The Woods are Black and I Can't Turn Back

The two Kokiri fighters closed in on the Captain with thick tree-bark shields. They braced in front of their magician friend and Lucia. The magician girl hurled a tiny Wind twister at the foe with her rod. He stumbled a bit, but the force was no threat at all to his stance. Fearing the worst, the magician cast a weak barrier around the Kokiri party. The shortsword fighter bit at the heels of the Captain with his blade. This, the Captain felt. The sting of the blade chipped at his unprotected back legs. He turned to retaliate. . .

. . . but then changed his mind! The Stalfos Captain was not dumb enough to keep his attention turned from Julius, who was clearly an experienced guard.

Lucia had finished writing, and folded the page in her Infinite Novel. She made it into a little paper-plane. These paper birds were a hit in the village, and often swirled around in the air when the children were bored with a lesson. With the page in this form, she tore it out and threw it. It soared through the air at breakneck speeds.

The paper-plane turned into a pike half-way through its arc, and lodged itself deep in the Captain's collarbone. He flinched a bit, and stumbled much more this time as the weighty piece of wood and steel pulled down on his back. The Captain stood his ground once more, confident in facing Julius in combat. He tried to swing his axe at the ground, but the pike made his arm wobble a bit on the way down. Nonetheless, his strike connected with the ground and the earth tore open with a shockwave focused at Julius. Out of the tear in the ground came a number of frozen spikes. The Stalfos Captain was very proud of his technique.

"You placed it on the paper like I asked, right." Lucia reminded her magician acquaintance.

"You bet I did, I owe you one good! Now!" the magician clasped her hand closed to release the spell. The pike that had once been the paper sparkled with magic. The magician had placed a snap trap on it as it was torn out. A loud explosion blasted from inside the Captain, about where the tip of the pike was. The Captain fell backward and was a bit stunned.

Julius noticed the young fighters engaging the captain. Armed with bark shields, one brandished a bland, poorly forged shortsword. The other wielded a shovel as an improvised weapon; though, it would most likely still work fairly well, considering his foe's skeletal structure. They both shouted about being able to fight, seemingly inspired by the duo's efforts, as a faded, nearly transparent barrier came over the group, flickering in and out of reality. He almost wanted to tell them to get out of the village; to run, far away, finding safety wherever they could. But, he trusted the sound tactics of Lucia, who must have had a plan. He noticed the minute subtleties in his adernaline-filled state: Lucia, scribbling madly in her pad, the young, relatively inexperienced magician seeming to enchant it with a brief spell, though he couldn't be sure of its power. He noticed the flame within the Stalfos's mandible flare up again, as the paired warriors began their weak, untrained and inexperienced assault on his skeletal frame.

A large, steel pike flew through the air, a result of Lucia's scribbling, no doubt. It caught onto the back of his collar bone. Julius began to brace himself, expectant of the spell's effect having some form of blastback. Holding his sturdy, steel shield in front of him, the tip of his sword pointed toward the ground diaganally. A small fizzle, only a bit louder than a firecracker, burst from the Stalfos's ribcage. A chance for attack, it seemed to Julius, briefly before the captain brought his axe upon the ground. Already somewhat familiar with this technique, he knew what the do, narrowly evading the attack as spines of ice scraped, skidded, and slid past his armor, their intense aura of cold permeating his armor and chilling his flesh to the point where it began to blister, peel, bleed. All Julius felt was a tingling sensation in his shin as he collapsed onto his knee. Staggering to his feet he locked eyes with the Stalfos, himself a sweaty, panting mess like the steam escaping from a pot of boiling water. With a rage-filled yell brimming with hatred, he lunged at the Stalfos.

His dull, painted shield caught his axe along the embossments of the Triforce. It seemed the goddesses truly wanted him to emerge victorious, he thought briefly, before cracking the Stalfos along his skull with a swipe from his blade. The fighting continued, all the while the Kokiri warriors rallied around him, taking pot shots when they could; Lucia and her magician friend seemed to have more plans, too…

The Stalfos leaned back and gave a full-force kick to Julius's shield. He grabbed the pike with his buckler arm and yanked it out. His collar bone cracked but it was worth removing from its lodged-in position. Not only could he move freely now but he gained a weapon. He turned and flung the pike at the magician. She was caught in the belly with the heavy pike. It was thrown from the Captain's off-hand so it wasn't a very good throw. The pike was pretty heavy, however.

