Hail the Dark Lord
Note: Inspired by Relics of Hyrule, an excellent Zelda mod for Skyrim, and an old, actually good AMV on youtube that doesn't exist anymore that featured scenes of Ganondorf from Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to Johnny Cash's cover of 'Hurt'. Credit Relics of Hyrule for putting the idea in my head, though. It's a short one. Also, Zelda and all that belongs to Nintendo and not me, etc.
Hail to thee, O Dark Lord!
Hail and praise the mighty king!
Hyrule's conqueror, widely adored
By a barren land; a husk of a thing
Revere him, O great Dark Lord!
Ganondorf, the King of Thieves!
Look down upon your undead horde
They are your legacy and none believes
Cast your eye upon your land
Dead and cold, plains of fire and ice
You rule over the mindless band
Of subjects that are as aimless mice
That Golden Land you did covet
Its fields of green and gentle wind
O, Dark Lord, how you did love it
When Hyrule's life laughed and grinned
But the power of that sacred relic
Drove you to madness and lust
And to turn this land, once angelic
Into a dismal kingdom of naught but dust
So hail to thee, O great Dark Lord
Your ambitions achieved with great aplomb
You rule the land you take as ward
As a twisted thing, tarnished by your palm
So watch over your land of death
Until you yourself shall die alone
Hyrule has had its last breath
Now it waits for your own
Hail and praise, Ganon the king
Live onward with corrupted heart
From here till forever none shall sing
Live and suffer your own black art
G.D.
The once proud Demon King stared at the thick parchment that hung above his gnarled and faded writing desk. His sad eyes poured over the words he had written several times and each reading raised the festering guilt in his blackened soul.
A fierce shriek and rattling bones caught his attention from outside of his room. Ganondorf did his best to put it out of his mind and walk to the window of his great tower. He leaned on the sill and his icy heart collapsed further when he saw the vast, barren plains before him.
From Death Mountain, a pillar of lava shot into the sky and poured down the side onto the shambling creatures below it. It further burned the once great village that lay at its base. Dark clouds circled the top of the volcano in an ominous ring every day and spun like a funnel cloud when the mountain would unleash its fury upon the land.
From the old Kokiri Forest he watched a streak of lightning split the sky and strike a tangled mess of wood that used to be a lush, green tree. The leafless, dead thing cracked and fell into the dry, dusty earth beneath it.
The Zora's Domain, now still and frozen, contained nothing but the slavering creatures of his own creation. It was once a place of great life and inhabited by a proud and noble race of people. Even from his tower, Ganon could see the endless field of ice that the Domain had become since he first took his rule.
Even his old home, the Gerudo Valley, had become nothing but a wasteland. He used to curse the bitter heat and the harsh wind of the arid desert. Now it was a toxic terrain of malformed rock and shooting jets of fire. Ganondorf longed to feel the hot sun upon his skin and to taste the sand on the air. He missed the long desert days and the cold desert nights. In his lust for power he had brought even his old homeland to ruin.
Another shriek distracted him from his thoughts for the moment. He crossed the room to the rotten doors that clung to the hinges. He pushed them open and turned his head toward the sound of the bony rattle. A lone stalfos patrolled the halls without end for an enemy that would never come. Ganondorf knew the creature would not see its creator as a threat so he stepped out into the hallway and drew the glowing white sword at his side. In one swift motion he cleaved the creature's skull from its spine and the stalfos collapsed into a pile of bones. The Dead Land's king then knelt down and picked up the skull. He held it out in front of him and stared deep into its eye sockets.
"I am king of this land," he said to the silent skull. "It has bent to my will. Those who roam it would all bend the knee to me if I made it so. They would all bow their heads to me if I made it so. I am as a God. My power is without equal."
Ganondorf strode back to the window of his room. He held the skull out so it was facing outside and surveyed his kingdom of death below.
"But this is not Hyrule anymore," he said. "This is not the land I loved. What sort of king rules a kingdom of decay such as this?"
He pulled the skull closer to his face.
"I will tell you what sort of king rules this pile of festering dirt. A king of endless greed and anger. A king driven mad with power and lust. A king of no true subjects and no true kingdom. The king that rules this waste is no king at all."
Ganondorf let out a long breath and cast his eyes back to the horrid land beneath his tower.
"It was once a green kingdom. It is hard to believe when one gazes upon it now. But Hyrule was once the Golden Land spoken of in its legends. A span of trees once sprawled across the forest forever into the horizon. A calm, glittering lake that shone like a mirror was fed by a murmuring, cool river from the Domain of a wondrous race of people. The mountain above once gave rise to a gentle race and soft, white clouds used to wrap themselves playfully around its summit. A lush, green field stretched between it all and met the land of a once proud and glorious race of people. They were my people."
Ganondorf closed his eyes and lowered his voice.
"The Gerudo. The people of the desert. It was a land of blistering heat and endless sand. How I hated to rule it and not the green kingdom that lay beside me. The horrid wind of the desert made me irritable. I loathed the dry, barren land that was my home. I despised the heat and cursed the sun for my very existence. And what did those noble people do? They made me their king. I was king of a land I hated but now, to look upon it, I would not have wanted this. But still I coveted the land of green. How I wished to call the unending forests my own. I longed to be the ruler of a place so full of life. And the wind. Oh, the sweet and gentle winds of Hyrule tempted me into my heart of darkness. But no. I should not blame that wondrous wind. It was in my own imbalanced heart where the darkness lay. And in my lust for power, for glory, I have created this. I only wanted for myself, and for my people, the glory and greatness that is our birthright. But instead I grant the people only death and the land a slow, torturous decay."
He peered into the skull's eye sockets again.
"Now even you deign to be in my presence. I once was proud to be Hyrule's conqueror. But what have I conquered? A dead land that is Hyrule no longer. This is my kingdom of dirt and I am its king. I have prided myself for decades but now, as I grow old, I am naught but a hollow man ruled by his guilt."
Ganondorf crushed the skull in his hand and stepped into the middle of the room. He drew his glowing white sword once more and gripped it in both hands. The King of Thieves dropped to his knees and raised his sword. The glowing tip of the blade sat now inches from his chest. Great Ganondorf closed his eyes and drew in a long breath.
"There is but one thing that must be done," he said.
In his mind's eye, Ganondorf once again saw his desert home. He could feel the scorching sun on his skin and the blowing sand grating against his face. The sweet breeze of Hyrule greeted him once more and he heard the babbling river in the distance. Then, all at once, it faded and the cruel stench of death came to him once more.
"My penance for you, Hyrule," Ganondorf said. "I know it is not enough. But it is all I have. My lifeblood is yours. Today, I join you in death."
With one heavy strike, Ganondorf pushed the sword into his chest up to the hilt. He grimaced and accepted the tremendous pain that took over his entire body. The darkness began to surround his vision and he could feel his life fade with each drip of his luminous, white blood that poured out onto the floor. The great Demon King fell to one side in his agony and soon became very still. A gentle gust of wind came in the window and brushed his cape one time before the entire tower fell silent. The king and his Dead Land were one and never again would there be another. Now, with its last king gone, Hyrule and the Dead Land it has become are truly lost to the fullness of time.