped in horror as they let loose a barrage of nuts. By the goddesses! He was surrounded.

He tried to run but as he moved more of those plant things shot out from the ground to eat him. And where ever he looked, there seemed to be another nut flying into his vision. This was terrible! The way that he had entered the forest was now blocked and he was in great danger! His only hope now was to seek shelter in one of those abandoned tree houses. He immediately ran to the one that was closest to him, it was situated on top of the hill to his right, and he climbed upwards, dodging nuts and plants. He was almost at the house when the last monster he ran by made its appearance. This one was another plant-thing, but this one was huge! It was twice the size of the others, and had a more longer reach. When Zharen ran by it, the thing made another lunge at him and Zharen almost got eaten when, he dove to the ground and somersaulted, and barely missed getting himself chomped. As Zharen got back to his feet, the thing retracted and made one last effort to engage him, but he was positioned just a little too far away from its reach. It’s large mouth came only a mere few inches away from Zharen’s head, and he froze up, staring into the huge thing’s slobbering mouth. That thing could have swallowed him up in one gulp! As it retracted, Zharen ran immediately to the tree house and avoided yet another flying nut. He reached the tree house’s small wooden door, but found it locked. Zharen let out a curse and took a few steps back from the door. He was going to have to ram it. Letting out a wild scream, he took off and rammed the door through with his shoulder. The entire door flew out with him and both he and the door slammed onto the ground, Zharen’s chin struck the top of the door as he fell on top of it. The fall took a lot out of him, and as he tried to look up, he noticed that the tree houses weren’t actually deserted after all. He managed to see three shadowy shapes inside the tree house standing over him, before he succumbed to the darkness. . .

When Zharen got back to his senses, he had a terrible headache. He didn’t even know where he was. Once again, his heart started pounding with fear.

"Well, it’s about time you woke up," said a strange voice from Zharen’s right. It sounded like the voice of a child. "You know, even though you got some guts barging through our door like that, you’re pretty weak for a meanie."

"What?" Zharen asked. It was then that everything came back to him. He was inside one of the tree houses in the forest he had sought refuge from after escaping the monsters outside. He tried to move his arms, but then realized he couldn’t, they were tied behind some ancient wooden chair that he was sitting on and had been sitting on for quite some time. His behind felt sore, and the chair was uncomfortable, its small size was evident that it was made for shorter people. But why was he tied up? What in the name of the Sacred Realm was going on? "Why did you tie me up?" He strained his eyes to see his captors, but all he could see were three silhouettes lurking in the dark shadows and recesses of the eerie but cozy looking tree house. There was a fireplace by the far wall to his left, but the fire was almost dead, and wasn’t radiating much light anymore.

"Don’t try to play dumb, monster," another child-like voice spoke, "We’re too smart for your games." Zharen winced at the word "monster." He didn’t even know who these people were or what they even looked like and already they were calling him names, like everyone else. Was there no escape? He thought it over, they must believe I’m one of those monsters outside. I better explain to them otherwise before they do something stupid.

"Hey, I’m not a monster, okay? I’m an outsider visiting the forest."

"Sure you are," said another, that same child-like voice was driving Zharen mad.

"We’ve seen outsiders before," said the person who first spoke, "They have light colored skin, big patches of hair on their heads, and a lot more attractive looking than you. You look hideous. You must be a monster."

"That’s right. And now we have you all tied up, and there’s no way you’re going to harm anybody else anymore." Zharen couldn’t believe how narrow-minded these twerps were. How could they be so stereotypical and judgmental after they created this beautiful village in the middle of the forest, with no outside help at all? How could they assume he was a monster just because he looked different from the other outsiders, or his fellow Hylians, whom they were referring to.

"Look," Zharen said, frustrated, "I am an outsider. Why-why else would I be carrying a box filled with food, water and tools?" Speaking of his box, where was it? He started looking for it and saw it on an oak table with all his possessions strewn about.

"Perhaps, you stole them from somebody," said one.

"And then you ate the rightful owner of the box," added another. Zharen’s anger was building up.

"Hey! That stuff is mine! All of it! I’m telling you, I didn’t steal that from anybody. It’s mine and you have no right going through my stuff!" Zharen was trying hard to free his bound arms, but the rope that tied them together was tough. He squirmed around violently, he wanted to attack these people, their child-like voices and faces hidden in shadow were infuriating him. The three were silent for a while, then they grouped together and began conversing silently to each other, meanwhile Zharen struggled desperately to free himself, futilely using up all his energy. Finally, the three turned back to face him and one spoke,

"Well, then outsider. You have some interesting tools here. We will unbind you, but you must repair that door you broke. If you do this, without attacking us, we will then believe that you truly are an outsider and treat you as our guest. But be warned, we may be small, but we can defend ourselves fairly well. Try to attack us, and you will feel the blinding flash of our forest nuts and find yourself tied up again. And if you decide to escape well. . .you’ve seen how bad it is outside, and no other door will open up to you. Do you understand?" Zharen acknowledged this by nodding his head, and then the boys started lighting up candles that were all along the house’s wall. With the extra light, Zharen finally saw what his captors looked like, and he was astonished. His captors were merely. . .children! They were three boys who were dressed up in funny looking green clothes and green stocking caps on the tops of their heads. Zharen couldn’t believe he had been tied up by three little kids, how irritating! One of the boys came behind him and freed his arms. Zharen had to resist the urge of backhanding the little brat. Instead, he collected his tools and looked at the door he had broken. It wasn’t that bad, the door itself was fine, it was just ripped free of its hinges. The door still lied on the ground and as he looked back at the entrance, he noticed a blanket had been tacked on the top of the doorway, obviously to prevent the wind from blowing in.

The task seemed simple enough, and Zharen took down the blanket and got to work on the door. He occasionally asked the boys for a few materials, and they gave them to him without question. In about 10 minutes, the door was back as it once was, the only last bit of incriminating evidence that showed what Zharen had done was a slight dent or warp in the outer side of the door, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. Being a carpenter’s son, you’re bound to pick up on a few tricks, and Zharen actually managed to make the hinges more strength enforced. The boys watched him finish, and tension in the atmosphere started to fade.

"Hey, mister, sorry about treating you so roughly. It’s just that you look different from the rest of the other outsiders."

"Don’t worry about it," Zharen replied, "I get that a lot."

"So who are you anyway and what’s your reason for coming to the forest?" Zharen felt a little uneasy making conversation with these kids, and he didn’t want them to know his problems. But they did live around this area, and probably would know their way around the forest much better than Zharen. He stared down at these kids, they looked much alike, they must be brothers.

The boy who had spoken first responded to the other boy, "That’s a little rude to ask our tired guest that after such a long journey."

The boy grew defensive, "I was just asking. It’s just that every outsider we meet has their own interesting story for searching for it, and I want to hear his." Indicating Zharen.

"It’s not for you to order him to tell you his story,"

"Well, it’s a long story, and I don’t want to bore you guys with it," Zharen interjected.

The boy who was getting lectured by the other immediately exploded into a whine, "Oh you won’t bore us! Please mister, tell us your story, you do have a lot of time to wait."

"Wait?"

"Yes, wait until it is safe again. I’m sure you’ll want to go outside and start looking for it as soon as possible, but you must wait until it gets safe."

The boy who hadn’t said anything for a while noticed Zharen was confused and explained, "He means when the meanies outside go dormant, or most of them anyway. See they’re very less active during late afternoon, and then you have a few hours to stroll through the village unmolested, if you’re quiet enough, before night approaches and they go active again."

Zharen started to understand, "And exactly what time is it now?"

