Ganondorf was a great Gerudo King, an ally to the kingdom of Hyrule.
One day, he noticed how beautiful Princess Zelda had become, not just in looks, but in her wisdom and caring heart. He decided to court Zelda in secret, not wanting her reputation ruined should things not work out between them. To his surprise, Zelda happily accepted, revealing that she had developed feelings, herself, but was too scared to ask as they had been friends for years. The two develop a beautiful relationship together.
The king, however, was not pleased when he found out, being well versed in the legends surrounding the Triforce. He believed that Ganondorf was in truth a monster of greed, and only made the alliance between Hyrule and the Gerudo to keep an eye on him and the Triforce shard of power. In his rage, the king ordered Agahnim, his royal wizard, to place a curse on Ganondorf to keep him away from his daughter, Zelda. Little did he know that Agahnim had his own ideas. The wizard wanted to take over Hyrule, and have Zelda for himself. So, he cast a horrible spell upon both Ganondorf and Zelda.
That very night, Ganondorf was treating Zelda to a lovely dinner within his palace. To their horror, Ganondorf transformed into a monstrous boar before Zelda's very eyes, losing his mind and tearing apart his own palace in a fit of unbridled fury. Zelda managed to get out safely with the help of some of the Gerudo servants, but was soon cornered by the beast in her attempt to get back to Hyrule. She manages to calm Ganon down just before sunrise. As dawn approached, she saw Ganondorf slowly return to human form. But just before his transformation was complete, Zelda herself transformed into a colorful helmaroc bird no bigger than a cuckoo within the sunlight. Unlike Ganondorf, she did not lose her mind, protected by the Triforce shard of Wisdom.
Realizing that his love was now the bird standing before him, Ganondorf holds her close, not understanding what was happening to them. The Gerudo king was horrified by what he had done, and fears that he too is destined to become another calamity as legends foretold, only ending in death by the hands of the green clad hero.
In their search for answers, the two find out that they had been placed under a separation curse by the command of Zelda's father. Calm helmaroc during the day, and wild boar at night, neither would be completely human together ever again. Always together, but eternally apart.
With a heavy heart, Ganondorf makes the decision to be a nomad in the wilderness, hopefully far enough to not harm anyone during his nightly rampages, with Zelda being the only one who can calm his raging soul. The princess stays with him, having no desire to return to the one who did this to her and her love, feeling betrayed by her father.
One night, Zelda is stolen away by Agahnim and several Hyrulean soldiers, Agahnim under the guise of rescuing her from the calamity and returning her to Hyrule. Zelda fights back against the forceful Agahnim, only to be sent falling into the raging rapids at the bottom of a cliff. Unable to find Zelda, Ganon goes berserk.
Agahnim and the soldiers manage to escape during the night, but the evil wizard turns all the soldiers into woodland creatures, returning to the castle as the 'lone survivor'.
Ganondorf finally calms down under the rays of the rising sun the next morning. Believing his love to be dead upon finding nothing but her bloodied scarf, the Gerudo leader vows revenge upon Hyrule's king for what he had done, letting his rage and vengeance consume him to numb the pain of his broken heart.
Meanwhile, a boy named Link discovers a beautifully colored helmaroc bird while fishing in the woodland forest in the Hyrulean countryside. Seeing that it was injured, the boy takes it home, only to see it transform into a woman just as lovely when the sun sets. She has no memory of who she is, and asks the boy to help her. Link readily agrees, believing her to be one of the legendary great fairies. Together, the two set off to find answers, the lady acting as a guide and motherly figure to the boy.
On the horizon, a darkness looms, threatening to swallow Hyrule in eternal night.
