Ganon's Tale

   With the arrival of the sun the next morning, Nakori, Mokeeru, Ganondorf, and three of the other maidens gathered on the desert side of the bridge that connected the Gerudo village to the rest of Hyrule. All six wore nondescript brown cloaks with the hoods drawn up to obscure their features, and each of the maidens had a simple, unadorned scimitar strapped to their respective sides. Nakori acknowledged the guards stationed at the bridge with a series of hand gestures before leading the troupe out across the bridge. Ganon peered over the edge as they crossed, looking down the steep cliff face to the swiftly flowing river far below before scampering to catch up with Nakori and the others.

   "Mother, why did we not take the horses?" he asked as they moved off the bridge and took their first steps into the Kingdom of Hyrule.

   "The horses would be too conspicuous" she responded. "A group of cloaked travelers entering the city may be odd, but not enough to raise suspicion. The same group riding a bevvy of fine Gerudo horses would almost certainly gain us the kind of attention we want to avoid." Ganon nodded his understanding as they continued along.

   Less than an hour later, the young Gerudo king got his first glimpse of Hyrule proper as they crossed into the outer edge of Hyrule field. Off in the distance he could see atop a rise in the center of the field what must be Lon Lon ranch, with dozens of cattle grazing on the grassy knolls nearby. They road they traveled upon split a short distance ahead, with one branch continuing ahead towards the ranch, and a second turning off to the right, leading in the direction of the barely visible sparkling blue waters of Lake Hylia. As they reached the intersection, the Gerudo took the third branch, this leading off to the left, cutting a nearly straight line to the looming edifice of Hyrule castle and the bustling town built around it. Ganon took all of this in as they approached the drawbridge leading into the city. Merchants, with wagons creaking, clanging, or tinkling, became steadily more commonplace, as did a host of farmers and other travelers, some on foot, some on horseback, and others hauling carts in many cases filled to overflowing with vegetables, wheat, or livestock.

   At last they reached the drawbridge, alongside a farmer whose cart was filled with clucking cukoos, and another man who appeared to be a tinker, leading an aging mule hauling his own garishly painted wagon emblazoned with an equally obnoxious sign proclaiming "Lars Lowall Fixes it All!" The castle guards posted at the entrance seemed largely bored with their duty, giving neither the farmer, the tinker, or the Gerudo more than a cursory glance before resuming their muted conversation. As Ganon set foot on the bridge he swooned, and his vision clouded over. He reached out, grasping his mother's cloak, and closed his eyes try and steady himself; when he did, a foggy, indistinct image materialized in his mind. A horse, bearing two riders, was galloping with all haste out of the city. One, a young girl, turns and looks over her shoulder. Her hand moves - possibly waving? - at what appears to be a young boy in green at the foot of the bridge. Another horse approaches from within the city, but the vision vanishes as his eyes pop open.

   "Ganondorf! Are you all right?!" muttered Nakori frantically, hovering over him. He was surprised to find himself seated, his feet on the bridge and his rump on the road. He shook the smoky remnants of the vision away and nodded, standing, somewhat shakily at first. Shortly his balance returned and he opened his mouth to speak, but as he sought to choose his next words, he felt an indescribable weight, as off all the future hanging upon his young shoulders. Two possibilities presented themselves to him; "I'm fine," and "Something feels wrong, we should leave this place." One felt as though it led to a dark future, the other to an uncertain one. Then, he noticed that the guards had started to take interest in their group, now that the flow of traffic into the city had started to congest behind them. He hurriedly mumbled "I'm fine" and started moving again, into the city. The guards watched them pass, but did not stop or address them directly, and as Ganon and the rest walked through the vaulted arch of the main gate, he could hear their conversation resume.

   After their group had gained some distance from the guard post at the main gate, Nakori pulled the troupe aside into a long, narrow alleyway. "Zerah, you, Koteru, and Goreru go ahead about your course. Mokeeru and I will take Ganondorf into the city to acquire some goods, and we will meet up outside of the main gate at five fingers past noon." The indicated maidens nodded in accord and sprung upward, kicking and flipping between the buildings up to the rooftops and disappearing quickly from sight.

   Nakori looked up to the sun, already beginning to show nearly a fingers' width past noon, and turned back to Mokeeru and her son. "We will take this alleyway to the market district. We should find plenty of wealthy merchants with purses too heavy for their poor horses." Mokeeru, looking excited, agreed readily. Ganondorf, however, looked somewhat perplexed. Nakori took notice and opted to clarify for him; "We steal wealth son, but only from those who can afford it, and only a little more than we need. Wealthy merchants who will not be forced into great hardship by the loss."

   Ganon listened, grasping the idea quickly. "So we give them enough hardship to encourage them to become better, but not so much that they cannot live." Nakori, smiling widely at her perceptive son, nodded.

   "Exactly right." she agreed. "It also helps us to become better as well... faster, more nimble, and more attentive to our own surroundings."

   "Will I be helping?" he queried hopefully, golden eyes gleaming.

