Prince of the Sand
Summer. unspecified year. Gerudo fortress.
The woman winced in pain as her sisters brought her to the nursery. She was expecting a baby. Very soon. Everyone was excited, and with reason. Nabooru, the spirit sage, had felt something different about the baby. An evil aura, perhaps. More... Masculine. Nabooru and the leaders of the camp had tried to keep it a secret. But no secrets are secrets for long in the Gerudo fortress.
The rumor was that it was a boy. And that would be very special, since a boy is only born once every hundred years. But there had been a distortion in the system, and for a few hundred years not a single boy had been born. And the last time didn't turn out very well for anybody. The woman shuddered at the thought of having such an evil child as HIm in her. She prayed to the goddesses, asking them if they could spare her people from another disaster like the last boy.
Brought back to reality by a stinging pain in her nether region, she realised that now was not the time to pray. Now was the time to be strong.
The birth didn't go as planned. The baby was skinny, and only started crying after a dose of spirit magic from Nabooru. The mother died, and Aveil, Nabooru's second in command, decided to take care of the baby. She was shocked, however, at the gender of the baby. And his condition. She quickly decided, after calming down from the initial shock, that it was of no importance for now. She took him home and raised him to be a warrior and a wise king.
The warrior part failed horrendously. At age 6 it was clear that the boy was not capable of battle due to a sickness that Nabooru diagnosed as Mud Muscles, which caused his muscles to not be able to deliver much strength. The boy was then schooled in the art of archery, which he wasn't really good at either. The boy was then left to his own devices for a few years due to the Gerudo simply not knowing what to do with him. There was one thing that they hadn't tried though. He found the thing himself.
Gerudo's fortress, first floor
The boy was, at age nine, a very adventurous kid. Even though he knew he wasn't able to climb up trees and rocks (Which all of the girls his age made fun at him for) he did like to explore. And one day he found a passage which was long forgotten by everyone.
The boy was walking around aimlessly in the area his "mother" had deemed unsafe due to its old age and bad design. It was what was left of the Gerudo's fortress from the time of the King of Evil, Whose name was avoided by basically everyone and simply was referred to as "the monster of old". In this area the boy had found no danger at all, so he came here a lot. Sometimes he'd bring one of his childhood friends, Natalia, with him, but she was grounded because of a trick they had pulled on the Ancient Gerudo teacher, whom they both despised because of how strict she was. They had simply put an empty goat's skull on her desk and waited until she had noticed it. But because Natalia had put it there (The boy had only fetched it) She was grounded and he was simply sent off with a warning.
The boy was now sitting on a rock against an old wooden wall. Leaning back against the wall the boy sighed. He was really bored. What he needed was an adventure. Yeah! he would go help Natalia sneak out of her home and... Crack! The wall behind the boy collapsed and he tumbled backwards, into a dark and dusty hallway.
He sat up disorientedly and looked around him. There were a lot of doors with signs above them written in Ancient Gerudo. The boy was scared at first, until he realised this was exactly what he had wished for just mere moments ago. He started walking through the dark hallway, trying to decipher as many signs as he could with his limited knowledge of the language. He continued to do so for a few minutes until he found a sign that looked interesting. On it was, in nearly decomposed letters: 's st..y
Guessing it meant something like King's study, his heart started to pump faster as he tried opening the door. The door was locked, but the wood was rotten and while trying to push in the door the boy broke the wood. Splinters flew everywhere and the boy shielded his eyes with his arm. when it stopped he looked around. He was in a semi-large circular room, with bookcases along all of the walls except for the wall with the door and one wall to his right with a huge window. In the middle of the room was a large desk.
The boy looked around, amazed, when he spotted one item hanging from the wall above him. It was a white sword, complete with intricate desings and a black scabbard. He felt anger boil in him, but he wasn't sure why. Looking at it made him see flashes of images. He saw a young man in green. He saw a beatiful lady on a red mare holding a golden bow. And then a weird creature with white skin and orange eyes. And then nothing.
Natalia was running down the hallway. She had just escaped from her house and was now looking for her friend. She sssumed he was in the abandoned part of the fortress, where he had spent all his time the last few days. Ever since stumbling upon it he wouldn't leave it alone. And when he was there he woud often just kind of sit there. Staring. To be fair it really creeped her out. She was going to talk about it to him if she could find him.
Once Natalia entered the old fortress she felt like something was... off. Looking around confused, she found nothing at first, until she saw a hole in the wall. Since she couldn't find her friend anywhere she assumed he had gone into the hole and went inside as well.