The boy who seemed to be the leader of them all, cut in, "Well, you were out for a couple hours, and it will be dawn soon. So you still have plenty of time to relax in here before it gets safe outside." Zharen thought it over carefully. They were just children anyway, and what harm could there be in bearing his soul with them? If what they said were true, then he needed something to do to pass the time with, so he sat down once again to the chair that he had been tied down with and began telling them about his rotten life, how his father and everyone else treated him, how he observed the world slowly becoming worse and worse, then finished off with the rumors of what the old lady said and the events in his journey that led him here. He purposely left out his feelings for Malon and him even meeting her because the kids would probably start teasing him about it. When he finished telling his story, the boys seemed very enwrapped with it, but they were exchanging puzzled glances with each other.

Finally the leader spoke, "So, you, you’re not searching for it then?" Zharen thought that what the boys had referred to was the beauty-giving item he wanted to obtain. What else could they possibly be referring to?

"What do you mean?"

"Aren’t you also looking for the secret to eternal life. . .or to more eloquently put it, the fountain of youth?" That remark surprised Zharen, he had never heard anything about that.

"What? No! I’m looking for the fountain of beauty-er-if it is a fountain, it may be something else. I’m still not quite sure what exactly it is, like what I mentioned earlier." The boys started snickering.

"Boy, aren’t you different from the crowd. So you’re not looking for the secret of eternal life, instead you are looking for some kind of object that will make a person beautiful." More snickers erupted, "Well, from your position, I could understand why you would be searching for something like that, if such a thing even exists." That sent a shock to Zharen. Not exist? What did they mean, not exist? These kids had no idea what they were talking about.

"Now wait a second! I was told from a very reliable source that I could find such a thing here. Well, not exactly this very place, but-in the Lost Woods." He suddenly remembered something, "The Kokiri! Where are they? Surely they would know what I’m talking about. Tell me where they are!" Zharen ordered. To his dismay, this only made the boys laugh even harder. "What? What is so funny?"

"You!" the boys cackled, "What a silly creature you are, to walk so blindly into a land you know absolutely nothing about. We’re the Kokiri!" That line produced even more shock waves into Zharen. How could that be? This was nothing like he pictured the Kokiri to be. Surely they must be teasing him.

"But-but, you’re just children."

"Well obviously to you, we look like children. But I tell you, we’re certainly are a lot older than you."

"Older than me? What in the name of the Triforce are you talking about?" Things were just becoming more and more bizarre to Zharen. The boys gave him a look of disgust.

"You still haven’t figured it out yet?" said the leader, with a sarcastic tone in his voice, "We Kokiri, have been blessed with the gift of eternal life. We never age. For what other reason would so many outsiders come into our forest and search so vainly for our secret?" Zharen started putting two and two together and slowly absorbed all of the information. They were probably telling the truth, though Zharen could still not believe it. He had always pictured the Kokiri as some sort of wild tribe, like the Gorons who lived in the mountains. A tribe that wore loincloths, and slept in tents, that danced around a camp fire and hunted animals and fed off them. He never expected anything like this! How naVve I’ve been, to walk blindly into some strange land, to not even know who the people were, or what I’m even looking for. Realization then dawned on him that he had also created a similar stereotype that the kids had done to him. Looks like I’ve been a narrow-minded twerp also. Zharen decided to change the subject.

"So what do you guys call yourselves anyway?"

"Well, the Kokiri, but if you want to get more specific, we are called the Know-It-All Brothers!" the leader of them spoke, emphasizing the name.

"Hmm. If it’s true that you all, in fact, ‘know it all,’ then shouldn’t you know exactly what it is I’m looking for?" Zharen questioned. This took the brothers aback.

"Uhh, you see, we don’t have much knowledge about the object you’re looking for. If it’s true that the object is found in the Lost Woods, then you’re going to have to ask someone else. We haven’t been over there in a long time, in fact, we haven’t been much of anywhere, not with all the meanies outside."

Zharen sighed, but he wasn’t yet to be discouraged. He tried another approach, "Well, you must have seen an old lady who came by here sometime ago. She’s the one who heard about it here."

A look of recollection spread over the leader’s face, "Yeah her. I remember her, but the funny thing was that none of us brothers got the chance to speak to her at all. She must have heard it from another of the Kokiri here. We’re a small village, and if you’re brave enough to go house to house and inquire, you’ll probably find the one who knows about it."

Zharen scoffed, "Oh sure. Like I’m going to go outside amongst those monsters knocking door to door and have all your friends mistake me for a monster like you guys did." That made the Know-It-All Brothers silent. After a short pause, another one spoke,

"Well, there is someone who knows just about everything there is in the Lost Woods. Her name is Saria, and-and if she was here, she’d tell you where to find what you’re looking for. But. . .she’s gone."

"No she isn’t, spoke the leader, "She’ll come back."

"Oh yeah?" the boy retorted, "When? She’s been gone for like 6 years now. She’s not coming back." Zharen interrupted,

"Wait, wait. Who is this Saria, where did she go, and why isn’t she coming back?"

The leader eagerly made a discussion, "Saria is another Kokiri, who spent most of her time in the Lost Woods. She’s very nice and understanding. But you see, when the meanies started terrorizing our village, she felt that she needed to do something. She went to the Forest Temple believing that was the source of the trouble. It’s right behind the Lost Woods. But she hasn’t come back yet, and nobody really knows what happened to her. Last thing we knew was that she was waiting for. . .him." Him? Who was him? These blasted Kokiri, they always seem to have the habit of leaving out certain parts of their stories. It’s probably better not to ask, I’m just going to have to find this Forest Temple and bring her back.

But as if they had been reading his mind, the leader instantly added, "But don’t think you can just stroll on inside the Forest Temple. You have to find your way through the Lost Woods first, and the Lost Woods is a magical place. If you go the wrong way, you will get lost and head back to the village. And trust me, there are a hundred of wrong ways to go. And even if you could find your way through, Mido, our leader, would never permit you to. . .Hey! That’s it!" the boy suddenly exclaimed, "Mido went into the Lost Woods under Saria’s promise to keep anyone else from entering the Forest Temple. He’s bound to know the object you’re looking for, he knows almost as much stuff about the Lost Woods as Saria, and he should be more easier to find there."

Well, finally, a piece of good news. All three boys unanimously agreed that was the best plan to follow, and Zharen couldn’t think of anything better. He didn’t know what to expect of this Mido, or how hard it would be to find him, but he knew it would be his best chance. The only thing to do right now was to rest and prepare for his journey into the forbidden Lost Woods. Now that that was settled, and with the first light of day making its appearance onto the forest, Zharen decided to sleep and wait for the time when it would be safe to continue his quest. He found a comfortable place on the floor to sleep on, close by to the fireplace, and the Know-It-All Brothers followed suit. Apparently, all four of them were exhausted from the events of this evening. But instead of sleeping on the floor, they had comfortable beds to sleep on. It didn’t matter to Zharen anyway, the beds were made only for their size, and wouldn’t be comfortable to rest on for such a tall guy like him. They gave him the blanket that had been hanging on the doorway and Zharen wrapped it around his body, and quickly fell asleep.

When Zharen awoke, he noticed that the three boys were sitting together by the table where he had first seen his box with its items dumped out. His box now lied on the ground with everything put back in it just as it was before. They were dining on something inside of three wooden bowls placed in front of them and using wooden spoons to eat out of it. Zharen let out a good stretch and got up to take a look outside of the window. Judging by the sun’s position, it was around four o’clock. Geez, I must have been really tired.

