Chapter 2: The Dark Tale
We must travel back to a time when Link and I were mere infants. A woman went fleeing through Hyrule Field on horseback, desperately trying to make it to the Kokiri Forest before the Gerudo thieves caught her. She was carrying an infant along with her. This was Link.
She was fleeing to bring her son to a safe place. However, a tragedy had already befallen her. A band of Gerudo thieves had raided her village called Kiuro, and had kidnapped most of the infant sons of the villagers. One of them was Link's twin brother, Olan. She narrowly escaped the village with Link, feeling so much devastation and remorse at having to leave her other child.
The Gerudos had been ordered to kidnap every son, of every family, in every village in Hyrule, from newborns up to those of ten years old. They were ordered to do this by their King, Ganondorf. This was a time before Ganondorf swore allegiance to the King of Hyrule. He had planned to recruit young men of each race and brainwash them to his command. He wished to train them as spies to infiltrate each race and assassinate their leaders and take over.
Then, he would take over from there and he would declare himself the King of Hyrule and demand the abdication of the Royal Family. Upon achieving this, he would spread his evil across the land and turn Hyrule into a land of corruption and deceit. Link's mother had left him in the care of the Kokiri, knowing that they could keep him safe. When she tried to reach Hyrule Castle in an attempt to tell the King of what had transpired, she was caught and killed by that same band of Gerudos.
Over the coming months, the other races of Hyrule, excluding the Kokiri, declared war on the Gerudos and attacked. They took their sons back. After this, he blamed the whole scheme on his second-in-command, Saborna, and claimed to have been held hostage at her mercy.
He claimed treason and killed anyone who protested and called him a liar.
Saborna was exiled and captured by the Hylian Honor Guard. She was thrown in the dungeon and spent the rest of her days rotting in Hyrule Castle's dungeon.
Ganondorf then swore his allegiance to the King in order to, as he claimed, keep anything like this ever happening again, to bring peace and trust amongst the races of Hyrule. The King accepted this and that was the end of it. Everyone else thought so, anyway.
Ganondorf kept a secret from everyone except for his closest Gerudo Generals. He still had a young Hylian, Olan, under his control. He planned to raise him as his new second-in-command. Several years later, when he encountered Link for the first time, he saw how he bore such a striking resemblance of Olan. He searched through the old records his now deceased band of Gerudos had made, and found out that Olan and Link were brothers, and that Link had escaped from their clutches thanks to his mother.
When he met Link the second time, Ganondorf saw how much trouble he was going to be. It was then that he began Olan's true transformation. He brainwashed Olan with his evil power, causing him to believe that he himself was evil. He trained Olan as an expert swordsman and Olan learned quickly. He knew when to anticipate his opponent's moves and even learned how to mimic his opponents perfectly. At this point, Ganondorf decided a change of appearance was in order.
With his evil power, he gave Olan his black tunic, turned his skin to match the colour of his tunic and gave him glowing red eyes. After that was finished Ganondorf smiled and said "now, my creation, your task is to defeat that kid, Link. You are his evil side. You are his living shadow. From this day forth, let you be called Dark Link!" After obtaining the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf gave Dark Link some of the massive amounts of power that filled him when he obtained the Triforce. He then sent him to the Water Temple at the bottom of Lake Hylia to wait for Link. There, he would ambush the hero and defeat him so that Ganondorf would be able to finally capture his dream and rule Hyrule forever.
"There it is, Link" I concluded "that is who Fandoron was talking to you about. Dark Link is your brother, Olan. He has returned from the depths of the Water Temple for vengeance."
Link sat there, speechless and completely stunned. This was all too much. His own brother was whom he fought within the Water Temple. All this time, he believed Dark Link had been created from the shadows themselves. He was struck with guilt and remorse. He had nearly killed his own brother.
"Are you all right, Link?"
He sat there, still unable to speak. Finally, after a long silence he said
"Yes, Joran. I'm fine. It's just a little shocking is all."
He looked up at me and I could see the guilt that now plagued his heart.
"Link, you don't have anything to feel bad about. What you did was necessary. If you hadn't beaten him, you wouldn't be here now, nor would any of us. It had to be done."
"You are right, Joran. But it doesn't change the fact that I nearly killed the only family I have left."
"Link, stop it. Dark Link is not your family. He has long been turned and even if he knew, he wouldn't think twice about killing you."
"How do you know so much about him?"
"From Fandoron, remember? He told me more than just what transpired with Ganondorf and your brother. He told me what he was like, too."
"Did he tell you what he was like before Ganondorf turned him?"
"No, unfortunately. I would imagine, though, that he was a lot like you."
Link sat silently again after that. Not knowing what to say at that point. After another long silence, he spoke again.
"Did Fandoron serve under Ganondorf or did he go into exile?"
"Why, Link? Why does that matter?"
"I'm just curious. He seemed to be good-hearted but also seemed very regretful. As if he feels guilty for past actions."
At this, I felt my anger rise. Fandoron had told me of some the crimes he committed.
"Fandoron served Ganondorf as one of his many minions. I dare not speak of some of the travesties he committed. He told me that he knew there was a better way, but did not want to upset his cousin, which for him meant death. That coward. After committing such evil deeds, he then went into exile. After they executed Ganondorf, he came out of exile and the Gerudo praised him for returning and made him their new king."
"I see. I wouldn't call what he did cowardly. He was just caught in family loyalties. He wanted to please Ganondorf, but felt bad for what he did and decided to hide away. He had no other choice. In a way, what he did is rather admirable."
"Admirable? Link, listen to yourself! What he did was cowardly. He should have done the right thing and fought Ganondorf. That would've been admirable."
"Everyone makes mistakes. Fandoron did the only thing he could for making up for his crimes. Stop. If he had tried to fight Ganondorf, he would have destroyed Fandoron and it would have been all for not. And you know that."
It was no use arguing with him. I knew Link was right. He always had a much kinder and forgiving heart than me.
I am not evil. But neither am I kind. I have always fought for good but I didn't really need to make friends doing it. I was glad to have befriended the great Link though. He was one I could trust.
"Well, Joran. It's time I got to the real reason I came here. I have come to ask for your assistance. Fighting Dark Link will be no easy task. No doubt, with the Triforce's power, he remembers everything from that alternate future. Including how to fight me, and defeat me. He may have also managed to get some of his own help. Together, we can ride to Death Mountain and stop him."
"Well, there is a problem with that, Link. I'd be glad to help you. I am well trained in the art of the sword but, my riding skills are terribly, well, poor I guess you could say."
"That's all right, Joran. I know a girl who could teach you. She is quite handy with such things. I'm sure you'll like her, too. By the way, thank you for joining me in this fight, Joran."
I nodded and followed him outside.
"Climb on Epona for now. I'm sure she won't mind an extra passenger." I climbed up onto Epona's back and we rode out to the east.