The Forest War: Rise of the Deku

[Dragus]

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Rise of the Deku: A narrative AAR (after-action report) by Dragus







Chapters​

1: The Ascension of King Deku
2: The New Deku Kingdom
3: Planting the Seeds

[Dragus]

The days we live in are days of turmoil and peril. The woods are restless, the forests weep, and the leaves roar with rage. Although it is likely important for me to note in these writings that a day in the life of a deku is already far from peaceful, given the tireless contentiousness of our people. But these recent days are ones unlike others. There is a possibility that the anger of the deku, long-broiled by our shaky history with the other races that inhabit the land, has finally been harnessed in a productive, if frightening, manner. Instead of boiling over and culminating in the near-endless in-fighting amongst ourselves as it always has, in the eastern woods a new power has risen.


My name is Addar, a humble scrub who grew in the eastern woods. Though I am young, I am well-studied and have had the privilege of reading. Most of the tomes here where I make my home were admittedly stolen from other places, or from traveling Hylians or lost members of other races who have come through the vast expanses of forests we make our home in. But their acquisition was before my time, and though I bear whoever may have owned them or written them no ill will, I find it wasteful to cast away the opportunity of literature and reading when it has lay in front of me since I was a sprout. My humble home is a small but comfortable room near the little library in the deku palace of Deku Prime. Our small but growing city was recently given its new name by our new ruler, who I briefly touched upon before: The mighty King Deku.

Our new master, the Deku King.

It is not clear what our master and king was called before he took on the name "King Deku", stylizing himself after the name of our entire people. But it is not the place of a small and humble scrub such as I to question such things, and in fact it has become clear in recent days that to question the Deku King at all is an unwise and sometimes unhealthy decision. But although he may be frightful and harsh indeed, the strong and firm hand of our king has brought a sense of unity and discipline I have never seen among our kind before. His words and speeches of fury incite anger in the hearts of the deku, but these feelings are directed by him in an outward direction rather than inward. The words of the Deku King have begun to hold more push than any rupees or shiny object. Over the past months, piece by piece and faster and faster, the tribal way of life has vanished from the eastern woods. Instead of many deku that move small mobs of scrubs with rupees, there is now only one deku, one king, and he moves many many deku at once, all towards a single purpose at a time. His power here in Deku Prime is now unquestionable and without a match. In addition to my own services as his kingdom's cartographer, chronicler, and librarian, he is surrounded by a cadre of loyal attendants, servants, and advisors.

One of King Deku's royal attendants.

Expecting the Deku of the deep woods region south of Prime to fall in line just the same eventually, our king showed his cunning and ambition when he sent his daughter, the Deku Princess, far from home to the southwestward-most of the deku-inhabited lands, the recently-overgrown Kokiri Gash. Named after the people who have since settled west of our homelands, the Kokiri Gash region and its main settlement of Doodlewee was once home to the closest thing our tribes had to a government: The Deku Council of Eight. The eight-member Deku Council was historically made up of eight of the richest and most powerful of the various deku tribes, who would on widespread occasions convene there to discuss who got what lands, who got what shiny valuables, and who was to stay away from who. But when the Deku Princess arrived, bringing word that the council was to separate, cede most of its power and shrubs, and swear fealty to the new King of the deku, everything changed.

The Deku Kingdom rules, King Deku from the north and the princess from the south. But the central deep woods have yet to obey.

I wasn't privy to all that transpired at the time, but I can confidently speculate that what followed was a months-long period of political intrigue, bribes, threats, and a power struggle. Though his daughter succeeded in bringing Doodlewee into the kingdom and this culminated in an eventual victory for the Deku King, only two of the eight council members swore loyalty to us and joined the Deku Kingdom. The remaining six, narrowly avoiding capture, fled northward with their money and what was left of their shrubs. The Deku Council of eight had now become the Goobalwee Council of six, taking up residence in that settlement located near the center of the deep woods. Ironically, the Deku are now as united as they have ever been, our land now in a civil war between the remaining tribal scrubs of the Goobalwee council and the new Deku King's loyalists. The remaining Deku to the east, in a more lightly-wooded region known as the shadow of Talus, are separated from our lands by a thick mountainous treeline and are too far from the conflict to be relevant. Divided and chaotic warlords with a penchant for street robbery, the deku of this eastern region have been denounced by our king, who calls them the "mad scrubs" of the east. This is the map I have painted of our wooded realm, at least as things stand now.

