Looming over Kakariko Village, the Lost Woods is known by all as a labyrinth of secrets and dangers. Few people dare to walk past its sacred and reclusive borders, where the age-old trees cast shadows that drape everything in a haunting darkness. The forest looks to punish any who wander past its borders. Only beasts and exiled thieves make their homes there. No one is brave enough to tempt fate and forge a path through the unknown.
No one, that is, except for one humble Hylian boy. A boy, who by right of destiny, must enter the forest to find the evil-destroying key to saving his homeland.
Initially, the forest’s natural roadblocks forbid Link entry, but the hero’s newfound strength earned through his adventures helps him press on through those defenses. The first few steps into the forest are taken carefully. Link had always stayed as far as possible from the trees and rocks and bushes that created such an impenetrable wall. He has no idea how things will go. But it must be done, so he forges ahead.
Now inside the Lost Woods, the light that shined from Kakariko Village now fading into dark, Link assesses his options. Immediately, there are multiple paths he can take. He’ll need to choose. He hopes that fate will guide him.
Fate indeed guides him, even if it does seem to be taking him the long way around. Dead ends abound in the woods, and Link’s enthusiasm is cut short multiple times when the exit he thinks he found is merely a dead end. Was this forest somehow designed to ensnare people? That is Link’s question as he loses his patience during each backtrack. He tests each route, cutting through the overgrown bush, tossing aside stubborn boulders, and dodging attacks from territorial birds as he does. Each obstacle shows the forest’s refusal to relent.
Link shows the same level of stubbornness, though. He remains diligent, even when he finds fake swords, traps with the sole purpose of getting the hero’s hopes up, placed in tempting positions throughout the forest. There’s no way of knowing who placed those crude pieces of metallic bait, but all they do is affirm to Link that his prize is somewhere close. He will keep going. Crawling through every tunnel made by fallen timber and dodging every precarious pit, the young hero stays focused.
He passes through a tunnel larger than most others. On the other side, in the distance, he sees the reward for perseverance.
Link stands at the entrance to an anomaly within the woods. The stress that had been his stubborn partner is wonderfully absent. He is also greeted by peaceful woodland creatures that run through the clearing. They almost seem to be dancing. Perhaps they are celebrating for the occasion that is about to happen.
At the end of the clearing, Link finds it: The Master Sword. The sword, this prize for his efforts, rests proudly in the center of a large pedestal. Link reads the plaque on the pedestal that tells him to present the three pendants to prove his worth as the rightful wielder of the blade. With a confident stance, Link raises his gems into the air to prove to the gods that he is worthy. They seem to agree, and with some force and some eagerness, Link grips the sword by its hilt and pulls the blade free of its resting place. After a slumber that might have seemed like an eternity to it, the Master Sword has found its new master.
From the outside of the Lost Woods, the people of Kakariko Village watch as Link emerges from the darkness with the legendary weapon strapped to his back. How hope could come from such a harsh location might seem unbelievable to everyone, including Link, but that might have been an intended lesson and the Lost Woods’ purpose. Darkness cannot hide Hyrule’s hope forever.
