Why Do the Forests Cry? [Eevachu + Clooby]

Dungeon: Remains of the Great Deku Tree - Ocarina of Time
Participants: Rika(Eevachu) and Lucian(Clooby)
Rewards: Rika: Jump + Double Jump Augment(-20 Stock)
Lucian: Crafting Tailor Level 1 + 10 Rupees

Deep within Southern Hyrule, there lived a forest known as Kokiri Forest. This forest was home to many different types of creatures. Among them were the forest dwelling creatures from whom the forest got it's namesake, the Kokiri. A mythical race of humanoid creatures that stay young eternally, they're guided by the great and almighty Deku Tree. A father to some and a deity to others, the Great Deku Tree is a tall and powerful tree that safeguards not only the Kokiri, but the forest around him. However, he is not infallible. Sometimes, a Great Deku Tree passes away, and when that happens, the forest he once protected places and protects a new sapling, so that one day it too will grow into the powerful Great Deku Tree. What happens when the forest is unable to plant a new Great Deku Tree, though. . . ?

Pushing branch and branch aside, Rika felt increasingly worse. Seeing a forest in this state hurt him immensely, even if he had been out of Kokiri Forest for so long. Was the forest always this bad this far south? Feeling the rotten bark of the tree rub against his skin was very discomforting. The forest shouldn't just become this bad, the Great Deku Tree should protect it. He had just seen the Great Deku Tree back in Kokiri Forest, though, so what could be wrong? Even more bothersome is the fact that the deeper he went into the forest, the less life he saw. Not just Deku Scrubs and Koroks, but even simple forest life such as squirrels or deer. Being a Kokiri, most animals wouldn't instinctively run from him upon seeing him, so something had to be up.

Moving past another dead tree, Rika continued deeper into the forest, hopefully to find something.

Lucian trekked deeper into the forest. He couldn't understand why he was travelling here, totally unaware and uninformed of his surroundings, but something absolutely urged him to continue on.

Soon, the forest began to rot and decay. The stench was unlike anything he had ever smelled before; worse than the stench of a Moblin's breath, worse than the stench of death that permeated and wafted through his battles. As he got deeper into the thicket of woods, the sunlight began to dim, barely managing to pierce the canopy of branches that hung above him. All around him were rotten logs, trees so rotten that they could barely stand. The forest floor was covered in a thick, grimy substance...so thick he could barely pick up his feet to walk, having to drag his boots through the sludge. Lucian theorized the leaves had simply...dissolved, given the naked trees in his surroundings, and the somewhat surprising lack of leaves on what he simply refused to call a forest floor. If it was a forest, it was a forest of death and decay, one long since tainted ages ago.

Eventually, the sludge thinned to a watery composition, though traces of whatever unfathomable gruel clouded within the puddles laid along the forest floor.

As Rika headed deeper and deeper, the stench got worse and worse. He transferred from the fresh forest smell he loved to the foul, rotten odor of the dying trees. Although the sludge wasn't very thick on Rika's side, he could do nothing to avoid the stench. There were numerous dead logs for him to stand on, but it was probably unsafe, as they couldn't hold his weight. After dozens and dozens of dead and decaying plant life, Rika thought, that for once, he saw something alive. Something. . . moving.

Off in the distance, Rika saw a tall, humanoid-looking creature also heading deeper into the forest. A Hylian, maybe? What is a Hylian doing this deep in Kokiri Forest, much less in this place? He couldn't be the one to cause this, could he? He didn't look like any sort of Sorcerer, although Rika couldn't get a good look. Without anything else to do, Rika called out to him. "Hey! Who are you?!" His voice echoed through the rotten trees towards the being. Who knew if he was friend or foe, but Rika was willing to take his chances.

Lucian stopped moving for a bit, deciding to investigate the puddles that lay at his feet. He prodded it with a finger, and as expected, it behaved much like a normal liquid would. However, he felt a slight...tingling with the digits he had prodded it with. He looked at his gauntlet: several fingers from his right gauntlet were now missing, exposing bare flesh. He began to panic. Whatever was in that substance - whatever had burned through his glove - wasn't merely leaves. Something more had to be at work here; something...sinister.

He heard a shout in the distance. It seemed to be calling for him, though he didn't know who else would be wandering around somewhere so desolate. Surveying the area, he had spotted the source of the voice -- a lone Kokiri, standing not too far away from him. To Lucian, though, he seemed to be only a young boy, perhaps investigating the forest for the same reason as him -- which is to say, none at all.

He froze, unsure of how to handle the situation. He thought for a moment, considering the situation, his eyes still fixed on the boy. He finally spoke. "Lucian, I believe. What brings a child as young as yourself here?"

After shouting out to him, the man seemed to be hesitant to give a response, staring at Rika all the while. However, he responded shortly after, calling out his name. "Lucian, I believe. What brings a child as young as yourself here?" Normally, being called a young child would get on Rika's nerves. Due to the circumstances of the forest, though, he was a little more focused on that. ". . . I'm Rika, and I'm not a child, I'm a Kokiri. You know what Kokiri are, right?" Rika started to assume that he didn't. It's true that only the more educated or scholarly type of people knew what Kokiri were, and most normal citizens or people didn't. However, he WAS in Kokiri Forest, home of the Kokiri. "You're in Kokiri Forest, if you didn't know." He continued, examining the man.

