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The Kokiri and Fairy Relationship

Djinn

and Tonic
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Location
The Flying Mobile Opression fortress
"In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule... Long have I served as the guardian spirit... I am known as the Deku Tree... The children of the forest, the Kokiri, live here with me. Each Kokiri has his or her own guardian fairy." — Great Deku Tree


__In_Kokiri_Forest___by_Sakura_Hammy.jpg


The very beginning of the Ocarina of Time we are told that every Kokiri has a guardian fairy. And this specific plot point is what shows us that Link is in fact different from the average Kokiri. But not much information is ever given on that relationship between the Kokiri and their guardian fairy. Why do they have them? What purpose do they serve?

Obviously the Kokiri and fairy was modeled after Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Even going so far as to have them wear similar clothes and add the never growing up aspect. But for story purposes there had to be a reason for the Kokiri to have a guardian fairy.

If you look at the Deku Tree's words he apparently appoints a fairy to each Kokiri shown when he appointed Navi to Link.

"Navi... Navi, where art thou? Come hither.... Oh, Navi the fairy... Listen to my words, the words of the Deku Tree... Dost thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this realm... Malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule... For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world... But... before this tremendous evil power, even my power is as nothing... It seems the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey... The youth whose destiny it is to lead Hyrule to the path of justice and truth... Navi...go now! Find our young friend and guide him to me... I do not have much time left. Fly, Navi, fly! The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!" -Deku Tree
In the scene the Deku Tree calls Navi from far away and then sends her to Link to bring him back. Showing that the Deku TRee has some ability to communicate with the fairy from a distance while he cannot communicate with a Kokiri or Hylian the same way. They must be brought to the tree to speak with directly.

You finally woke up!
I'm Navi the fairy!
The Great Deku Tree asked
me to be your partner from
now on! Nice to meet you!
The Great Deku Tree has
summoned you!
Please come with me!
Navi's words also suggest that the fairies are also used as a method of the Deku Tree to speak to the Kokiri. Navi immediately told Link that the Deku Tree wishes to meet with him.

Then enter, brave
Link, and thou too,
Navi...
Navi the fairy...
Thou must aid Link...
And Link...When Navi
speaks, use (^) to listen well
to her words of wisdom.
And this sheds a little more light on the fairy's purpose. Link was told to listen to Navi's wisdom. And throughout the game she gives Link valuable information on many different things. She is normally the first sign of warning in a dangerous situation. As well as a giver of advise when Link is lost or confused. Navi has knowledge of most of the enemies Link faces and understands how to defeat them most of the time.


Watch out Link!
Electricity is running through
this red slimy thing!
Watch for the shadows of
monsters that hang from the
ceiling.
Link, watch out!
The ceiling is falling down!
This sheds more light on the title "Guardian Fairy." They appear to be a much more watchful eye on the innocent and ignorant Kokiri children in the Deku Tree's absence. When one Kokiri might be in danger or in a bad situation the guardian fairy would warn them. Or tell them that the situation might be bad. As the Kokiri are physically young children living in a wilderness, dangerous situations could show up at any time. So an appointed guardian would almost be necessary for their survival in some situations. When adult Link speaks to Mido he mentions that he wished he was as big and strong as Link to fight off the monsters that have invaded the forest. Showing that the Kokiri are weak against most monsters that wonder the forest and require a closer watch to keep them out of danger. The guardian fairies seem to be just that.

I can hear the spirits whispering
in this room...
"Look for the eye of truth..."
That's what they are saying!
This also shows that there is some level of extra communication between the fairies and spirits. Navi could at least hear them whisper on a few separate occasions in the game. While Saria mentions hearing the spirits of the forest when in the Forest Temple. Taking what the Deku Tree has called himself, the guardian spirit of the forest, it could be possible that the fairies are much more capable of hearing and communicating with the Deku Tree than the random Kokiri.


