Eeveegin

The Book of Koholint

Marin and Link walked up from the Toronbo Shores together. Link had just agreed to escort Marin to the Animal Village, because beautiful songs were the only thing that would get that huge walrus blocking the way to the Yarna Desert to move, and Link was a warrior, not a singer. Now Marin, on the other hand�

�Link?� Marin turned to Link. �Have you been in the library yet?� She pointed at the small building just ahead of them.

�I read the books that were laid out on the tables, when I came down this path to the beach to retrieve my sword, but I�ve never taken anything off of the shelves.�

�You have time to wander all over the island and slay Nightmare creatures, but you don�t have time to read?� Marin smirked. �Come on, I�ll show you all the good stuff in there!� She grabbed Link by the arm and ran towards the library, pulling him along.

�But Marin, you have to sing to the walrus! I need to get into Angler�s Tunnel! I need to wake the Wind Fish!�

�Walrus shmalrus. The Wind Fish can wait. You need a break from trying to save the world, or whatever it is you hero types do.� Marin pushed the library door open and went inside. Link followed.

�Mmm, I love the smell of books.� Marin walked to the left wall. �Now, what kind of books do you like? Fighting techniques, most likely�I wonder if there are any books about that in here?�

�You mean you haven�t read every book in the library yet? You�ve lived here all your life, haven�t you?�

�Yes, I�ve lived on Koholint Island as long as I can remember, but I haven�t read everything on these shelves. I like to have something new to read every time I�m in here.� She pulled a few books from a lower shelf and flipped through them. �Plants and Trees of Koholint. I�ve read it. A Guide to Fishing in the Tal Tal River. Read it. The Adventures of Chichi the Monkey. Aww, I remember reading this when I was younger! Link, you should read this, it�s funny�Link?�

Link was standing by the opposite wall, poking at a thick greenish-blue book high on the shelves with his sword.

�Li-ink! Don�t do that!�

�It�s too high for me to reach, I�m trying to get it down.� Then, remembering his Roc�s Feather, he took the golden feather from his belt and leaped up high. He grabbed the book on the way up, but-

KLONK! �Ow!� Link hit his head on the ceiling and fell on his back. �Ow, that hurt�ahh��

�Let�s see what you found.� Marin, ignoring the groaning Link, sat down on the floor and looked at the cover of the book. It was bound with a strange blue-green material, with unusual silver symbols on the cover border. The title read: The Book of Koholint.

�The Book of Koholint? Interesting, I�ve never seen this one before.� Marin traced the silver patterns on the cover.

�Hey, I�ve seen that before.� Link looked over Marin�s shoulder, rubbing his head.

�Seen what?�

�Those silver markings. That�s fairy script. I�ve seen it on the walls of caves.�

�Can you read it?�

�No.� Link opened the book and looked at the first page. It was covered in more fairy script. �I hope the whole book isn�t like this.� He turned the page. It simply read (not in fairy script this time) �Martha�s Bay.� �Okay, so we know it�s about Martha�s Bay. Next.� Link turned the page.

The third page was a large and very realistic painting of somewhere on Koholint. It showed part of a village, surrounded by forest, and Martha�s Bay behind it.

�Ooh�� Marin whispered. �It looks so real! But that�s strange.� She pointed at the middle of the image of Martha�s Bay, visible through the trees. �There�s something missing. There�s supposed to be a giant stone catfish statue. You can only see the head from above water, though.� Marin paused. �I wonder why it�s left out?� She put her hand on the page and studied the picture more closely.

Marin was silent. Link noticed that her eyes were out of focus, as if she was dreaming with her eyes open. He waited a few moments, then spoke to Marin. �You sure like that picture, huh? �Marin?� Link tapped her on the shoulder. �Marin?� He shook her gently. �Marin!�

�Huh? Wha?�� Marin snapped out of her trance, confused. �Oh�Link, it�s amazing! I touched the page and I wasn�t in here any more, I was, I don�t know, I was there, in that scene, watching from above, and then I floated down and there was a little gray and white cat sitting by the bay�� She stopped.

�And there was a cat sitting by the bay, then what?�

�Well, that�s when you interrupted everything.� Marin sulked.

�Sorry.�

�It�s all right. Why don�t you try it? I won�t bother you. I�ll go find something to read.�

�Okay�� Link took a deep breath and put his hand on the picture.

