Fuga had been riding for a few days on a borrowed horse now, taking detours to be seen as little as possible, and never stopping even to observe the strangeness of unfamiliar things. They had finally reached Minshi woods - as pointed out by a kind stranger at a stable, at the edge of Hylia river - said to be the only entry point to the Woods of the Lost. Despite living isolated from the rest of Hyrule, the Woods of the Lost had grown a reputation and had rumours spread of it no matter where you went. Rumours of people coming in, yet never coming back, or getting transformed into strange creatures, lost forever, or feeling watched every step taken into those woods. Very few even attempted to approach the woods now, but Fuga had felt a calling, had heard it call to them.
As soon as they had crossed the landmass that connected the peninsula, fog started to rise, and the horse refused to take a step further. Fuga, sensing its stress, tied it to a tree out of the range of the fog, and the horse started grazing, calmer by the minute.
Fuga entered the Woods of the Lost again and was greeted by a stone arc and a fire burning on a torch. The wind rose, unnerving, never ending, yet gentle. Fuga looked around, for an indication of a direction, and saw, in the distant fog, another torch. Walking towards it, they noticed another, and another, until there were none to be seen in the distance. The wind had changed direction considerably since they had entered, or was it just a change in direction that made it seem that way? Fuga took a moment to observe their surroundings. The fog was as thick as ever, only being able to see a few feet ahead of them, yet… pollen floated through the air, so did embers from the burning fires. The wind had changed, Fuga was certain of it. They started walking in the direction the pollen and wind pointed to, and slowly…
The wind had changed again, now pointing in a completely different direction. Fuga hoped they wouldn’t get lost following their instincts, but it was impossible to ignore the pull the wind had on them, until they reached two large natural stone walls. The wind was swept into the opening, and Fuga’s calling swept them in as well. Then, as quickly as the fog appeared in the first place, it receded, showing a scene of incredible beauty. A large tree trunk had been hollowed out by time and formed a tunnel, while grass and wildflowers grew as far as the eye could see. Trees lined the horizon, and the deep blue sky could be seen from above, through the bright green leaves. And… Fuga felt watched. Movement at the edge of their vision, disappearing as they looked directly at whatever had moved.
They slowly approached a clearing, a stone formation in its middle, surrounded by light blue flowers and grass flowing gently in the breeze. A gigantic tree, perhaps the biggest and oldest Fuga had seen, grew at the end of the clearing, its pink leaves standing tall over the other trees. Its roots intertwined and gave space for life to sprout in unison with it. Then, Fuga could see them, small creatures that stared directly at them. They were perhaps less frightened now than they were earlier, or more comfortable in the environment they were in now. They each had a leaf as a mask, 3 holes in them to imitate facial features, their body appearing to be made of wood. They scurried on branches, floated off of falling leaves, traded small, red fruits, or simply observed the newcomer in their home.
Fuga observed the stone structure once more. It was shaped like a triangle, statues at its 3 points, a sword - no, not just a sword, the legendary sword - standing in the middle of the triangle. Fuga approached it cautiously, observed it. They had heard stories too, stories of those who made it to the Woods of the Lost only to be hurt, badly, by trying to pull the sword. They had heard only those blessed by the Triforce could hold such a sword, whatever “Triforce” meant. The instant Fuga tried to put their hands on the sword, a loud, booming voice resonated throughout the forest.
“Why does such a brave person feel the need to disguise themselves to approach the Lost Woods?”
Fuga looked around, to see where the voice might’ve come from. Their eyes landed on the pink-leaved tree again, observing it once more. It had seemed to come alive, since the last time they had looked at it, its eyes and mouth (can a tree have such a face?) animated now. Fuga felt the urge to trust them with their secrets, even if they knew nothing of the Lost Woods.
“It’s… unsafe for me. I am a Yiga, and the Kingdom has a creed against my people, therefore I must hide as my distant cousins, the Sheikah.”
“I see… and why did you come here?”
“I’ve felt… a calling. I… don’t know how to describe it, I’ve gotten the sudden urge to explore the world in the hopes of finding something I didn’t know even existed. Legends and rumours, sure, but I still don’t know what it will bring me.”
“So you’ve taken a leap of faith in coming here, not knowing what you would find…” the tree trailed off. “Do you know what this place is?”
“I know I’m somewhere within the Woods of the Lost, but… no.”
“This is Korok Forest, where the Lost Souls come to rest, and I, the Great Deku Tree, watch over them. Worry not, you will not become a Lost Soul, Fuga of the Yiga Clan.”
“How- how do you know my name?”
“I know many things, one of those being that it takes extreme physical resilience to pull out the sword from the stone. Failing to have that strength could result in death but… I have no doubt of your abilities.”
Fuga looked down at the sword again, and took a deep breath. They didn’t expect to be thrust into such a high position or a magical quest during their teenage years, but they now knew they had to help Ganon in every way they could, they had to take the sword to defeat the darkness, seal it, and free the light within him. They had no other choice.
Fuga placed both hands on the hilt of the sword. The link they had felt to it before only increased tenfold, incapable of letting go of it now. They started pulling the sword upwards, slowly. It offered resistance, yet that resistance was not set in stone itself, but as if the sword had a mind of its own, and was testing the willpower of its taker. Fuga could see nothing but the sword now, gleaming, blue in hue, their surroundings blurring away into nothingness. A flash of light appeared in their mind, eyes watching over them, yet far away. “Go forth, and bring peace to Hyrule.” The sound of wings fluttering, then nothing.
Fuga had the sword in their hands, entirely out of the stone triangle.
“Hero of Hyrule… yes, I do believe you have earned this title, or at least you will, when the time comes. The sword is yours now, and you must ensure to use it for the good that I see in your heart.”
Fuga’s head was spinning. They… were they really the Hero of Hyrule?
Having ditched the horse back at the Gerudo Canyon Stable, Fuga was making their way back to the Yiga Hideout, this time, making absolutely certain not to be seen. They had removed their disguise, replacing it with their regular Yiga outfit, but trying their best to hide the sword. It was a thing of pride now, yes, but boasting about it would get them killed as a Yiga. Who knows what Sheikah-allied would think of a Yiga, the thieving, revengeful Yiga, holding the legendary sword…
Their night walk through the desert presented no problem, and they were back to the entrance of the Yiga Hideout in no time. Up Karusa Valley they went, until they were sure they were out of sight from the desert. Then, they teleported inside the Hideout, into their own room. They took a second to assess their situation again, to figure out the words they’d say, then stepped out and walked towards their fathers’ room. They knocked twice at the wood frame of an open door and hid the sword behind them.
“Dad?”
“Ah! Fuga, you’re finally back! And alive!” Laughed Kohga, trying to be as light-hearted as possible even if he anticipated bad news. “Did you reach the Lost Woods? Or did you get lost along the way–”
Fuga presented to their father the sword they had hidden and smiled wide.
“The legendary sword,” said Sooga.
“Sweet banana, is that- is that really it!? The legendary sword, you- you really found it!? My, Fuga, that’s amazing!”
Both Kohga and Sooga had swept Fuga into their arms, and held them tightly. When they stopped embracing, Kohga looked solemnly – as solemn as a mask can look – at Fuga.
“I knew you were destined to accomplish great things from the moment I saw your face at the door–”
A sentence that was met in response by Sooga’s elbow nudge.
“Yes, ok, fine,” Kohga’s fun tone came back. “From the moment I saw your tiny little face at all. And even if you weren’t, I would’ve loved you as much and been just as proud! But wow! This really changes everything! Everything for us and the Kingdom!”