King Link sat, deep in thought. For twenty years, he had fought to unite the Hylean people, all of Hyrule under his banner. Other warlords, bandit kings, pirates, all had fallen beneath his blade, and later his boot. And for the last five years, the land had been at relative peace. He had pacified all other opposition, and risen to the height of power, united the land. All for one purpose.
It was all to continue the cycle. He was the Hero of Time. Born to destroy the King of Evil, and protect the Triforce in the Sacred Realm. However, this time was different. This time, the King of Evil had not appeared by the time Link had come of age, the darkness had not gained a foothold in the world. And so Link had decided to prepare for the inevitable. He gathered allies, and trained, and fought, until eventually he hit upon an idea; prepare the world for the coming of the King of Evil, and ensure that the world would be able to fight against the darkness. So he had fought, and conquered. All to protect the world. And yet, the people hated him... called him a tyrant. Couldn't they see that all he did was for their sake?
As he sat in thought, a scream of pain echoed up from the execution grounds. iIt doesn't matter./i he thought, iThese fools don't see... they fight against me. They betray their King. And so, they must be held accountable in the eyes of the law./i
Perhaps that was the incarnation of the King of Evil this time... Perhaps it was the will of the people that had been claimed by darkness. Perhaps...
The captain of the King's guard entered the throne room quietly, moving to his lord's side. "It is done, your grace." He said, bowing formally. "The disrespectful fool begged for his death before I was even halfway done with his followers."
The King smiled, a warm feeling creeping through him. "You denied him, of course?"
"As you commanded. My King."
"Good. Then another traitor has seen the error of their ways." He paused, thinking for a moment. "These runaways are becoming more and more common... Why captain? Why can't these people see that all I do, I do to keep them safe from the true Darkness?"
A look of disgust crossed the captain's face, "It's because they are blind my King. You are the Hero of Time, who but you could keep the blind, stupid masses safe from the forces of evil that would see them all destroyed. If they cannot see that, if they cannot accept that, then they do not deserve your gracious protection."
Link began to smile, however the door slammed open, and a soldier rushed in. The armored man rushed forward, coming to a stop knelt before his King. "My lord, forgive the sudden intrusion, but the news I bear is most urgent."
Link felt something stir in the pit of his stomach, a sense that he had not felt in almost a decade; Fear. "What is it? What's happened?"
"The Gerudo have had a son."
The silence within the room weighed heavily, the color drained from Link's face. The Gerudo were a tribe of women who lived in the western deserts, thieves and assassins without peer, they had been a thorn in Hyrule's side for centuries. Most commonly they stole men from the outlying villages whenever they felt the need to have children, but the offspring were always women. Once every hundred years however, a male was born to the tribe. And this boy was always destined for power and greatness.
Link cast his memory backwards, across the eons. Through the endless retellings of the cycle, through his countless reincarnations, dozens of times, the Gerudo son had become the vessel of the King of Evil. Swiftly making up his mind, the King of Hyrule looked to his captain, "It's him." He said, "Find him. I don't care how well those women hide out there. Find that boy and kill him before he can grow into the King of Evil."
The captain nodded, turning and gesturing to the other soldiers in the room. "You all, fall out! Gather the regiments, we have a would-be king to hunt."
The room swiftly emptied. Link suddenly felt the strength leave his body. "So at last we come to it..." He said to himself, slumping backwards into his throne. "Tell me Ganon... Will you already wield your dark power? Or have my preparations been enough to cut you down before you can drag this world down into the abyss of darkness once more?"
Unknown to the Hylean King, a figure crouched in the shadows in the rafters of the throne room. Golden brown eyes watched the man in horror. Backing carefully to the wall, the woman crept up out to the roof. Once she was sure no one would hear her, she let out a choking gasp of a sound. "Oh gods Link... what have you become?" Taking a moment to crouch, the woman leaped off the roof, murmuring a small incantation, and vanishing in a small puff of smoke moments before hitting the ground.
She reappeared on the roof of a nearby building, and began running. Moving swiftly, she began making her way west, her goal, to stop a massacre.
The desert night was warm and clear, yet another blessing to be counted and thanked. The Gerudo danced and sang in celebration, as they had for the last week and a half. For the King had been born! The boy who would grow to be the greatest of their number.
The massive bonfires crackled into the night, brazenly signaling any who dared to venture the sandy wastes, the Gerudo were here! And their King would grow, strong and wise, leading them to a brighter future.
Into this scene, walked a woman, bone-tired, and weary from a solid week of hard travel. Several Gerudo instantly rose to challenge the stranger, for outsiders were not welcome among the warrior women often. A shouted command from the central fire calmed them however, and the newcomer made a sign of peace before making her way through the camp to the fire.
