Ganon's Tale

"Tonight will be the night, Koume" Intoned the first voice from within the depths of the Desert Colossus, beyond the shifting sands of the desert surrounding the Gerudo village.

"You are correct, Kotake. Tonight will be a momentous night indeed," croaked the second.

"The stones foretell a great coming, dear sister..."

"Indeed they do sister, the first of three, by the stones. Do you think...?"

"I do Koume, I do indeed. Which of our maidens is ready to give birth, sister?"

"Only Nakori sister, but not for several days..."

"Her child arrives tonight, sister. Let us make haste..."

The twin witches cackled into the voluminous night sky, as astride their misshapen broom handles they soared out, above the colossus and across the desert sands toward the Gerudo village. Their departure was noticed only by a pair of crows - nestled near the top of the one, scraggly, nearly dead tree - whose intelligent gaze marked their passage with little more than a casual interest. With a brief ruffle of feathers and an abrupt, uninspired 'Caw!' they returned to their slumber as the coarse laughter of the sisters faded away.

Intent on their goal, they flew swiftly over the deadly, shifting sands below, taking little interest in the long abandoned traders' post beneath them, or the Poe, cursed to wander between it and the Colossus for eternity (and visible only to those with magically enhanced vision). Instead, they headed directly into the village, not needing the sounds of labor to guide them to the correct dwelling.

The sisters landed outside of Nakori's home just as one of the other maidens came hustling through the hanging rawhide door, coming to an abrupt stop the instant her eyes fell upon the withered visages of the aged witches.

"What... when... why...?" she stammered, clearly flustered. Suddenly her eyes expanded and her gaze flashed back to the door through which she had just passed, her jaw snapping shut with a 'click!' of teeth as the significance struck her. "Nakori.... the King!" she exclaimed.

Koume and Kotake exchanged a brief glance, then turned back in unison to the flustered maiden. "Indeed, " began Kotake, the ruby adorning her forehead glinting in the scant illumination.

"Nakori bears the King" finished Koume, her matching sapphire similarly sparkling.

"I must tell the others!" proclaimed the maiden, taking a single step before Kotake halted her with an upraised hand.

"No, not yet child." she declared.

"At least... the midwife...?" she offered, looking perplexed.

"No Mokeeru," continued Koume, "not yet. We will inform the maidens..."

"When the time is right." finished Kotake.

"As... as you wish." responded Mokeeru, dipping to one knee in acquiescence."What would you have me do?"

"Stand ready outside the door," responded Koume, dismissing her broom in a cloud of blue-tinted mist with the dexterous wave of a leathery, gnarled hand.

"Yes, permit none to enter..." uttered as the second broom was similarly dispatched to an extra-dimensional pocket in a puff of ash and smoke, tinged with tiny, glowing embers.

"... and come to us if you are called."

"Very well." Mokeeru replied, "I shall obey."

The sisters nodded briefly in acknowledgement and shuffled through the door into the dwelling. There, upon the simple bed, lay Nakori, clearly well into her labor. Bearing the copper hair and bronze skin common to the Gerudo maidens, her eyes were squeezed shut against the intensity of a powerful contraction. Sweat, clearly visible even from across the room, gathered in pronounced beads upon her forehead, soaking both her normally vibrant hair and the nondescript pillow beneath it. Gradually the tension began to recede from her face, her jaw slowly unclenched, and her eyes eased open. As her vision cleared, her golden eyes instantly widened upon taking note of the sisters' approach. Her mouth opened and closed, but issued nothing more than a choked gasp.

"Do you know why we are here, Nakori?" inquired the pair in unison. Nakori's mouth opened and closed again soundlessly, and instead she simply nodded. Her hands clenched fistfuls of the blanket adorning her bed, as a sharply in-drawn breath indicated the onset of yet another contraction. A faint whimper slipped through her clenched teeth, but was abruptly choked off.