He certainly seemed like a warrior. His large, muscular physique, coupled with the scars decorating his body and the axes he carried. Rika's thoughts that he may know what was behind this seemed to diminish, although they still lingered in his mind. He didn't seem like someone who's ever been here. ". . . I apologize for the current state of this part of the forest. It's not normally like this, it's usually a beautiful place filled with life, protecting those that mean no harm. Something like this shouldn't happen . . " Rika added on after a short pause, sighing as he looked upward towards the rotted, leafless tree branches above his head. Despite abandoning his home so long ago, he still truly loved the forest. Looking back over to the man, Rika finished with a question. ". . . So then, Lucian, what brings you here?"

"Oh? Kokiri? What are you talking about? Has your mother been filling your head with bedtime stories? Hahaha, I've never heard of such a thing!" He gloated a bit, and perhaps treated him like too much of a child, but he was speaking the truth. Lucian had never encountered or even heard of a Kokiri before. Looking around the pair of them, Lucian once again felt the same tingling feeling in his fingers. Looking down, he anticipated the worst.

Thankfully, nothing had happened. Looking back at Rika, he answered his last question, "I...was travelling, passing to the south, when I felt a sudden urge, a calling, to this place. I can't quite place my finger on it, but it...called out to me, I guess. There's not much reason to it honestly, but at least my instincts were right. Something sinister is at work here, but I'm not quite sure what." Lucian surveyed the surroundings once more. The dim light barely revealed anything to the duo; Lucian could hardly see five feet in front of him. It was accentuated by the sludge that had prior slowed his journey to a snail's pace. He was beginning to believe that sludge was acidic as well, and was slightly worried about what repercussions it would have on both his equipment and his body.

This was of little concern compared to the issues on hand, however. "Well, Rika, how about we search out whatever's caused this place to turn...into this?" he said as he began to walk along the dim, sludge-laden forest floor once again.

Rika let out a small sigh upon hearing his response. Normally, Rika would get angry when someone made fun of him, and this was a perfect opportunity for him to mess with this guy and get back at him. However, he had an objective and didn't want to waste time with this guy, not when the forest was in danger. Then, he told Rika why he was here. He felt a calling to come here? Shaking his previous comment aside, Rika responded, saying, "That's kind of a strange way to get here, but you're right. I don't really know what's up with the area, but that's why I'm here; To find out." Then, he suggested the two of them pair up to find the cause. Despite annoying Rika moments after meeting him, the Kokiri couldn't say no. There was sure to be something strong behind this, and he probably couldn't take it alone, neither of them could.

Plus, the judging by his appearance, he certainly seemed to know his way around the battlefield. Whether he wanted to or not, he'd have to team up with Lucian to succeed. Rika let out a small chuckle before responding. "Heh, very well, Lucian. Just don't hold me back!" He playfully responded, although it even felt somewhat forced. While it wasn't something out of character for him to say- Quite the opposite, actually- the state of the forest had a notable effect on his mood. Not that Lucian would notice, as it was their first time meeting.

As the two continued deeper into the forest, the small puddles seemed to get more and more common, although they were still mostly avoidable. Soon enough, something would happen, and it did.

Rika's eyes widened as he saw the first sign of life outside of Lucian in the forest in hours. A white hare, standing by a tree. It almost seemed to shine or shimmer, although it may just be it's whiteness accentuated from the dimness of the forest. Rika quickly rushed over to the hare, bending down by it. "Hey, bunny! Please tell me, do you know what happened here?!" The bunny didn't seem to move much, slowly turning to face Rika. He heard a very faint whisper in his mind. Not just faint, but weak and sad. Almost terrified. It said, ". . . Help. . . us. . . " Rika looked worriedly at the bunny as he said this. "Help you? What's wrong? Tell me, I'll help!" The bunny didn't seem to say anymore, as he started running away deeper into the forest. However, the strange thing is, unbeknownst to Rika, the voice also echoed in Lucian's mind. The Kokiri quickly got up and started chasing after the hare, shouting back at Lucian as he ran. "Quick, follow me!"

Witnessing Rika bending over to the bunny and speaking words to it, he figured he simply had a passion for nature. The strangest part though, it seemed, was that it spoke back.

"Holy- Did that rabbit speak back?" There was a lack of time though, as soon enough, Rika rushed off into the dead, decaying underbrush. Having no choice but to follow, his feet splashed through the thin substance as it soon spread into a still, unchanging pond. As the amount of the substance grew, the light seemed to dim. Soon, they were in total darkness, save for a clearing just ahead of them. Splashing through the puddle in a mad dash after the hare, they soon broke into the clearing as the acid-like substance attempted to eat through their clothing but failed.

They wandered upon a giant tree. It was harbored within what once may have been a meadow, but now instead of the scents of flowers, one could smell only the rapid death and decay of its surroundings. Its branches were bare as the pale moonlight shone down upon it, its branches quivering as a cold wind seemed to shake the area around them. The tree had remarkable facial features, complete with a faux-wooden mustache.

As its great branches creaked and quaked, soon its massive mouth opened as well. The hare, seemingly already there, lying in wait, quickly hopped its way inside. Without fail, they chased it through its gaping maw, and into the complex caverns lying in wait.

Racing after the bunny, Rika tried to keep up. As they ran farther and farther, it proceeded to get even darker, save for the strange glow of the rabbit. Occasionally a drop or two of the liquid-like substance would splash onto Rika's arm. However, he disregarded the burning and continued running, dusting it off of himself. Soon, they saw light; A massive, open meadow. However, it wasn't the pleasant meadow you'd expect. There were no flowers and it lacked the fresh smell of grass, substituted by the smell of rotting death. As Rika's eyes met the area, he knew exactly what it was, and in an instant, everything became clear to him. It was a Deku Tree.