"Did you get enough sleep?" spoke one of the boys, "We thought that since you will be leaving soon to resume your journey, you would need every second of it." Zharen looked over in their direction. He found that he had been moved over from the fireplace to the other side of the house. As he turned towards the fireplace, he saw a large pot was burning over the fire, which was now much more alive than last night. An interesting and delicious smell wafted from the pot and spread over the house. By smelling it, his stomach rumbled.

"What is it that you guys are eating?" Zharen asked as he approached the boys.

"It’s vegetable stew. It’s made up of vegetables that are grown through out the forest and smothered with our special sauce made from our secret recipe. Try some, it’s good." Zharen hesitated, he wasn’t the sort of person who liked to eat vegetables. "Look, you still have about an hour before the meanies go dormant, and this stew has some essential nutrients that will serve you well in your quest. It’s not so hard to at least try some." Zharen decided to follow suit since he was absolutely starving, and sat down by the table. He wished he had meat instead. One of the boys walked over to the fireplace and served up the stew in an identical wooden bowl and gave it to him with a spoon. When Zharen looked at the concoction, it reminded him of that horrid medicine he had bought from the old hag a few days ago, only this smelled better. Zharen sampled some of the green mush and realized that it wasn’t half bad.

As the hour passed, Zharen ate the stew and conversed with the Know-It-All Brothers. This time, they told him about the history of the forest. They said that about six years ago, when the village was peaceful and none of the creatures outside existed, a mysterious person named Sheik came to the forest and warned them about an evil man who would come by soon and destroy the forest. The evil man appeared quicker than even Sheik had thought and rode into the forest with a black horse (They obviously meant Ganondorf). But it wasn’t the first time that they had seen him before; he came one time into the forest back in the days when the Great Deku Tree was still alive. The Great Deku Tree was the forest deity that was the father of the Kokiri and great protector of the forest. Ganondorf wanted something of the Great Deku Tree earlier but he never gave it to him, and was able to protect the Kokiri from his wrath. But the Great Deku Tree was now dead, and only the Kokiri alone could defend themselves from the man’s evil power. They even said that they had been successful! Ganondorf gravely underestimated them, and with the help of Sheik and wisdom of Saria, they humiliated him and drove him away. Unfortunately, he soon returned, furious, and brought a group of giants with him to get what he wanted to obtain, the entrance into the Forest Temple. This time, the Kokiri were powerless to stop them. As they reached the Forest Temple, Ganondorf used his dark magic to turn the sacred place into a shrine of evil. That evil spread throughout the forest and allowed Ganondorf to create those monsters that were now plaguing the village and keeping the Kokiri imprisoned inside their own houses, as punishment for their insolence. Sheik managed to escape Ganondorf’s wrath, but since he had failed to keep the evil King from getting what he wanted, he didn’t return to the forest. And then Saria left for the Forest Temple in an attempt to change its fate. As for the giants, they were now the guardians to the Temple’s entrance, and only by passing through them, could one gain access. It were all those dangers that Mido stood guard in the Lost Woods, to ensure that no one could ever get anywhere close to the Forest Temple.

Zharen absorbed all this new information with keen interest. Looks like no far stretch of land remained untouched by Ganondorf’s hands. This would make an interesting story to tell back in Kakiriko, a sad one but interesting enough. . .if he lived to tell it. He still had to enter the Lost Woods and find Mido. The time to depart was drawing closer and Zharen had finished his second helping of the stew and was about to get up from the table to gather his belongings when he realized he still didn’t even know where the Lost Woods entrance was located. He asked the brothers.

"It’s on the top of the hill that’s on the other side of the village. You’ll find that the hill at first is too steep to climb but if you check out the side of the hill facing the village’s entrance, you will find a bunch of long vines that you can climb partway to the top. After that, you should be able to walk the rest of the way to the top of the hill, where the entrance of the Lost Woods lies." That didn’t sound too bad. Zharen had done a little hiking and camping on the Death Mountain trail-well, not that much, he never made it to the top-but surely climbing some vines shouldn’t pose a problem. For Malon’s love, it will be worth it.

"I guess I can’t persuade any of you to come with me and guide me through the Lost Woods?" All the brothers turned down the invitation.

"No," the leader spoke, "But you are the first outsider we’ve had in a long time, and apparently you are correct with how bad things must be outside of the forest. So luckily for you, we do have something that may help you." He went to a storage area in the house and quickly came back and gave Zharen three, hard-shelled nuts. "They’re Deku nuts. Throw them at your enemies, and the blinding flash that erupts from them will stun your enemies momentarily. I’m sorry I can’t give you more, but we need them for our own protection whenever we have to gather more food and supplies in the forest. We normally don’t give any of these nuts to any of the other outsiders, so you’re the first." Zharen nodded and put the nuts inside of his box. He then moved to the door and prepared himself for the worst. "Remember, even though the meanies are dormant for now, the slightest noise can arouse them, so move quickly, but silently." Zharen looked back.

"I will. Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself," Zharen said, not in his normally stern way but in a polite way. It was time to say good-bye.

"Good luck Zharen, I hope you will succeed in your journey and find what it is you’re looking for."

"I hope so too. Well, good-bye, and thank you all for your hospitality." The boys said their good-byes and Zharen opened the door and left the house of the Know-It-All Brothers. Once outside, back on hostile ground, Zharen took a few cautious steps, expecting a nut to fly at him or a plant to try and eat him. But none did, the village was just as silent as he had first arrived. All the silence was so misleading, it effectively masked the real danger that was all around him, but Zharen knew better, he moved quickly and didn’t make so much of a sound as to breathe. In a few minutes he reached the side of the hill facing the village’s entrance and found a large growth of vines running down its side, just as the brothers had said. He made one harsh tug on one of the vines, and saw that it didn’t give way. He began to climb on the vines and hoped they were sturdy enough to hold his weight. They did, and he reached the part of the hill where the incline wasn’t too steep to walk on, and reached the top of the hill without incident. Once on the top, Zharen looked back down at the village and marveled at such a wonderful view. He looked down at the surreal landscape, all the different architectural designs of the other tree houses, all the different shades of green the forest had, and the setting sun which had turned the blue sky into a brilliant red-orange. Its fading light, scintillating onto the greenish carpet and foliage. He looked back at the village’s entrance and saw that the thick growth of trees prevented any other exits but that one he had came out of.

He realized he had one more chance to walk away from his quest, to quit and to go home. His mind was telling him to turn back, who knew what else could be in the Lost Woods he didn’t already expect. This was a dangerous place to meander around, his other previous encounters proved just how easily he could get himself killed. He still didn’t even know what exactly he was looking for, and what if this Mido didn’t know either? Then it would be all for nothing, and it then might be too late for him to ever return home.

But even with all the doubts, all the logical explanations and reasons to take his departure, he wouldn’t quit his quest. Instead he turned back, and walked up to the other side of the hill, facing an unclimbable wall of rock that had a large enough hole to squeeze through, with a wooden sign nailed directly in the front of it. Zharen got close enough to the sign and read the words, "Lost Woods Entrance" painted in black letters. This was it, this was his ultimate destination. He was about to walk through the hole when a thought occurred to him, Why was it that the Know-It-All Brothers told about the many people who ventured into the Lost Woods, but never mentioned about anyone returning? Geez, he should have asked that, now it was too late.

"Those who go into the Lost Woods will be lost themselves," the words of the old hag rang in his mind. No time for you old witch, I got something to do. He wasn’t about to let some corny old saying scare him off, he was going to find that object, no matter what he had to go through. Taking a few steps into the hole, he thought he heard something echoing through this make shift tunnel. As he moved forward, he thought he heard the same whispers he had first heard walking into the forest. They only lasted for a few seconds, and were a bit indistinct, but he could have swore they said the same thing, "Outsider, outsider. . ."