She then found a hallway with all the doors being locked or having collapsed except for one. It was at the end of the hallway and there was natural light coming out of it. A window, perhaps? Wondering if that room was the room her friend was in, she started walking towards it. What she found inside made her jaw drop
She was in His study. The study of the king of evil. And her friend was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the sword He used to conquer hyrule and nearly beat the hero of twilight. Natalia ran up to him and shook him, but he didn't respond. Then she saw it. A ghostly figure standing next to the boy. He had a scaled skin and fiery red hair. But the thing that caught all her attention was his face. He had an evil grin and a white scar in his forehead. But his eyes were the worst. They were pure yellow and burned with hate for every living being. He put his hand on the boys arm and started laughing maniacally. Black sparks of energy shot from his hands and onto the boy.
The boy started spasming and fell down on the floor, clutching his head and screaming for help, for the horrible pain to stop. The figure then let go of the boy and turned to Natalia. "What you've seen here was the birth of a new era. The birth of a new king. Cower in fear, little girl, and see how your friend is consumed by hate and anger, by pure power!" The boy started spasming again and rolled around on the floor, clawing at his hair. But then something special happened, all the black energy shot out of him and floated above him like a cloud, before going straight into the white scar in the figure's forehead.
A look of confusion appeared on the man's face, before he was thrown against the wall by the force of the blow. Quickly jumping back on his feet, his face transformed into a mask of rage. "This isn't over!" He Screamed at the top of his lungs. "The great Demise will not fail! Ganondorf will be mine!" He then disappeared into thin air and leaving Natalia and Ganondorf alone in the evil king's study.
Natalia dropped onto her knees and crawled towards Ganondorf. "Ganny? Ganny? Are you there? Hello?" Her actions didn't do anything however, and she fell onto her back and cried herself to sleep, thinking the boy had died.
Natalia woke up in her own bed, momentarily confused about where she was. She then remembered the events that took place before and broke down crying again. She sat there for several minutes until she heard a voice coming from the doorway. "You know, i always thought it was a sign of weakness to cry. And i always thought you were strong. So clearly, something terrible must have happened. So spill." Natalia looked up and saw Nabooru, the spirit sage and highest in command standing in her doorway. As she Quickly tried to wipe the tears from her eyes, Nabooru spoke again."There's no need for that young one. Try to calm down and then tell me what happened." Natalia then began to talk. She told Nabooru about the old fortress, the hole in the wall, the abandoned hallway and then about the king's study. She told Nabooru about the ghostly figure and her best friend's death.
Nabooru thought about it all for a minute and then she spoke."Alright first of all it has been made VERY clear to both you and ganondorf that the old fortress was off limits. Second of all that hole in the wall wasn't there yesterday when i sent out the guards. But the thing that is most important is that Ganondorf isn't dead. In fact, i've never seen him more lively." Upon hearing this Natalia jumped off of her bed and started running straight passed the older gerudo. Even while she knew that was very disrespectful, she didn't really care. All she cared about was Ganondorf.
Running towards the hospital area of the camp, where she guessed he was, she completely ignored the calls of the gerudo she pushed aside. Only one thought was racing through her head: Her only friend, still alive?
Once she reached the camp she saw Aveil pacing around the tent she assumed Ganondorf was in. Aveil didn't noticce her at first until she skidded to a halt right in front of the tent and attempted to get in. She took her by the shoulders and pulled her back until she had Natalia in front of her. "Do you have ANY idea how much damage you and Ganny could have done? DO YOU REALIZE how much danger you were in?" Annoyed, Natalia responded: "Calm down, it was just an old ruin! I'm more concerned about Ganondorf than about you screaming at me so could you please MOVE OUT of the way?!" Aveil's face became even redder with anger. "It's not just a ruin! its the ruins haunted by Demise, Who is basically the king of evil himself! And did you see what he did to your friend? He tried to corrupt him, make him like the king of old! and you just stood there!"
Their screaming continued for a while until it came to a sudden stop. Ganondorf, Natalia's only friend and Aveil's only son stepped out of the tent. "Why are you guys fighting?" he asked. "It's not about what happened at the ruins, is it mom? Because we had quite a lengthy conversation about that already." Natalia's first impulse was to run over to him and hug him, but something in his eyes stopped her. He looked... wiser. Healthier. Like a normal kid, instead of a child diagnosed with mud muscles.
Aveil was the first to regain her composture. "While it's true that we already talked about that already, we haven't cleared everything out yet. Did you not wonder how you got into your bed, Natalia? And you, Ganondorf? Did you not wonder who brought you to the hospital? Because it was Nabooru herself who did that. And you, Natalia, didn't just run past her unrespectfully, but you ran away without asking any questions."