Lucia ran to the magician girl. She struggled and remembered her name: Noica. That prayer that nobody else would die had seemingly not worked at all. Noica lay there, unable to move much at all. It was all well and fair, this was the one who had picked on her. But then Lucia saw Noica flinching and cringing. She reached at her belly and shoved at the pike.

"P-pull it out, Lucia." she wheezed. Lucia was surprised that the pike had easily pried out. No, that wasn't it. There was a little blood, but it was staining the sides of Noica's shirt. Noica reached into her shirt. There was a thick book inside! It had caught the blade of the pike by chance. A Brief Observation on Modern Flora - by Lucia was the name of the book. What was this doing in between her cloths?

"You. . . you're a fan of my work?! I had no idea. . . about all this. Does everyone in Kokiri Forest like me more than I knew?" Lucia was taken aback, though happy that the girl was okay.

It was now that the Stalfos Captain was going for the others who chipped at his legs. He swiped down at them frantically. But this Stalfos had never fought Kokiri that were prepared for battle before. His swings were like friendly waves to them. They skipped and backflipped out of the way of his axe. They were an annoyance to him. No, they were a danger to him. Their chopping and hacking at his frosty bones was actually cracking them. Not only that, but his momentary distraction with the enraged Kokiri had finally given a better opening for Julius.

Lucia had been bandaging up Noica with some gauze she had. The blonde magician was going to be just fine. That Stalfos however, was in for a wild ride.

With a sharp vengeful CRACK! of his shield against the Stalfos's unarmored back, followed up by a smooth slash towards the nape of his neck, he perhaps effortlessly knocked loose the fiend's helmet, his icy dome being fully revealed to all. Slick, blue icicles quickly grew up from his skull, however, as he began to emit an icy aura, which quickly projected itself backwards, colliding with his shield. It was frozen now, Julius briefly cursing under his breath, as he discarded it to the side. Several, quick, precise sword slashes followed suit from Julius, tearing into abominable Stalfos, rending the ice from his bone as he began to began to break away his armor of ice.

The Stalfos turned, facing Julius. His eyes glowed a blue similar to Blue Fire. Dropping his axe, his hand began to shift themselves into huge, razor sharp blade of ice. Another opening, Julius thought, beginning to channel vast amounts of his inner strength, his resolve, love, hatred... all of these combined into a slurry of emotions, bounding forth from his blade as it shimmered with power. He loosed it immediately, shifting his sword naturally in his hand, as he collided in an intense strike with the frosty menace. A collision of heat, ice, and blades sounded, Julius further injuring him. His blade of silver scorched his body of ice; his sickles of ice tearing as far into Julius's armor as he could possibly endure. Welts began to appear on his skin as it reacted to the intensity of their cold.

Julius began to feel a slight daze coming over him, throwing the malevolent Stalfos off of him with his free hand. He slipped onto his right knee again, as it once again became unable to bear the stress he was forcing onto it. The Stalfos's armor of ice had been almost totally destroyed by the power of Julius's spin attack; his armor even had a deep gash tearing into it, almost having sliced it in half. Julius tried to stand, finding blood dripping onto his cuirass from underneath his pauldrons. A brief scream escaped from the Stalfos's body as he regained his footing on the dead grass and desecrated earth. His hands were still partially formed into the sickle shapes, though he had been just as badly injured in their collision. His eyes were no longer the blue they were before, instead they now glowed a dim red. It was plain to anyone that he was almost at the end of his rope.

Lucia picked herself up from the ground. The banging of metal was loud and irritating. As it seemed the boys and Julius hadn't won yet, Lucia began to spell something else out in her Novel again. The cold air was beginning to make her nose bleed. The ability of the Captain to drop the temperature would kill them all if she didn't finish this quick.

Lucia tore out the page and let it float to the floor to avoid injury. As the second wound down, the paper dropped straight to the ground and took a spherical shape. Out from this sphere sprouted a coil of rope in a spiral as a bare and angular dragonfly carving sunk into the cast iron. It was certain this was the ball she had ordered. Giving a signature picture of some sort would ensure the summon was never a dud, or of malfunctioning construction. Something out of the parameters, Lucia thought, would be lacking in detail enough that she would be sure not to use it. Say she asked the book for a bow, and it was missing her signature picture. That would be a sign that she had described it wrong or that the writing didn't transfer properly. A bow like that she wouldn't use, as it could break as she pulled the string.

Lucia grabbed hold of the rope and moved away from Noica. She began to swing it around in a circle. With a combination of her circular dragging and the properly timed movements of her legs, she managed to get the iron ball to swing off of the ground. With a few more twists and movements, she eased the whirling ball closer to the enemy.

