Chapter Text
Gil had begun to feel warm again when they reached the edge of the forest. In the back of his head, Ganon paced and muttered.
“Do you think that the Great Deku Tree will even let us enter the forest?” Gil asked him.
Ganon froze before asking, “Why would you ask that?”
“You’ve only been complaining and worrying about it for the last half-hour,” Gil replied. “When you open your mouth and make sounds, people hear them.”
Ganon glared then turned with a flick of his cape and strode into the private part of Gil’s mind that he occupied. There was no retreat from Ganon for Gil in his section of his mind, which looked like a grand library, filled to the ceiling with maps, books, and comfortable reading chairs. As Ganon opened the separating door, Gil saw a sliver of bright blue sky against red desert before the door slammed.
“Probably better that way,” he thought to himself and turned his attention to the outer world, where Link and Zelda were gently squabbling.
“There’s no way you hear it, you just feel it in your bones!” Link said.
“It’s definitely a sound, and it gets louder and quieter as you go,” Zelda replied.
“Either way, we should start our trip,” Gil said. “Regardless of how the path identifies itself, I’m disinterested in following it in the dark!”
“Gil’s always right!” Link said, grabbing Gil’s left arm.
“Practical and precise!” Zelda said, grabbing his right.
“Well someone has to be!” Gill said, lifting both of them off the ground as they giggled maniacally.
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The Lost Woods would haunt Gil’s nightmares, he just knew it. The grass stung and chattered over the lumpy ground. Trees grew faces and lost them again from just beyond his vision. He had a deep feeling that he was not built to be here, like a desert snake, blind in the shadows.
Despite this, between Zelda’s impeccable memory and Link’s intuition, they had almost made it through when Gil tripped on a knotted root.
A hand pulled him back from the misty laughter. Zelda and Gil both fell to the ground, and Link scoffed.
“It’s not a big deal to go into the mist, you just end up at the entrance again,” she said.
“The forest loves you Link, it may not be as friendly to others,” Zelda said, with a nervous grin.
“Thank you,” Gil said as he helped Zelda up.
“Umm, of course,” she said, brushing the ancient dirt off her tunic.
They stumbled through the entrance of the Korok Forest as the last blush of sunset left the sky. Gil still felt a heavy presence, as though they were being watched. The fog lapped at their feet.
Link and Zelda led the way to a pedestal. Zelda cried out, “O Great Deku Tree, will you not greet your guests who have traveled so far to see you?”
There was a silence before a deep voice rumbled across the clearing.
“Welcome princess. Champion. And… guest.” The Great Deku Tree rattled. “I had hoped you would make your way to us soon.”
“Thank you Great Deku Tree, and thank you for your hospitality,” Zelda said, bowing. Gil followed suit. Looking at the long-reaching roots, he wondered how old the tree could be.
“The world is growing again,” the Great Deku tree rumbled. “Deep in the soil, poison turns to water. Hyrule has suffered deeply, but she is slowly healing from the blight. On behalf of the forest, thank you for saving her while she could still return.”
Creatures leaped from the darkness, and before Gil could gather his magic, they were overwhelmed by small shrubs that leaped in the air, making a noise like rattling leaves. Link seemed to understand and respond to the creatures, who leaped on her.
“I see that my children, the Koroks agree,” the Deku Tree rumbled as a Korok flew into Gil’s arms, and hugged his bicep.
“We are overjoyed to have helped save Hyrule,” Zelda said, “But even now, we are on the move. We have been tasked with a new journey, to perform an ancient spell. We need a Korok twig.”
The Great Deku Tree paused as the Koroks composed themselves. One swung wildly in Link’s hair before there was a tiny snap and the Korok fell to the ground with a surprised rustle.
“You alright?” Link asked. The Korok looked extremely embarrassed, for a shrub, before nodding and scuttling off.
“There is your twig,” the Deku Tree said warmly.
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Gil woke with a start in the night.
Above the canopy, the stars twinkled, warm and close. Link was barely visible in a pile of wood and leaf bodies. Zelda and Gil had strategically moved away from the maraca-bearing Korok, who was performing an admirable approximation of a snore just by rustling his leaves. Zelda was still asleep, but Gil felt a presence.
He was drawn back to the pedestal and walked through the moonlit grove. The Great Deku Tree shifted.
“You carry a great burden, little one,” the tree said. “I recognize the presence in your mind, the one the forest was ready to reject. He who brings fire.”
“Yes,” Gil said, bowing low again. “Ganondorf is the one we will perform the spell for. To send his soul to the Realm of the Dead.”
The Great Deku Tree was still, and the silence stretched on. Gil had wondered if the tree had fallen asleep. Then it rustled again.
“Just like Hyrule, the soul you carry has been poisoned. It has been filled with a demon’s power, but even before that, that soul was willing to shape the world to his will, no matter the cost. The soul of Ganon is just older than I, and it has spent that time twisted with power. The weight of the lives he has taken will follow him even to the Realm of the Dead.”
“Fire consumes the forest, then the fire is extinguished. The ash falls to the ground and grows the new trees. Ganon caused the death of the Great Deku Tree before me, and yet I would never have grown had he not done so. A truth of the world in my lifetime has been that there are the three Triforce-holders, and they keep a balance in the world. When peace seems to go on forever, chaos and pain return. It is easy for me to forget that Ganon is not a demon himself, he is only a being of this realm.”
“The soul you carry in your body was fire. It consumed all that it could. Now it desires to go into the earth and let new things grow. I am frightened because I do not know what will grow from that field of charcoal. It is not one I thought I would ever see. What would the Triforce look like if it is freed of demonic power? I do not know that, but I do know that your quest is an honorable one.”
“Thank you Great Deku Tree,” Gil said.
“Take care though, little one. That which looks like ash can flare into destruction again. And when the fire is out, you will need to think about what you will grow in the new soil. Goodbye.” The Great Deku Tree grew to stillness.
Gil went back to his bedroll, head full of questions. When he entered the library of his mind though, Ganondorf’s desert doorway was still fully closed.