So from what I gather the fairies are a more direct link to the Deku Tree, he has the ability to communicate with them while they communicate with the individual Kokiri. Sort of the Deku Tree's method of a parent giving their child a cell phone to better watch over them and speak to them. The Deku Tree as a stationary object cannot watch over the Kokiri all the time unless they are near him, so the guardian fairies watch over them in his absence. The fairies are also much more knowledgeable of the world around them while the more innocent Kokiri listen to their warnings of danger and advise in situations. Remember the Kokiri do not live in a normal village/family situation. they do not have any real paternal figures or older society to teach them lessons of the world. No parents, teachers, elders, or real leaders beyond that of Mido. The Deku Tree is their creator and guardian deity but is not a parent on a personal level like a family would have. Therefore personal guardian fairies were partnered to each Kokiri and just as the Deku Tree told Link, listen well to their words of wisdom.
 

Retsdob

Retsdob
Joined
Sep 27, 2010
I find it fairy odd, I'm not exactly sure about the game-devolpers motive here, I think it was mostly a way to by guided through the game and have an L-targeting system...I also find it odd that all of the fairies are gone in WW. Was it part of the curse? Am I an Idiot? These are the questions we should ask.
 

Xinnamin

Mrs. Austin
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Location
clustercereal
I definitely agree that the Kokiri's fairies act much like parental guardians to the naive and innocent forest kids, though it may be that Navi is a bit different than the other fairies in her abilities. The Great Deku Tree does call on her specifically to guide Link, so maybe Navi is special in how much she knows. I'm sure the Great Deku Tree can still communicate with the other fairies and thus the other Kokiri children, but we have never seen the other fairies do anything nor hear any of them speak, so it's hard to say.

What I find more curious is that the Kokiri's fairies seem to be different from other fairies. For one, they can't heal like the typical fairies ruled by the Great Fairies or Fairy Queens. The Kokiri Fairies may be governed directly by the Great Deku Tree. Navi at the very least seems to answer to the Great Deku Tree rather than a Great Fairy. For another, the other fairies in the game never speak or do much of anything other than heal, which makes me question their intelligence. All of the guide fairies in the games seem to be independent of a Great Fairy actually, Tatl and Tael were independent, Leaf, Neri, and Ciela followed the Ocean King, so maybe there are different breeds of fairies separating the typical healing fairies from the more intelligent ones, which the Kokiri Fairies fall under.

At this point I think I'm either rambling or overthinking. Make of that what you will ^_^;
 

arkvoodle

Diabolical
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Location
Somewhere
Your theory perfectly matches with my own opinion- that Fairies are parental guardians to the parentless Kokiri children. They look out for the child, teach them, protect them. (Sort of. Navi never actually fights off enemies...etc).

As to the fairy's origin, I am unsure. Possibly reincarnated good people from the past?

And about your point of communication. It seems to be a common trend that the Deku Tree and other supernatural/godlike entities can communicate long distances with other supernatural beings. Such as fairies. This is shown in Wind Waker, because the King of Hyrule can communicate with the various super natural beings like Jabu. (Though this is verbal, not long distance. Slightly unrelated).
 

Nicole

luke is my wife
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Location
NJ
And about your point of communication. It seems to be a common trend that the Deku Tree and other supernatural/godlike entities can communicate long distances with other supernatural beings. Such as fairies. This is shown in Wind Waker, because the King of Hyrule can communicate with the various super natural beings like Jabu. (Though this is verbal, not long distance. Slightly unrelated).

Actually, the KoRL communicating with Jabun doesn't have anything to do with supernatural/godlike entities. They were both speaking in Hylian, which in WW was a language lost after the Great Flood. Off-topic, yes, but I wanted to throw in my opinion.
It's weird though; Are there two species of faries? Sentient ones such as the Great Faries, Navi, and Tatl, or simpler ones like the faries used to heal Link at fairy springs? They must be different, because neither Navi nor Tatl can heal Link. (Although it would be useful if they could. :P )
 

Djinn

and Tonic
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Location
The Flying Mobile Opression fortress
I find it fairy odd, I'm not exactly sure about the game-devolpers motive here, I think it was mostly a way to by guided through the game and have an L-targeting system...I also find it odd that all of the fairies are gone in WW. Was it part of the curse? Am I an Idiot? These are the questions we should ask.