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The Book of Koholint, Chapter One
Martha�s Bay

100 years before Link�s arrival�

Nekka the cat sat on the rocky shores of Koholint Bay, waiting patiently. She�d been sitting here for an hour, watching and waiting, for a fish to swim by, a fish to eat�

She sat there, not moving a feline muscle. Good things come to those who wait, her mother always said, and fish were very good. A movement in the water�She tracked the fish with her eyes, hoping it would swim closer�closer�

SPLASH! Nekka pounced into the shallow water, trapping the fish with her paws. She snatched it up with her whiskery mouth and set it on a nearby rock so she could devour her hard-earned catch.

Nekka bit into the fish�s belly and swallowed chunks of meat. Mmm, fish tasted wonderful. It could use a little garlic, but she�d forgotten to bring some. She took another bite, not noticing the large shadow moving towards her underwater. She felt ripples against her back legs. Oh, no, she thought. Please, not yet, not now�

Nekka heard a loud gurgling sound behind her. She turned her head, then bolted and ran. �Mreeoowwrr!�

A titanic catfish rammed into the spot where Nekka had been a split second ago. It backed up, looking for the cat�s body, but found nothing but a half-eaten fish, which it snapped up in its enormous maw. The monster swam off, fast for a beast of its size, looking for a better meal.

�Rrrrr��

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Nekka didn�t stop running until she dashed through the gates of Animal Village, where she lived. She took a deep breath and licked her lips, remembering the good meal she�d been cheated out of. Maybe she�d visit the Bear for dinner this time. She�d rather have cucco or fish than the Bear�s fruits and vegetables, but with that monster of a catfish roaming the waters, she seldom got a successful meal out of Koholint Bay. The giant catfish had appeared in the Bay nearly ten years ago, but the animals remembered a time when it was safe to swim, fish, and collect water plants without fear of being eaten. The animals in the Village depended on Koholint Bay for their survival; they had been living off of it for as long as the oldest Turtle could remember. If the catfish didn�t leave or die soon, all the Animals would have to find a new way of life.

Nekka slunk through the door of the Bears� restaurant. �Good evening, Nekka.� Daiuma, one of the Bears that ran the restaurant, greeted the Cat while stirring a bowl of mushroom stew. �Get anything at the Bay today?�

�No.� Nekka frowned. �That horrible Catfish nearly got me, and it got my dinner.�

�Rrr, that�s bad. Here, have some pineapple pudding.� Daiuma set a big bowl of yellow goo with pineapple and melon chunks in it on a table by Nekka. �Eat up!�

�Thanks.� Nekka climbed onto a stool and dipped her paw into the pudding. Not bad, she thought as she licked her paw.

�Hi, Nekka.�

�Hm?� Nekka looked up from her pudding and noticed that the only human that lived in Animal Village was sitting across from her. �Oh, hello, Martha.�

�I heard you were down at the Bay tonight. I sure wish something could be done about that giant Catfish.�

�Me too.� Nekka speared a pineapple chunk on one claw. �It�s humiliating. I�m a cat. Cats eat fish. Now here�s a fish that tries to eat cats! Mrowr!�

�Yeah, it sure stinks, doesn�t it? If only that Catfish was gone, I could build a house by the Bay shore and live there, maybe even build a boat and take you fishing in the middle of the lake.� Martha took a sip of her banana juice. �We ate the fish from the Bay, we ate the seaweed and shellfish from the Bay bottom, we got water from the Bay. Now we have to get water from the caves and fight off Pirahnas, Gels, and Hoarders, and we have to start gardens in the Ukuku Prairie where flying Octoroks and Zirros may eat our work. Our easy life is gone, all because of this monster fish.�

Nekka stirred her pudding absentmindedly. �I can�t eat cuccos because they�re in Mabe Village�I may have to start eating Gels for meat. Ugh. Too bad I�m not a big cat, or I could go after Moblins. I�m a carnivore, Martha. I can�t survive on pineapple pudding and carrot sticks for the rest of my life.� She pushed around a piece of melon. �I wish there was some way to make this taste like fish or cucco or something like that so at least I�d think I was eating meat.� Nekka stared into her bowl. �We�ve been talking about �if only� and �something should be done� for years. But no one ever does anything.�

Martha sat up. �Magic pudding�magic, of course��

�What?�

�Nekka, you furry gray and white hairball, you�re right. Something should be done, and I�m going to do it.�

�You�re going to get me some magic pudding?�

�No, I�m going to get rid of the Catfish.�

�You, Martha?� Nekka�s eyes widened. �The Catfish has been around for years, and you�re just now going to go after it? Are you crazy? What are you going to do?�

�I don�t know, I�ll find some way to get rid of that monster.� She gulped down the rest of her banana juice and stood up. �I used to be the best fisherwoman on Koholint Island, and I�m going to prove that I still am.� Martha thanked Daiuma and Urso and left.