Koume and Kotake quickly shuffled over to Nakori's bedside. One sister produced a clean cloth from thin air and dabbed some of the copious moisture from the maiden's brow, as the other took a position at the foot of her bed. Koume's sapphire radiated a faint light as she cooled the cloth she held before applying it once again to Nakori's forehead. Kotake, meanwhile, made a quick, sweeping gesture and summoned a large bowl filled with water upon a simple stone table nearby. Another, similar, gesture called forth a pile of clean linen to her left. Her ruby adornment flickered to life as she waved her hand in a circle above the water bowl; within moments, wisps of vapor rose from the surface to dissipate into the room.

As the strain of the latest contraction eased from Nakori's face, the witches exchanged another clandestine look. Koume resumed dabbing the moisture collecting on the maiden's brow as Kotake drew back the lower part of the blanket and adjusted Nakori's legs in preparation.

"It is time, Nakori." stated Koume, once again cooling the cloth before resuming her task.

"Yes Nakori, our King is eager to enter the world!" proclaimed Kotake. "When you feel the next contraction you must push!"

She nodded her head in understanding as Koume produced a finger-sized length wood wrapped in leather and placed it in her mouth. "Bite down if you must" she advised the maiden, who mumbled her assent. As the next contraction clutched her womb in a vise, bite she did.

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

   As the sun crested the eastern horizon some eight hours later, it was greeted by a single high-pitched wail, along with the scarcely hushed clamoring of the Gerudo maidens conversing in small groups outside of Nakori's domicile. As the cry of the newborn faded away, so too did the chatter among the separate clusters of maidens gathered nearby. Several pairs of golden eyes turned toward the rawhide barrier, and the lone maiden standing wearily by it.

   A few moments later, the interceding drape was drawn back to reveal Kotake with the naked, glistening babe cradled against her bosom. She looked out over the assemblage and held aloft the child, announcing "Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo, our King, has arrived!"

   The gathered maidens in turn each bent at the waist, arms crossed over their chests in deference to the newly born Ganondorf. As they did, Kotake stood, holding the newborn and appraising the crowd, silently gauging the sincerity of their homage. The trace of a smile lighted briefly upon her chapped, leathery lips and was just as quickly gone as the maidens returned to an upright posture and resumed conversing, albeit in more subdues tones, and began to disperse. The old witch took a moment to watch the clusters break off and return to their own dwellings before turning back to the partition serving as Nakori's door.

   When Kotake re-entered the room, all was as she had left it. Nakori - looking both positively exhausted and supremely content - still lay upon the bed. Koume, alternatively cooling her cloth, and applying it to the spent maiden's brow, remained seated near the head of the bed. The withered old crone shuffled back to the bed, still holding the child cradled in her arms, but stopped short of his mother's outstretched arms.

   "Nakori, We, the Twinrova witches, tasked with the safety and welfare of the Gerudo, have decided it would be best if we foster the child, our king..."

   "Yes," added Koume, "his education will be more..."

   "Comprehensive." finished the first.

   Nakori's expression morphed from fatigue, to confusion, before settling on steadfast denial. Her mouth tightened into a thin line and her eyes narrowed as she shook her head briskly. "No." She stated with finality, the intensity of her gaze, though focused on Kotake, caused the other sister to recoil and drop her cooling cloth. "We Gerudo defer to your wisdom on many things," she continued. Despite her languor, her gaze remained resolutely affixed on the witch and her voice did not quaver. "But... not on this. He may be destined to be our king, but he is first and foremost my son. I will raise my child."

   The sisters exchanged another glance - Koume's visage revealing a hint of apprehension, Kotake's a peculiar blend of stoicism and an almost imperceptible irritation. After a moment, Kotake nodded in acquiescence, handing the babe into Nakori's still extended reach.

   "Very well, Nakori, you may rear him." Nakori's expression had begin to ease as Koume chimed in.

   "But, as it is written, we shall tutor him in the ways of magic, "

   "...and statesmanship." finished Kotake.

   The weary maiden simply nodded her assent as she brought her son in close against her breast. As she and her child drifted off to sleep, the aged sisters rose and slipped out.