Chapter 7

"This is so. . .frustrating!" Zharen yelled, as his voice echoed throughout the area. He was back again where he started, at the Lost Woods entrance. This was the sixth time this had happened, and Zharen was dead tired from all the walking. He had spent several hours exploring this enchanted place, searching for Mido, but he wasn't making much progress. He always seemed to pass by that same tree stump or wind up back at the entrance.

The only good news was that he hadn't encountered any monsters so far along the way-save one, another one of those bushy things that popped out of the ground and spat nuts at him. He had charged at it, attempting to knock the thing down, but it ducked back into the ground. And when he walked the other way, it sprang back out, spitting more nuts at him. Infuriated, Zharen had thrown a nut of his own, one of the Deku nuts that the Know-It-All Brothers had given him, and the nut made impact with the monster and a large white cloud erupted, that lasted only for a few seconds. It had stunned the monster and it stood wiping its eyes. It gave Zharen more than enough time to creep up towards the monster, ball his hand up to a fist, reach as far back as he could with his right arm, and punch it with all his might. It went down, either knocked out or dead, Zharen didn't know, didn't care, it just felt good. That great feeling though, was long since replaced by frustration. The Know-It-All Brothers were right once again about the many wrong ways a person could take in the Lost Woods.

Zharen took a deep breath and tried again. The ground had a few soft spots, and enabled him to retrace his footprints. After passing that same tree stump again, he came upon a crossroads, the first among many. One went left, one went right, and one went straight. Zharen knew the one that went straight was the right path. After going down that way and seeing nothing more but more trees and grass, he came upon the second cross roads. As he looked at his footprints, they indicated he had gone on the right path and on the straight path. He had just taken the straight path which had inevitably brought him back to the village. This time he took the path that went left.

The path led him to an area that he had not encountered yet, though the scenery was almost identical, trees, grass, a few rocks, etc. As he continued walking he ultimately came across yet another cross roads. Zharen cursed, not another choice! This place was just full of choices! Zharen looked up at the night sky, this process of trial and error was making only minimal progress, there must be some other method to get through this Lost Woods! Well, he had a 1 in 3 chance to pick the right path, and if he chose the wrong one, he could make his way back again and have a 1 in 2 chance. Zharen made a quick judgment and picked the left-most path. It was no surprise to just see even more trees, but at least he didn't see that same irritating stump. Unfortunately, there were still more choices to be made. Zharen went left again, then he chose straight, and then right, hoping he wouldn't end up back at the village again.

As he came to a new area, he became slightly surprised at the new change of scenery. This time, he saw a large stone fountain ahead of him, with a "Z" etched into the stone on the far side of the pond. Once again, he had the choice of going either left or right. As he examined both routes, he noticed that someone was blocking the path to the left. At first he thought it might have been some monster, but as he got closer, he realized that the figure blocking the route was a child-a boy wearing the same greenish clothing as the Know-It-All Brothers. Is that Mido? I would have thought he was more. . .older. Well, he assumed that if Mido was the boss of the Kokiri, he might have been a little older, like a big brother, but no. He seemed to be the same age as the rest of them. It's gotta be him! I've finally found the guy! I just hope he knows the object that I'm looking for.

At first, Mido didn't seem to take any notice of him as he approached, but as Zharen moved in closer, and appeared as if he was about to go through the path he was blocking, Mido immediately sprang to life.

"Halt! This is the path that leads to the Sacred Meadow which lies the Forest Temple. I can not allow you to pass through here." Oh, how childish! What a feeble attempt to block people out from getting to the Forest Temple! If Zharen wanted to, he could have easily knocked the small boy down, but then, that wasn't why Zharen was here in the first place. As Zharen gazed at this boy half his size, he could tell from Mido's facial expression, the boy took his job very seriously. "What? Was there something unclear with what I just said, ugly?"

That last word jarred a reaction in Zharen. If he wasn't such a nice guy he would have beat some sense into this little child, but then he probably wouldn't tell Zharen what the object was that he was looking for. Zharen held his anger he produced upon hearing the word "ugly" and pretended the word made no difference to his emotions. "Actually, I'm not here to go see the Forest Temple. I'm here to see you."

That gave a surprise to Mido. "Me? Why, by the name of the Great Deku Tree, would you come all this way to see me? I don't even know you." He started becoming defensive, like he was fearing the worst.

"Well relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I have a question for you. You're quite familiar with the Lost Woods, aren't you?"

"Yes," the boy said, raising an eyebrow, "Why? Do you need someone to guide you back to the village?" Zharen looked at the boy as if he had turned into a frog. What kind of stupid response was that? Apparently this boy wasn't as smart as Zharen had thought.

"Would I come all this way in the forest, nearly get myself killed by all those monsters in the village, and try to find my way through the Lost Woods just for you to lead me back to where I came?"

The boy started scratching his chin, "No, I guess not." Zharen blew out some air. Maybe he wasn't the guy.

"You are Mido, right?"

"Indeed I am!" he stuck out his chest. "I am the Great Mido, boss of the Kokiri, and appointed guardian of the Forest Temple."

"Okay, okay, no need for dramatics," Zharen interrupted, waving his hands, "I'm looking for something here in this enchanted forest, and I was wondering if you can help me find it."

"Hey, I'd love to, but I can't leave my post. I gotta keep everybody out from taking this path. That's what Saria wants me to do."

"You take orders from someone else?" Zharen asked, letting out a laugh, "I thought you were the boss of the Kokiri?"

That line hurted the boy's pride-a little, "Hey! It-it was a favor, not a command! No one orders the Great Mido what to do, especially not some bald punk like you!" Zharen sighed, he shouldn't have provoked the kid.

"Okay, you're the greatest. Now back to what I was saying; this object I'm looking for, I don't need you to guide me to it, I just want to ask if you know where it exactly is. You see, I'm looking for an object that is capable of turning people more prettier than what they once were. Do you know what I'm talking about?" The boy tilted his head to one side.

"Why would you risk your life on something as stupid as that?" Now that line took Zharen off guard. For a moment he didn't know what to say, but he was outraged that the boy could be so inconsiderate. What did he know of his personal life? His life full of embarrassments, harassments, unfulfillment? He couldn't even begin to understand why this was so important to him. He was just some hot-headed kid.

"It's none of your business alright!" Zharen exclaimed in a burst of anger. He then calmed down, knowing this wasn't helping him. "Look, sometime ago, an old lady came to this forest, and she heard rumors about such an object that exists here. Do you know what the object is, and where it is?" The boy started thinking.

"Well. . .I can't remember any old lady but. . .I do know what the object is you're looking for." Zharen became excited. Finally! We're getting somewhere! All his doubts were instantly erased. "But it is just a rumor and it's never been-"

"Just tell me what it is!" Zharen cut him off, his excitement getting the best of him.

"Wow, aren't you a pushy one. So eager to find it huh?" the boy looked at him in a negative light, obviously a little angry that he would yell at him so.

"Alright, I'm sorry for that outburst, but you must understand, I need to know, it's the only way I can get through my plans for the future."

"Okay, okay," the boy said, shrugging off his apology, "You know, you have a lot of courage to come all the way here, risking your life on account of some rumor. Well, either courageousness or foolishness anyway." Suddenly Mido's expression changed from insightfulness to seriousness. His eyes seemed to show him remembering something, "It's strange, but looking at you, I'm strangely reminded of. . .him. That him again. Who exactly was this him? And how come no one dared speak his name? Why should Zharen care anyway, this was nothing that related to his mission.

"Look," Zharen said, barely restraining his anxiety, "I don't give a Dodongo's left nostril about this him. Can you please just tell me about the object that I am looking for?"