Though I am frightened at the idea of the coming war, humble little Addar is faithful to his king. I will continue to serve him and provide advice as best I can. And as I watch our scrubs begin to muster in preparation for the eventual move south, as I see more and more Deku working together in a unified and motivated way, my fears slowly begin to leave me. Surely our unity, morale, and direction under one centralized leader will give us an advantage over the Goobalwee council. And even on the eve of conflict, our mighty king has ordered construction of a stronger, larger palace here in Deku Prime. He says it will "stand as a monument to our new kingdom and to my might! And it will be finished and waiting for us after this "foolish little war is over." Foolish little war. Addar is somewhat comforted by these words, these words of confidence from our king. I can feel that things are changing.

The Deku King's forces begin to muster for the march southward as construction of his new palace begins in Deku Prime.

I have also recently been told of our plan for the struggle ahead. The Deku King plans to forge a new, unified kingdom in a single swoop without hesitation or giving those would resist a chance for action. He intends to march with a host of scrubs southward himself, defeat the forces of the Goobalwee council while they are still in a state of disunity, and have all of them executed the day he takes the city. And while all of this is happening, he plans to send the princess eastward to establish dominance, obedience, and order in the eastern shadow of Talus. "They will bend the knee, or they'll all be squashed." He said. King Deku made clear he would have all of our peoples unified and obeying his orders within the next few months. "No mercy, and no exceptions."

The plan to forge the four provinces of the Deku into one mighty, unified kingdom.





The Deku Princess marches eastward with her forces, on her way to tame the wild scrubs and bring the shadow of Talus into our new kingdom.

Although I was surprised at first that our mighty King was so bold as to split our forces like this, I know that morale and unity are on our side. And the battle tactics I and my fellow retainers and servants have been working on should prove effective if we can surprise the enemy quickly enough. Though humble little Addar is fearful of war, he knows that working together and with a new sense of unity, the Deku can accomplish great things they never have before. He also hopes that you will see his writings again, as that will mean that we have won. I must now go, and help oversee as well as record the events to come. They will surely be historic, and shake the trees of the forest to their roots.

[Mattwensley]

Your image editting puts us all to shame! It gives a great sense of understanding where things are at any one time! I will definitely be following this!

[DiddlyDark]

The fact that the map is poorly drawn suits the Deku perfectly.

After all, the map makers probably don't have hands.

[HerofTime]

This is very interesting. I look forward to seeing how it goes!

[N0hbdy]

Not your typical let's play, but I really like the stylistic approach, keep up the good work man!

[Dragus]

Your image editting puts us all to shame! It gives a great sense of understanding where things are at any one time! I will definitely be following this!

Many thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

The fact that the map is poorly drawn suits the Deku perfectly.

After all, the map makers probably don't have hands.

That was definitely the intention; The Deku also have little knowledge of what's beyond their lands so far. You may see Addar's painting style change in the future as he follows his people's further campaigns however.

Not your typical let's play, but I really like the stylistic approach, keep up the good work man!

Thanks; I'm glad you had fun reading it. And if you're not familiar with AARs, they're actually a bit different from let's plays in that they take a non-live and sometimes "narrative" approach. I opted for this approach since the idea of writing a story around my gameplay sounded like more fun at the time.

This is very interesting. I look forward to seeing how it goes!

Many thanks. I'll likely be posting the second chapter after class concludes today.

