The Fierce Deity

Shiro, the White

I looked into the sky. My eyes were bright, so full of wonder and innocence. I was 5 years old. Hyrule Field is so lovely in the summer. I would just sit and wait while my father was at work in the castle. He told me that the people in the castle aren't always very nice, so I wasn't allowed to go. Everyday, I would play in the field by my house. It wasn't very big, even though my dad was the head guard for the King. My mom would call me in for lunch and a bath. She told me not to get dirty after I took a bath, so I would just sit on the fence and look at everything. Even though I looked at it every day, I always found something new.

My dad came home around dinner-time. He had pitch black hair and red eyes, he wore a big sword on the back of his armor. For some reason, he never wore his helmet, but that just made me able to tell that it was him, and not some other knight coming home. When I saw him, I jumped off the fence and ran to him. "Daddy!", I shouted as I dashed towards him. He lifted me up in his arms and looked at me. We laughed for a while.

"Good afternoon, Shiro.", his welcoming voice alone was enough to make me smile.

"Hi, Daddy.", I had a big smile on my face. He lowered me down and ruffled my silver hair. I giggled. Mom came over to see him. My mother was a beautiful woman, she had long brown hair, and gray eyes like mine.

"Welcome home." They kissed. I gagged in disgust. They laughed when I started pretending to throw up. We all went inside for dinner. I ate quickly, to my parents surprise.

"Shiro, you'll get the hiccups like that.", my father stated.

"Sorry, I'm just excited to do some training with you!" I wanted to be just like my father, I wanted to be the strongest knight in Hyrule and be the next hero chosen by the Goddesses. I trained with my father every night.

"I've been telling King Hyrule about your skill," my father said, "He's extremely impressed, especially considering your age." My face was beaming at the sound of this news. The King was rarely impressed by anything, let alone some kid training to become a knight.

Once we all finished eating, I grabbed my little training sword and went outside with my dad. We did a few basic warm-ups. After about 30 minutes of those, we started using more advanced attacks. I was small and agile, so I could perform them with ease. After practicing the moves, we had a sparring match. We both got into position, both of us prepared to pounce. We lunged at each other and clashed blades. We pushed against each other for a few seconds, then leaped back. I dashed at him with incredible speed and started swinging at him. Sparks started flying whenever my blade struck his. He pushed me back and did the same to me. My father wasn't soft when it came to training, he always gave it his all. I admired that, it was a trait I wanted to catch from him. We continued until sunset. We were both breathing heavily.

"Shiro, you've become very strong," my dad said, "You're stronger than any other knight I've sparred with. I'm proud of you." My face lit up. I was on my way to being Hyrule's strongest fighter, just like my father.

"Shiro!" A familiar voice bellowed from the forest. My father and I looked to see my good friend, Saria, standing at the edge of the Lost Woods. I looked at my father with hopeful eyes. He nodded to me in approval and I ran to her. We went into the woods.

"I think you're the only Hylian who knows his way through the Lost Woods." she said. We always wandered around the woods together. I memorized every turn we took so we couldn't get lost. I knew the consequences of losing your way in the Lost Woods. I didn't want to become a Skull Kid, so I always stuck close to Saria's side. We were there for hours, and night had already fallen. "We should go back, you're parents are probably worried." I nodded in agreement.

On the way out, I heard something. It sounded like a soothing melody, somewhere deep in the woods. I stopped dead in my tracks. Saria turned around.

"What is it?", she asked.

I looked in the direction the music was coming from. It sounded like something my mother would sing to me. I started walking, I had to find out what was making that song. Saria followed me. Eventually we found an area with a massive, dead tree in the center. There was an opening in the tree, the music was coming from in there. I approached the hole and looked down. There was an enormous chasm in the tree. I saw nothing but black, it had to be bottomless. Saria looked down too.

"What's going on?", she asked.

"That song...... It's calling me......", I replied.

"What song? There is no song."

"It's coming from down there, can't you hear it?"

"All I can hear is the crickets. We need to go, your parents are gonna kill me if you don't come back soon."

I felt the song calling for me. I tilted a little, almost plunging into the darkness. Saria caught me. The music suddenly stopped, we could hear the crackling of a fire. We both ran different ways, she ran to her village and I ran in the direction of my house. I saw an orange light shining through the trees. When I emerged from the Lost Woods, I froze in pure terror.

My home...... It was set ablaze......

I ran closer, I could see into the window. My parents were in each other's embrace. There was no way they could have escaped the circle of flames that danced around them. I felt my innocence begin to fade away as their flesh began to peel off of them. Their faces melted in the intense heat. Tears started pouring down my face, my heart split in two.

A part of me died that day. The pain I felt was a pain that no 5 year old should feel. It changed me. I felt my sanity slip away little by little. I wasn't Shiro anymore. It was too pure of a name for me to have. I needed a new name. I remembered playing a game called tag with the Kokiri. They called me something, something that felt powerful.

Oni......