Rika paused for a moment, stunned by what was in front of him; It wasn't the Deku Tree that raised him and the other Kokiri in the village, the Deku Tree that Rika talked to every day, the Deku Tree that was his only friend in the village. It wasn't his father. That, he knew for sure. However, it was similar to losing a distant uncle, of sorts. He still felt sadness at the loss of the Deku Tree. "Well, this explains everything. . ." Rika quietly muttered to himself, although whether Lucian heard was another story. The Deku Tree in this part of the forest had died, so there was nothing protecting the forest. From what, though? That was still a question he needed to know.

Then, his hairs stood on edge as he heard the creaking and groaning of bark upon bark, as the Deku Tree's mouth slowly dropped, revealing a massive entrance. The hare quickly ran in the mouth, and Rika was about to chase after. However, for just a moment, he hesitated. Should he really enter the Deku Tree? Would it be a disgrace to it's memory to run around in it's remains? . . . No, the bunny lead him here for a reason. This forest is in a state of turmoil, and to NOT go in the Deku Tree's mouth would be a much bigger disgrace to him.

Continuing, Rika rushed inside the Deku Tree, Lucian following right beside him.

As they ran in the Deku Tree, it became dark for a few moments, before the area was illuminated once again. Once light had returned, Rika examined the room they were once in. It was a massive, wooden space, towering high and high up, far higher than their eyes could see. Vines rested on the walls, leading up to platforms heading higher up. There was a door or two visible, but he couldn't see too high up. Webbing decorated most of their sight, some covering the walls out of the way. Others seemed to cover things such as doors, although they weren't visible quite yet. Various holes- Some of which being covered by webbing- in the Deku Tree's body allowed light to shine in, lighting up the inside of the Deku Tree. While not perfectly illuminated, at least they could see.

Rika groaned upon seeing this. "Great, just my lucky day. Spiders." He mumbled to himself, looking around. Where to go first? There were multiple doors they could enter, although some were on a higher level. There might even be something else on the ground floor. . .

Lucian groaned. He hadn't intended on exploring this much today, but it couldn't be helped. He had himself roped into finding what was causing the forest to die like this, as well as his new childish companion.

"Where do you think the rabbit went, kiddo? There's nowhere it could have gone here, unless it went... up." Eyeing the vines that grew along the walls, he began to climb. At points, he had to draw one of his axes to slice through webbing that blocked his way, though it was only a minor annoyance. Soon, he reached the top of the vines, where unseen Deku Babas lay hidden within the piles of webbing and dirt that had accumulated over time.

Fortunately for Lucian, he knew exactly where to expect them as they began to sprout, their massive purple jaws clamoring about as he drew his axes. As they snapped towards him one after another, he swung in a circle, unleashing a massive Spin Attack upon the four of them. They still stood, being exceptionally larger and more durable than the majority of their kind. He slashed into the top-right Deku Baba, using quick, violent motions as its shaft began to crack, eventually breaking from the strain of its heavy head.

As its head fell to the floor, Lucian turned towards the other behind it, and he readied his arm, he felt a sharp, piercing pain in his leg. Turning to look, it seemed he had not yet felled his foe -- where its thick, bulky shaft once laid was instead writhing mass of tentacles, and each one flailed as if it were running for its life. Kicking it off his leg, he struck with a lone axe blow, causing such a deep gash it couldn't be anything but fatal.

As he began combat again, he made sure each and every last Deku Baba fell off the platform, onto the hard base below. He was positive they'd die; the fall was at least sixty feet already, which would prove to be more than fatal to most creatures. Looking over the edge, Lucian saw the splatters of blue below, signifying that they had indeed died.

He entered into the room as the studded door lifted up without signal. Odd, he thought, that there would be doors in a tree in the first place. Even odder, however, was that they opened autonomously. The inside of the room was practically a cylinder that reached as tall as thirty feet. The ceiling of the room was totally obscured with a mass of somewhat thick, aged webbing. In the center of the room stood a single gnarled branch, that seemed to behave as a lamp as it curled around an endless fire that crackled and popped harshly. As Lucian placed his now bare hand onto the wall, he figured out why the tree hadn't been set ablaze long ago, as the wood was damp with moisture. A slight buzzing noise pervaded the room; the source being...extremely large dragonflies that flew around near the top of the room and hung themselves on the wall. What was more, however, is that their tails carried the lively crackle of electricity, which provided a soft, blue contrast against the harsh red provided by the fire in the center of the room.

Rika shook his head in annoyance as Lucian called him a kiddo once again. "Ugh, I told you, I'm not a kid. I'm a- You know what, forget it. I'll explain later. Just don't call me a kiddo, my name's Rika. I'm not sure where it went, but I think it was guiding us to this place. We should probably investigate." Lucian took the initiative, however, and started climbing. Rika followed shortly behind, having a much easier ride as Lucian cleared the path of webs on his own.

As Lucian stepped forward, he engaged in a fight with multiple Deku Babas. Rika leaned against the bark wall and watched, interested in his combat skill. Sure, it was only a few Deku Baba, but he'd have to be able to at least take them on. He quickly dispatched them without much trouble, Rika glancing over the side of the platform, watching as they splattered against the floor. "Not bad, not bad." Rika said to Lucian, nodding in unison. They quickly headed to the next room, the door seeming to open automatically. It was strange that they had opened on their own, along with the fact that there were doors in the Deku Tree period, but Rika had certainly seen stranger things before.

