King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule sat on his throne in silence. The grand room had a sense of calm, yet deep inside he felt anything but.
A looming question haunted him for many weeks now. It started as a nagging thought in the back of his mind. Yet as time passed he realized it could be more than he initially thought it to be.
Was a certain nightmare a to-be reality?
His beloved queen, now Hylia rest her soul, had tried to warn him, pleadingly so. However, he had assumed her to be merely delirious from her weakened state. The guilt ate at him to this day.
"Your Majesty!"
Rhoam was brought out of his wearing thoughts as a knight came rushing to him. He straightened his posture as the man clad in steel dropped to his knee with his head bowed. "The prophet was just seen within a half mile of the castle gates. He is nearly here, Sire!"
King Rhoam nodded in acknowledgement and stood from his throne. "Good! We will meet him outside. All of you, with me!" The knight at his feet quickly stepped to the side as the surrounding castle guards followed their king to his arriving guest.
As he traveled out, Rhoam was both ecstatic and dreading meeting the seer he had heard so much about. Travelers and hunters spread the news like wildfire of a mysterious man who could predict one's future with one-hundred percent accuracy. Hyrule's king sent out a messenger one day, to find and tell the seer of his request for a meeting. To his surprise, the messenger arrived five days ago, relaying the prophet's answer.
"I will see you in my own time."
Rhoam was miffed at first, but eventually accepted the response. And now was the day he would find answers to a looming question he had for weeks now.
I have to know… I just have to know…
The king and his guards stood by outside the castle, patiently waiting for their guest. Rhoam could see a cloaked figure heading toward them from afar. They only had to wait a few more minutes before he was within talking distance.
The elderly king was taken aback by the prophet's form.
He was a young man, although an exact age range was hard to pinpoint. A long single braid formed from the top of his hairline, in front of his face, and looped around to the side beneath his ear. The rest of his dark hair was tied back in a shortly cut ponytail. He was beyond pale with terrible dark circles under his eyes, giving off a sickly appearance. The plain black cloak he wore was tattered. The dark brown pants had holes, and his black boots were old and worn.
Rhoam knew the man came from a small village, but hadn't expected him to appear so poor.
The prophet approached, ignoring the guards' speculative and disparagement stares, and smirked underneath his hood. "Really? A greeting by the king himself already? I didn't realize I was so special."
"I'll admit I've been anticipating your arrival for some time now," Hyrule's king replied. "It's a pleasure to be acquainted with you, Astor. I must admit, I'm surprised to see you've traveled here on foot. I hope no trouble with monsters or Yiga clan members made your way."
Astor's smirk dropped instantly. "Despite what you may assume, I am no powerless fool. I can get by on my own just fine."
Rhoam hesitated, put off by the young man's demeanor. But he was determined to keep it civil between them, at least for the time being. "…Well, regardless, I am grateful for your trip here. It's only a shame we have to meet under strict business instead of a nice chat." He let out a friendly, albeit awkward chuckle.
The seer's upper lip twitched. "Quite, Your Majesty."
King Rhoam gestured back toward the castle. "Come inside, we can have our discussion over lunch. My chef has our meals ready to be served on the table."
Frowning, Astor walked past the king to the castle. "Do forgive me that I decline your offer of food, only so that we may get this over with. Any room with no interference will suffice."
Rhoam felt a twinge of anger at the display of rudeness, but kept silent as he followed his guest. "Very well, the underground study it is then…"
The solders behind them talked in hushed whispers.
"What's his problem? Did a gadfly fall in his soup this morning?"
"And here I thought the king could be stiff…"
"Maybe he's lying and a Yiga did ambush him. Probably stole his rupees or something."
"What rupees? The guy is dressed like he's homeless…"
King Rhoam took his seat at the desk with Astor sat across. They had descended into the study underneath the castle, with the only other occupants being the guards that stood by the door and the king. The room was dimly lit, giving off a gloomy atmosphere. To Rhoam it gave off a sense of dread and doom. Yet he took notice that Astor looked as comfortable as could be.
"I'd like to again thank you for coming, prophet," the king started. "I know your assumptions are always accurate."
