Chapter One
Slate Grey World
It was dusk. The sun had sunk below the horizon to the East, but the sky was still afire with the last dying throes of golds and pinks, before the dark blue of the West took over, blanketing the sky. The Forsaken Fortress, a giant twisted chunk of rock, metal and wood loomed over the sky. Anchors from the many destroyed ships that ventured too close hung like rendered limbs against the darkening sky. It was silent, bar the hollow whispers of the wind as it wandered the empty corridors of stone. There was nobody there to witness the sudden brilliant glow of violet light that announced the arrival of a figure via a teleporter portal. The light faded away, and the figure blended into the shadows of the corridor.
The figure made it's way very slowly through the fortress, long since abandoned by the pirates that once dwelled here. Cobwebs adorned the meager furnishings, rats infested the halls and rot ate at the wood. The figure paid the poor accommodations scant notice, and headed down the stairs, towards the huge wooden doors. They groaned loudly and trembled threateningly on their rusted fastenings as the figure pushed them open, stepping back out into the night sky. The figure moved across the open stone courtyard, stopping at the edge, staring down in the oceans black waters. There was barely any swell inside the harbor, the water, still and deadly cold. The air was tangy with the heavy smell of sea-weed and salt.
The figure stood still, for what seemed an eternity, staring into the waters below, watching, waiting. Finally, just as the moon, scarcely a slither, rose into the sky, casting it's meager illumination on the courtyard, the figure moved, waving one of it's small hands, and chanting, barely audible. The waters below stirred, slightly at first, before suddenly boiling and finally erupting into a giant column on black and violet energy, settling into a large circular portal of raw dark energy. The figure leaped gracefully from the courtyard, disappearing into the portal, with barely a murmur of sound.
Down, deep beneath the waves, the world of Hyrule was a heavily desaturated slate Grey. Nothing stirred down here, and what was worse, there was no smell, no waft of air. The world was as dead as the day the Three Goddesses had sealed it away. The portal formed in the stagnant water of a large stone room, and the figure stepped onto the stone floors of the interior of the ancient Tyrants tower, with barely a sound to betray it's presence. It moved with a purpose, barely glancing at the frozen monsters and creatures of evil that had been frozen for thousands of years in the poses they once had adorned. The figure moved down the stairs of the great tower, it's light footfalls making no sound on the carpet, the cape that the figure adorned hiding all it's features.
The figure silently stormed through the entire Tower until it emerged into the massive cavernous like room that led to the outside. Lava, now frozen in time lay below a rickety bridge. The figure stared around, studying the room slowly, before setting off again, over the bridge, which barely made a creak under the light weight of the figure. It emerged from the huge tower, leaping over the holes in the stone bridge that had once spanned from the Tyrants' Tower to the World of Hyrule, as if they were nothing at all.
The figure charged up the path that was guarded heavily, but now immobile, useless minions, with barely a sideways glance. The figures pace did not falter as it crossed the bridge to Hyrule's Royal Castle. The figure did not slow, or falter as it entered, heading down the stairs. It paused momentarily at the base of a massive stone statue that was a perfect representation of the ancient Hero of Time. The figure chuckled suddenly as it studied the statue, a harsh sudden sound in an otherwise utterly silent world. The figure's voice seemed to spur it on, and the chuckle turned into an outright roaring laughter, for what seemed an age, before it finally faded off.
"Courage. We shall see." The voice chuckled again, before it reached out a hand, the skin so white that no pigment reflected off the skin at all. The fingers barely brushed against the cold Grey stone of the signature triforce carved into the base of the statue, before they burned suddenly golden and the statue rumbled to life, moving backwards on an ancient mechanism.
The figure descended the now opened stairs abruptly, the cloak licking around it's feet, before it vanished completely, swallowed by the darkness. The figure muttered a small spell under it's breath and the room erupted into a shallow Grey slate light as the torches burst into a desaturated life. The room was a huge circular room, with the ancient Sages that had sealed the Tyrant away in the Realm of the Gods painted on the stained glass windows. A large stone archway stood in the center of the circular pedestal, a large mirror in the middle of it, reflecting, not the room, but tendrils of moving shadow. The figure paused, taking in the details of the huge room, savoring them all, before it finally moved into the circular pedestal in the center of the room. The massive statues of the ancient guards of the gods stirred, and moved their swords to form an arch as a formal greeting.
The figure paid them scant attention, knowing they could do no harm. Instead, the figure stared at the picture directly in front, the picture of the Beast form of the Tyrant, the Triforce of Power glaring above him.
"It has been long enough, Old Friend." The voice said slowly, as the figure studied the picture. "The world has stagnated in it's false Peace for far too long. The inhabitants grow stale and weak. I grow tired and bored of watching their pathetic little lives amount to little. It is no fun. You will provide me with ample entertainment. You will show them what Fear is." The windows began to glow as if the sun had suddenly risen behind them, illuminating the room in brilliant Grey light. The figure moved, tearing off it's cloak.
