#oot:tas

Chapter 3 up now!

It is raining. The stone walls are slick from it. It washes away everything but the wreaths of fire that enshroud the parapets. The moat swells and rises to swallow a gasp and the last whisper. Poison-purple smoke pours out the doors of a grand temple and stains a child’s fingers red. White flames overtake the summer-green prairies and winter-blue forests. A bell tolls, the one-too-many clangs sinking into the earth and splitting it open. When the world cracks apart it does so with the cry of a man. "A true friendship; a feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time. The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go." -Sheik, LOZ:Ocarina of Time A complete retelling of a beloved piece of Zelda history, this not the Ocarina of Time you know, but it is the Ocarina of Time you love.

They left the torched remains of the nest, all the eggs inside reduced to ash, veins of venom incinerated, all deep below the ground. The Kokiri emerged from the tunnel stained with sweat, dirt, and what Mido would insist were not tears. Their bodies were heavy from exhaustion, but their souls were light from the relief of their success as the little band of heroes fanned out into the clearing. 

“Great Deku Tree, we did it!” Mido exclaimed as they turned to face the Father of the Forest. The Deku Tree didn’t respond, only remained silent and still. It was like even the leaves on his branches were no longer affected by the breeze, the absence of their consistent subtle rustling with the minute movements of the Deku Tree unnerving and jarring. It was a sound they never even realized could go away, and now the clearing was eerily silent. 

“Great Deku Tree…?” Saria called out, her voice wavering from anxiety.

Nothing.

Navi flew slowly up close to the Deku Tree’s face. His face was like stone, and his bark had lost the colour of life, appearing now fragile and ashen. “He’s… gone. I’m sorry, children…” Navi said, her words barely audible. 

A heavy silence fell over the young forest spirits. The air was sucked out of their lungs. The whole world was holding its breath. 

Link felt frozen, the storm of emotion roiling in his chest twisting down through his belly and down his legs, wrapping around his ankles and anchoring his feet to the earth. His throat felt too tight to breathe properly, and what weak breaths he could take trembled as they passed his teeth. His hands clenched to fists at his sides, so tightly they shook, and his shoulders tensed, so deeply it was painful. 

Saria approached the Deku Tree with halting steps, sitting down and curling up against one of his massive roots. Her back was to them, and Link couldn’t see her face, but she was quivering like a sapling battered by high winds. Link had never seen her sad like this before. He had never felt sadness like this before. He didn’t know what to do.

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Chapter 2 out now!

It is raining. The stone walls are slick from it. It washes away everything but the wreaths of fire that enshroud the parapets. The moat swells and rises to swallow a gasp and the last whisper. Poison-purple smoke pours out the doors of a grand temple and stains a child’s fingers red. White flames overtake the summer-green prairies and winter-blue forests. A bell tolls, the one-too-many clangs sinking into the earth and splitting it open. When the world cracks apart it does so with the cry of a man. "A true friendship; a feeling in the heart that grows stronger over time. The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go." -Sheik, LOZ:Ocarina of Time A complete retelling of a beloved piece of Zelda history, this not the Ocarina of Time you know, but it is the Ocarina of Time you love.

...

The surface of their path downwards was rough and uneven, raw dirt pulled apart by the Great Deku Tree packed tightly aside to make room. Tangles of thin roots from bushes and saplings dangled in front of their faces and had to be brushed aside for the Kokiri to pass. Navi’s blue light, held stronger than usual for them to see with, paired with the cool underground, gave the tunnel an eerie, ghostly atmosphere. 

The tunnel ended against the side of one of his massive roots. It would have been a dead end, if the root hadn’t been hollowed out by the jaws of a monster, leaving behind infection that rotted so deeply the outside simply shriveled away. It had become a tunnel itself. 

Link’s stomach roiled at the side of the rot, death-slime shining wetly under Navi’s light. Next to him, Saria clapped her hands over her mouth, and he heard Mido gag. If the sight alone wasn’t enough to make them sick, the smell would certainly finish the job. 

It was almost inconceivable that something like this could be done to a spirit as powerful as the Great Deku Tree. Link might not have really believed himself it if he wasn’t looking right at it. But their guardian had been so weakened by his illness for so long that a monster really was able to carve its way under their home and do all this damage in a single night. 

“Oh,” Navi voiced her realization, “burn what must be burned. We have to stop the demon’s venom from spreading to the rest of the forest. Times like these I wish I was a fire fairy … empty your pockets, children, we need a stone.”

...

Read the rest of the chapter over on ao3! ✨🤘🧙‍♂️👇

more info below the cut!