The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

Lon Lon Ranch

"I understand." Link felt disappointed, and rude that he proposed it. "Forgive me."

Malon never ceased to surprise Link with her changing emotions as she grinned once more. "Don't apologize! Here, come pet her."

Link approached the filly, but it took a step back and huffed in an uncomfortable manner.

"It seems Epona is afraid of you, fairy boy." She turned to the horse and began singing the same pretty song, in the oohs of her gentle voice, trying to calm the animal. "My mother composed this song before she died, when I was little. Isn't it nice? You try singing it."

"I may be more suited to play it," Link responded as he pulled out Saria's ocarina.

"Oh, cute ocarina!"

"Thanks." Link then found the notes of the hauntingly beautiful melody; D B A, D B A. Gradually, Epona calmed down, and warmed up to Link. She even walked over to him and rubbed him with her snout, neighing happily at the song.

"Oh, Epona!" Malon exclaimed, "she's grown fond of you, fairy boy."

It was then Talon came waddling out to the pasture, telling Malon to go wash up for supper. "Well, I'll be! If it ain't the forest kid! Didn't think you'd visit so soon!"

He looked the two of them over with a goofy grin. "I wanna thank you again for helping Malon find me. That was pretty inconsiderate of me to leave her alone in a big city like that. Hey, how'd you like to marry her!? Huh?" Link was taken aback, but Talon immediately belted out a hardy laugh. "Haw-haw! I was just kidding! Just kidding! I think you're a little young for that ain't ya? Haw haw-haw!"

Malon stared at her feet, embarrassed.

"Hey Link, you wanna stay for supper?" he asked with that goofy grin.

"I was planning on leaving tomorrow morning for Kakariko Village..."

"Say no more! Stay here! Ingo'll getchya a room ready!"

So, Link stayed and had a fabulous beef brisket supper with mashed potatoes, biscuits, and milk, prepared by the creepy ranch hand, Ingo. Talon spent the rest of the evening in their living room, drunk off several flagons of wine, with three cuckoos whose feathers he caressed as he dozed to sleep. Link and Malon talked about many things... things of the forest, things of the ranch, things of the city... They avoided speaking of the mission Link was on.

For once, he slept beautifully... on a straw mattress Ingo made up. At dawn he enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast of fresh eggs and milk, also prepared by Ingo. Talon graciously gave him a bottle of that milk for the road, labeled with a logo of the Lon Lon cow.

Talon was telling him about carriage companies that took paying customers up the treacherous road to Kakariko, but not often enough for Link to take one that day. It appeared that he was going to have to hike the arduous trail which snaked through the foothills that lay before the great Death Mountain, which was indeed a volcano, he learned.

The walls of the foothills gently sloped down to Link along the beginning part of the road. Trees and shrubbery dotted the rocky terrain, but Navi said that the fauna thins with elevation. Though this scenery was pleasing, Link's first leg of the journey was more draining than he was expecting. The path was beaten and rough, the sun cooked his body, he had to ration his food stores, and the need to be on alert was vesting. Link ended up encountering a honeyvore bear, though it was far off the side of the road and did not attack. He encountered two mountain rams entangled in each other's horns as they fought, but they, too, did not attack. As the day turned to dusk, off in the distance he could hear the howls of coyotes, or even wolves.

But at a point where the trail grew narrower, becoming wedged between steep valley walls, an unexpected treachery took Link by surprise, once the very last drop of sunlight spilled out of the sky. Link was so thoroughly startled, he jumped nearly half his height. Something was digging itself out of the ground before him. Link paused and stared at the moving dirt, reassuring himself that it was just a mole or gopher. But emerging from the soil was a deformed skull, its eyes ablaze with an orange glow. The rest of its skeleton followed as it climbed out of the ground. His heart pounding, Link stepped back as it lurched for him. He unsheathed the Kokiri Sword and swung horizontally. The skull toppled and fell to the ground, shattering upon impact. To Link's discouragement, the thing was still walking, flailing its arms in hopes of still attacking. Link swung the blade at its rib cage, and the thing mysteriously disintegrated, turning to ash in the wind.

Breathing heavily, Link turned to Navi and asked, "What was that thing?"

It was not over. The sound of shuffling earth filled Link's ears, and all of a sudden, there was a herd of them. Link fought in the manner he did the first, kicking up clouds of the magical ash. But it was no use; they kept coming in a steady stream. Link was pushed back by the oncoming pursuers until he was up against the valley wall. Hopelessly warding them off, he tried to think of a plan.

"Link, up here!" shouted Navi, leading him towards a precipice above his head.

It was perfect. He sheathed his blade, turned around, and grabbed hold of a jutting rock.

"Watch out!" Navi warned, fluttering above the precipice.

A Stalchild grabbed for his leg before he could climb too high. Fortunately, Link was able to kick it away, and he clambered up to Navi, barely escaping the dark magic pitfall.

Panting, Link fell to the surface of the grassy precipice. "Navi...I can't...do this," he said, out of breath. "I'm not cut out for this...If I can't even fight...those things...who's to say I can fight Ganondorf if it came down to it?" Link wished himself back in the forest, in his one-room tree house, or with Saria in the Lost Woods. "Why couldn't Zelda send her best knight to retrieve the Spiritual Stones, and the rest of them to guard her?"

"Listen," Navi began, "a true hero forges courage out of fear, not grit. A true hero is driven by passion, not obligation. A true hero acts out of humility, not for glory. Greatness is defined by character, not by class."

"Is that why the Great Deku Tree chose me? Is that why the goddesses chose me? Because I am the only one in this forsaken land who has those!?"

"It does not matter why you are chosen. It only matters what you are chosen for."

Link sat in silence as he regained his breath. With the Stalchildren still clawing at the wall below, they had no choice but to spend the night on that shelf on the valley wall. Link lay on the ground, chilled by the cool night air, gazing at the bright full moon that illuminated the tree-thin rock-veined mountains. He deeply thought about Navi's words. He felt bad because he wanted to quit when the Deku Tree was counting on him. Zelda was counting on him. The entire kingdom was counting on him. Finally, he dozed off to sleep, fondling the Kokiri Emerald.