[N0hbdy]

Thanks; I'm glad you had fun reading it. And if you're not familiar with AARs, they're actually a bit different from let's plays in that they take a non-live and sometimes "narrative" approach. I opted for this approach since the idea of writing a story around my gameplay sounded like more fun at the time.

Well thanks for clarifying, I was not familiar with the term, I'd heard it, but assumed it was more literal, rather than a playthrough with after commentary and narrative focus, either way, good job so far, and can't wait to hear more of your story.

[HerofTime]

I think its a refreshing take on the mod's lore. The campaign itself is meant to be broad and almsot vague because of how you can alter what happens. This adds that story of sorts back into it, while retaining the gameplay point of the campaign, good idea in my opinion.

[Saria's Vanguard]

Go little deku go!

[Dragus]

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(Click)

I am writing again! Humble little Addar is writing words for you to read once more, for he lives. And so do his fellow Deku! We have had victory; Wonderful wonderful victory. There is much to say and much to tell. Addar thinks that at the very end of this writing when he shows his newly-painted map of the Deku Kingdom, that there may be surprise. I have never been so surprised, and can almost not believe what the Deku have accomplished, although it was after much pain and leaves shed.

The Deku Royalty, together with their attendants.

Some weeks ago, the Deku King and princess were once again reunited, and for the first time in months all of our masters and leaders were in one place again. There was much celebrating, tasting of treats, and dancing. We had not only been victorious in the deep woods province; The Deku King had not only defeated the Goobalwee council and taken mastery and ownership of the deep woods, but our princess also succeeded in conquering the wild scrubs to the east. With both the shadow of Talus and the deep woods bowing before the Deku King, our four united and connected provinces together became the new Deku Kingdom.

The newly-forged Deku Kingdom.

But as we celebrated and reveled in the joy of our party in the newly-constructed and great palace of Deku Prime, I knew that our success, though total in victory, had also only been brought about by total war. Our planning and unity had brought us our win and carried us through those days, but they were anything but pleasant or an easy walk in the grass. I am very relieved to be once again sitting in the safety, luxury and comfort of my abode here in Deku Prime. The story of the battles to unite the Deku is an interesting one, and one that I will tell in detail now.

One of the entrances into Deku Prime, the royal city of the Deku Kingdom.

It all started with the Deku King's march southward. I was in attendance with his host myself. My colleagues and friend (as well as fellow chronicler) Komo had accompanied the Deku Princess in the south and east. I know that the accounts from there are accurate though, and by combining both of our notes and writings I hope to be able to create a historical picture of accuracy to the best of my ability. As humble Addar was saying, the unification of our people began with our great king marching southward, far into the deep woods. He would reach Goobalwee some good number of days before the princess reached Joogal in the east.

The Deku King moves south through the deep woods.





The King's forces venturing through the deep woods on the way to Goobalwee. Note the red-leaved scrubs in the back. These are our signature Royal Scrubs, guards of the king and especially-practiced with spears.

While we marched, I remember wondering what the battle would be like. I remember wondering what Goobalwee would look like. I knew it was a smaller settlement than Deku Prime and didn't have as large of a palace, but we also knew from what we had heard that it still had wooden walls. And I remember worrying that any minute a shower of nuts would fly from the bushes and trees nearby, ending all our lives. The trees and shrubs were thick, dimming the sun as we made our way through the deep woods. It was rather unpleasant and tensely silent for at least two days, aside from the occasional chatter of the deku around me or the faint barking and shouting of orders from our great king.

The deep woods path to Goobalwee.

Finally the silence was broken, and I heard the sounds of excited speaking. Eventually our scouts that had snuck ahead found something of interest and came back, letting us know that they spotted scrubs ahead. Initially I was concerned, wondering if it was part of the Goobalwee council's forces. But as it had turned out, it was nothing more than a small band of just under 100 scrubs. Most of them were merchants or lowly scavengers, whose weapons were splintered and dull and whose leaves were wilted and uncolored. A decision was made quickly, before I had hardly been told what was going on. As two small groups of our scrubs secretly snuck around the bushes and surrounded the small trading band, our King and a group of his royal scrub guard addressed them.