It was a massive cylinder of a room, the ceiling reaching to about thirty feet high. The actual width of the room was about 20 feet with flames in the middle. That was somewhat strange, that there were flames in the room. Rika was sure he wouldn't set the Deku Tree on fire due to it's size and thickness, but now he was sure he wouldn't have to worry about that. At least, not for the meantime. Then, the buzzing hit his ears. Showtime. Four massive dragonflies- At least, as far as dragonflies go- descended down from the ceiling, their tails sparking and crackling with electricity. They weren't unfamiliar enemies to Rika; He'd probably fought numerous dragonflies in the past, especially during any explorations in the Lost Woods where they were quite the common and aggressive creature. "Alright Lucian, you put on a good show, but it's my turn. Hope you enjoy!" Rika said to his new ally with a tone of enjoyment, before stepping forward.

A voice rang in the minds of all of the dragonflies, something rather unfamiliar to them. It was Rika, communicating to them due to his innate Kokiri ability; The ability to telepathically converse with animals. "Hey there, dragonflies! I don't appreciate you living in the deceased carcass of the Deku Tree. So because of that, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to fight you guys. Make it a good fight, too, you guys have someone else watching!" The dragonflies seemed slightly surprised he could communicate with them, but seemed to let out a superior scoff in response. This small Hylian, beat US? As if.

The dragonflies seemed to forgo a response with words, instead choosing to dash towards the Kokiri. They left streaks of blue in their wake as they rocketed forward, the electricity quickly dissipating upon leaving their body. Reaching and drawing his Scythe, Rika turned towards the oncoming dragonflies, leaping to the side and slashing with it's range. Although there was no kill, he got a hit. One of the dragonflies collapsed to the ground, it's wing sliced clean off. Although not dead, it would have difficulty fighting. The other three flew past him, quickly making a U-turn to catch back up. He had already started running, as they darted at him. However, they weren't exactly the fastest creatures. Rika had no problem creating a bit of distance, the three trailing behind. One branched off from the group, flying upward, while the other two kept chasing.

As he kept running, Rika pointed his hand to the wall behind him. A large, intricate glowing mark appeared, the shimmering yellow lighting up the small area around it. Seconds later, a massive, wooden spire erupted from the wall, hitting the dragonfly lingering closer to the wall. Impaling him, The spire went flying through his body almost instantly, ripping the creature in half as the lower half of it's body fell to the ground, blue guts splashing over the tip of the spire. The upper half sat on top of the spire for mere moments before it slid to the ground, the spire unable to balance such a thing.

"That's right, I can use magic, too! Hahaha!" Rika taunted the dragonfly tailing behind him, laughing as he did so. The dragonfly seemed angered by this, finally giving Rika a response. "Grr, don't get confident, there's still two of us left!" That's right, there were, but they would be gone- Wait, two?

The dragonfly was right, Rika was sorely underestimating his foes. So much so that he didn't even notice one of them had stopped tailing him. As he looked back to his front from glancing at the pursuing dragonfly, he was met face first with a dragonfly, dashing straight towards him. Although they were slow creatures, such a sneak attack would be hard to avoid. Rika narrowly leaped to the side, but still couldn't avoid the attack. He felt electricity course through his arm as the dragonfly's tail collided with his arm. The clanking of his scythe was heard as it fell to the ground from the shock. Rika let loose a small cry of pain at the shock, just before he quickly jumped away from the dragonfly after it's attack, almost stumbling due to the shock. Luckily for him, they weren't known to be the strongest of creatures. Although their shocks did hurt, they didn't seem to have much in the ways of longlasting effects and wore off almost instantly. Rika let out a small laugh as he saw the two dragonflies floating in front of him. "Haha, you're right, I shouldn't get confident. I'm sorry for underestimating you, be assured that it's not a mistake that'll happen again." The dragonflies dashed after him once again as he started running once more, this time without his scythe.

Lucian watched the ongoing fight, wary of the few remaining foes. However, the room didn't seem to lead anywhere or have any purpose; why would such a room be constructed let alone inside the body of something that seemed so important?

Not long after Rika had began chasing about the dragonflies again, the webbing above the room burst, being shred into tatters as five unearthly figures dropped onto the floor. Round, red sacs followed after their descent, a putrid brown liquid oozing onto the floor surrounding the lamp. The creatures were large, managing to stand on their two mottled, chicken-like legs. A large orange eye decorated the center of their ball-like torsos, its iris a deep emerald in color, and its pupil only a shade lighter in color. What appeared to be a small tuft of cyan hair decorated the top of their torsos, swaying back and forth as their bodies shifted in unison. Their irises quickly grew to the shade of blood, as three of them pounced at once on Lucian, and the others jumping after the dragonflies and Rika.

Caught slightly off guard by their performance, Lucian responded with only two speedy, brutal blows, giving two of the three offending combatants deep, bleeding gashes vertically across their unusually colored eyes as a slimy, purple liquid squirted onto Lucian and the floor surrounding them. Out of the three, one was lucky enough to secure a hit - a very forceful hit, in fact, managing to knock him onto his back with a headbutt that felt like he had just slammed his head into a wall of rock. Soon, the successful attacker turned his back on Lucian, instead focusing on the red-garbed boy chasing around two flying creatures that two of his brother were now chasing.

Hearing the tearing of webbing and the dropping of sacs, Rika's body froze. He was terrified of spiders, although moreso Skulltulas than other spiders. Two of the Gohma Larvae fixated their bulging orange eye on him, the other three choosing Lucian as their target. There was good news and bad news for Rika. The good news was that they were not Skulltulas. Although they do bother him and he doesn't enjoy being around them, Rika is mostly scared of Skulltula, not necessarily Gohma Larvae. The bad news? If there were Gohma Larvae here, there had to be a queen somewhere. That thought alone filled Rika with fear. He was terrified of Skulltulas, but Gohma herself was on a completely different level. She wasn't just terrifying, she was threatening.