I have a few theories as to why the Korocks never had guardian fairies but there is no story or conversation evidence to back any of it. So I decided not to post that here otherwise it is 100% speculation with no proof.

As to Navi only being added specifically for combat Z targeting reasons and nothing else, I do not think so. Or else the Deku Tree would have only assigned a fairy to Link just to help him on his journey. But the storyline made a point of showing that all kokiri have them and Link was different for not having one. The presence of a fairy for kokiris is repeated enough time by NPCs to make me believe that there is a story related reason they are there.

There is also WW Link who did not need the help of a fairy to be capable of targeting an enemy or spotting things from a distance away. Navi was as much a part of the story as she was a control component.

I definitely agree that the Kokiri's fairies act much like parental guardians to the naive and innocent forest kids, though it may be that Navi is a bit different than the other fairies in her abilities. The Great Deku Tree does call on her specifically to guide Link, so maybe Navi is special in how much she knows. I'm sure the Great Deku Tree can still communicate with the other fairies and thus the other Kokiri children, but we have never seen the other fairies do anything nor hear any of them speak, so it's hard to say.

What I find more curious is that the Kokiri's fairies seem to be different from other fairies. For one, they can't heal like the typical fairies ruled by the Great Fairies or Fairy Queens. The Kokiri Fairies may be governed directly by the Great Deku Tree. Navi at the very least seems to answer to the Great Deku Tree rather than a Great Fairy. For another, the other fairies in the game never speak or do much of anything other than heal, which makes me question their intelligence. All of the guide fairies in the games seem to be independent of a Great Fairy actually, Tatl and Tael were independent, Leaf, Neri, and Ciela followed the Ocean King, so maybe there are different breeds of fairies separating the typical healing fairies from the more intelligent ones, which the Kokiri Fairies fall under.

At this point I think I'm either rambling or overthinking. Make of that what you will ^_^;


I have noticed this too. The Ocean King, Deku Tree, various Great Fairies all seem to have their own set of fairies that serve them. While others appear to be wild and living in the woods or underground near fountains. A couple games have actually made a distinction by saying fairies, fairy servants, and fairy spirits.

The fairy spirit was bottled and sold in Hyrule market in OoT. I do not know if the word spirit attached to it meant anything specific though.
59px-FairysSpirit%28OoT%29.png


In PH there is an island called Spirit island where the goddess there refer to Ceila and the other named fairies as servant spirits. They seem to serve the Ocean King specifically so the ones that follow the Great Deku Tree's commands might be a different class of more intelligent ones that cannot heal. So there might be different classes under the leadership of various deities found in Hyrule.
 
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Nicole

luke is my wife
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Location
NJ
There is also WW Link who did not need the help of a fairy to be capable of targeting an enemy or spotting things from a distance away. Navi was as much a part of the story as she was a control component.

Yes, Navi and Tatl are both implemented for targeting in OoT and MM respectively. WW Link had no need of a fairy to target, but nethier did GCN version TP Link (Wii version had a fairy for the Wiimote pointer). I think that is only the advance in controls, and doesn't play much along the storyline.
 

Anemos

Master of Chaos
Joined
May 12, 2010
Location
The United States of Hysteria
*Jaw drops*

That was amazing. Great thread. The fact that you made that picture to go with it was amazing too (you...did make it, right?)


However, I have to say that Navi's wisdom wasn't so much of a help as much as a nuisance. OF COURSE YOU DON'T TOUCH THE ELECTRIFIED RED BLOB! I mean, Zelda players aren't usually toddlers. If you dangle a knife in the air, what would your response be?
1."Oooooooh! It's SHINY! I think I should touch it!"
or
2."Oh, I better not touch that. I might get hurt."

Probably #2, right? I know I would pick #2.