I was surprised (and pleasantly surprised at that) to find that after a short time it became clear that our forces would not be needed to ensure that these Deku were to be loyal followers of their new king. Before our scrubs even emerged from the bushes, our king's words had won them over. He spoke of the anger of our people and how by working together as one we could take back what was ours from the other dwellers of the forest. In return for the opportunity to take many rupees and nice things from Goobalwee as well as be part of the Deku King's big army (instead of being squashed by it) the small trading caravan joined us. Continuing our march southward in a slightly more upbeat tone now, I began to feel positively about the road ahead. Surely this was a sign of similar events to come.

The march to Goobalwee was not only uneventful, but thanks to our great king's firm hand and discipline proceeded ahead of schedule and with stray scrubs along the way joining us. We would reach the council very soon.

In the south, it was said the princess' journey went as smoothly and even more quietly. My peer and friend Komo said that they didn't even spot signs of activity aside from forest wildlife until long after they had left the lands near Doodlewee and the border of the kokiri gash. (Which would later be renamed the Deku Gash in honor of our people and our new leaders after these battles had concluded.) They marched eastward, the heavy forest opening up to the more open and lightly-wooded region that was the shadow of Talus. It was not yet entirely known what lands lay beyond the trees and plains to the east of this place, but that was not thinking for now. That was thinking for later, and it's said that the Deku princess remained determined and focused on her objective, keeping fair and strict command of her scrubs.

A short amount of days after entering the open eastern land of the shadow of Talus, the host of the Deku princess spotted something. It wasn't Joogal, but what was likely most if not all of the mad scrubs! All in one place, but also therefore at their most dangerous as well. It isn't clear if they were returning from one of their raiding ventures or had just set out for one, but what was clear is that if they could be defeated in the open, then claiming Joogal would be simple and effortless for the princess. As she moved forth with her scrubs, it became clear that the eastern mad scrubs had no intention of making way, and they remained at their position. Our first and only attempt to communicate with them was said to have resulted in the messenger quickly fleeing back to our lines, squeaking with fright and narrowly having escaped a flurry of spat nuts. It was clear there would be a fight.

The battle for Joogal, and the shadow of Talus.





Following a single volley of nuts from both sides, the battle lines meet. The princess' royal forces are pictured on the right, and the wild scrubs on the left.

The battle is said to have began with both sides forming groups, the wild scrubs in three loosely-organized groups and the princess' scrubs organized into four well-formed rectangles, her own unit included and composing the fourth. Follow a brief standstill, what happened next is still considered to be an iconic part of the battle and spoken of in the palace as a defining part of our noble princess' leadership. Only two groups advanced; A group of royal scrubs with their spears, and Princess Deku's own force (also a royal scrub spear unit) closely behind. The remainder of our forces withdrew, giving the impression that they were spooked and fleeing in a disorganized manner. This emboldened the wild scrubs to advance, their Deku advancing forward. Both the royal line and the now-larger wild scrub line fired a single volley of nuts each before the royal scrubs charged. It's said that despite taking the brunt of a shower of nuts from the larger force, the Deku princess stood firmly, unmoving and not deterred in the slightest. As the group of royal scrubs ahead of her closed with the enemy, the shower of nuts came to a halt. The outnumbered spear-wielding royal scrubs seemed to be holding their own for now, but it was not clear if they could outlast a force three times their size. A minute or so passed, the princess patiently and bravely standing only a short distance away from the fighting. This battle would later earn her the nickname "The Fearless" amongst many scrubs.

Undeterred.