That'd have to be dealt with later, however. Rika snapped out of it and continued to keep running. The momentary pause allowed his pursuing enemies to get closer, and now Rika was in trouble. Alone they weren't a problem, but now he had four pursuers, all within closer proximity. What's worse, the Gohma Larvae were fast enough to catch up to him. He had to act fast. A tiny orb of water formed in his hand, quickly growing ever larger, until it encompassed the entirety of his hand, forming a large, crystal clear ball. Tossing it over his shoulder as he ran, the orb flew back near the dragonflies. The two dragonflies flew to the side, assuming it had missed. They were sorely mistaken.

A blast was heard as water was unleashed from the orb, annihilating the two dragonflies as remaining parts of their corpses fell to the ground. Water splashed throughout the room, the flames in the middle flickering as drops of water sizzled against the heat. However, it was nowhere enough to extinguish the roaring fire in the center. The two Gohma Larvae ran closer and closer to Rika, one looking ready to pounce. Rika quickly unsheathed one of his daggers, gripping it underhanded. He sliced at the Gohma Larvae as it pounced, the blade ripping through it's squishy eye. It let out a high pitched cry as purple blood splashed onto the ground, the Gohma Larvae collapsing to the ground. It's body twitched a few times, as if still trying to move. It wasn't completely dead quite yet, but it would be soon.

One left, it should be no problem. Well, not anymore. The fifth Gohma Larvae which had tackled Lucian previously ran up behind Rika, flanking him. He couldn't run anymore, they were on opposite sides of him. He'd just have to take a hit. Turning his blade around, Rika lunged at the Gohma Larvae in front of him. The blade stabbed into it's eye, a purple liquid slowly running down it's eye from the stab as it once again cried out. As the dagger impaled the Gohma Larvae, the one behind Rika pounced, slamming into him and knocking him onto the ground. Rika staggered up to his knees, knowing it wouldn't stop there. It was about to pounce again.

He spun around and thrust his hand forward. Embers formed and swirled as a hypnotic ball of fire launched out, slamming into the hunched back Gohma Larvae ready to pounce. It was sent flying off of it's feet, slamming into the wall as it was engulfed in flames. The Gohma Larvae let out a cry as it was being roasted, slowly but surely succumbing to death just shortly after being born. It stopped not too long after, quickly dying.

Rika sighed and shook his head as he stood up, letting out a small chuckle as he dusted himself off. "That was harder than it should have been." He said to no one in particular as he slid his dagger out of the Gohma Larvae's eye, swinging it a time or two to throw the blood off of it. He didn't have anything to clean it with on him, that'd have to just be later. For now, this would suffice though.

Lucian stood in awe, admiring the boy's skill. He threw some sort of orb over his shoulder and practically blew it to bits. Then, he burned one of them into a crispy husk with only a wave of his hand. Lucian thought his ability was both amazing and inspiring, and wanted to obtain some of his knowledge for himself.

"So uh, Rika, right? Do you think you could teach me...whatever it is you used just then? It was pretty amazing, I think." He almost wanted to applaud his newly found friend's abilities, but he knew they had more important things to do, like finding the hare for one. The room was mostly cleared out now, several corpses having piled onto the floor. However, a lone, wingless dragonfly remained. Literally powerless to stop him, the dragonfly had no choice but to endure its fate. Soon enough, its life was ended by the harsh blackness of Lucian's axe, chopping it directly in half.

It wasn't much of a display of strength though, being forced to kill such a defenseless foe. He said a quiet, incomprehensible prayer to Din for his irrevocable sins. Before he could finish his prayer, an extremely loud banging noise came from outside the room. It sounded distant, yet it was still loud enough to cause Lucian to flinch upon hearing it, bringing his hands up to shield his body. He immediately exited the room with Rika in tow, curious on just what had caused the sound.

In the center of the room now stood three inexplicably aged, bony figures. Each of them stood just a tad taller than Lucian himself, and each one was garbed in a worn, rusted cuirass, coupled with thick helmets that covered the entirety of their skulls. The helmets were in almost as bad a shape as their cuirasses, having a single slit for their sullen, cobweb filled eyes where their face guard met their helmet. One of the three brandished a heavy spiked club, its various points and rounds being made from either polished steel or only the sturdiest wood. Another wielded a massive blade, its entire length being at least equal to the creature's towering height and its blade being wrought from similarly high-quality steel. The final member of the trio held aloft its gainly bosom a vicious barbed spear, decorated a reddish hue. It looked positively ferocious and Lucian was sure it would tear through whatever guard either of them could put up against it.

Lucian stared down at them, investigating their features as he and the largest, sword-wielding member of the trio locked eyes. It let loose an intimidating, bone-chilling war howl as its comrades turned to face the duo, and the trio began to ready their wrathful weapons.

He examined his options carefully. He knew he couldn't execute the Helm Splitter from this height without endangering his own life, but he had a second, auxiliary option. He had the power of both science and explosions on his side. He had a source of might none knew how to conquer. Reaching into the second pouch on his belt, a slight grin cracked onto his normally still face. Soon, it doubled in size, and he was smiling like a madman. He withdrew his hand from his pouch, and held aloft the single greatest weapon anyone could have in their arsenal: bombs. Rather, a single bomb in this instance. He didn't expect to need any more than one in this case. He chucked it below with a hefty might, it fuse ignited as it plunged into the depths below. Soon, an ear-bursting explosion resounded from within the tree's dank, empty bowls. Lucian examined the scenario below. They had not survived.