Natalia looked down, ashamed. She hadn't thought about any of what Aveil had said. The uneasy silence was broken by Nabooru, who despite her old age didn't have any problem walking through the crowd of gerudo. "There's no use to talk about these things, Aveil. They're just kids! Besides, what's happened has happened, and i think that these two have learned their lesson. I propose we all continue our daily business and forget about what has happened. Oh, and Aveil? You and I need to talk. Come to my office at noon."
-Ten years later
The event, like most traumatic ones, was eventually forgotten by everyone but the people who experienced it first-hand. Natalia and I were eventually just kind of forgotten and we were free to do whatever we pleased again. Not that we misused that privilege. Natalia and I had learned our lesson. We never, ever visited that part of the fortress again. We planned to keep it that way.
I was in bed, contemplating the events of that day again. I still couldn't quite put all the puzzle pieces together. Every time I tried to make sense of it all, it felt like i was missing something really obvious. And every time I felt as if I was nearly there, I just forgot my whole thought pattern. At first, i just blamed it on me being tired. But it had been going on for years now. Every time I was nearly there, it was like i was pushed away from the answer.
Maybe i was just being paranoid. I decided to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day, after all. Our scouts had spotted a group of Bulblins in the northwest part of the desert, near an abandoned temple of which everyone had forgotten the purpose. It looked a bit like a really old coliseum. It had a few small towers on the side and a big black block in the middle of the open space. most Gerudo just decided to leave it alone, simply because the whole temple looked like it would collapse if you even looked at it. I stayed away for other reasons though.
A few years back, Natalia and i went on a leever hunt. Not that they tasted well, but the hide was useful for potions. on our way to our usual hunting spot, Natalia and I walked past the coliseum. And it felt like the old fortress. It old, nearly begging to be explored, but now i was old enough to tell it felt like something else. Something evil.
A soft knock on my doorframe shook me out of my train of thought. Looking at the new device a traveler brought here a few months ago (I believe he called it a clock) I realized it was almost midnight. Who could possibly want anything at this ungodly hour? I Turned the corner from my bedroom into the hall to see Natalia standing by my front door. Raising an eyebrow, I walked up to her. She looked really tired. "Natalia? Do you realize it's almost midnight?" She looked almost embarrassed. "I do. But i wanted to talk to you. Can I come in?" I moved out of the way to let her in, then walked in after her and offered her a chair.
She declined and leaned against the wall instead. I shook my head and returned the chair to its original place. "So what brings you to my lair at the middle of the night, Milady?" I asked, mockingly. She didn't respond. Worriedly, i moved closer. "Natalia? Are you okay?" She sighed "Yeah, yeah, I'm... fine, i guess. It's just... I've been having these dreams." I raised an eyebrow. "Dreams?" I responded. "That's not exactly my area of expertise, you know. Not that I don't want to help or anything, but if you're having trouble with dreams, you should probably visit Nabooru."
I walked away from the wall I was leaning on, and towards the small kitchen area my residence had. I had just moved in here, something to do with royal privileges or something. "Do you want something to eat?" I asked her." Or some water?" She looked up at me, confusedly. "Sorry, what?" I chuckled, and started to slice off a piece of bread." You know, you really shouldn't talk to your king like that." I grinned at her smugly. She hit me in the arm then, and I cradled it like she had actually hurt me (It actually hurt a little bit, her being a Gerudo woman and all) "Ow! What'd you do that for?" I whined. I actually got a tired smile from here in response. "You're being way too smug about this whole 'King' thing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to rub it in my face."
Her smile dropped though, as she remembered why she'd come here in the first place. Seeing this, I hurried over and forced her down in a chair. "You look exhausted. you really need to sit down, otherwise you might just fall on your face. and that would not make it look any better, now would it?" I sat down on the other end of the small table. "Tell me, what's wrong" Natalia, looking kind of insulted by me forcing her down into a chair, started talking." Alright, so I've been having these dreams. They're not really dreams, just... they're kind of like flashes of emotions. Fear, suffering, anger, hate, sadness, all centering around one shadowy figure. The one from the old fortress, remember?"
I cringed at these words, not liking that that old place was mentioned again. I could sense how serious she was though, so I didn't say anything about it. "This figure points at me, then turns away and then you're there. Clad in some kind of battle armor. and he just looks at you and smirks. Then everything fades, and I can only hear him say 'the day is coming'" I didn't take it very seriously though. She could apparently see that, as she looked me in the eye and said "This is serious business, you dimwit! I've been having this dream for the past few weeks, and tonight, instead of the figure saying 'the day is coming' he said 'it'll be sooner than you think. And it got me thinking, with the group of Bulblins out there, weren't they his army?"
Outside, an alarm bell started ringing. A voice, gruff and full with hatred, whispered in my ear. "The day has come. Enjoy the ride, boys and girls!"