It soon became clear why the princess showed no hesitation in the face of such a volatile situation. She and her advisers had planned for it entirely. During the first few minutes of the engagement, our other units (composed of forest scrubs) had pulled away and then, following the feint, returned in force from the flanks. Now the mad scrubs were pressured from three directions at once, with a force of roughly equal size. On the edges of the groups they began to fall apart, scrubs struck dead with well-placed nuts, stabbed, and sliced. As the flanks imploded, our forces began to close the gaps and surrounded the mad scrubs. Now in complete disarray and being cut down like tufts of grass, they desperately sought escape. They were left only direction of flight, a narrow opening between the three royal forces that had them effectively "pinned" in place like a deku baba's jaws. They began to all cascade towards the gap in hopes of escape, dropping their weapons. It was then that the Deku princess' force finally advanced, closing the gap. They had been given one chance to show their loyalty before, and spat nuts upon it. She would show them no mercy. As they ran directly into her spears, the fate of every last mad scrub was sealed. The battle for the shadow of Talus was over.

Nothing now stood between the Deku princess and her march on Joogal. It's said that once she entered the gates of the settlement, the Deku Kingdom's banners were raised without a fight at all.

Princess Deku "The Fearless" was victorious, and the eastern province bent the knee. But while this had been transpiring, our king's campaign (and my own fate) was being decided to the northwest, in the deep woods. We had advanced to the walls of Goobalwee, and weren't surprised to find the Goobalwee council's forces holed up in the city, not wishing to come out and face our king. What did surprise us however was that the forces of the council numbered lower than we had expected. It was clear that at least a third of the scrubs who had denied loyalty to our king had also not had any interest in fighting for the Goobalwee council either. This was fortunate, though in either case they would later fall into line regardless. As for Goobalwee, our enemies were not prepared for the unity and size of our host. But even more so, they were not prepared for what we had planned. I myself had taken part in the drawing up of plans to build a wooden mechanism that would allow us to batter down gates. The other advisers and I had taken the instructions for this "battering ram" with us on the campaign, in expectation of a moment just like this. After a few days of waiting around the settlement (just out of range of any danger) we had put together one ram, building it from some nearby wood.

Our newly-built battering ram. The Deku Kingdom's forces prepare to advance on the Goobalwee Council's city.

As I watched our scrubs push the large wooden cart and battering ram forward, as I watched the Deku Kingdom's forces advance through the rain falling from the pale gray sky, I couldn't help but feel a little proud. Humble little Addar is certainly no lover of slaughter or violence, but to see a plan carried out successfully gives one their own satisfaction, as does seeing our kind work together in such large numbers. I truly expect that as the days pass these numbers will continue to grow. But I digress; Once more returning to the matter of the battle, the ram worked better than expected. As our scrubs moved forward towards the gate, the thunderous smash of the ram against the increasingly frail wooden doors was heard every several seconds. The gate flew open even before all of the king's host had reached the wall. The enemy had not expected us to breach their perimeter so quickly, and before the council could order any of its scrubs against us, the Deku King's army rushed through the gate. Our royal scrubs, unmatched with their discipline and long sharp spears, advanced up the road and harshly stabbed through any weak attempts to stand in their way. All the while, our forest scrubs and forces without spears scaled small hovels, shacks, and houses, firing nuts at any enemies from atop their roofs.

All hail the Deku King.

After a short time, the enemy found themselves caught off-guard, outmaneuvered, and with their backs pinned to a wall. The Goobalwee council's forces were attacked quickly and decisively by a unified and well-disciplined force before the could fully prepare or issue orders through their divided system of leadership. What scrubs that didn't flee the city or slip into hiding retreated to the small council chambers structure, which would be better described as a large and long hut, rather hardly a palace. After surrounding the heart of the Goobalwee, our king had begun to issue orders to prepare to smash down their doors. But we were surprised when the small force of deku remaining inside suddenly surrendered, throwing open their doors and handing the council over to us. An uproar of cheers came from the victorious army of the Deku King. We had overwhelmed the Goobalwee council, and now their city, their lands, and their former tribes were ours. The Deku King ruled undisputed...from the eastern woods all the way to the kokiri gash. And some days later we would be informed the princess had brought us victory as well.