"Not assumptions, Your Highness," Astor chimed in coldly, "Readings. Divinations. Visions. All legitimate. I don't guess."
Rhoam put his hand up. "Yes, yes, of course. My apologies. A slip of the tongue."
"May we get to the point, please?" the all-seeing man requested.
Rhoam bit back a curt response, relenting. "Very well, since you seem to be in a hurry." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Days before her passing, my beloved wife mentioned nightmares she had about a darkness looming over my castle. I passed it off as just that, nightmares. But lately I've had doubts. That what she saw was something more."
"Ah, yes. A lady of the royal bloodline is naturally gifted with visions of events yet to come, much like myself," Astor said. "But to confirm your suspicions, yes. The signs are clear. Calamity Ganon's revival draws ever nearer."
King Rhoam's hand clenched into a fist on his lap, under the desk. It was as he feared. The evil mentioned in the legend ten thousand years ago was returning. He dipped his head into his hand. "In all my years… I never would have dreamed I'd see something like this in my lifetime…"
"Oh, yes, quite a shame…" Astor tapped a finger on the desk, disinterested.
All at once he felt an overwhelming defeat. A strong fear that he failed his people, his ancestors, the gods, and his daughter.
Rhoam slammed his fist on the table, startling the guards in the room. The seer stopped his finger-tapping. "Surely…" the king uttered, "surely there's something we can do. Anything!"
The other man stayed quiet for a moment longer, then responded, "Hmm, I suppose I can tell you when to expect his grand arrival."
Wham!
The two men flinched as the door swung almost violently open. The guards gasped, unable to react in time.
"Father!"
Astor looked down to see a small golden-haired girl run swiftly to Rhoam, whom looked quite bewildered with a hint of irritation. But what truly caught the prophet by surprise was an even smaller, oval-shaped guardian following close behind the child.
"Father, look!" The girl tugged excitedly on the king's robes. "I taught Terrako how to dance! Wanna see?" she asked with the most sincere smile.
Rhoam placed his hand over the child's gently. "Zelda," he said sternly, "Behave. We have a guest."
The young girl showed confusion before looking to see another person sitting across from them. "O-Oh, sorry…" she muttered timidly, all enthusiasm gone.
The king nodded in approval, stretching his hand out to the prophet. "Zelda, this is Astor. He's the man I told you about that can see the future."
"Hi…" Zelda softly greeted.
"Astor," Rhoam addressed, "this is my daughter, Zelda."
The young man nodded to the little princess. "A pleasure," he said bluntly.
Zelda half hid behind her father, shyly staring at the stranger. The guardian which accompanied her had its eye fixated on him, sounding low, long whistles. Apprehensive. Astor gave it an annoyed glance. "What a charming little contraption you have…" he said, monotone as ever.
"His name's Terrako," Zelda replied, moving a little away from her hiding spot behind her father, "He's my friend."
The prophet raised his brows, keeping his blank face. "Aren't you both adorable together…"
"Umm…"
Rhoam decided to intervene the conversation, patting his daughter's head as he told her, "Now, now, that's enough of bothering our guest, my dear. I believe it's time for you to attend to your history books now. Go find Impa and tell ask her to assist you in your room, please."
Zelda's smile fell, and a small moan of disappointment passed her lips as her head bent down. "Yes, Father…" The young girl turned to her small companion. "C'mon, Terrako." Her artificial companion whistled eagerly, as if happy to get away from the strange man. Zelda's smile returned for the briefest moment. She took a few steps toward the door before quickly acknowledging Astor one last time. "Bye, Mister Prophet." Then the small duo promptly left the two men and nearby guards, one of which gave a slight bow as he opened the door and closed it behind for them.
The seer's gaze remained on the door which they exited from. King Rhoam sighed. "My apologies, seer. My daughter has yet to learn all of her manners."
"I've dealt with worse manners than that, Majesty. I hardly care."
The older man glared at his guest, whom of which still had his head turned away from him. Oh, I can agree with you on that, boy…
To regain Astor's attention, Rhoam cleared his throat and continued their previous discussion. "I believe you were saying you had knowledge of the time in which Calamity Ganon would return, is that correct?"