   "You have not yet had enough training my son." she informed him, noting his crestfallen visage. "But, if we can come up with a task for you, we will" she added, rekindling his excitement just as quickly. "Be mindful we will still have trouble if we are caught," she cautioned, "that is why Mokeeru and I shall handle most of the work. Watch what we do and be aware, of us and the surroundings. This will be your first lesson." Ganon adopted a serious expression, seeming to accept the gravity of the task at hand.

   Nakori took the lead again, treading lightly, with Ganondorf close behind, mimicking her movements. Mokeeru took up the rear, noting how quickly he grasped his mother's steps and exercising an impressive degree of stealth. Nakori guided them through several turns without pause, until they came to a t-shaped junction some twenty minutes later. As they approached the intersection, Nakori stopped and held up her hand, causing both Ganondorf and Mokeeru to pull up short. Nakori gestured to her ear, then pointed to the right, indicating she had heard something there. Mokeeru nodded and turned around, but suddenly found herself face to face with a pair of Hyrule Castle knights. It took less than an instant for her to realize something was amiss and she drew her scimitar, but she was not quick enough.

   One of the knights backhanded her across the face with his mailed gauntlet, slinging her into the nearest building and causing her to lose her grip on her sword. Her knees buckled and her vision dimmed; meanwhile her ears were ringing with the din of a thousand temple bells. She felt herself dragged roughly up into a more or less standing position, with her arms pinned not gently behind her. As her senses began to slowly re-orient, she saw that the second guard had grabbed a hold of Ganondorf and was holding the blade of a dagger to his throat. Meanwhile, a third knight had come around the corner that Nakori had indicated just moments ago and was striding slowly and deliberately toward her.

   "Drop your sword, Gerudo thief." he said, his voice low and menacing. Nakori continued to hold her blade out before her, until he added "Do it now or we will kill the boy!" Her eyes widened in alarm and she shot a glance over her shoulder to see her son with a blade to his neck. She turned back to the guard before her and dropped her sword to the ground.

   "Good girl." he said, advancing another step. "Now, remove your cloak." Mokeeru's own eyes snapped open as she immediately read the implications just below the surface. She struggled against her captor in vain, as his unrelenting grip on her wrists tightened and he twisted, sending bolts of pain arcing up into her shoulder and dropping her back to her knees.

   "Do not let them go." the guard captain relayed to the pair holding Ganon and Mokeeru captive. Turning back to Nakori, he instructed her to disrobe. "Do as I instruct and you will all be free to go. Refuse me and you will all die here." Tears of rage and frustration trailed paths from Mokeeru's eyes as she watched Nakori comply, stripping off first her cloak, then the rest of her clothing as commanded. She showed no trace of emotion as the guard captain took a shuffling step forward, dagger in hand.

   While this was happening, Mokeeru's mind was racing, searching for an explanation, and a way out. Nothing about this encounter seemed right - though the Gerudo, when recognized, were viewed with suspicion, she had never heard of anything like this happening before. She thought back, replaying the encounter up to this point, searching for answers. Suddenly a terrible thought occurred to her. The guards captain's speech had held a clipped, mechanical quality, and his movements seemed erratic - unusual for any soldier skilled enough to be promoted to captain. She examined him more closely, focusing what little aptitude she had for sorcery on him. Sure enough, for a brief moment, she saw what appeared to be magical filaments connected to him like the strings of a marionette that disappeared into the sky.

   At first she couldn't believe it; the implications were dire indeed. But the more she thought about it, the more she came to realize that there was no other explanation. Her frustration fully gave way to rage and she snapped her head backward with enough force to crumple the steel faceguard of her captor's helm and at least some of the face beneath it. He exclaimed in pain and surprise, releasing Mokeeru to tear off his helmet and clutch at his ruined face. She sprang forward, ignoring the gash in the back of her head from the now disfigured steel helm, past Ganondorf and his captor, reaching for the guard captain. Then, fresh pain exploded in her head, and she dropped from consciousness.

   Ganondorf watched helplessly as a fourth knight slipped out of the shadows and struck Mokeeru on the back of her head with the heavy, gilded pommel of his ornate long sword. He heard her grunt with the impact, and watched her drop mid-flight to the stone alley floor with a 'smack!' He turned his head slightly to see this newly arrived guardsman drag her up to a sitting position, but the keen edge of his own captor's knife at his throat severely limited his movement and restricted his vision to where he could only see what was happening to his mother. The knight holding him had one of Ganon's arms drawn up behind him so forcefully he could feel it grinding in the socket, straining to pop out. So he watched, unable to move, barely able to breathe, and unable to avert his eyes from the horror there in a market district back alley.

   Throughout the entire ordeal, two sets of voices battled in his mind. Fragments of his mother's speech the previous night - "...not all evil... some evil men among them... I pity them... soft..." - waged war against the things told to him by the Twinrova - "...not Gerudo... they are all evil... banished us!... made to suffer... You will right the injustice!..." The tug-of-war raged on, threatening to tear him asunder. He looked into Nakori's eyes as this man... this evil man... advanced on her. And yet he could see in her eyes strength... and her unwavering love for him. His mother's voice began to win out, drowning out the rhetoric of the old witches. And then, the man slit her throat.