Are all humans crazy, or just Martha? Nekka thought to herself.

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Martha walked across the Animal Village town square to her house. She�d been born and raised in Kanalet Village, up north at the foot of the Tal Tal mountains, where she�d discovered her talent for fishing. There wasn�t much challenge in the tiny fish and frogs that swam in the Kanalet Castle moat, so she left Kanalet and tried the rivers and rapids in the mountains. When she�d experienced all that the Tal Tal Heights had to offer her fishing rod, she�d roamed Koholint Island in search of more fishing places. Eventually, she�d settled down in Animal Village, to fish in the Bay and in the sea. A month after she arrived, however, the monstrous Catfish was first spotted in Koholint Bay, and that was the end of all fishing and diving in the Bay. No one, Animal or human, knew why it had come, but it was still lurking in the Bay, on the lookout for anyone foolish enough to come in.

The Animals had tried every method they could think of to scare off or kill the Catfish: throwing rocks at it, dropping bombs in the water, shooting arrows at it when it poked its head out of the Bay. But it was too strong to be defeated by any of this. Martha had even taken a shot at getting rid of the monster; she had tried to fish it out. Her tiny fishing rod was no match for the Catfish, though, and it had broken her line like a spider�s web, and almost snapped her rod in two.

That had been almost ten years ago. Every few months or so, Martha and the Animals would again try to scare off the bloodthirsty fish, and they had always failed. But now, Martha had an idea.

She entered her small house between Nekka�s hut and Gawani the Crocodile�s house and opened her closet. Inside was her old fishing rod, unused for months. Martha took it out and picked up her tackle box from under it. �I hope this plan works.�

Nekka was sitting outside Martha�s door. �Are you going to try to fish the Catfish out of the lake again? It�s too big, you�ll never do it!�

�You�re right. I won�t ever hook that Catfish�with this old rod.�

�So you�re going to make a rod that�s metal instead of wood so it won�t break?�

�No�� Martha ran her fingers along the rod. �I�m going to put magic in it.�

�A magic fishing rod�� Nekka twitched her tail. �Why did no one think of this before?�

�I don�t know, Nekka. But I�m going to do it and rid Koholint Bay of the Giant Catfish forever!�

�Well, I hope this works better than the other things we�ve all tried.� Nekka sat back. �Who�s going to enchant the Rod? You?�

�No, I�m going to find a Fairy.�

�A Fairy�� Nekka purred softly. �Good luck!�

�Thank you, Nekka.� Martha closed her door and headed towards the east gate of Animal Village. �Tell the others about my idea!�

�I will! Mrowr!� Nekka ran across the village green to the Bears� restaurant.

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Martha had never been to a Great Fairy�s Cave, but she had seen a Great Fairy before. One lived near Kanalet Castle, and was the guardian Fairy of the kingdom. The Fairy�s status was just a title, though; Kanalet hadn�t seen any trouble in decades. She must be doing her job, then, thought Martha.

She hadn�t the slightest idea as to where the Fairy Caves were, but she�d heard that there were twelve on Koholint Island, so she was probably going to find one sooner or later if she was looking for one. Hopefully, the Fairy she found would know how to enchant a fishing rod so Martha could drag the giant Catfish out of Koholint Bay. Once she got her rod magically enforced, only one problem would remain: bait. How could a monstrosity like the Catfish be enticed to bite at a tiny fishing hook? But first things first: the fishing rod.

Martha had walked from Animal Village on the eastern shore of the Bay to the Ukuku Prairie, by the northwest shore. She�d heard that there were lots of caves and tunnels in the rocks around here, surely a Fairy lived in one of them?

She found herself by a wall of large round white objects too high to climb over. She walked along the barrier until she found an opening, and squeezed through. Putting her fishing rod in front of her to use as a weapon in case any monsters came along, she tried to find her way through the maze. What in the world are these strange round white things? she thought. I�ve never seen these before.