That line seemed to put Mido back into reality, he was starting to look spaced out. "Oh the object? Yeah, right. The object you seek is an odd forest mushroom found exclusively in this region."

What? That was it? He risked his life and traveled all this way for a-a forest mushroom? Zharen wasn't believing it. "You're kidding right? A forest mushroom?"

"No, it's no joke," Mido said, shaking his head. Zharen stared at him dumbfoundedly, "Well I've been trying to tell you that this is an old, untested rumor. I personally don't believe it, but if you are looking for an object that can make you more beautiful, like you said, then that's it."

Zharen was starting to feel sick, "Well, is it at least a big mushroom?"

"Nope, it's small, about the size of my hand." Zharen wanted to scream. He really wasn't feeling too good. He felt his stomach cramp up.

"Great, all this for a lousy mushroom. Well, do you know exactly where it is?"

"Hmm. Last time I saw, it was growing nearby an old tree stump near the entrance." Zharen was about to faint. How many times did he pass by that cursed stump? If he had only known sooner, it would have saved him a lot of time; now it was about midnight, and he was going to have to wait for tomorrow afternoon before he could leave the forest. Zharen was growing weary and he clutched his stomach with one hand. He still couldn't get over at how ill-prepared this journey of his was.

He let out a sigh, "Well, is there anything else I need to know?"

"Yes. When you pluck the mushroom out of the ground, you'll have only a limited amount of time before it spoils." That line finally erupted Zharen's growing frustration. He let out the loudest curse he had ever made in his life. It was so loud, Mido had to clasp his ears, and it took so much energy out of Zharen, he had to kneel on the ground. As if the news couldn't possibly get any worse, Zharen thought, do I find out that I have to rush to the old lady's potion shop if I want the mushroom to work.

Slowly, getting back onto his feet, Zharen asked another question, "Exactly how much time do I have?"

The boy thought for a few minutes, "I don't really know, maybe a handful of hours." That did it, Zharen knew he couldn't make it back to the old lady's shop in time. This whole journey was a total failure. "But you know, I could be wrong, some mushrooms last a longer time than that. You just might be able to make it back to whatever it is you came from before that mushroom disappears." That wasn't much conciliation, but that did spark back some hope into Zharen. Perhaps if he did run his ugly little butt off across the field, he just might make it back in time. This really made him wish that he had exercised more often. If only I had a horse.

Zharen finally noticed that Mido was looking at him again in that serious way. He looked like if he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure if he should say it.

"If you're going to say something, then just say it." Zharen said, in a tired voice.

"I'm sorry, I know this is going to get on your nerves but. . .well, you really do remind me of him. I was wondering, since you are from the outside, have you ever seen him?

"Kid, I don't even know what this him you are referring to even looks like, much less his name."

"I-I'd rather not say his name. He's a Kokiri just like me, wears the same green clothing and hat, but he carries a sword and a shield. Have you ever seen him?"

Zharen thought for a minute. He thought of all the people that ever came by the village, but he couldn't remember anyone who fit that description. "I'm sorry, but I've never met anyone like that." The news seemed to dishearten the boy.

"Oh, too bad. You know, he was Saria's favorite, and everybody around here loved him too. When he left the forest, that day seven years ago, I was so glad he left. I couldn't stand the attention he received from everyone." Zharen noticed how woeful Mido had become, "But after the way I treated him, I always hoped he would come back. I-I just wanted the chance to tell him. . .to tell him that. . .that. . ." Mido broke off. "You better go get your mushroom, before something happens to it. In this state the forest is right now, it's the only one that is growing here."

Zharen shook his head, and he started to leave. He was very curious about the mysterious connection between Mido and this so called him, but that wasn't his affair. No, he needed to go back to that tree stump and get that forest mushroom, it would be a big disaster if something bad did happen to it. Zharen walked back the same way he had came, still clutching at his stomach from that sudden cramp, when he heard Mido shout at him, "Hey mister, I just remembered. There is one more thing you should know about the Lost Woods."

Zharen slowly turned around, he didn't want to hear anymore bad news, "What? That it's easy to get lost around here? I already know that."

"No, there's something else, something that makes this place dangerous for you. Those outside of the forest who venture in the Lost Woods will turn into monsters."

Zharen stared at the boy for a while. What had he just say? Was this some sort of a joke? It was strange, but upon hearing this, Zharen laughed. He gave out a good solid laugh. It sounded to him like the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

"Oh, monsters you say? Look at me! I'm already a monster! How much worse can I get?" Still chuckling, he further added, in a sarcastic tone, "Really, you guys need to open this place up to tourists and tell them all these crazy stories about this place around a camp fire." Zharen stopped laughing and looked back at the boy with an amused face, "Thanks for the tip kid, but I should be fine, just as long as I get the mushroom. See ya later and good luck with that appointed guardian thing." Zharen waved his hand at Mido and walked away, that cramp was still bothering him. Mido looked on, watching the tall outsider until he disappeared back into the recesses of the Lost Woods.

"I hope he knows that I'm not kidding," Mido said, speaking to himself, "For that is the main reason why no other outsiders ever leave the Lost Woods. I hope he knows that too."

After walking with that unrelenting stomach cramp and making one more accidental trip back to the Lost Woods entrance, Zharen once again found the old tree stump. And just exactly how Mido had described it, on a closer look, there was a small mushroom growing right between two of the stump's thick roots. It didn't look like anything special, and to a passerby, he probably wouldn't have noticed it unless he knew it was there. Zharen had made that mistake, but now it was time to correct it. He stared at the fungi, bewildered that his whole quest had led him to that one insignificant little mushroom. But a feeling of victory and pride washed over him, along with weariness. He had finally found it.

I did it, I overcame all the obstacles and the doubts. Now there's nothing to come between me and my prize. He grinned, unconcerned about escaping the forest or delivering the mushroom before it spoiled and disappeared, all of that could wait, for now. He just wanted to enjoy the fruits of his labor and rest for a little bit. That stomach cramp was becoming a little burdensome and his face was starting to feel hot.

He was about 50 meters away from the stump, and as he walked towards his prize, another thought occurred to him. He realized that he had just assumed that the old lady would make the potion for him. What if she decided not to? That would be terrible! No! I will not let that happen. I will her to make that potion for me. She has to, she even said she wanted to experiment on things from the Lost Woods. His sudden sense of shock lowered, Yes, she will gladly do it, she will be so surprised with all of my courage and stamina, she will think differently of me. Ha ha ha, old witch, can't wait to see your face when you see me walk through your shop with the mushroom in my hand. As he came one step closer to the mushroom, he felt that he had come one step closer to happiness.

"Those who go into the Lost Woods will be lost themselves," Why were those words still lingering in his mind? What relevance did it have? Yeah sure, you can easily get lost in a place like this, but at this very moment, he was far from being "lost." He never felt any more surer in his life. This was his day, this was Zharen's time to shine, this was the epitome of his success, and with victory being only a few steps away, nothing could change that.

He was only fifteen feet away from the mushroom when, the impossible happened. A strange new creature suddenly materialized on top of the tree stump, right before Zharen's eyes. He was so startled by this quick turn of events, that he did not move another step. Zharen stared aghast, by the appearance of this new life form, and the creature, which was not blind, stared back down at him. For a moment it was deathly quiet, neither person made a sound. Zharen looked puzzled at this creature and quietly observed it and its bizarre clothing.