   Time suddenly ground to a complete halt, and for a moment, or an eternity, Ganon could see, hear, smell, sense everything. The look of pure surprise on Nakori's face; the smell of her blood and the scarlet jet of it streaming from the open wound; His own captor's calloused hand gripping his wrist; the grunt of effort from one of the knights behind him lifting or moving Mokeeru; the crunch of the other knight's nose being forced back into place and his pained groan; Mokeeru's ragged, labored breathing; For a moment, he thought he could even hear the sound of the knight's wounded flesh beginning to slowly knit itself back together. The last thing that he almost - but not quite - noticed, was the look of absolute horror on the face of the knight who had killed his mother.

   Then, just as suddenly, time coughed abruptly back into motion, and his senses began to fade out. The sounds around him muffled, dimmed, and were gone. The knife at his throat gradually ceased to exist. And his vision slowly dwindled until all he could see was a narrow tunnel limned in black flames, and at the end of it his mother, lying in a pool of crimson, her expression still one of surprise. He heard one final voice in his mind - the melded off-harmony of the combined Twinrova witches; "You will right the injustice." Then, silence, and blackness.

   **    **    **    **    **    **    **    **    **

   It had started off such a good day for Mathias. He had only been promoted to captain a week ago, and given a leadership role in the Hyrule Castle Guard. He wasn't even bothered by the fact that his patrol group was comprised of rookies that exhibited signs of having less than sterling character; they obeyed his commands while on duty and were efficient, and that was enough. The role of the Hyrule Knights was largely superficial anyway - military men were not in high demand with peace and prosperity so prevalent, but despite that he took his job seriously and committed himself to it with pride.

   Mathias had been on patrol with the three knights assigned to him in the merchant district that day. Things were quiet, as usual, when he heard what sounded like a woman's muffled cry coming from a nearby alley. He had turned down the narrow passageway with his subordinates in tow, expecting to find just about anything except what he actually did. As he rounded a corner, there in the middle of the alley stood a tall, exotic looking woman with bronze skin, golden eyes, and flowing clothes that could only be of Gerudo fashion. Her hair was pulled up into twin voluminous ponytails, one side a brilliant glowing red-orange that could almost be flames; the other white-blue and appeared crystalline, like ice. In the center of her forehead was a gemstone adornment that looked to be half ruby, and half sapphire.

   As he stood there, dumbstruck, she approached him, muttering bizarre words in a strange, silky tongue that he couldn't begin to understand. She drew nearer, and he felt a wave of numbing cold wash over him, leaving paralysis in its' wake, locking every limb and joint in place. She came closer still, now only inches away. He could smell her breath, a peculiar mixture of sun, dust, frost, and fire, simultaneously discordant and intoxicating. The gemstone pendant started to glow, and his eyes were riveted. It began to spin, slowly at first, but quickly speeding up until it was a vortex, drawing him in. Then it abruptly stopped, and the woman vanished without a trace. He stood for a moment, perplexed. He heard his fellow knights speaking to him, asking if he was o.k., what had he seen, and so on. Mathias was even more confused to hear his own mouth responding for him. He tried to speak, but his mouth would not obey his commands. He tried to move - his arm, leg, head, anything - but to no avail. He could see and hear what was going on but he was helpless, a prisoner in his own body.

   Mathias watched and listened in horror as his own body led the other knights into an ambush position. He looked on, unable to do anything else, as his knights accosted the girl and the child. He was appalled as his own mouth demanded that the second woman strip, and was revolted when he threatened the lot of them, even the boy. Shame... fear... disgust... loathing... all took turns assaulting him as the scene unfolded against his every effort. A single tear escaped one eye as he fought valiantly, and futilely, to resist the enchantment holding him in thrall. Then, after everything, all of the horror, he felt his own hand reach for the knife in his belt. Still bound by sorcery he watched himself reach up and take a fistful of the girl's vibrant copper hair, pull her head back, and drag the blade across her throat.

   At long last he felt the spell binding him dissipate. He dropped the knife and looked down at his blood-soaked hands with revulsion. Now that he again had control of his mouth he found he could do nothing with it beyond gaping wordlessly. Then, he felt heat coming from the direction of the child and the remaining knights. He looked up, tears coursing down his face, to see what was going on. It took a moment to process; at first he thought the guardsman holding the boy had been doused in tar. Then Mathias realized that the three knights and the child were all engulfed in what looked like viscous black flames. The boy seemed unaffected, but the knights certainly were not. Each one was clawing at his face, tearing loose swatches of burning flesh in a desperate attempt to escape the ebony blaze. Three mouths agape in silent screams of terror, but the only sound was the crackle of the flames consuming all three. Within moments there was nothing left of them. Armor, weapons, skin and bone were all completely incinerated.

   Mathias could not help but backpedal in terror as his death approached; mechanical, merciless. The child plodded forward, summoning a ball of that biting black fire to his hand. The last thing Mathias ever saw were those empty golden eyes.