"Everybody duck!" she shouted to the Kokiri boys. They were small enough to drop to the floor and be clear of the ball. The taller creatures were not small enough to avoid it. With Julius on one side of the Stalfos, he had nowhere to move to. The Captain heard the shout and turned to see what the ruckus was.

The Stalfos had now regretted dropping his forged steel axe. With his large axe he'd be able to stop this ball easily. He went to block with the buckler on his left arm but it was simply too late. Lucia whirled over with the swirling iron ball and caught him in the torso and arm, like a cannon ball through the side of a ship. While the Stalfos was torn to shreds, so was the rope on the ball. The iron ball went flying and was long gone. The Captain fell to pieces in a heap, spewing a white fog everywhere like dry ice would. The icy dust of his bones dissolved and floated into the air. With only his cracked skull left, he made an attempt to escape.

The skull bounced along the ground for a few yards. With a little time and protection, he could try to re-combine himself. However, he was very close to the ground now. One of the Kokiri boys walked over and clubbed the skull with his shovel. The cracks tore apart and the skull fell to pieces as well. It was the end of his spooky-scary reign over the village.

A horn blared again in the distance. The Lynel was signalling a retreat with the loss of the occupying leader. If one had a hawkeye or similar utility, one could see far in the distance the shape of a Lynel with a Bokoblin over his shoulder. Insubordination would not be tolerated. This Bokoblin would be punished severely. The centaurian speed of this General allowed him to catch any of his men attempting desertion.

The dark fog had not subsided. Lucia knew the reason, there was something else in this forest. Something xenomorphic in nature hovered over the trees. Lucia squinted at where the sky would usually be. What was that? It looked like a giant black hand had replaced the sun. Lucia had a bad feeling that they would have to find out what it was. "The woods are black and I can't turn back." so that's what it meant. Whatever was ailing the Great Deku tree was tied to that thing. Any Kokiri involved would not be able to escape it. It had rooted itself in the fertile soil of the forest. . . and was continuing to pierce the ground with its vulgar tendrils.

"M-Major! Sir-Surgate Sir! We have to check on the Deku Tree. His loyal retainers should be in the clearing with him- the Koroks. How ever many of them are left. . . We need to hurry!"

Julius struggled to stand, the injuries of the battle taking their complete toll as the adrenaline subsided. He rose to his feet slowly, moving as though he were liable to fall over at any point; which, while he would never admit to it, he was. He staggered forwards, then backwards, suffering from the intense burning pains across his shoulders and leg. He gathered his bearings after a moment or two of simply standing, dazed. His armor suddenly felt twice as heavy, even though he was as conditioned as one could possibly be, regarding the use of plate mail. He stood straight at last, still struggling a bit.

Finally he began to move. His lower right leg shouted back at him as he walked upon it. He looked for his shield, which was no doubt at least still partially frozen. Realizing he still held his blade, he sheathed it at his left hip; hissing as he did so, the muscles sore and damaged. He found it hidden amidst a small patch of grass, which somehow still managed go retain its livelihood even after the attack. While it still had a bit of frost on the front, covering its paints and embossings. He struggled with lifting it, calling one of the kokiri youths over to assist him.

"Carry this for me on the way there, please," he inquired, barely able to lift it himself. The Kokiri selflessly obliged, heaving the shield up with both hands. It was definitely heavier than anything he would normally lift, for sure. They continued to the Great Deku Tree's clearing, Julius staggering along and eventually needing help from the other boy to make it the entire way. They passed by the smoldering remains of what was once their homes, glass shards, charcoal, and whatever other refuse remained from their assault. Soon, they began to pass through a canyon-like passageway, the surrounding walls being nearly twice as tall as Julius himself. After several twists and turns, Julius eventually began to slowly lose conciousness. His last sight before he totally lost conciousness, however, was one of a huge clearing, with an even bigger tree resting in the center of it

"What are these? I'm not familiar with this." Lucia gawked and stopped short on the path. There was a huge, daunting wall of thorns blocking the way to the Deku Tree. Scattered corpses of torn and bleeding Kokiri lined the edge of the wall, apparently failed attempts to climb it. Two Kokiri mages came to meet the pair of heroes. They both nervously adjusted their collars.

"We're sorry, this path is off-limits. But this friend of yours is in a bad way."

