The Dark Lord – Rise of an Emperor
With a clanging sound, the sword touched the ground and its wielder soon followed.
He was the last one. With him down, the entire resistance had fallen. The ones that opposed him were now shrouded in their own blood, meaning that no one remained who could claim back the country from his hands anymore. After a cruel invasion, the prosperous Kingdom of Hyrule finally belonged to him. To him alone.
A mischievous expression ranged all over his face when he walked through the corridors. They were filled with dead bodies of different members of the Hyrulian tribes, who formed an alliance in order to stop him, though the only ones left now were monsters, prevailing victorious over them.
This massacre was inevitable once he got to know the secret position of their head quarter. He did not hesitate to mobilize his army to get rid of his adversaries, albeit many of his own followers would lose their life in the attack. Even though he preferred to be a commandant, observing the situation and giving orders, he wanted to face the generals all by himself. They were the only ones he deemed worthy for a fight.
There was no denying in the facts that they were strong and skilled, his followers would not stand up to them. Neither would he if it was not for the ancient power that was now residing inside him. This one kept him alive and granted him powers, which pushed him through every single one of them. It was one of the greatest pleasures to see their pain when they felt victim to his sword or magic, knowing they would lose their most precious fatherland to their mortal enemy.
However, once the battle was over and the heat of his blood cooled down, he felt the impact of their attacks. They were also visible on his armor as it was tinted in the same color as his hair through the spilled blood of his enemies and his own. He ignored them at first but the injuries seemed to be much deeper, soon resulting in blurring his field of vision.
Maybe it was even too much for his body. But he did not care. He had killed them. He had eliminated the resistance. He had won. He had become the indisputable King of Hyrule.
The last thing he witnessed was one of his own people, a Gerudo, who shouted worried, "Lord Ganondorf, are you alright?"
However, he never answered her as everything around him turned dark. At this moment, his body could not deal with the wounds anymore.
The wind howled into his ears when he walked across the fields. Those who were now scarred with despair… destruction… and death. The green landscapes that once covered Hyrule, they had since long gone, vanished for a territory of corruption.
It satisfied him from his innermost because he knew it all belonged to him. He was the lone ruler, who could decide everything on his own. His reign would remain as long as he lived and with the ancient power inside him, this could be an eternity.
The satisfaction disappeared from his face when a man from beyond told him, "I am here to take back what you have stolen unlawfully, to revenge all those you made suffer. The time has come to bring justice over you and sentence you for the crimes you committed."
He turned around, feeling that his fury awakened by the arrogance of these words. However, once he faced the foolish big mouth, his rage changed into a hateful laughter. His eyes met that of a small blond Hylian, wearing a green tunic and a pointy hat, with a pathetic excuse of a sword in his left hand.
He, the Great King, should be brought down by such a squirt? It could almost be called blasphemy.
"Have you lost your mind? Revenge? You can be grateful if you accomplish to survive this encounter. However, your chances are small since you've said the wrong words to the wrong man," he responded disdainful while he drew his sword. This one would soon rest besides all the other who covered the fields. Forever.
The swords were clashing and he had to admit that this Hylian was a lot more skillful than his outer appearance assumed. The small body seize gave him another advantage as it was more difficult to hit a small and fast enemy.
He underestimated him. He definitely underestimated him drastically.
The fight lasted long and his feelings of superiority soon turned into a blind rage. His only desire left was to remorseless annihilate this arrogant man but he could not achieve it. By all his mighty powers, the stranger was still standing and offered a resistance no one other has ever before.
"Why don't you just go down like all the other lowlifes?" he roared once their swords collided and both stood face to face towards each other.
"Like I said, I am here to revenge those you drowned into despair. A tyrant that exploits, that murders, that marauds the kingdom of mine is not worth to be a sovereign," the Hylian responded calm. "Every sin you cause will only make me, and my willpower to stop you, stronger."