It wore a red orange tunic with a large brown belt, consisting of interlocked metal circles, wrapped around its waist. It had green gloves that went up snugly into the elbows, and green pants that went all the way down his legs. Its red orange tunic covered the upper half of its pants. It was funny, but the gloves and the pants looked as if they had been made of grass. It wore brown shoes that had the toes bent inward; something a jester would wear, but its most striking detail though, was its face. It had no skin at all, just a frightening skull, with red eyes blazing from its sockets. The head was covered with a matching red orange hat that had a sort of mohawk on the top, and the brim of the hat was hideously frayed, giving the illusion that the hat had feathers sticking out of it.

Zharen could tell that as he stood observing this creature, that the creature was observing him also. It looked like it waited for his first move. Not another obstacle to get pass, I'm too tired for this. Surely this thing can be reasonable, I'm just too tired to fight. Hoping that he could make peace between each other, Zharen finally broke the silence and started to speak.

"Uh, hello there. Nice night, isn't it?" The creature didn't say a word. This awkward feeling of uneasiness didn't help Zharen to think what to say next. But he thought he could talk his way out of this situation and not fight. "Now don't jump to conclusions by the way I look. I know I look a little frightening, but I'm really quite harmless." The creature shook, almost as if it was laughing, but it still didn't make any noise. "As you can see, I'm not from around here, I'm looking for something. See, I've traveled all this way to the forest to find it, and, now I have." Zharen indicated the mushroom, "So I'm just going to take this mushroom and be on my merry way." The creature slowly shook its head, "What? What's wrong with that? Really, I don't mean no trouble, I'm just going to take this mushroom and take off." As Zharen took a step closer to the mushroom, the creature impulsively stomped its foot on the stump. Zharen shrank back. "What the heck is a matter with you?" Zharen was becoming outraged, "Is it too much to ask just to grab this small, unimportant mushroom?" The creature nodded an affirmative yes. Zharen was getting this feeling that he was being made a fool of, and he was getting angry. "Look pal, I didn't come all this way, to come within inches of my prize, just to be scared off. I might have said that I'm harmless, but I don't appreciate being pushed around!" There was no doubt in Zharen's mind that this time, the creature was laughing, it was very obvious. When Zharen was about to curse at this repulsive animal, it suddenly disappeared.

"Wha-where'd it go?" Zharen asked. Did his words, did his stand scare the creature off? Was he free to take the mushroom now? Was this just some sort of test? He had no clue at all, but he didn't just want to stand there thinking about it. Zharen quickly covered the fifteen feet and bent over to pluck the mushroom free of the ground, when he felt something cold and sharp pierce through his skin and into his back side. Pain exploded into Zharen's mind and he leapt up and quickly turned around to see what had just happened. That's when he saw that creature again, it was right behind him, and this time it had a blow gun in its mouth. Zharen felt around his back and tried to pull the dart out of him when the thing shot another dart into the left side of his chest. Zharen howled in pain and without thinking, he threw his box full of trinkets at it. Before the box could even hit the creature though, it quickly disappeared. Child like laughter rang through out the Lost Woods.

Where was it? Zharen quickly pulled the two darts free from his body and felt the warm trickle of blood running down his chest and spine. Unfortunately he had no time to tend to those wounds yet, he had to find where that thing would pop up next. He kept himself close by to the stump and used it as a shield from any other darts that might fly in his direction. He was feeling sick, but it was the rush of adrenaline that was pumping through his veins that was keeping him going. Come on! Where is it? Right after Zharen asked that thought in his mind did it appear again at his two o'clock! Zharen managed to spot the creature just in time before another two darts could lodge into his face. They passed by over Zharen's head. He had it! No more Mr. Nice Guy! Zharen reached into his pocket and pulled out the other two Deku Nuts the Know-It-All Brothers had given him. When he had used one on that other bushy creature a couple hours before, he had wisely placed the other two in his pocket, since his box was lying on the ground far away from him right now. He took one of the Deku nuts and threw it directly at the thing, but once again it disappeared before the nut could make contact with it, and it detonated on a far off rock.

Now Zharen was really worried. He had only 1 Deku nut left and nothing else was going to protect him from this thing. If the creature popped up again, he might be done for. He needed to have some sort of plan before the creature reappeared again. That's when he thought of the poacher's saw. That was it! He had to get it! But the saw was also in the box he had thrown, and he couldn't risk going out in the open without anything to protect him from that rain of darts. Suddenly the creature reappeared right above him, standing on the stump again. Without warning, Zharen let his last Deku Nut fly, but this time, he slammed it into the ground between the both of them and quickly turned his face away and shut his eyes as the nut broke and released its short range of blinding energy. Before Zharen could tell whether or not he had stunned the thing, he quickly made a dash for his box. He dove to the ground and quickly pulled out his father's poacher saw. He quickly took notice of its jagged teeth and shiny metal, then turned back at the monster. It was in fact stunned, and was wiping its eyes off. But it looked like it was recovering. There'd be no way he could run back and stab it before it disappeared. He was going to have to throw the saw at it.

"Oh great goddesses, please make my aim strong and true," he prayed. He got into the proper stance, held the saw's handle in one arm, and aimed at the monster, who was now starting to turn to stare at him. Zharen let out a loud war cry and hurled the saw at the monster as hard as he could, falling onto one knee. Before the monster knew what he had done, it was too late. The saw ripped right into the thing's torso. It's body quickly jerked back, as if it had been hit with a large club. It was definitely a fatal blow. The creature desperately clutched at the saw, and tried to pull it out, but it couldn't. It was slowly losing consciousness and its arms suddenly fell limp. The creature stood there for a brief moment, which felt like an eternity to Zharen, and then let out a loud wail, one of the most saddest and disturbing noises Zharen had ever heard. Then it fell back, and made its short plummet from the tree stump and into the ground, falling with a loud crash.

Zharen was slow to get up. He was panting for air and felt completely exhausted. He couldn't even believe what he had just did. He had taken a life, something he had never done before in his life. He should be ashamed of himself, but Zharen felt neither any guilt nor pity, not even after he heard that woeful cry. Instead he felt victory! Once again, even after fighting a superior opponent, he still had won. He got back to his feet and slowly made his way back to the stump, trying to make confirmation of his kill. As he walked, he wavered back and forth, and he clutched at the wound in his chest. He gazed over the limp body of the creature he had just killed, the saw's handle leaping into Zharen's vision.

He couldn't get over the fact that he had killed it, he was still amazed with himself. He had felt a momentary rush of exhilaration at that fact, but it had faded now, his adrenaline rush was slowly decreasing, and his body was becoming more and more aware of the pain it was feeling, and the weariness that had ensued from all the fighting. If only that thing would have just allowed me to take that mushroom, it would have still been alive. Poor fool.

Zharen staggered back and made his way back to his box. He needed to patch himself up and he remembered about the red potion that he had been carrying in one of his pouches. To his dismay, he saw that the pouch that had been tied to the box had spilled over, almost all of his red potion that was inside it was gone. He quickly grabbed at what was left of his potion and drank the rest of it down, it wasn't much, but it quickly stopped the bleeding. At least it gave him a little more energy. He took his possessions with him and made his way back to the stump. He stood over the creature one more time and was about to pull the saw free from it, when he realized that what he thought was its skull face, actually turned out to be a mask. It wasn't its real face after all! Curious, Zharen bent over to try to take off the mask, to take a look at his assailant's appearance, when the entire body vanished, clothes and all. The only thing that was left in its place was the poacher's saw. He quickly picked up the saw and was about to put it away in his box, when he noticed that the saw had no blood stains at all, it was totally clean. A new eerie sense of dread washed over him and he felt that his legs were starting to give out.