Now, as to the Great Deku Tree's ability to talk to the Kokiri indirectly, I think you've overlooked something just a little important.

Link isn't a Kokiri.

*GASP*

The Great Deku Tree seemed to communicate just fine. Just look at how many Kokiri suddenly knew that "some wierdo who, up until recently, didn't have a fairy was summoned by the Great Deku Tree!"

As to why the Great Deku Tree wasn't able to speak to LINK, I think there was a reason. Firstly, it creates a more dramatic introduction to the game. Secondly, the Great Deku Tree was dying. He knew that the curse Ganondorf placed upon him would kill him. Thus, he sent Link in to retrieve the Kokiri Emerald, so he could protect it.

I know the argument you will put forth before you even have to voice it: "Why didn't the Great Deku Tree just summon him through telepathy in the first place?"

My answer is simple: Mido.

Mido was blocking the way to the Great Deku Tree, in an attempt to "protect" Link. Thus, Link would need to learn how to do things and to Z-target things he wanted. Think of it as a gift from the Great Deku Tree so as to make Link's journey a little easier.

...not that finding and destroying the infamous evil dark lord Ganon and his army to save the kingdom of Hyrule was hard in the first place without a constant buzzing in your ear. No, Navi was TOTALLY a comfort item.

:xd:
 

Djinn

and Tonic
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Location
The Flying Mobile Opression fortress
*Jaw drops*

That was amazing. Great thread. The fact that you made that picture to go with it was amazing too (you...did make it, right?)

Unfortunately no. A friend of mine made the pic.

Now, as to the Great Deku Tree's ability to talk to the Kokiri indirectly, I think you've overlooked something just a little important.

Link isn't a Kokiri.

*GASP*

The Great Deku Tree seemed to communicate just fine. Just look at how many Kokiri suddenly knew that "some wierdo who, up until recently, didn't have a fairy was summoned by the Great Deku Tree!"

As to why the Great Deku Tree wasn't able to speak to LINK, I think there was a reason. Firstly, it creates a more dramatic introduction to the game. Secondly, the Great Deku Tree was dying. He knew that the curse Ganondorf placed upon him would kill him. Thus, he sent Link in to retrieve the Kokiri Emerald, so he could protect it.

I know the argument you will put forth before you even have to voice it: "Why didn't the Great Deku Tree just summon him through telepathy in the first place?"

My answer is simple: Mido.

Mido was blocking the way to the Great Deku Tree, in an attempt to "protect" Link. Thus, Link would need to learn how to do things and to Z-target things he wanted. Think of it as a gift from the Great Deku Tree so as to make Link's journey a little easier.

...not that finding and destroying the infamous evil dark lord Ganon and his army to save the kingdom of Hyrule was hard in the first place without a constant buzzing in your ear. No, Navi was TOTALLY a comfort item.

:xd:

When you rescue Saria in the Forest Temple you meet the Deku Tree sprout which tells you

Some time ago, before the King of
Hyrule unified this country, there
was a fierce war in our world.
One day, to escape from the fires
of the war, a Hylian mother and
her baby boy entered this
forbidden forest.
The mother was gravely injured...
Her only choice was to entrust
the child to the Deku Tree, the
guardian spirit of the forest.
The Deku Tree could sense that
this was a child of destiny, whose
fate would affect the entire world,
so he took him into the forest.

After the mother passed away,
the baby was raised as a Kokiri.
And now, finally, the day of
destiny has come!
The sprout says that the Deku Tree instantly knew that he would be the hero to save Hyrule. Mido actually seems to be very ignorant of Link or his true nature. He never realizes that Link is not a Kokiri. And does not recognize adult Link when he returns seven years later. Even asking adult Link to apologize for him if he finds child Link. Mido still believed child Link to be a kokiri wondering Hyrule somewhere.

