Yiga footsoldiers bent the knee as the hooded man passed by. The seer carried a mysterious artifact by its outer rings. He moved through the maze-like corridors deeper into the Yiga hideout, where his harbinger rested on an altar.
It would only be a short time before the Calamity would be at hand, for he knew this event would take place on the Princess of Hyrule's seventeenth birthday.
"Happy Birthday, Princess," he said in a sardonic tone, laughing to himself.
Little did the seer know that miles away, that very princess was mirroring his actions as she made her way through the halls of the castle. She listened to the sound of her footsteps echoing on the stone floor, her burdens weighing heavy on her mind that morning, her gaze downcast.
Astor, the Prophet of Doom, arrived at the inner sanctum of the Yiga hideout where his harbinger, a small Guardian possessed by Calamity Ganon, slept. Sometimes, though, it wandered off to some corner of the kingdom only to come back with a vision of what it wanted to impart to the seer. Malice rose off the dark egg-like Guardian, giving off a rippling, gurgling sound that had become familiar to the prophet.
Sitting at one end of a long table was Master Kohga, the leader of the Yiga Clan. Astor had allied with the clan somewhat recently, but in truth, he'd never seen the man's real face, for every member of the Yiga Clan always wore a white mask painted with the inverted eye of the Sheikah. Next to Kohga stood his bodyguard, Sooga. Master Kohga was a rotund man, while Sooga was all muscle. Both men, however, towered over Astor, who was of a slender build and average stature. Neither of them seemed to acknowledge his arrival, at least not right away. Kohga was telling Sooga some sort of joke or story.
Astor held back a sigh of disapproval. The Yiga Clan itself was… serviceable, but the leadership…
There was an obscene amount of bananas in a decorative bowl in front of the altar, even more than the last time he was here. It was like they had put more in the bowl just to spite him.
"Hurry it up, Little Lord Malice, I've got naps to take!" Kohga finally acknowledged Astor's presence.
Astor glared at him. "Could we PLEASE move those bananas off the altar! They're an eyesore! What a baleful affront to Lord Ganon."
"Watch yourself, seer. And do not disrespect the sacred fruit." Sooga chided. The Yiga ate mighty bananas as if they were a gift from Lord Ganon himself.
"There's nothing special about those disgusting bananas," Astor said in an authoritative tone.
"Eh, shows what you know…" Kohga shrugged.
Astor resigned himself to the indignity, for there were more pressing matters at hand. He approached the altar and held out the spherical artifact. The little black Guardian that housed the spirit of Calamity Ganon shrieked as embers of malice erupted, swirling above their heads. The orb reacted, levitating as a barrier marked with constellations spread out before them.
The Princess of Hyrule was in the vision, dressed in full royal regalia, appearing far more regal than how she looked when she was dressed to go out and do research. She wore a crown instead of her usual braid. The corseted area of her dress nicely accentuated her tiny waist. Her golden-blonde hair fell like a waterfall well past the small of her back. Princess Zelda appeared deep in thought, but her deep green eyes lit up when she greeted her Sheikah aide.
Disgusting… Astor loathed just looking at her.
As he watched the vision presented to him by his harbinger, the prophet furrowed his brow. His lips parted slightly. "No…. no… This wasn't part of the prophecy. What is the meaning of this?!"
Kohga and Sooga craned their heads to get a better view, curious to see what had earned the prophet's ire.
"What is it?" Kohga asked.
"WHAT. IS. THAT?!" Astor said, pointing to a Guardian similar to the one that housed Calamity Ganon, except this one was white. It was being held by a young knight, apparently trying to hold it up and away from the Princess should it attack her.
"Is...this a problem?" Kohga asked.
"No…. Nothing can stop the coming Calamity. It's just that..." Astor didn't want to admit he hadn't been aware of this second little Guardian before and it honestly had soured his mood.
"Will you look at that, Sooga. Little Lord Malice and the Princess have twins!" Kohga laughed. Even Sooga, who was usually serious to a fault, shared in a short burst of laughter.
Astor turned slowly, shooting Kohga an unamused look, trying to cover how flustered he felt.
Degenerate goon, may the Calamity strike him down, Astor thought and turned back to the vision, but the princess, the Sheikah aide, and the young knight were making their way into the castle.
Astor gave a frustrated growl and ended the vision. The ancient orb disappeared with a wave of his hand. The prophet held his arms out, beckoning the Harbinger to come to him. The little Guardian stood, moving its mechanical spider-like legs. It hopped down off the altar, barely acknowledging the prophet.
Sooga gave a pitying shake of his head, which didn't go unnoticed by the prophet.
"I sense that you are envious of me," Astor said in a matter-of-fact way, confronting the Yiga bodyguard. "You're wondering why Lord Ganon would choose a Hylian to help bring about his resurrection over a member of the Yiga Clan. Of the countless souls that have lived the past 10,000 years, Lord Ganon selected me. The Calamity has given me this fate and I will gladly play it to see Hyrule burn."
"Calamity Ganon is a tool for no one. And it certainly doesn't care about your fate or what happens to you. The moment it's done with you, it will toss you aside and I'm going to laugh my ass off," said the Yiga second in command.
The light left his eyes, yet Astor sneered back, smiling. "We'll see which one of us the Calamity decides to cast aside."
oOo
The sun was setting over the Gerudo Highlands, Harbinger at his side. It was a vastly different climate than Astor had grown up with or preferred, but he had made it his home for the same reason as the Yiga. It was there that one could feel most connected to Calamity Ganon. Legend had it that in the distant past Calamity Ganon was once a Gerudo male that had brought Hyrule Kingdom to its knees for seven long years before his defeat at the hands of the Hero of Time and sealing by the Princess Zelda and sages of that era. That such a terrifying entity could have once been mortal deeply inspired the prophet. That is how he had come to be a disciple of Lord Ganon and where he was now.
Stopping outside the network of caverns similar to the Yiga's he'd claimed as his personal hideout, he couldn't stop thinking about the vision from earlier—of the Princess of Hyrule. He knew who she was and what Calamity Ganon expected of him. Before Ganon had chosen him, he had known of her by name only. All the royal girls were named Zelda, and over the countless generations these descendants of the Goddess Hylia were many.
…All deplorable pests… Astor thought.
Devotion to Ganon and hatred for the royal family—especially those that bore the sacred sealing power—went hand in hand.
He thought back to the first time he'd laid eyes on her. The Harbinger had shown him a vision of the princess in a small room within a tower, a study perhaps. Its shelves were lined with research materials, plants, and other oddities. She had appeared somewhat sullen that day, seated and writing in a journal.
Astor committed all these visions to memory.
And now this second Guardian… Astor thought, trying to brush aside the creeping apprehension he felt at not having foreseen this. It looked a lot like the one at his side. Same size, same design, but pearly white instead of black.
Astor materialized his orb and held it towards his harbinger. "Show me the purpose of that Guardian."
Guest: Thanks for dropping a review here, too! I appreciate it!
Faylian: Thanks for joining me through another story. It's going to be a roller coaster! And I promise to deliver on kicking Astor in the right direction. It's a fangirl's job after all...