He found a comfortable place beside the tree stump to rest, and sat by it and the mushroom. He felt so utterly tired, and his skin felt so clammy with all his sweat that had gushed out of his pores. He was still breathing hard and he felt like he was burning up. He leaned his head onto the stump and prayed that he wasn't going to die. Suddenly, he felt completely terrified. He did not want to die in this strange and dangerous place. He didn't want to die period. It was now that he wished he had someone to talk to, and not be alone in his greatest hour of need. As weariness began to take its toll, and Zharen was starting to fall asleep, he thought about his father, Malon, and the old lady. He thought about his sister and all the events that had transpired which had led him up to this point. Finally he thought about Cojiro. Oh Cojiro, he missed his loyal companion so. How he wished his blue feathered friend could be by his side, now in his darkest hour. He didn't want to be alone.

As sleep threatened to take over his entire body, he softly murmured, "Cojiro, Cojiro. . ."

Dark figures were all around him. He saw them at first, merely in shadow. He couldn't see much of anything, except those figures that seemed to be dancing around the place. There was this unsettling, glossy fog that swirled through Zharen's vision, and he couldn't even make out his own hands. Soon, the fog started to dissipate, and Zharen noticed that there was a campfire not too far away from him and that the figures made their way to dance around it. It was when they moved to the campfire, did their appearance as shadows go away. Instead, they were wearing the exact same clothing as the creature who had earlier attacked him. Once this realization dawned on Zharen, he didn't know whether to be scared or not, because the mood suggested more of a celebration than an attack. Indeed, the fog had now lifted which somehow had interfered with all of Zharen's five senses, because now he could hear the beating of drums and high-pitched notes of flutes playing in the distance. Where they were coming from, Zharen didn't know. He also noticed that he was in the forest, or more precisely, the Lost Woods. He didn't know where all these dancing figures had come from, but to Zharen, it felt totally normal. As he approached those dancing creatures he felt no fear at all; he sensed this place was full of joy, and somehow, that he belonged here. All the dancers let out wild ceremonial whoops simultaneously, and the heat from the campfire felt wonderful. Still, the creatures did not react any differently at all with Zharen's presence, and he felt more at home with that fact.

When he turned to look at his right he saw that same tree stump where he had battled that creature, and Zharen was slightly surprised with identifying that familiar little landmark. He turned his gaze away from it for a second, when he heard a laugh originate from that direction, and when he turned to look back, he saw to his delight, that a young country girl was now occupying the stump. She sat on top of it and was laughing, apparently amused by all the dancing. It was Malon! Zharen was delighted to see her and he walked over to her, merrily. When he approached her, she produced a small, pink hand mirror and laughed at what she saw, arousing Zharen's curiosity. He wanted to know what she was looking at that pleased her so. For a minute, she took no notice of him at all, but kept laughing at the hand mirror. She then finally looked directly at Zharen and handed him the mirror, giggling. It seemed that she thought what Zharen would see would also be amusing.

Zharen started chuckling on his own accord, and gladly took the mirror from her. For some reason, he had expected to see a handsome face with neatly combed and parted brown hair, and bright blue eyes. As he casually set his sights on the person he saw in the mirror though, the person he saw stare back at him was completely disturbing. He had never seen anything like this before, he wasn't even sure that he could call it a face. He thought he saw an outline of a face, with two red glowing eyes, but only a rough black sketch of a nose and a mouth. The skin itself was dark brown and not very appealing at all. The face itself had no sign of cheeks, dimples, eyebrows, or even a forehead. It was so very, plain. But the most horrifying fact of all, that finally occurred to him, was that he was not looking at a picture, or a portal, he was staring at a hand mirror. He quickly dropped the mirror onto the ground horrified. He thought he heard more of Malon's amused laughter, but when he looked back at her for an explanation, she was no longer there. In her place, who was now also laughing, stood the old lady. Zharen stepped back, all his fear had returned. He felt like running but his legs felt like dead weights. The old lady stepped closer to Zharen and laughed wildly. She laughed and laughed and laughed. He wanted to get away from her, but his body just wouldn't move. Her shrill laughter was becoming so deranged, it started sounding like she was clucking. For a second, his environment quickly flickered.

"What, what's going on?" he cried. The old lady came face to face with him. She had ceased her wild laughing. This made things more uncomfortable to Zharen because he could see her ugly, wrinkled and sagging face clearly in his vision.

For a moment she was silent, then without warning, she let out a loud, "CUCCCOOO!"

Zharen screamed and his head quickly snapped back. The back of his head hit the tree stump he had been leaning on and the impact dazed him for a second. He found himself disoriented, he was sweating profusely, his heart was beating madly out of control, and he was trembling. He saw a giant blue blur in front of him, but as Zharen's vision cleared, he saw a familiar looking face staring right back at him. It was Cojiro!

What in the world was Cojiro doing here? Was he dreaming? No, it must be the real deal, didn't he already escape out of a dream or a nightmare, to be exact? This truly had to be Cojiro. He noticed that his beloved bird was being held in an outstretched gloved hand; a hand that belonged to another Hylian-a rather handsome looking man too. But all of this was strange. Why would Cojiro be with this man?

"Cojiro? Why? Normally only a nice guy like me can tame you." As he studied this new person, he saw that he also wore the same green clothing as the Kokiri. But he couldn't possibly be one of them, he was an adult and the Kokiri were children. And he was told that the Kokiri never aged! How puzzling! But as he continued to study this other outsider, he also noticed that the bird seemed to have made a friendship with this man. Another mystery! He never met another person who could tame his friend. Suddenly realization dawned on him. "Which means. . .you must be a nice guy!" This last line drew a look of puzzlement on the stranger's face, but it didn't matter to Zharen. All his life, he wanted to find somebody who wasn't disgusting, someone who cared, someone who wouldn't judge a person merely on looks. The fact that Cojiro could be friends with this man and be brought all this way back to him further strengthened Zharen's conviction that this man was indeed a nice guy! "Must be! You must be!" Zharen exclaimed. He was so excited he almost forgotten about his quest! The mushroom! At first, he had despaired that he wouldn't have enough strength to make it back to the village before it spoiled, but here now was a better opportunity! Another chance, that could put a fitting end to the quest he had started, that he had so drudged on! This stranger looked strong and able. He even carried a large sword and shield on his back. Surely he could make the delivery. In a desperate voice, Zharen pleaded, "Please Mr. Nice Guy please. Deliver this stuff to the old hag in the potion shop. In Kakiriko Village!" Zharen spoke, anxiously awaiting the stranger's decision.

There was a moment of hesitation on the stranger's part. The man in green looked away, possibly because he couldn't bear to look upon this poor, ill-fated, wretched soul. It also appeared that this man might have had some other business to do in the forest. But it must have been Zharen's wistful and sorry look in his face that touched the stranger. He looked back at Zharen, throwing him a pitiful glance, his thoughts must have been at how this person could have fallen to such a dismal state; he must have felt sorry for him. Without any word at all, the stranger merely nodded to accept Zharen's plea for help. Zharen was greatly relieved. He plucked the mushroom out of the ground and handed it over to the stranger, who in exchange, gave Cojiro over to him. "This will disappear if you take too long so you gotta hurry!" The stranger gave a more positive nod and tucked the mushroom away in his tunic. He turned the other way and immediately took off running. In a few seconds, he was gone, and once again Zharen was the only Hylian in the Lost Woods-but this time he had Cojiro.

As he hugged the cucco, it clucked happily and softly pecked Zharen’s face as a sign of affection. How wonderful this sudden turn of events were. Finally, things started looking bright again. Zharen was still feeling sick and tired, but things still felt good with Cojiro around. Zharen happily halted Cojiro’s friendly pecking and held him away at a distance to take a further look at him. Exactly how did Cojiro ever come into contact with that fellow? And why was that guy wearing the same clothing of the Kokiri? Was it some sort of disguise to get past them? Zharen scoffed at the idea. He should be more concerned with the other inhabitants around here. At least the guy had a sword and shield, he probably had a well-trained horse with him also, he bet. If only Zharen had a chance to bring a sword and shield also. Too bad his father wasn’t a locksmith. Cojiro hopped out of his master’s hands and stood beside him pecking at the remaining pieces of fungi that was left after Zharen had ripped the mushroom out of the ground. Zharen was still too much in deep thought to care.