"That's right, we're illusion mages. We fabricated this gory sight so that nobody would try to enter. Your friend needs to enter now, only the Koroks have potions strong enough to save him from a month in bed healing those injuries. We'll dispel this wall in a nano-second. By the way Lucia, I'm a big fan of your books! 'An Examination of Fluid Dynamics' is perhaps my favorite, it played a big part in the magical physics of this wall. Please sign it for me later if it's not a problem!" the second one explained.

Lucia was struck with surprise. Maybe all the books she wrote before leaving had turned the entire village into nerds while she was gone all that time. Her writing took up a decent portion of the small town's libraries. The pair of mages used a short incantation and the vines faded to a transparency, and then disappeared completely. One of the dead Kokiri remained in the path. He was now aware that he wasn't dead. The boy gathered himself up, brushed himself off, and dashed away sweaty and embarrassed.

Lucia proceeded with the the two, the rest of the children staying back to tend to Julius. She met with the clearing, not sure what to expect. There, they found a circle of Koroks gathered in front of the weary face of the Great Deku Tree. They were all facing the behemoth tree, singing while one in the center played a background tune.

"They're playing a healing song. Their music is normally used to stimulate new seeds to form, but it can also accelerate his regeneration. In his sickness, they must be singing as often as possible. That's why we can't even allow the general public inside." the first of the pair clarified. "Only Hollo can make the finest potion, the one we need for your friend. We will request his momentary absence from the song."

The pair of Kokiri hurried over, quickly whispered into Hollo's ear, and then swiftly returned. Hollo turned around, befuddled. If his potion was needed now, it was certain to be dire. He sped off to his laboratory to collect some of the miraculous blue essence. With a pinch of this, and a dash of that, the cauldron fumed and steamed. The expert Hollo could create his best potion in mere moments. Wasting no time, he scooped the glowing blue substance into a covered wooden bowl and stormed off with it back to the clearing.

"Quick, pour it in his mouth!" a child propping Julius up shouted desperately.

"He's bleeding out! His skin is becoming frostbitten! That battle saved us all. . . that he would risk his life. . ." one of the mages trailed off.

Hollo lifted the bowl to a Kokiri, who passed it up to Lucia, who then attempted to get the potion into Julius's mouth. This was the only chance to fix him before the wounds spread. Lith poked out to see what was going on. This man was looking his worst. Even the bratty fairy couldn't summon up an insult to this man. She shied back away into Lucia's shirt. The bowl gave its last drops to the soldier. Some color began to return to his face.

The Great Deku Tree looked on, with what strength he had. His branches rose up high. . . into that menacing fog. His leaves were torn and grey, his bark flimsy and yellowed. A pained moan came from his strangely animated mouth. They would have to tell him what happened, and that his village was now safe. As the Koroks went on break from their song, the group of Kokiri approached the tree to explain what had happened.

Darkness surrounded him. It totally washed over him, consuming his senses. With time, he no longer even felt the sensation of breath entering and leaving his chest. A faint thump, thump reverberated across his body, echoing into his mind. That's right; his time here wasn't yet finished. Slowly, warmth spread across the length of his body; where once, the blood flowed cold, life renewed itself. The destroyed flesh of his leg and shoulders began to mend, muscle tissues, fat, and eventually skin blossomed forth, the damage being undone before their very eyes…if he weren't still garbed head-to-toe in platemail, at least.

Conciousness roused his sleeping form. He sat there for a moment, listening to the quieted wind blow gusts through the carrion of the once-glamorous forest. It saddened him, a little; though he knew not precisely how much the forest had meant to its people, he was both empathetic and sympathetic to their losses, being reminded of when the news of Kakariko's fall reached the ears of the north. A firm frown dropped onto his face, marring his usually tranquil countenance to such a degree that it would have scared any who knew him well.

"We've got to make this right, Lucia," he spoke as his eyes opened. His helmet had been removed, of course, to aid in the imbibement of the Korok's fantastical elixer. He looked to his left, and then to his right, searching for the scattered pieces of his ensemble of silver. The younger kokiri, who had wielded the shortsword in their fight with the captain, had propped it neatly against the wall next to his discarded helmet. Picking himself up from the dirt, he brushed off the bits of mud and dirt that he could, finally bending amd reaching for his helmet. He placed it upon his head, feeling comfortable and slightly less vulnerable with it on. He hefted his shield up with his left arm as he drew his sword from his left hip. His blade was still in good shape; Julius briefly shined it into a kokiri's eyes, blinding him momentarily as he loosed a brief chuckle, sheathing the blade into its scabbard once again. His shield had mostly thawn out at this point, briefly securing its leather straps to his arm. He looked into the clearing once again, this time making out the strange, masculine facial features of the tree.