This was the moment the Hylian showed him the meaning of his words as he repelled him. He stumbled backwards, leaving himself open for attacks, which got soon exploited by skillful strikes. The man, he gained the upper hand and with a last launch he was sent down to earth.
He saw the stranger jumping high in the air and he knew what was coming to him. But it was too late to avoid it.
This could not be true. It just could not. But it was. It just was. He was utterly defeated.
The man hunkered upon him, his hands encompassing the hilt while the blade had found its way through his chest. After the first shock vanished, a pain of an intensity he never felt before took its place instead. It not only felt like he got pierced by the sword, it felt like it spread across his entire body and intended to incinerate him from the inside.
This sword. It was not a normal one. It possessed a power within that responded vigorous towards his evil soul.
It was the first time in his life that he screamed out of pain and he only barely heard what the man was telling him, "Remember these words of wisdom, Ganondorf. Our history is written in blood, century over century, but Courage has and always will surpass Power. It is an inevitable destiny that, despite all your might, you cannot escape. Never."
He fought against the dark that was coming but the shape of the Hylian blurred more and more and the only thing left was an unbearable pain.
With a load noise, he crashed on the ground, still struggling to lessen the pain. His body was bathed in perspiration and his breath was heavy as he slowly realized that it was just a dream and he was in fact back at his castle. However, despite it only being a nightmare, his chest still hurt remorseless like an old wound had reopened.
Only a few seconds passed by when a Gerudo came rushing into the room, "What happened, my Lord? I'm sure I heard you screaming, so who's the one responsible for it?" she asked harshly with a dangerous glare in her eyes which soon changed as she saw him on the floor.
It must have left quite a weird impression to see him only with the bandages while he was pressing frantically his hands against the chest like there was a mortal wound.
"Ehm… Is everything okay with you? Or should I better call someone to see after you?" She tried to sound helpful but he could hear her suspicion nonetheless.
Although he wanted to move into a more relaxed position to make it look less ridiculous, it was impossible as the pain grew stronger by then. Even though he felt entirely different on the inside and his body spoke another language as well, he responded in a neutral fashion, "No, it's alright. Anything else you want to tell? Otherwise, I don't appreciate your presence by now."
"Well, if everything is alright," she answered suspicious, "then, you know, we have meat and so on prepared. But maybe, I don't intend to offend you, but… it may be nonetheless better… for your health, you know… if you may take a longer rest. Just saying."
"Get out!" he yelled and added commanding without caring for her advice, "And better forget everything about this if you value your life!"
"As you wish, my king," she said quickly and left. But he could nevertheless hear her mumbling, "Men and their quirks. By the Goddess of the Sand, who understands them?"
It was her luck that she was a Gerudo. Therefore he refrained from killing her to witness him in this pathetic situation and to make ineptus statements. Even though he mostly cared for himself and his needs, he still held dear his own kind. A tribe of thieves with just one man born every hundred years and who was destined to be their king with the duty to protect them and bring glory.
However, he was the first one who pushed it to an extreme when he decided to conquer Hyrule and finally succeeded, relying on the immense power he got granted, his people and an army of monsters. Partly living beings, partly summoned shells by his black magic. He pulled his conquest through under the disguise to give his people a better life than the one the desert offered them, but he never told anybody that it was more to satisfy his desire, if not greed, for power and domination.
When the pain finally faded away to a degree where he could get out of the uncomfortable position, he stood up and searched for clothing as he felt hungry and neither intended to lay around dormant. In the end, there was a kingdom he finally owned and it was time to establish his reign absolutely.
In order to reach the hall that they used for dinner and conferences, he walked across the dark tremendous corridors of his castle. Previously, it belonged to the, now murdered, royal family but he had changed its shape to fit his own taste even though the Hyrulians most likely would consider it scary due to his architecture and decoration.
But this time it did not give him the pleasure he normally had. He still could neither believe how real the dream felt nor that the pain remained even after he was awake. It was the first time he had ever experienced an issue like this and he had none explanation for it at all.