A Gerudo woman sat there, tall and beautiful and proud, the small form of her son cradled in her arms. As the newcomer approached, the mother gestured for her to sit. "Well, your appearance is rarely the mark of good tidings, Shialla. This had better be important for you to be interrupting the festival of my son's birth."
Shialla nodded, taking a moment to view the infant. He was already large for a baby, a good sign that he would grow to be a giant of a man. His features, so soft and frail with youth, were marked by the angles so indicative of the Gerudo people. And there, on the back of his right hand, was the mark Shialla had dreaded to see; a small patch of skin, slightly darker than the rest, tiny on the child's hand, in the shape of a triangle.
She sighed in sadness, "I wish that I could say that I was only here to congratulate you on the birth of your son Nazhia, however fate is rarely so kind to us. I am here to warn you. Word of your son has reached King Link, he seems to think that the boy is a threat to him and has ordered his soldiers to hunt him down. He seeks your son's death!"
Nazhia's gaze flew to the small form in her arms, rage burning in her eyes. "So... it is not enough for that bastard to have all of Hyrule by the throat, now he seeks to add the murder of children to his crimes?!" Her snarl caused all nearby to quiet instantly. "I had no idea that King Link wished for death so much. Very well, if it's war he wants, it's war he'll get." She rose as she spoke, handing her son to another Gerudo, and began making her way towards her tent.
She never made it however, as an arrow suddenly flashed through the night, embedding itself deep into her back and causing her to screech in pain as she fell forward. The camp suddenly exploded into a flurry of absolute chaos, as a large group of lightly armored Hylean knights rushed into the rings of light made by the fires. Combat erupted instantly, for while the Gerudo had been caught unaware, they were still warriors of the highest caliber.
Over the carnage of battle, Shialla heard the voice of Link's captain. "Find the boy!" He shouted, "A thousand ruppies to whoever brings me the brat!" However his voice was quickly drowned out by the shrieks of fury and rage of the Gerudo, who fought like demons to protect the child.
Grabbing the nanny, who clung to the child in terror, and pulling her to the fallen form of Nazhia, Shialla quickly inspected the wound. The arrow was to close to the woman's heart to be removed safely, but as it stood now, she would live, at least for a few minutes more. "I'm so sorry my old friend, this is going to hurt. A lot." she said, suddenly grabbing the shaft and snapping it close enough to the head to leave only a hands-length.
The Gerudo violently howled in pain, feeling the arrow twitch in her flesh. Slowly, she made to push herself up, clearly intent on joining the fight somehow. "Nazhia, you mustn't." Shialla said, placing a restraining hand on her friend's shoulder. "You won't last long up and moving like this, and I don't have the skills to save your life as it stands."
"Let me worry about my own life for now Shialla." The Gerudo spat, while beckoning a pair of her fellows over to her. "I have a charge for you. And it is one that tears at my heart more viciously than this arrow ever could."
Shialla felt the color in her face drain. There was only one thing she could possibly be talking about. "Nazhia..."
"Don't you dare try to back out of this girl!" Nazhia's rage was palpable, "These monsters seek my son's life! And I refuse to grant it to them. Now you know what I ask of you Shialla, you know the burden I am placing on your shoulders. And I know that you will not fail. You are the only one who I could possibly trust with this."
After what seemed an eternity, Shialla finally nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry Nazhia. I wish I could have gotten here sooner." Turning to the nanny, she nodded once again, steeling herself, and took the child from the woman. "I swear, I will keep him safe."
Nazhia smiled once, then stepped painfully forward to kiss the child lightly on the forehead. "Grow strong, my beautiful Ganondorf Dragmire." Raising herself up to her full height, the Gerudo woman reached forward, placing a hand on Shialla's cheek, and then turned to one of her lieutenants. "It's time."
Without waiting to see what her old friend had planned, Shialla turned towards the open desert and bolted. A collection of whispered incantations granted the woman a swift burst of speed, while hiding her tracks from any who would seek to follow her. On and on she ran, until the glow of the camp fires was little more than a dot on the dunes, and then she continued running. Clutching the baby to her breast, the young woman cried as she ran, for by now, hours later, her friend was probably dead.
Finally, the sun began to rise, and her exhaustion finally began to catch up to her. Glancing about, she caught a glimpse of a rock formation in the distance and turned her enhanced stride towards it. While the child was no doubt naturally hardy due to his Gerudo blood, it would not do to have him out in the blasting desert heat.
Finally reaching the formation, she gave a prayer of thanks to the Goddesses as she found a small cavern, it's opening just big enough that she could get through it. Taking a moment to glance about and ensure that no creature made this place it's home, she finally slumped down against the wall, almost too tired to even fall asleep.
As she sat there, the small bundle in her arms stirred. Looking down, she found herself gazing into twin orbs of bronzed gold, and smiled as best she could. "Well hello there little King. I guess we're all either of us has for now." She said, her voice choking with sadness, "I'm your auntie Shialla. But you can call me Sheik."