Saria (Total War)

Saria is the fourth Sage of the Forest of Hyrule and eventual Queen of the Koroks.

Etymology
Saria's name is likely derived from the Deku words sari (kind, generous) and ya (aide, servant, worker).

Physical Appearance
Saria is a small and diminutive Kokiri, notable for her large blue eyes, huge ears and green hair. As a Korok she gains some height and displays dark brown bark for skin. In both instances she is depicted wearing green skirts in summer and dark green turtle necks in winter.

Powers and Abilities
Saria is given the ability to control the growth and transition of life. She can also manipulate the forces of rock and earth to some degree, creating crystalline shards of emerald.

Personality
Saria is known for her empathy, kindness, and naivete while she is a Kokiri. After enduring the hardships of the Gerudo Wars and transforming into a Korok she becomes a somewhat bitter and pessimistic individual for a time. The death of Princess Ruto hurts her deeply, sending her further into a depression and seclusion from her people. She eventually finds some peace of mind after aiding Link and Tetra during their adventures in the Great Sea and accomplishing the final wish of the Great Deku Tree.

History


First Golden Age
Saria is created by the Great Deku Tree sometime around 10 AG, tasked to be his personal messenger and servant, and eventual heir. The Kokiri Chief Mido is infatuated with Saria, but she doesn't reciprocate his feelings and often reports his abusive behaviour to Kasuto, who forbids such relationships.

The Gerudo Wars
In 100 AG an army of Gohma invades the Deku Tree's Grove from a series of secret passages. During the attack Saria is killed, though not until after discovering that it was Mido who lead the Gohma into the grove. Grief stricken over her death, the Great Deku Tree names Saria the next Sage of Forest and she comes to life instilled with his powers. After her failure to take the Deku Tree's Grove, Sulkaris then opts to outright invade the Kokiri Forest with the entirety of her Gohma forces and absorb the new Sage's powers herself. When asked who the new Sage of Forest was, Mido lies to Sulkaris and tells her that the Great Deku Tree named Mirora and not Saria the new Sage. During her invasion Sulkaris kills and absorbs Mirora, reconstructing her body and becoming alive again. She did not regain her Sage powers however, and she is swiftly broken and killed by the Great Deku Tree while Saria encases her spirit so that she could not escape. Sulkaris' entrapped spirit is then sealed away in Palagard's Sanctuary, the city of the Huskus, where she is kept under watch by her successor, Palagard.

Second Golden Age
After the Gerudo Wars, Saria becomes the closest friend of Link, Hylia's knight who was sent to the Kokiri Forest to be fostered by the Great Deku Tree.

The Return of Sulkaris
In 126 AG, Kasuto tests Saria to discover what has been troubling her as of late. He brings Saria to a mysterious and ancient part of the forest where she finds herself plagued by memories of her past with Link. Kasuto attempts to dissuade Saria and return her back to reality, but she pays him no heed and ends up falling unconscious. He tells her she's been suffering from a case of nostalgia before heading back to Kanokiri, where he finds the Kokiri being attacked by a Gohma swarm.

The Great Deku Tree and Saria attempts to fight off the Gohma, though they manage to overwhelm the defenders. With the Gohma swarming over the town, Saria witnesses the traitor Mido revealing himself to the Great Deku Tree and praises Sulkaris in front of him for granting him freedom, which the Great Deku Tree kept away from him. While Kasuto is busy explaining that he was only trying to keep his children safe, Mido orders an Armogohma to incinerate Kasuto's canopy. Saria then immediately fires an arrow at Mido's shoulder, incapacitating him. As he lays dying, the Great Deku Tree declares his love for Saria before lashing out, killing his assailant and many other Gohma, though ultimately sparing Mido's life, before a squadron of Armogohma finally brings him down. Her father's death drives Saria into a breakdown. As Saria kneels in front of her father's corpse, Mido asks her if she'd think Sulkaris would be pleased, before taking her into Gohma custody and bringing her to Palagard's Sanctuary.

After the Gohma take over the city and exterminate the Huskus, Saria is brought to the chamber where Sulkaris is imprisoned. Coerced by Agitha and Mido, Saria is forced to break the emerald block to release Sulkaris. She warns Sulkaris that Link will stop her, to which the Fallen Sage scoffs, saying no Kokiri can kill her. Saria reminds Sulkaris that Link is not a Kokiri before she is put inside the emerald block in place of Sulkaris.

After Sulkaris and the Gohma abandon Palagard's Sanctuary, Saria is found and freed by Impa, who tracked the Gohma from Malkariko to the Kokiri Forest.

A Tale of Two Swords
With hundreds of Kokiri accounted for, Saria and her people begin the process of the Korok transformation. She is soon called by the other Sages however, after Majora began his attack on Hyrule. Saria marches with the entirety of the Kokiri to Hyrule field, where they meet up with Hylian, Goron, and Zora forces to strike at Majora. Saria and the Kokiri participate in the assault of Hyrule Castle and are successful in defeating Majora. Their work complete, Saria and the Kokiri complete their transformation into Koroks and leave the northern shores of Hyrule into the Great Sea. Sometime before leaving Hyrule Saria named Fado her successor.

The Great Sea
For several years Saria and the Koroks struggle to find a fertile island suitable for their purposes. Eventually they make landfall and name their new home the Forest Haven. There they plant a new Deku Tree and Saria assumes the title of Korok Queen.

Quotes

 * We have freed ourselves of our animal shell and of the trap that is war. Do not dare bring us into it again.
 * All things must grow or die, he once told me. Though I already suffered the pains he warned me of, I did not understand what he meant all those years ago. In his wisdom, my great father had told me not to fall into that trap. Pain for the past, there is no stronger force in all of Hyrule he said. That yearning, that ever present gnawing hunger tearing you apart day by day to revisit, to relive, to experience those singular defining moments again. It blinds us. It keeps us in place. It kills us slowly and cruelly with its tempting illusion only to leave you thirsty and parched. All progress halts in its wake, the joys of the here and now falling on deaf ears, obsessing forever in what is past and gone. He said those that become victims of nostalgia will be forever empty, forever clamoring for those moments lost, forever broken inside. Desperately wishing so bad... but always starving, always ravenous, always unfulfilled. All things must grow or die, he once told me. I wish I had taken my great father's word to heart.