�Hey! Who�re you?� A gray-and-white Elite Moblin stepped out from a white thing behind her. �This is Moblin territory! Go away!� He waved his bow at her. �Scram!�

�Um, okay, I�ll go, I�ll go!� Martha didn�t want an arrow in her. �Bye!� She turned and ran farther into the maze.

�I said out, not in!� The Elite Moblin shouted at her.

I�m going even farther in? Martha thought. I�m getting lost in this maze. She suddenly ran up against a dirt wall with a cave entrance in it. What kind of crazy fairy would live here? Martha thought as she stepped in.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. I thought most Great Fairy Caves were lit, thought Martha. Where�s the Fairy?

�Keee! Kee kekekeke keeeee!� A red-eyed Keese swooped over her head. �Keeee!� Two more detached from the walls and joined the attack.

�Aaah!� Martha swatted at the bat-creatures. �Go away! Waaah!�

Glurp! A red Gel oozed together from the cracks in the cave floor. Martha stomped on it, but it split into two tiny Gels which latched onto her feet and kept her from moving. The shrieking Keese continued to fly at Martha. �Kekekekeeee!�

�Aw crud, Gels! Get off of me! Gyaah!� Martha tried to jerk her feet out of the Gels, but they refused to let go. Martha smacked another Keese away with her rod. �Shoo, you ugly slimy critters! I wish I had a sword!�

Suddenly, the Keese flew off, shrieking, into the cave. The pair of tiny Gels vanished into the earth. Martha stood there, startled, until she heard a low rumbling sound coming from a pit a few feet away. Martha saw a stubby cream-colored claw come from under the edge, and then the rest of the creature �a Hardhat Beetle- emerged. �Glrrblrr!�

�No! Go away! Back, you!� Martha whacked the Beetle on its shell with her rod, but it kept lurching towards her. Martha backed towards the cave entrance. �I�m getting out of here!� She ran outside into the sunlight and sat down, panting. �Stupid ugly monsters.�

�Who�re you calling ugly?� Martha looked up. The Elite Moblin had called some others to the scene. �You don�t think that about us, do you?� The leader, an Elite Warrior, glared at her.

Martha stood up. �Well, I wasn�t calling you ugly, but�that doesn�t mean you aren�t.� She muttered the last few words under her breath.

�What�d you say?� the Elite Moblin snarled as he stepped forward from the group.

�I said, uh�goodbye!� Martha dashed past the Moblins and back into the strange maze. The Moblins didn�t bother following her.

�Stupid ugly humans.�

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Martha wandered through the maze of strange round objects. How do you get out of this weird place? she thought. There must be a way out. She set her fishing rod against one of the barriers and sat down in the grass. What kind of place is this? she wondered. Who made this maze? There were a lot of strange and mysterious things on Koholint Island. This stupid maze, the seven dungeons, the owl statues, the Tal Tal Mountains on the northern border where Koholint simply stopped, the egg on Mt. Tamaranch that some said had the slumbering Wind Fish inside of it.

Thud! She felt the object she was sitting against vibrate, as if something had hit it. Martha stood up, brushing grass from her legs. She saw something moving overhead, and looked up. A metal hook on a chain sailed over the barriers and lodged in one of the white objects. Thud!

Martha followed the chain with her eyes. She stepped back as she saw a hand made of nothing but bones pull a green-cloaked figure over the seemingly impassable white barriers. The cloaked figure turned towards her, and she saw that it was a Hooded Stalfos skeleton-creature.

The Stalfos saw her and jerked the hook from where it was buried in a white object. It swirled the chain and threw the hook at Martha.

�Aaah!� Startled, Martha flipped her fishing rod out, attempting to defend herself. The hook wrapped around the rod and caught. The Hooded Stalfos tried to pull the weapon back, but it was caught on the stick of Martha�s fishing rod. Martha jerked on the rod and yanked the handle of the chain from the Stalfos� claws.

{�Give it back!�} Stalfos were incapable of speech, due to their lack of a lower jaw, but they were telekinetic and could communicate without ever speaking. {�Give it back!�}

�I don�t think so.� Martha unwrapped the chain from her rod and hurled the hook at the Hooded Stalfos. She wasn�t used to using projectile weapons, but she hit the Stalfos in its chest area. �Gotcha!�

{�Aaah!�} the Stalfos cried out. {�I have failed��} It pulled a box made from a woven black material from its cloak. {�Finish on your own, destroy the fairies��} It opened the box, then the Stalfos disintegrated into a pile of dust.