The woman stood tall and proud, the light glancing off the silver trim she wore on her sharp leather amour. Her hair, not quite liquid, not quite gas drifted in tendrils around her ghost white form. Black tattooed patterns adorned her cheeks, stretching up, darkening the underneath of her magenta hued eyes. Her black lips parted in a grin, revealing her pointed teeth.
"Hear me Ganondorf Dragmire, King of Evil, Emperor of Darkness, Bearer of Din's Triforce of Power! I am Calling you Forth! I set you free!" The woman moved suddenly, lunging at the huge mirror like archway, her body erupting with shadowy raw energy that flared around her. She forced her fist against the glass, her body straining, for just a second against the force that sealed the archway, before finally, and ultimately, the glass shattered, and the stone archway collapsed into the water around the huge circular pedestal.
As the dust settled and cleared, the woman's energy disappeared again, leaving her standing over an unconscious naked body. The tyrant had returned...
Ganondorf stirred. The first thing he registered was an incredible wave of nausea that swept over him, followed by a wave of aching pain that every limb, muscle and tendon registered all at once. He struggled to move, finding the energy he needed, merely roll onto his back was draining, and he had to lay there, his eyes far to tender to open yet, breathing heavily.
"Drink." His body tensed at the woman's voice, and he found his mind already forcing him to sit up, suppressing his bodies overwhelming urge to collapse. His eyes opened, causing another wave of aching pain, and he moved to stand on his feet. He overbalanced, found his legs give, and he fell towards his knees.
The woman was faster, and he found himself slumped over the woman, who was at least a head shorter than he was, despite the fact that she was supporting him as if he weighed nothing. She lowered him to the ground, and shoved a bottle of blue liquid into his hand.
"Drink!" She ordered again. He stared up at her, finally taking in her incredibly unusual appearance, and decided not to argue. He downed the contents of the bottle, barely tasting the sweet elixir. He felt his energy flare and his stomach settle as the potion soothed his body and revitalized him. The woman smiled, but the smile was anything but warm. He remained sitting, leaning against the base of one of the huge statues, staring up at the woman. It dawned on him suddenly, that this woman in front of him, was not a human. Her hair was a sort of liquid gas that swirled and drifted in tendrils around her head, drifting in between all the darker color spectrum's, as if it couldn't make up what color it should be. Her ears were far too long and pointed, her skin was devoid of pigment, as opposed to having a color, and she held herself as if she had no weight at all.
"Feeling better?" The woman asked, her voice, if it didn't sound bitterly cold, could have been attractive. Ganondorf tossed the bottle back to her, and she merely flicked her finger and the bottle vanished into thin air.
"Fine, thanks." He muttered flatly, surprised at the hoarseness his voice had taken. He forced himself to stand up, still feeling uncertain but able to stand unaided. He was aware that he was naked, and couldn't' help but feel a little vulnerable in front of the inhuman woman. She didn't help when she freely let her eyes wander.
An age passed in awkward silence, before the woman finally turned, and moved, her motion more fluid than mechanical, as she scooped up her cape, and threw it at Ganon. He caught it with a grunt, but was inwardly grateful, as he threw it around his shoulders. He couldn't help but be impressed with the tailoring. The lining was a warm soft velvet, and the outside was a durable finely woven cotton. He turned back to the woman to badger her with questions, but found his voice die in his throat as he saw her sitting on top of one of the statues shoulders, toying with a small ball of energy, letting it drift over her fingers. She didn't bother glancing down at him.
"Yes, I am the one who freed you." She said, her voice bored. "It's been about four thousand years since you were imprisoned. The world has flooded, what few inhabitants survived, are now 'peaceful' island dwellers." She spat the word 'peaceful' and Ganon couldn't help but smirk. She suddenly disappeared with a puff of liquid smoke, reappearing before him. Ganon took an unconscious step backwards, causing the woman to grin evilly at him. He wasn't sure how she did it, but suddenly she was leaning against him, one hand touching the rough stubble of his chin.
"I freed you Ganon, for two reasons. Because this world is stale, and two because I needed entertaining, and your always good for a few laughs." Ganon finally found his voice.
"Who are you?!" He demanded, grabbing her wrist gently in his own, causing her magenta eyes to lock with his. She suddenly smirked.
"You already know." She said deviously. He couldn't stop himself from snarling angrily.
"That was only ever a myth! Theres no such thing!" She suddenly disappeared in a puff of black smoky liquid again, reforming in front of the door. She laughed, deeply, haughtily.
"Of course! I don't exist. I'm just a figment of your imagination!" She waved her hand, the black misty vapor appearing and forming into a brilliant fiery orange, yellow and red stone in her hand. It glowed faintly as her shadowy energies licked down her arm, before being sucked into the stone. After a few moments, she threw it at Ganon, who caught the stone, feeling the warmth of it in his hand. He could feel the incredible power radiating from the stone. The woman turned to leave, but stopped, staring at him over her shoulder.
"One more thing. I like the name Shadow." Before Ganon could question her, she was suddenly gone in another puff of the black misty vapor, leaving Ganon alone in the room beneath the castle of Hyrule, which was still, and would remain, until the sword was freed from the pedestal, behind him, completely, and utterly, dead.