At least, that's what he could tell from the dark, hazy smoke that now clouded the area they had once stood. With yet another intimidating, bone-shattering roar, the mightiest of the pack swung his fierce, fear-inducing blade at Lucian, who managed to avoid his mighty swing by only an inch. With quivering hands, he managed to draw his axes in such a time as to barely parry the abomination's swinging blows, barely holding his own against the beast's tremendous strength.

(Pro-tip: Learn what the word 'hyperbole' means if you don't know before reading this post.)

Rika got a good laugh at what Lucian had said. "Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaha. You wanna learn magic- That's what it's called, by the way- and you don't even know it's name?" Rika managed to stop laughing and wiped his eyes. ". . . Okay, sure. It'll be difficult for you, learning your first spell always is. After we're done here though, I'll teach you how to use magic." While Lucian went to do something, Rika headed over and picked up his scythe. After doing so, however, they were interrupted from the sound of crashing coming from the main room.

"That doesn't sound good. . . " Rika muttered as he headed towards the door to investigate with Lucian. As they walked out of the room, Rika looked over the edge to see what the noise was. He found his answer.

The grinding of bone against bone was heard as one of them moved it's head upward, noticing the group. He was made entirely of bone, piecing together to form a human skeleton. The bone looked scarred and worn, as if it had suffered an eternity of unrest. However, it's power would certainly not reflect this, as it was still quite sturdy. He wasn't completely open, however. A rusty cuirass covered his chest, although there weren't really any vital organs to protect. On his head was a rusty, blood stained helm, covering the entirety of their head, leaving only a thin slit where the hollow eyesockets laid. Cobwebs stretched across the inside of their bony frame, from their eyes to mouth, and even within their chest.

Their weapons were a stark contrast to the run-down quality of their armor. Instead of being rusted and unfit for combat, their weapons looked brand new, ready to take on the world. One wielded a massive broadsword, stretching larger than it's lanky bone arms. The blade seemed sharp enough to slice the Deku Tree down, if he so desired. The second of the three creatures wielded a massive club decorated with several large spikes. Whether steel or wood, they were extremely sharp. The club itself was incredibly thick, and anyone on the receiving end would be feeling it in the morning.

The third had a massive pole not unlike Rika's scythe. However, the key difference was the blade. Instead of a curved scythe blade, there rest a small, sharp blade on the end, turning into an extremely dangerous tip. Just below the blade rest several sharp barbs descending down the blade, pointing in the same direction. It would be incredibly difficult for them to fight, as it outranged Lucian and it was most likely stronger than Rika. He knew exactly what they were too; Stalfos.

Undead monsters of great strength, they're said to be born when adults who have disrespected the forest they're in get lost. They slowly get driven to insanity as they're endlessly trapped in a maze of trees. Soon, they succumb to this form and wander the forest aimlessly as undead creatures of the night, never able to escape their eternal punishment. However, this gives no respect to their battle prowess. Upon being reborn, Stalfos are experienced in the physical arts, easily destroying any who are unprepared to face their wrath. Although they wield many different weapons, it matters not; They will use them all with great skill.

However, do not be mistaken, they are not an unbeatable force. As with all great foes, they have their weaknesses. Stalfos are unable to cast magic, relying on pure weapon prowess and technique to defeat their foes. As such, keeping a healthy distance and pelting them with spells from afar is advised. That isn't their only weakness, though, and Lucian was about to demonstrate what it was. . .

Rika glanced over to Lucian as he fiddled with his pouch, and saw what he was up to. He had bombs! Reaching into his pouch, Lucian pulled out a glorious black orb. The round, gunpowder filled explosive was glorious at this point. The fuse looked ready to burn, Rika could hardly wait. Lucian held it up into the air, as the two seemed to, without speaking a word to one another, indulge themselves in the glory of the bomb together. It was a great bonding moment between the two who, not even hours ago were complete strangers. It was like some Lion King shit, man.*

. . . Anyway, Lucian chucked the bomb down to the basin, the spinning orb hurtling downward as the fuse sizzled away, the sound of the fuse growing fainter and fainter. However, that quietness was soon replaced by the sound of an explosion. A loud 'BOOM' echoed across the tree walls, signifying that the bomb had, in fact, exploded. Glancing over the side of the platform, it certainly seemed as if it had worked. It was a little hard to tell due to the thick smoke left behind by the bomb, but no sign of movement was seen. "I gotta admit, that was a little disappointing." Rika said to Lucian, pulling his head back from the edge of the platform. Before Rika had a chance to consider where they would go next, the Stalfos decided for them.

A bloodcurdling roar shot throughout the tree, seeming to cause even the deceased Deku Tree's spine to tremble in fear. The swordbearing Stalfos leaped to the platform, Lucian narrowly avoiding the attack. It cleaved it's massive broadsword downward once more, Lucian barely managing to whip out his axes and guard the tremendous assault. It survived? But if it did, then that means. . .

Rika wasted no time throwing his hands in front of him, as a glowing yellow circle formed on the side of the platform. As if on cue, the spear-wielding Stalfos leaped high into Rika's sight, determined to go after him. However, as he reached the platform's edge, a massive wooden spire launched upward, impaling his entire chest. Bones were sent flying across the Deku Tree basin as he was shattered into dozens of pieces. His spear went flying away from the impact, falling somewhere out of sight. Rika knew that wouldn't be enough to kill it, but hopefully it would take some time for it to repair.

The third Stalfos leaped up immediately after the second, not even landing on the platform as he attempted a groundslam on Rika. The Kokiri dived out of the way as it's massive mace collided with bark, sending wood and bark shooting out of the floor. Rika quickly went to work, as magic circulated throughout his palm. Wind rushed to his hand, forming a spinning vortex of force. Launching, Wind flew at the Stalfos, slamming into it and sending it flying back. Sadly for Rika, it wasn't sent flying off the platform. However, it collided with the wall, sending it's unarmed arm flying off onto the ground and bending it's head back. The Stalfos stood back up, completely unharmed as it's head twist back into place. However, it was missing an arm now.