Briefly taken aback by the strange occurence, he asked a Kokiri, "What is that tree?"

"That's the Great Deku Tree," one of them quipped before another added, "He's kind of like our dad. He created everything in the forest, from us," the magician girl explained, motioning to the other kokiri in their presence, "to these guys, the Koroks. That one there, Hollo, practically saved your life with his expertise in creating potions. You should be really grateful to him," she finished with a slight giggle.

Julius was sure the stout wooden body, which was wider than it was tall, would be blushing at this point, though he couldn't be sure because of the yellow leaf covering his face. "Thanks," he said, nodding his head towards the potionmaker in recognition. He began to step into the clearing, unsure of if anyone had spoken to the Great Deku Tree or not. Finishing the stride of about thirty steps down the slight incline of a hill, he stood confidently in front of the tree, looking skywards as he finally became aware of how truly upset the forest must have been. His long, spindly branches stretched high into the dark mist that hung above the valley. His bark was deteriorating, revealing a damp, sappy mess underneath.

"Children, are you all safe?"

"Yes, we're fine, thanks to him," Noica mentioned, pointing at Julius's armored form.

"Ahh, yes. I see a familiar face amongst you as well, but first... you, outsider. You step into this meadow bearing the crest of the royal family across your armor. What are your ties to the royal family?"

"Guard Captain Julius Surgate at your service, sir," he said, kneeling and bowing his head to the Tree at his mention of the King and Princess. "I arrived here with my companion, Lucia earlier today. We initially set upon a war encampment, established by Ganon in my personal belief," he continued, "and after dispatching a Stalfos guard and quite a few Moblins, we set upon the one who had bound your children to posts, ready to execute them. Thankfully, we arrived in time, but there's something more to the matter," his vision shifting from the dirt at the roots of the Deku Tree to Lucia for a moment, "Lucia, the girl I arrived here with, has had some...disturbances, in her sleep. While she spared me the specifics, they seemd troubling enough for her to request me as a body guard, and even find a rapid method of travel such a long ways in a matter of minutes. What ails the forest so?"

The Great Deku Tree thought for a moment, hesitant of alerting an outsider to their woes...yet still, he came here bearing the royal crest, and even returned a wayward child of his to the forest. Such a deed could not go without thanks, nor without the information he desired. "Ganon's seed of darkness permeates the soil, poisoning the forest while siphoning the nutrients of the earth. A tower, deep within a poisonous bog at the edge of the forest, stands erect. It has massive, ebony walls, impervious to flame and force alike. None whom enter seems to return," the Deku Tree spoke, his face beoming glum at the thought, "and those who have seen the tower tell of an intense wailing, which reigns the tribes of Mad Scrubs into a frenzy, slaughtering all who approach without thought; without mercy. Even now, I hear these wails, brushig the tips of my tallest branches without the slightest bit of reprieve," he finished, his face becoming expressionless. He resumed speaking, though it seemed to not be to any in attendance.

"Lexi!" The tree commanded, a small, bright green orb of light fluttering down from his branches, resting beside his face as they began to converse. "Accompany the armored fellow whom bares the royal crest."

"To the tower?" The fairy asked, inquisitive of his exact request.

"Yes, and in any tasks he may take forth from then on," he explained. "I am comfident of his skills. Consider this your final task from me, young Lexi, as I place you from my charge to his."

"O~kay!" She certainly seemed rather excited for the task, all circumstances permitting. Descending to the visor of Julius's helmet, she peered in, resting her head on her palms, her elbows resting on his visor as though it was a table. "You can stand up, y'know," she said plainly to Julius as his eyes opened to the smooth, innocent light of the fairy. He stood, the fairy's body moving with his helmet. "I'm Lexi, your fairy. I know the Great Deku Tree didn't mention this to you, but we're gonna go to the tower he was talking about and investigate! I hope you're fine with that, she giggled, fluttering off towards the village. Julius wasn't sure how well this was going to work; whoever heard of a Hylian with a fairy, anyways?

The Great Deku Tree sighed, his strength leaving him as the band of Koroks began to wind up for another round of their symphony. "Julius, if you'll please excuse her behaviour. However, my strength is leaving me. Go forth, Sir Julius!" The Tree commanded, fading into the tree. Julius wasn't sure just what he had gotten himself into.