A creature Martha had never seen before floated out of the box. It was a skull-like object surrounded by black and white flashes. It drifted away from Martha, but she lunged at it with her fishing rod. It exploded in a flash of light, which faded to reveal a tiny golden butterfly- no, wait, Martha thought, it wasn�t a butterfly, it was a small fairy! Martha reached out to touch it, but it floated off through the maze.

�Hey, wait!� Martha started to run after it, but paused to pick up the fallen Stalfos� green cloak, chain-hook weapon, and black box. They might come in handy, she thought. Martha followed the fairy through the strange maze until the fairy came to another cave and zipped inside. Martha entered too.

�Hello?� Martha called into the darkness. She saw nothing but the tiny fairy�s golden light, shining brightly in the pitch-black cave. �If there are monsters, please tell me so I can get out now!�

�There are no monsters here.� Torches on the walls of the cave lit in a burst of soft blue and green light, reflecting off of a pool of water in the middle of the cave. It�s a Great Fairy�s cave, thought Martha. Finally!

A Great Fairy floated into view, her wings glittering faintly in the blue-green light. �Welcome.� She opened her hand, and the small golden fairy flew into it and vanished, leaving only a few gold sparkles behind. �I see you have found one of my servants.�

�It used to be this weird black and white thing with a skull.� Martha showed the Fairy the black box. �It flew out of this when a Stalfos opened it.�

�Ah.� The Fairy nodded. �It had been transformed into an Anti-Fairy.�

�A what?�

�An Anti-Fairy. If a small golden fairy is caught by a follower of the Nightmare, it will be twisted into a creature that exists only to destroy, not give life. If another golden fairy, or even a Great Fairy like me, touches it, the Anti-Fairy will be destroyed, but the pure Fairy will be �neutralized� as well. The Nightmare has been sending Stalfos, like the one you saw, out with caged Anti-Fairies to hunt down Great Fairies like me.� The Great Fairy clasped her hands together. �I had thought that the Twisting was irreversible, that a fairy turned Anti-Fairy could never be recovered, but you proved me wrong. Thank you.� The Fairy hovered lower. �Did you come here by accident, or were you looking for a Great Fairy like me?�

�I found your cave by accident, but I was in fact looking for a Great Fairy. I- I would like to ask a favor of you.�

�You deserve a reward for bringing back one of my servants. You have but to ask. If your wish is within my powers, I shall grant it.�

Martha held out her fishing rod. �Can you turn this into a magic fishing rod?�

�What kind of powers would you like it to have?�

�Well�� Martha stopped to think. �I�d like to have a fishing rod that will never break, no matter what I�ve hooked, and a line that can�t snap or be cut.� She held up her tackle box. �Can you make my lures magic, too, so no fish will be able to resist them or run away with the bait?�

�I can do that.�

�Good. Thank you.�

�Why thank me? I haven�t done anything yet.� The Fairy smiled. �Put the objects you wish to have enchanted by the pool.� Martha laid down her fishing rod and tackle box, and backed away from the pool. The Fairy spread her arms. Tiny red flickers of light gathered in the Fairy�s hands, then flew down to surround and �soak into� the rod and tackle box. The objects glowed red for a moment, then looked normal again. The Fairy clasped her hands again. �Done.�

�You�re done with the spell? That was it?�

�It was a very simple enchantment.�

�Oh.� Martha picked up the tackle box and fishing rod. �They still look normal, but if you say they�re magic now�� She turned towards the Fairy. �Okay, now, thank you very much. This will probably mean a lot to the residents of Animal Village, and me.�

�You�re welcome. I hope you succeed in your task.�

�There�s just one more thing I�d like you to do for me.�

�Yes?�

Martha pointed towards the door of the Cave. �Can you get me out of this maze?�

The Fairy laughed. �Certainly.� She spread her arms again, and Martha saw the scene around her shimmer and fade. When the world came back into view, she was standing on grass, at the place where she had entered the maze of strange white objects. She looked back.

�Good riddance, Moblins and monsters.� She looked at her magical fishing rod. �And thank you, Fairy whatever-your-name-is.� She started to walk back towards Animal Village, then broke into a run.

�YEEHAH! Look out Catfish, I�m gonna fish you outta Koholint Bay! Yahah!