The most terrifying thing about Stalfos is their lack of life. They do not feel pain and injuries do not slow them down. They will fight unhindered until they are completely destroyed. That is what made them such a force to be reckoned with. After creating some distance between the two, Rika looked over towards Lucian's duel with the Stalfos with the broadsword. The temperature around his hand chilled as his palm started freezing over, Ice forming in his hand. The crystalline orb shot towards the sword wielding Stalfos to provide Lucian some back-up. That was all Rika could do for now, however, as the Stalfos with the club was quickly returning.

Most of Rika's spells were currently unusable, he would have to save the rest of them for his own battle.

*This part is a joke in case you take it seriously.

Rika's bolt of frost quickly impacted with the rough, shabby iron of the Stalfos's helm. It had left a layer of ice atop the helm and dented it badly, the sheer force of impact nearly detaching the undead warrior's head from its spine. Rika's interference was enough for Lucian to win his struggle with the Stalfos's infernal strength, soon executing a powerful Helm Splitter, completely shattering its already severely damaged and poorly maintained helmet. With yet another powerful slice, still in air, he completely shattered his opponent's skull, the fragments bursting out in a shower of dry, yellow bone.

The skeleton fell slack as soon as his second slice had connected, seemingly killing his opponent, though he knew that given enough time, he would reassemble. With two quick fingers, he pulled another bomb from his satchel, throwing it into the creature's cuirass. It rebounded off, though, and exploded next to it . . . surely it ended the abomination. There were still the other two, though he only saw one other, which was currently engaged with Rika. He noted it was now missing an arm; which seemed odd to Lucian, unaware of the events that had taken place with the last ten seconds or so.

Lucian charged the massive Stalfos, who was now just barely dragging his massive club behind him. A small metal ornament hung from its wrist as it lifted its massive club once again, just barely managing to avoid falling backwards as it struck the ground in front of Lucian, with many more shards of wood and bark flying out from the intense impact. He jumped back, the organic debris scraping past his face as he fell onto his back. The club-wielding Stalfos closed the distance between the two, and soon he was standing directly over Lucian. He seemed doomed, but with a fierce kick, the Stalfos's left leg quickly flew from its socket. He rolled from underneath the behemoth, quickly depositing a bomb where he once laid, and soon an explosion reverberated throughout the entirety of the shell of the Deku Tree. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, the perversion of life was nowhere to be found. It had been slain, and the duo would have rejoiced, if not for the at first near-silent creaking. It steadily grew louder, and soon it became apparent to both of them what was happening: they were falling. The aged wood they stood upon soon gave way to both age and the force of Lucian's bombs as soon, they began their descent into the depths of the Deku Tree.

With a CRASH! the couple landed into the nearly pitch black basement of the Deku Tree, hallowed by an as-of-yet unknown deity. A cold, wet feeling soon enveloped most of Lucian's legs, as he slid from the half-rotted platform that now lazily served its duty as a bridge of sorts. Lucian could still see into what had been their battleground, though his surroundings still remained a mystery. Soon, his entire body slipped from the platform and into the water nearly silently. He swam the surface, the sparse light pouring down from above, as he wondered where Rika had landed.

The battle was over, and they were triumphant. Sort of. They would've been, if it weren't for the loud creaking that quickly filled the air, followed by the feel of dropping. They probably shouldn't have used bombs, or at the very least, not as many. The two of them descended down, falling further and further below the base level. Water swarmed around and surrounded the Kokiri as he fell in, grabbing at his hat as he swam to the surface, making sure that it didn't fall off. However, he quickly realized something. They weren't just in water. . . They was a current; The water was pulling them. They were pulled down the stream of water, twisting and turning until they eventually reached an end.

They were spat out into a larger pool of water, although they could very clearly tell it was, for the most part, still. Swimming to the surface once more, this room was more illuminated. Several torches lined the walls, and while not all were lit, there were enough to provide adequate vision. Aside from the pool of water, there were two high ledges on opposing sides, too high for them to reach from the water. The other two walls reached up to the ceiling, and had large openings that slowly spat out water into the pool. There was a ladder on one of the two opposing ledges, providing a way up.

It didn't really make much sense that there was this supposed endless supply of water or a ladder here, but sometimes it doesn't make sense. I mean, why were there even doors here?

"Ugh, goddammit, I'm soaked, but so is my hat." He didn't have much time to complain, though, as he quickly dived back underwater. A Tektite had slid across the water upon noticing him, missing as it skidded a bit past him. Further way, a couple other Tektite also stood on the water, waiting.

Soon enough, Lucian realized something about the pool of water. He soon felt the water moving past him, taking both he and his red-garbed, childlike companion with him. He struggled to keep up at all with the current, his meager swimming skills resulting in a rarely surfacing Lucian, who, somewhat surprisingly, managed to avoid drowning entirely.

When the current stilled, he managed to resurface, this time without struggle, as his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. There were two good sized cliff faces on their left and right sides, one with a ladder in a position so that it was just barely graspable from the surface of the murky waters. Lucian had no way to tell how deep it was, but there was one thing he was sure of: there were monsters. Relatively harmless monsters, but monsters nonetheless, effortlessly gliding across the slick, barely moving surface. Rika had loosed a short complaint about being wet, but then quickly dived below, avoiding its charging attack easily. There was a distance of about eight feet between the two of them, unluckily placing Lucian far closer to the duo of Tektites than he would have liked.