"Oh...I see...Saria won't ever come back... But...I...I made a promise to Saria... If Link came back, I would be sure to tell him that Saria had been waiting for him... Because Saria...really... liked... Hey, you. If you see him somewhere, please let him know... And also... I'm sorry for being mean to him. Tell him that, too." — Mido
Hey you! "Mr. No Fairy!" What's your business with the Great Deku Tree? Without a fairy, you're not even a real man! What?! You've got a fairy?! Say what? The Great Deku Tree actually summoned you? Whaaaaaaat?! Why would he summon you and not the great Mido? This isn't funny... I don't believe it! You aren't even fully equipped yet! How do you think you're going to help the Great Deku Tree without both a sword and shield ready? What? You're right, I don't have my equipment ready, but... If you want to pass through here, you should at least equip a sword and shield! Sheesh!" — Mido
From this quote it looks to me that Mido has no idea that the Deku Tree summoned Link. He was just being a bully as he always does, and blocking the path from Link simply to be mean. He most likely thought Link would never acquire the kokiri sword and a deku shield and thought he would just leave or go home. Plus this actually is a game mechanic requiring that the player have both the sword and shield before entering the Deku Tree. You can enter the dungeon without learning anything about Z targeting from the know it all brothers.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Location
Brexit
Your theory perfectly matches with my own opinion- that Fairies are parental guardians to the parentless Kokiri children. They look out for the child, teach them, protect them. (Sort of. Navi never actually fights off enemies...etc).

As to the fairy's origin, I am unsure. Possibly reincarnated good people from the past?

And about your point of communication. It seems to be a common trend that the Deku Tree and other supernatural/godlike entities can communicate long distances with other supernatural beings. Such as fairies. This is shown in Wind Waker, because the King of Hyrule can communicate with the various super natural beings like Jabu. (Though this is verbal, not long distance. Slightly unrelated).

But as Matt is always telling me on Skype...

"You give a man a fish, he eats for a week. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime."

Basically, Navi teaching Link how to fight, instead of getting involved herself is essentially showing her as a parent figure for Link; seeing as she is teaching him how to protect himself and survive.

I think that you have a very good thread here Djinn, and it makes a lot of sense. The Great Deku Tree seems to be the head of a family of sorts, he's like the wise grandfather you see in films when no one else is there to teach those in the newer generations. However, unless he happens to be from Lord of the Rings, we all know that he can't move. Thus it makes sense for him to have a strong way to look out for the newer generations until they are capable of protecting themselves (in the case of Ocarina of Time and the Kokiri, Link is technically the only one to actually do that).

I don't believe that Navi was just an aid for Link to help him Z-Target an enemy. I believe that the Great Deku Tree decided that it would be best for Link if he had someone who had a much vaster knowledge of the outside world than himself, and the situation in hand. Afterall, Navi does talk to Link a fair amount about what's happening. This is also why I think that Link never had a fairy until the point that he had to leave on his quest. The Great Deku Tree wouldn't have seen a need for him to have a fairy until he left the Kokiri Forest as he was never going to need the knowledge that Navi passed down to him until that point in the time. This doesn't really link to the rest of the Kokiri having fairies and it being stressed upon. The only explanation I can have for them needing a fairy from such an early age is that they will live as a child forever, and won't be able to protect themselves as easily as a Hylian (or any other race that grows up for that matter). Thus needing the guidance of the Great Deku Tree from when they were born.
 

Satsy

~~SaturnStorm
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Location
Somewhere small
As someone rightfully pointed out, you don't actually hear the other fairies talk. Though the other Kokiri (specifically the z-target girl above the shop's door) definitely make use of them, even if they don't communicate with them. And theirs don't hide upon their owners' person when not in use. So I wonder if the other fairies of the Kokiri kids are actually sentient, or instead an extension of the Kokiri themselves. Likely in the same way that the pink fairies are an extension of the Great Fairies, rather than sentient little folks who stop existing when they heal you. Though Navi is an individual fairy of her own, I do think she does have strong ties to both the Deku Tree and the power of the forest. Without her Adult Link probably wouldn't have lasted long in the Lost Woods.
 

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