Astor finally turned his head back to him. "Yes," he replied. The seer raised his hand just under his chin in a slight fist, eyes closed, as if concentrating. He appeared serene, in his element, as he recounted the words he'd been waiting to relay.
"Are we really trusting that this nobody sees anything? I think he's just trying to scare us," a royal guard said not-so quietly.
Astor grinned.
The king and all his guards jolted in shock. Suddenly they all saw the same vision the seer granted to them, welcoming or not.
A shadow covered the castle. A massive beast formed from the darkness, rising toward the moon to release an earth-shattering roar.
"Upon the Princess of Hyrule's seventeenth birthday shall the evil that threatened the dwellers of light ten thousand years ago return, and bring despair and ruin upon the world with its might and malice."
And as quick as it came, the vision was gone. Everyone stood distressed, some men shaking while others panted in exasperation. The one who spoke ill of Astor's abilities was quietest of all.
King Rhoam stayed silent in his chair, eyes widened in horror. The prophet's power of foresight was true. It was real.
Forgive me, my love… I should have trusted your fears from the start…
A loud sigh alerted the recovering men to the one who showed them their doom. "Well, I do believe that's enough of my time here. I wish you luck, Your Majesty…" And with that the young seer promptly stood up from his seat. Startled, Rhoam panically sat up from his own seat.
"W-Wait! Tell me, prophet! Will my daughter awaken her divine power in time?"
Astor stopped to give him a brief look, blank, before turning away to walk his exit. The guards hesitated on any action of halting his leave without orders from their king.
"If only her mother was among us. Perhaps then there would be a chance…" The door swiftly shut behind him, seemingly on its own.
The implication gave a spike of fear to King Rhoam. His worst fears were becoming realized. He knew his daughter's lack of interest of her inherited powers would become a problem. But now they were a huge threat, despite of her innocent naiveté.
"What shall we do now, Sire?" one of his guards tentatively asked.
The many thoughts that raced in his mind started to come together, like puzzle pieces solving the big picture. Rhoam turned to his men, regal and strong as ever. "Send word out to everyone in the castle. We will find and unearth the Divine Beasts that fought the Calamity ten thousand years ago. We will not sit by and allow Hyrule to fall!"
The guards shouted a unison "Yes, Your Majesty!" before filing out of the room to fulfill their orders.
Hope shined in King Rhoam's eyes, determined to do his dearest wife proud, and bring her peace.
In the name of Hyrule, I will defy this fate. I will fight Destiny's cruelty to the bitter end!
He left the study and climbed the stairs. The plans continued to piece together quickly, and he knew he needed to take advantage of them.
Rhoam sighed in sorrow for what he was about to do next. But resolve chased that away as he made his approach to young Zelda's room.
No more distractions.
Astor's sense of smug satisfaction never left as he traveled away from Hyrule Castle. The memory of the king and his fools' shock and terror brought immense joy.
As necessary, he placed the fear inside King Rhoam's mind, a move to set the desired events in motion. It would force him to take drastic measures to defend his wretched kingdom, and unearth the Guardians and Divine Beasts. Or, as Astor like to refer them as, Calamity Ganon's toys.
Toys in which would take the very lives the king tried oh-so hard to protect.
And then there was the daughter. If there was one thing the Prophet of Doom feared most, it was the divine light that laid dormant within her. Or, he would fear it, if she hadn't been born as the weakest of her bloodline.
He almost pitied the young girl that would fail her kingdom. Almost.
The young prophet paused and lifted his gaze to the clear blue sky. He yearned for the day when he'd see the Calamity rise. And he gave a silent promise to witness the event in person.
Fire and malice will destroy not only Hyrule, but the whole world. And he couldn't wait.
When the time comes, your thread shall snap in two, little one…
A/N: It's been so long since I've written a story, but the mystery with Astor's mere existence woke that urge to write right back up. While I'm aware there's a decent chance Astor wasn't the one that shared the prophecy with Rhoam in canon, I still wanted to present a possible scenario of it. And yes, his appearance is a little different here than in AoC, considering. I'm still very rusty, so I'm here hoping this all turned out well. Thank you for reading!