The pair leaped at him, easily hopping at least four feet before coming down harshly, sending ripples out from their points of contact. The insectoid creatures' chitin-like armor plates shifted with an audible groan, their immense power wondrously not breaking the surface tension. Lucian had dived to the best of his ability, narrowly avoiding their assault. He couldn't quite tell through the murky shroud that so heavily obscured his vision where he would surface, but he hoped it would be anywhere but underneath the pests.

When he resurfaced, his eyes were still clouded from the water, but he could make out the faint outlines of the pair that had engaged him. He was barely three feet away, but with a simple grab, he could latch onto the ladder. Pulling himself upwards, he clung tightly onto the ladder, much of the excess water dripping in thick streams from his body, and then slowing to solid, steady beads of water. He climbed a few rungs, and then hung slightly off the ladder. He held onto the rung with a single hand, the other tightly wielding his cold, damp axe. Soon again, the closest to him leaped.

He flung himself from the ladder, executing a Helm Splitter, quickly and powerfully bringing his axe through the middle of the Tektite, cutting through its tough skin as it fell into two pieces, with a viscous, green substance spraying onto Lucian's shirt and sticking to his axe. As he rolled mid-air during the maneuver, he realized another thing: he was going directly towards one of the few remaining Tektites. Thinking quickly, he sheathed his axe, and braced himself for the oncoming grapple.

Soon, he impacted the Tektite with the force of a thousand suns, digging his fingers into its sturdy hide. He clung onto it for dear life, as soon it went berserk. It crazily leaped around the pool, trying with all the might it could muster to shake Lucian off, but he was a far better grappler than the Tektite could have ever anticipated.

Waves of water rippled outward as the Kokiri dived down and as the Tektite slid across the ripples, having disrupted and disoriented them into a mess of ripples. Rika's mouth clenched shut as he held his breath, struggling to take in his surroundings while all of his senses were severely muffled or shut down. He didn't know the situation well from underwater, so he couldn't act, at least not without the chance of engaging in friendly fire. He had to surface quickly. Holding his palm towards the surface, water started spinning, a small pocket of swirling and expanding outward in the water. Air swiftly spun in front of his hand, the surrounding liquids following suit. The ball of air launched straight up towards the ceiling, Rika darting after it.

The air simply collided with the air and dispersed, it's mission a failure. That was for the better, though. His head popped out of the water, a quick gasp of air following immediately after. His eyes shot open as he examined the events around him, having mere moments to take it in. His first sight happened to be Lucius, valiantly combating the evil Tektite forces. The next sight was a four legged, spider-like creature gliding towards him, small trails being carved in the water in it's wake. The Kokiri quickly ducked under the water, spinning around and throwing his arm forward as he did. The immediate vicinity of water dropped to a chill as coldness gathered to his fingertips. However, the result was a little different than normal. Unlike before, something more like a beam of ice launched from his palm, exiting the water at an angle and continuing on as a normal ball of ice, eventually dissipating.

It was a blind shot, so it couldn't be too accurate. Rika quickly swam to the surface to see the results of his spell. The Tektite whined and squealed as it attempted to disconnect itself from the ice. The spell had frozen the water it passed through, including two of the Tektite's legs, freezing it to the ice. Rika pointed at it, a large, glowing symbol appearing below it. As the Tektite squealed and pulled, Rika shouted "Spire!" The Tektite tore it's own leg off, greenish blood spurting out on top of the water. It was too late for the creature, however. A massive, frozen spire shot out of the water, piercing the Tektite's exoskeleton almost instantly and exploding it's body. Parts flew everywhere, including it's large legs, one of them flying towards the direction of the single remaining Tektite.

Lucian struggled to maintain his grasp on the rigid, blue shell of the tektite as it struggled to hold its own weight in addition to Lucian's weight. He pulled himself up from the murky, algae-tainted water, burying his calloused fingers between the plates of chitin. With one, final push, he completely rose from the water, the tektite's four spined legs buckled underneath his complete weight. It began struggling for sweet life itself, its movements almost begging for anything but death, as slowly, yet surely, its movements ceased and Lucian once again found himself submerged in the dank water of the barely-lit room.

As he struggled to keep his own head above water, he idly noticed what he thought was another insect part splash into the water merely feet away from him. He managed to shout something half resembling "Good job," as he spat out the filthy water that sloshed inside his mouth. He struggled his way over to the ladder and began to climb, slowly, as his soaked cloth shirt stuck to his finely toned torso. His pants were relatively unaffected, thankfully. He shed his shirt and wrung it out over the marshy pit, quickly slipping it back on. It wasn't much of an improvement, but it wasn't so clingy any more at least. Eyeing the rest of the pool of water, he managed to make out the glint of light off a transparent stalagmite, appearing to be made of...ice? It must be some more of that magic or whatever, Lucian thought.

While he waited for Rika to ascend from the bottom as well, he idly lifted a torch from its sconce, which oddly seemed to grow naturally around it. The entire labyrinth amazed Lucian, who, despite his travels, had never quite witnessed anything quite like this before. Now that he had better visibility, it was plainly observable that on this side of the room, there was a square wooden slab with a red swirl scrawled onto it. Rika finally emerged from below, Lucian cocking his head in the red garbed Kokiri's direction. "Did you make that? The ice thing, I mean," pointing towards the direction of Rika's spire. "I want to learn that one first, I think," he said, his face showing obvious confidence and determination towards the matter. "After we get out of here, I mean," he said as he bit onto his thumb's fingernail, still holding the torch aloft in his left hand.