It's almost been ten years now since I first got into The Legend of Zelda series, and what a decade it has been. The Zelda franchise has provided me with weeks, even months, of entertainment. It has provided fantastic gameplay; enthralling storylines and moral inspiration amongst many other things. However, there has always been something that I couldn't quite place about the series. For all these years as I've sat there playing, something hasn't seemed quite right. Something has seemed a tad out of place. Finally I've come to the realization of what exactly it is - and now a whole new level of understanding and appreciation for the series has opened wide open for me. I have discovered that the protagonist of the series is not human. Not even Hylian. Link is actually a tree.
The Hero of Time is mistakenly referred to as a Hylian because, conveniently, that's what the Deku Tree sprout tells him he is. However, it's pretty obvious that that's just a cover. The Sprout tells Link that his mother fled into Kokiri Forest, but that's just nonsense. She wouldn't have made it to the Deku Tree without becoming a Skull Kid or a Stalfos or something. The truth is, the Deku Tree is actually Link's father. As one of the Kokiri girls tells Link: "the Deku Tree is our father, the forest guardian, and he gave life to all of us Kokiri." A simple look at The Wind Waker reveals that the Kokiri, well the Koroks, are nothing but little trees that jiggle as they walk around. They just have the ability of taking on a human form - which is exactly what Link does. Beneath it all, he's nothing more than a mere tree.
It makes me think of Family Guy actually. You know, the scrawny pirate like guy with the eyepatch. The "me father was a tree" guy. The difference is: he's cool. Link, however, is an emotionless stump. But it makes sense why now. Trees do not have brains. Trees do not feel emotions. Trees are nothing more than trees. Trees cannot talk. Trees cannot become attached to others. Link has never been some empty shell of personality that the player is supposed to project themselves onto - he's just been a tree. Nothing more, nothing less.
Take a look at Majora's Mask even. Why is it that everyone assumes that the Skull Kid turns Link into a Deku Scrub with some sort of curse? Quite obviously the Skull Kid, with Majora's powers, can see Link for who he is. He can see that Link is a tree and he simply returns Link into his real and natural form. I mean, when you're being pursued by some tree that's pretending to be a human do you really need to get all powerful with some almighty curse? No. You just reveal him for the tree he is and watch him sit there wallowing in his own sap.