What about his sister? Was she all right? Why did she entrust the bird to that stranger? Did she sense something good in him that he had also sensed? Was the stranger in good terms with the old hag? Ah, so many questions, so much mystery. Zharen wanted to know, he was so enthralled with having his quest completed he didn’t bother to think about asking those questions. And what about what Mido said about that one Kokiri who had left the forest and was only known as him? Wait a second, could that stranger be the one whom Mido had referred to? No, couldn’t be. The one who left was a Kokiri, and the Kokiri never age. What a preposterous idea. The guy just probably took a liking to Kokiri apparel. It wasn’t Zharen’s concern anyway, he just needed to worry about the stranger delivering the mushroom and returning with some sort of potion. Once he returned, he could question him then, and set everything straight. Oh, if this stranger does this perfectly he’ll have a new best friend for life! What anticipation!

The excitement was making him sweat more. He ran his left hand across his forehand to wipe off the sweat. However, when he was doing this though, his hand felt somewhat. . . different. As he laid his hand back to his side closest Cojiro, the bird let out a surprised squawk. Zharen looked at him curiously.

"What? What is it?" As he turned to look at his hand, he let out a horrified scream. Instead of seeing his usual, calloused, pale white hand, he saw it had turned to a dark brown, feeling stiff and dry. It had a small growth of black hairs sticking out of it, and his fingernails had become longer, black, and dirty. "What! What’s going on? What’s happening to me?" As if in reply, his head triggered the same quotes he had heard earlier on,

"Those who go into the Lost Woods will be lost themselves."

"Those outside of the forest who venture into the Lost Woods will turn into monsters." By the goddesses, the boy and the old lady were right! He had been an ignorant fool. A new feeling of alarm replaced his sense of happiness and security now; he knew he had to get out of here fast, before his transformation to whatever had taken hold of his hand, was complete! He quickly got on his feet, but by doing so, a new wave of dizziness and nausea overtook him. He could hardly stand on his own legs, and his brain was in so much pain, he hardly had the motor coordination to walk.

Desperation grew and he made his way through the Lost Woods stumbling around. "Come on Cojiro! We have to leave!" The bird obediently followed and flew into his hands, but right now he felt that he could barely hold on to the bird and walk at the same time. He felt like an old man, and every step he made, the dizziness and disorientation increased. His vision was starting to blur. He felt a tingle in his left arm and saw to his horror, that the brown skin had made its way even higher, it covered half of his left arm! This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening! But the more erratic Zharen became, the more harder it became to move.

He was almost at the Lost Woods entrance when four creatures appeared out of thin air right in front of him and Cojiro and blocked their way. They were the exact same creatures as the one who he had killed earlier! Their red eyes blaring at him, their skull masks, although they showed no expression, Zharen could somehow feel their outrage. Zharen knew he was doomed but he thought Cojiro still had a chance.

"Cojiro quick! Get outta here! Fly away!" The bird immediately obeyed and it took to the air, but as it tried to fly above the heads of the four creatures, one of them managed to grab him in mid-flight and pulled the bird into the ugly creature’s lap. Zharen, enraged, tried to make a rush at his friend’s new captor, but the other three creatures came in front of him and threw him down to the ground with a great force. The sudden pain that had resulted from the impact was excruciating! To Zharen, he felt like his brain was going to explode! He let out a scream and things went blank to him for a second. As he strained to look back up at his assailants, he saw the one holding Cojiro turning around and walking away with him. "Cojiro! Nooooo!" Zharen wailed. But it was too late, the thing silently disappeared with the bird in its grasp, and the other three creatures remained, all of them staring down at Zharen. Apparently they wanted to witness his end. Zharen began to cry, he never felt more terrified in his life.

He must have been lying on the ground for an hour now, at least that’s how he felt. His tear ducts had long since dried up and he felt that brownish intruder who had taken over his whole left arm had now taken over almost all of his chest. Both his legs had succumbed to the new skin, and he could feel the skin creeping up to his neck. His body felt completely paralyzed, and the only thing that he could move was his eye balls. By now, the dizziness, the nausea, the stomach cramp and the pain in his head had all diminished, but his sense of feeling was almost entirely gone.

The same three creatures were still there, staring down at him as before, without even moving an inch. They stood rigid, unflinching, and expressionless. They never even had expressed any joy that he was turning into one of them, that he had killed one of their companions and now he was being punished. An eye for an eye. But Zharen was no longer scared of them, not any more; even if they had taken his best friend away from him, it just didn’t matter anymore. Soon he would be one of them and he wouldn’t have to worry about loneliness or being teased by his fellow villagers any longer. The tingling sensation spread all around his neck and was now making its way up to his chin and down his spine. It tickled now.

During the time he had spent lying on the ground, he had plenty of time to reflect on his life. His life, in a sense, had flashed before his own very eyes, but Zharen didn’t miss it at all. He had thought about the beings who were observing him and he didn’t know why he no longer felt threatened by their presence. It somehow felt. . .right. In plain words, he accepted his fate. Hmm, accepted. . .

Suddenly he thought about that plain face he had seen in his dream, it wasn’t at all frightening, just peculiar. That face looked better than his own ugly mug anyway, it didn’t seem that bad. Maybe that’s what those creatures look like underneath their masks. He knew it was so, and he knew that he would look like that soon also, but it wouldn’t be so bad. He accepted it. Accepted. . .suddenly he realized that he was about to be accepted into this new and bizarre society. That’s what was exactly happening. And they wouldn’t care or judge him by his looks, because they would all exactly look like each other. He was finally going to be. . .accepted.

In response to these thoughts, the creatures did finally move. All three of them took off their skull masks in unison, and stared at him with those plain faces, the same face he had seen in his dream. All his life, Zharen wanted to be accepted, for who he was, something that had been denied to him for all of his life, that’s why he had undergone this mission, hoping to change all that. But apparently, journeying into this forest hadn’t been all for nothing. He had fulfilled his mission, in a sense. He was going to become a brand new person. The creatures who still stared at him seemed to sense what he was thinking, for their faces, though plain and hard to read, somehow looked as if they had a touch of sadness and pity for him. It touched Zharen’s heart deeply. They did care, they did understand. Still having some movement available in his face, a smile formed in Zharen’s lips. It took some effort but he did it, and smiled, genuinely, something he had not done in a long time.

He felt the tingling sensation spread to the corners of his mouth and on his cheek bones. He could feel it altering his physical make-up. His transformation was nearly complete. Now Zharen waited content, like a caterpillar that was in a cocoon, and was just now breaking its restraints. He couldn’t wait to leave this ugly body, the last reminders of a society that had rejected him. He was being reborn. Zharen closed his eyes, he would be out of his cocoon soon, and he awaited his conversion into the brilliant butterfly. He shut out all other thoughts and concerns of his old life, about Malon, his father, even Cojiro. They didn’t matter to him anymore, they were destined to find their own paths. All he could do now was to wait: wait for a new body, a new beginning, a new lifestyle and a new society. A society where he would finally be. . .accepted.

As the legend goes, one can still hear the loving cries of Cojiro calling to his master in the Lost Woods. A constant reminder to those who forget what had transpired there: a struggle, a death, a rebirth and an acceptance.