After putting Alice in the Hylian Medical House, Link departed again from Hyrule Palace City. He headed for the Regal Forest, knowing that the Dekus aren't easy to be made peace with, and that the Kokiri have some sort of a great beast in their half of the Forest. Link jumped on his ride, Aelna the horse who had rested, been well-fed and nursed back to health, and galloped off toward the Regal Forest. However, Zelda had given him a sort of advice:"The beast the Kokiri treat as a faithful pet is not as what you see it as. "before giving him a bag of magic powder to aid him in the adventures. Link pondered on this while riding at the Forest.
At the Forest, he didn't get much of a welcome--a pair of very tall Deku soldiers in bronze masks, scale mails and wielding pikes and shields ambushed him as he went past the Gate-House. "Halt! "one of them shouted. The other one said, "Yeah, halt! What business d'you have here, outsider? ". Link replied calmly, "I'm here to get to the Kokiri. I come in peace, now would you two be as so kind as to let me and my horse through? ". The Deku soldiers looked at each other, and finally one hesitantly nods while the other reluctantly says, "Fine, go ahead. But the Kokiri don't like to be disturbed, you know. ". Link says peacefully, "I'm well aware of that. "and rides off.
In the East Regal Forest, Link was at first baffled about where the Kokiri are--until, that is, he heard a great roar that frightened him out of his wits. 'Could the Kokiri be eaten? 'he thought. Deciding he'd better find out, the Hylian draws out his sword and shield, and slowly, cautiously rode over to the direction from where he had heard the loud roar. . .
However, there, he soon found out that the Kokiri weren't eaten--they were eating saramei, a potato-shaped reddish-brown juicy plant with a yellowish inside and tiny seeds that tastes like shrimp stew, and fell off the Deku Tree's branches every morning, every noon and every evening for the Kokiri to eat. However, what was most peculiar was that a large white lion with a brass-colored mane was circling them, but it didn't look like it was going to eat them-, instead, it looked like it was guarding them! However, upon noticing him, the Kokiri gasped and the white lion roared, baring its razor-sharp teeth. Link prepared to defend himself, when a Kokiri yelled, "Deku Tree! A non-Kokiri found his way here and he's armed! Why isn't he a beast now? ! ". The Kokiri sounded frantic, as if she was stuck in between a war.
The Deku Tree yawned and opened up his eyes of fleshy greenish bark. The forest deity bellowed--that was its voice, -"Ah, yes Kokiri, my powers become dormant while I am asleep. I see we have a visitor. ". Link nearly screamed as he found out that his hand were becoming more and more rabbit-like, his ears are paling and becoming longer, he was sprouting whiskers and that he was rapidly shrinking. Link shouted in a very high-pitched shout, "Great Deku Tree! I come in peace! "he didn't know if he could make the peace sign, but he did anyway. The Deku Tree said, "I see. What is your proof of peace, young man? ".
Link said, "I don't have anything to prove that I'm not a criminal--I'm an adventurer, hired by the Royal Family to search for the Nature Force, known better as the N-Force to us Hylians. ". The Deku Tree thought for a moment, and then shot pink beams of energy out of his narrowed eyes. The beams struck Link, and he was quickly regaining his Hylian features and size, as well as feeling rejunevated and refreshed. "Now tell us the entire story, adventuring outsider. "the Deku Tree said calmly.
"Zelda sent me. I didn't want to go, but I had no choice. "Link explained to the Kokiri. "I raced against Gino the furious Ranch-owner, and got my horse here by winning. And then--"but then, he jumped back when the white lion sniffed at his powder bag. The lion growled and advanced at him, and Link nervously laughed and said, "Uh, I think he wants to have the powder. . . right? ". The Kokiri nods fearfully. Link opened the purple pouch, and sprinkles a bit of the golden powder on the white lion. The lion roared and glowed green. . .
Suddenly, the beast transformed into a young Hylian man, about eighteen years old in age, dressed in a white helmet, a white cape, white trousers, reddish boots and green dragonscale gauntlets, shoulderguards and cuirass with a brown long-sleeved shirt under the armor. The muscular young man held an ornate gilded long-sword in his right hand and a large, acid-green shield with an egg-sized sapphire encrusted on it, along with some silver decorations, in his left hand. Even his scabbard had a gold trim--this young man looked like he was a member of the Royal Guard.
The white, green and brown-clad ornate Hylian shouted, "Finally! I am free from my form of a white lion! Thank the Goddeses! ". He held his long-sword high in the air, and said, "My name is James Raunorai IV, the youngest Knight of the Royal Guard of the Ancient Hylians ten-thousand years ago. We suffered a deadly war, and as Hyrule Castle was slowly being torn apart and our supplies were running low, me, along with three other members of the Royal Guard of the Ancient Hylians, were transformed into animals by the Great Sorcerer so we'd be less of a threat to him and his army of the living dead. However, the magic powder reversed his Body-Change Hex, turning me back to normal. ".
"I see, ancient Knight. "The Deku Tree said. The Kokiri gasped as what they thought as a beloved pet magically transformed into a legendary warrior. Link said, "So. . . James, will you be joining me on the quest for the Nature Force? ". "Nature Force? ! What d'you mean, Nature Force? We have the TriForce! 'James yelled. Link answered, "Er, see, Hyrule sank to the bottom of the ocean after a cataclysmic chain of natural disasters. Most of the population evacuated, though, and we ended up docking here. ".
"No! Hyrule. . . she was a beauty. . . why did she have to die like this? Why? "James lamented for Old Hyrule, while the Kokiri said, "Sir James, will you be staying here? ". James looks at them, and smiles a small smile. "To repay for your hospitality while I was a beast, I will stay here for my life, and guard you all with my trusty blade and shield. ". The Kokiri cheered, the Deku Tree smiled, and a Kokiri said, "To get the Force Of Sky, Earth and Time, Sir Link, you must find the Keys of Sky, Time and Earth. ".
Link nods, mounts Aelna, and gallops off.