Our new Kingdom will shake the woods to their roots.

All of the Deku-inhabited woods now belonged to our new king. All scrubs would now answer to one leader, one master, and act as one tribe. The new Deku Kingdom was born. In a bold speech from the balcony of the palace of Deku Prime, our king declared that no longer would the deku be looked down upon or seen as weak, divided, or stupid. He claimed that a day would come when "All of the forest is ruled by us." Between uproarious receptions from the crowd, hushed by his retainers shortly before each time he would speak again, he continued. "And that day is perhaps not so far away! Look at what we already have accomplished. What I have accomplished. If you follow me, all of the riches and woods of the world will be ours! A day will come when those stupid monkeys to the north are roasted for good. A day will come when those bratty kokiri are taught their place, and their arrogant tree ripped up by his roots! Hear me, follow me, obey me! Today is the day we are one, and today is the day our new empire is born! All hail the new Deku Kingdom! And all hail me, your Deku King!"

The outer structure of the mighty Deku Palace.

The ambition, hunger for power, and restlessness of the Deku Kingdom is a mighty and frightful thing. But this is a force that now drives all Deku as one, and our new Kingdom has the potential to become very strong. And fortunately, our master has opted to heavily leave matters of kingdom and state to us, his advisers and planners. As long as we obey and make the Deku strong, he approves of most of our advice and plans. Over the past days, we have sent shrubs to see what the woods and lands are like outside of our new kingdom. (A new and much nicer map is shown below.) And in the coming days, I will be assisting in the oversight of the economic and military development of the Deku King's new empire. Humble little Addar has many ideas and many hopes for the Deku Kingdom, and looks forward to writing once again to tell you of these things. For now though, there is much work to be done. Addar also thinks he hears his name being called, and it is a very unhealthy decision to keep our master waiting. All hail the new Deku Kingdom, and long may we reign.

[HerofTime]

It's nice for the Deku to have something finally (always being labeled as one of the worst factions sometimes...). With the added in story, it's even more enjoyable than a Let's Play. Keep up the great story!

[Vlad The Vanquisher]

I love the amount of story that was put into just a few characters and a handful of settlements. I can`t wait for the next one!

[Dragus]

Many thanks. I'm glad you're enjoying it. And a perceived uphill battle for them is certainly something that makes this story (and the gameplay) fun for me.

[nintendo64isking]

i love the deku cant wait for them to be fully playable in the campaign with all units and able to fire from castle walls, i love this story, so domination of the forest and then onto hyrule?? or labrynna , GUNS ARE NO MATCH FOR NUTS

[Dragus]

Thanks; I'm glad you enjoy it. And those are all interesting speculations. The future is unclear for the newly-formed Kingdom. Perhaps the next episode will reveal their next path.

[Emrys]

How goes the Deku, Dragus?

[Dragus]

All is well, and more than one chapter is complete. I had just intended to await feedback (as I enjoy it) before continuing. I'm preparing for a six hour drive home for spring break, but when I arrive at home tonight I'll post the next installment.

[Saria's Vanguard]

yay i had been looking forward to more!

[Dragus]

(Click)

Humble little Addar is writing once again, and is quite pleased to do so. It has been many days since I last made a recording of my people. Our new Deku Kingdom has become strong and even more unified than before. We have done much work since our great King and Princess forged all scrubs together. Much of the plans of the attendants and advisors have been carried out. New buildings and ways through the woods exist now than I could ever have imagined seeing before.

The four great provinces of our new kingdom.

The new palace of the Deku King was only the beginning. In all four of our great Kingdom's territories new housing has been constructed. This (in combination with the extensive levying of almost all available scrubs and the promise of great wealth from other lands) has significantly offset the amount of crime, bandits, and idle Deku milling about contributing nothing to our new Kingdom's great plans. Our leadership declared that land and resources would be given to those most deserving, most able to make use of them. With a new age of order and discipline in place, the people of our kingdom all contribute in some way.