When he entered the hall, his thoughts vanished because his followers ensured that the acoustic level was high while they pitched into the meal. He crossed it and sat down at the head of the table but before he had even a chance to look at his dinner, he was greeted by the woman besides him, "You're already awake? I fear that fate is working against me." She sighed load. "I really hoped you do me a favor and would be absence for longer than two lousy days."
His palms dropped down on the table while he groaned annoyed.
This woman, it was always the same with her. He even stopped counting how often she brought off these sardonic remarks. However, she was also the only one who did it frequently. He let her get away with it far more nonviolent compared to all the others and this was not solely because of her leader status amongst the Gerudo.
"Nabooru. Apparently I've passed out for two days and the first thing you tell me, your king, is this? Where are your manners?" he said humorless.
Her expression remained undeterred she responded, "Ganondorf. You, and I mean especially you, my king, should know at best that the Gerudo are not blessed with great manners."
There was no reasonable answer he could give her. No, there was none. Her pronouncement was downright true.
Once the dinner was over, he intended to further discuss the actions to establish his reign. Not that he could call it a discussion for real as he was the one giving orders, telling the different divisions which part of the country they should raid and spread fear and terror.
The remaining Hyrulians should get more than aware of their new ruler and the downfall of the resistance.
However, he had to witness that not everybody agreed with his plans. A cheeky Boblin seemed to be unpleasant with his decisions and made no secret of it, "I don't want to go to this sticky volcano. It's hot and ugly and disgusting and the worst; these inhabitants smell like old cheese."
"What wazz that?" interrupted a Lizalfos, who belonged to the same troop, irascible "I loathe old cheezze, it stinkzz. I don't want to do this, find another moron."
"Ganon, why don't you just go there? With your power and stuff and so on it should be easy for you. It's better than just sitting around, nonetheless," added a Bokoblin.
"Yeah, support this idea without any complaints. Cool idea, you go," stated the Boblin from before.
Soon after they writhed in pain on the floor when he casted a torture spell on them. It was incredible how foolish or retarded some of his minions could be, especially for pathetic reasons like these. They all knew how much he loathed it if his orders got questioned or even ignored.
"Does anyone else have a complaint and feels the urgent need to tell me about it?" Annoyed he tripped with his fingers on the table before he continued shortly after, "If it's not the case, I recommend not losing any more time and getting it done. Unless, of course, someone else likes to join them."
The answer he got from his monster was that they all stood up and tried to get out as soon as possible. In the end, he was renowned to make his menace a reality without any mercy. Even though he had to remind them of it, sometimes.
"I think you've set a new record," declared Nabooru as the hall was almost empty and his incantation slowly vanished. "It's only a few hours since you're awake and you're already obnoxious as always. Is it that much fun to treat everyone like a doormat?"
"I can't remember that I've asked for your opinion, have I?" he responded bugged.
"Don't worry, your memory doesn't fail you. However, since you never ask for anything, I have to give you my view every now and then unquestioned," said Nabooru straight-faced.
He did not respond but his sinister gaze told her that she was scratching at his limits and should better leave. She understood. They knew each other long enough since they had grown up together and shared many experiences through different phases of life. Due to their origins and the general lifestyle of the Gerudo, they behaved rough towards each other and almost never had any nice words to say. However, it never equaled aversion. Otherwise, he would have long gotten rid of her.
When Nabooru stood at the doorframe, she turned around once more and told him, "Oh, and if I may give you another unasked advice. Sometimes it's useful to listen to what others have to say, including your followers and your enemies, instead of slaying them down immediately when they say anything that doesn't taste you."
"Get you gone before you're the next one that gets slaughtered!" he roared and his upcoming fury was already visible in purple magic waves that surrounded his hand. She left wordless.
He was well-known for if he lost control to his rage, there was nothing and no one he spared. Neither was there anyone who could stop him. At least, he believed he was unstoppable until the day passed by and made place for the night.