Author's Note: This is an idea I've been kicking around for awhile. I mean, I've always been fascinated by the jewels that the Gerudo wear, and the one Gannon wears is always so prominent, so shiny. Plus he's always reborn with his past life memories intact, so I decided to take those two facts and toss them together into a fan fiction. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gannon or the Gerudo. I DO own the nameless king though.
I was born a man to a tribe of women.
From the beginning, they bowed down to me, called me "king". I was indeed, "the man", the one promised to be born every century, to rule the Gerudo thieves.
I swore to myself that I would be a good king. My people's name had been slandered by the horrible rule of Gannon, again and again, and I vowed that I would not be so easily corrupted. I would rule justly, judge fairly. I would pledge my loyalty and I would keep my word. And I would never, never allow myself to fall prey to the easy seduction of power.
My people have a symbol of power. It is a large jewel, worn on the forehead, a blatant show of status. The color, of course, determines the rank. The higher colors are given to the greatest warriors, but there is one jewel passed down among the Gerudo Kings.
It burns in the center with the flames of the desert. Every king is buried with the same jewel, but when a king is born again, it reappears, blazing on the pedestal where it rests until the newborn is of age.
I came of age yesterday.
I now stand alone, in the room with the jewel. The stone walls bear little more than woven tapestries or intricate carvings on the shape of former kings. Saving this minor finery, the room is Spartan in furnishing. There is nothing but the pedestal and the jewel, chasing away the darkness of the night with it's flaming glow.
The light casts reversed shadows upon my face. My body tingles with anticipation, so badly so that I wish desperately to squirm. I do neither of these, and instead stand calmly by the gem.
I take it into my hands. The stone is not cold, but warm to the touch. Second thoughts flash through my mind. Once I place the stone on my head, I can never remove it. I shake these thoughts away and bring the back of the stone to my forehead.
Light blasts forth from the jewel on contact. It dances across the walls, shimmering and grinning like Poefire. Then, I hear a voice, unlike any other I had heard before.
At last… a new body. Hello, little one.
"Who are you?" I scream, panicked. The light is blinding me.
I am the King.
"You lie! I am the King of the Gerudo!"
The voice laughs. Foolish boy… I have been King before you, and before then, and before then…
"Who are you?" I scream again, now truly frightened. I know the answer, but I dread it all the same.
I am Gannon.
"Get out!" I scream, stumbling blindly backwards. "Get out of me!"
Oh, tut. You invited me in so willingly, your majesty.
I stumbled into a wall, trembling. "Please, go away. Go away!"
I received no other answer but his cruel laugh. I screamed again, this time in pain. My body was being burned, torched, set aflame by the damned being in the jewel. I could feel my skin being burned black, darker than the skin of my mother or father. At the same time, I felt my consciousness being burned aside as well, as another being began to fill my body. I felt my soul shrink and crawl into some far corner of my mind.
Gannon filled the rest.
I saw my body move, but it was not I moving it.
I heard my voice speak, although they were not my words.
I said, "At last, I'm born again!"
The Gerudo had lost another King.