Forces of the new Deku Kingdom.

As for those who are not in the occupation of fighting and killing, there have been many new and productive tasks made available. Most of the new quarters (admittedly not primarily intended for housing but for production and mustering the King's various forces) are being implemented for the creation of weapons. Our Deku craftsmen and merchants have now been given quarters and ample meeting of their needs to whittle the weapons of war.

A weapon of the Deku Kingdom.

Those weapons that are made of "metal", material shiny and harder than rock, are still somewhat rare in our lands. Only those of great affluence and importance carry such weapons, and to see them in the hands of someone else is not a common thing. Still, we are in the process of looking into someday learning the secret of creating such weapons. For the time being, the carving of wood and creation of other weapons will suffice. Our newly-formed, massive, and still-growing armies of scrubs will need plenty of equipment to stay alive and to kill their enemies.

Weapons carved of wood. Many such blades and tools are being produced for our growing armies of scrubs.

Culturally, the Deku Kingdom also differs significantly from the woods of the past. As mentioned before, the tribal system of government was highly undesirable, especially for the centralized, unified, and disciplined power we hoped to create. The Deku King wanted his armies to be obedient without question, not divided into bickering tribes. And we wanted them to be efficient and well-trained to do their job properly. With our King's power undisputed, in addition the new housing and craftsmen our new Kingdom has placed a focus upon obedience in our scrubs' training. Humble little Addar and his fellow advisers agreed that it would be important in the coming times to nurture a culture of discipline and order. Much of our architecture thus bears insignia and phrases emphasizing the glory of our new kingdom as a united force.

In these recent days, we have also set about creating infrastructure to keep our great King's lands running properly. Our new roads through the woods let us move lots of scrubs, supplies, and weapons around more quickly. The structures and spaces set aside in our settlements for markets and trade will also help us make the kingdom strong. Feeding trade means we can tax more rupees from the growth of our people. The bazaars and roads lining our growing settlements are a welcome sight indeed. Humble little Addar is glad to see some semblance of law and order in these woods, as well as the beginnings of what will eventually be prosperity and riches.

Also notable among the new buildings and walls in the Deku Kingdom are the vast gardens and halls set aside for a specific purpose. These centers are where the Deku are encouraged to sew the seeds of future generations, growing strong deku like never before. Humble little Addar in the past always thought that such things perhaps had a semblance of sentimental value placed upon them, but it cannot be denied that these new places will make us stronger and more numerous much more quickly. And besides, who would I be to question the great Deku King or my fellow advisers? Our plans have been successful and beneficial thus far, so there is no reason for hesitation now.

Things at home in our new kingdom have indeed been going well. All of our building and domestic planning is proceeding perfectly, with surprisingly fruitful results. Also of great excitement is that the Deku Princess (the fearless) is said to be reaching the end of a gathering of scrubs for an expedition. The Picorou Woods to the southwest remain largely unexplored, but we have begun to gather reports following up on rumors of ruins there that may be of interest. While the Deku King is still gathering forces to expand his new realm into the northern wilderness (where the much hated monkeys live) the princess will be heading west to claim Picorou for the Deku.

Princess Deku's expedition into the Picorou Woods to claim them and the ancient ruins there.

We all look forward to hearing what the princess might find on her expedition. We know little to nothing about the ancient ruins that lay there. There are also the obvious benefits of claiming the Picorou Woods themselves to consider. From our scouts, there have been various and sparse reports of sightings of Kokiri here and there to the west. We intend to move as quickly as possible into the wilderness to the north and Picorou to the southwest. After all, the Deku King would be most displeased if the "Kokiri brats" were to explore or claim those lands first...

Addar will write more in the future, and will hopefully have many exciting things to say about what Princess Deku finds as well as the army the Deku King is building to take the wilderness to the north. For now, there is more building and work to be done in the Deku Kingdom. With our new economy, roads, scrub armies, and fortresses built, there is no place to go but forward.