Chapter Twenty: A Magical Defense

In a tavern in Hyrule, a man in his early thirties sat at the bar silently. He gave a quick glance around the room, drained his stein full of mead, and then turned to leave. As he walked out of the door, he bumped into a group of red-haired, stern-faced women. Nearly unconscious from his drunkenness, the man almost fell backwards to the ground.
"What do you think Syrmia? He's kinda cute," said one of the women.

"He can barely stand," another one of the women replied.

"So? If he can barely stand, it means he can barely remember anything. You know how it goes Syrmia. We come into Hyrule Castle Town once a year during the harvest and look for a male. We seduce him, head back to the Fortress, and wait to see if we are pregnant. This man is perfect. If he can't remember what happens between you tonight, then he'll never know that he might be a father." She turned to the tipsy man and demanded, "Are you eavesdropping?!"

"N- no," he hiccupped.

"Good. Now, how would you like to spend the night with Syrmia here?"

The man surveyed the very beautiful woman lustfully. "I- I would like that a lot."

"Good. Take him Syrmia. He's more than willing."

The beautiful woman approached the stumbling man, grabbed his arm, and led him away.

They approached an old hotel—hidden in the back-alleys of the town—and entered one of its rooms quietly. Syrmia sat the man down in a nearby chair and looked down at him nervously. "This is my first time coming here. I just came of age. I don't feel very comfortable doing this, but it is a necessary part of our culture."

"And what culture is that?"

"I am a Gerudo."

"Hmm, that's nice. Now, are we going to do this or what? I don't think I have much time left before I'm out for the night."

"How appealing," she replied sarcastically while rolling her eyes. "Can I at least know your name first?"

The man hiccupped and sat quietly for a moment. Because of his current state, it took him nearly a minute before he could even remember his name. "A- Astralose."
"So be it Astralose. Draw the curtains." The man stood up, approached the window and drew tight the curtains. No view of the room was available from outside.

Syrmia had been sleeping peacefully in her room in the Gerudo Fortress when there was a heavy-handed knock on her door. She stumbled out of her bed—narrowly missing her nightstand with her enormous stomach—and lurched towards the door. She was surprised to see two squat, elderly women when she opened her door. They hurried into the room without even asking permission and looked at Syrmia eagerly. "Excuse me. What is this about?" demanded the pregnant Gerudo.

"She doesn't know us Koume."

"No. She doesn't Kotake."

"So what do we do Koume?"

"Well, we came here to warn her. So I think that that is what we should do."

"Clearly."

"Well if it's so clear, then why did you even ask?"

"I asked because-."

"Excuse me," interrupted Syrmia. "Warn me about what?"

"You're pregnant."

"Yes. I know that. What's the warning?"

"You're so impatient," the two women replied simultaneously. "But do you know who you're pregnant with?" asked the one apparently named Kotake.

"Umm…"

"She doesn't know."

"Well, she wouldn't. Most people don't have the ability to see the future."

"Well, her lover did."

"Yes, but not her."

"So, we should tell her then."

"Yes."

"That wasn't a question."

"Oh, forget it! You are pregnant with the future King of the Gerudo."

"The King?! What an honor! How do you know this?"

"We have seen it."

"And that's not all we've seen," interceded Koume.

"No. It isn't. There's another."

"Another want?" asked Syrmia.

"Why, another baby of course. You have twins."

"Perfect! What an honor! The gods have truly blessed me!"

"Yes. They have. Your children will be very powerful. One will be a son. One will be a daughter. The son will take his attributes from you. He will have physical strength and a lust for power like no other. He shall rule not only the Gerudo, but all of Hyrule," stated Koume.

"And your daughter," interrupted Kotake. "She will take after her father. She will be powerful also, in many ways, even more so. Her magic will overshadow her father's, even ours. Her magic will be feared the world over."

"So how is this a warning? This is the greatest news I've received in ages!" exclaimed Syrmia.

"Clearly, not everyone will be happy that two Gerudo will have such great power in the world. There are those that will want to stop it. There are those that will kill your baby while it's still in the womb."

"Who?"

"The Shiekah. We have foreseen it. They feel the presence of your children. Even now, they are planning a spell that will pierce through your womb and kill your children."

"Oh no! What can I do to stop them?"

"There is only one way."

"Anything! I'll do anything!" screamed Syrmia frantically.

"You must give the children to us. Using our magic we can transfer the babies from your womb to ours. Koume will hold one of the babies and I will hold the other. With our magic, we can stop the Sheikah's attack from harming your children, but only if they are within our bodies."

"That's truly the only way?" The old witches nodded. "So be it. It will be better to see my children alive and born by you then dead and born by me. How will it happen?"

"We will wait for you to sleep. The ritual will be painful. If you are awake when we do it, you will certainly die from the pain."

"So lie in bed. We will wait as you fall asleep," ordered Kotake. Syrmia lay down in her sturdy mattress. It was difficult to fall asleep due to the anticipation of what was to come, but after a few hours she finally drifted off to sleep. An hour later, the ritual was complete and Koume and Kotake each held one of the children in their wombs. They left the room quietly. As they left, Koume whispered to her sister, "Do you think we should have told her that when the Shiekah create their curse, she will perish without her children to take the brunt of it?"

"No. Of course not. She might not have agreed then. These children are necessary for the world. They will shape the course of history for decades to come."

"Haha! How do you like that Nylania? Does that feel good?" A young Gerudo boy laughed hysterically as he crushed a young Gerudo girl's face into the sand. The girl's feet kicked violently, but no matter how hard she fought back, she could not fight off her attacker.

Suddenly, an elderly women ran up beside them and screamed, "Get off your sister Ganondorf! Get off her! How many times have I told you not to treat her like that?! You are to be a king. And you will need your sister when that time comes."

"Who needs her? She's worthless. She's weak. And I haven't seen one bit of magic out of her yet. And yet all I hear you blabber on about is how magical she is."

"Her time will come. But for now, you need to let her be."

"All right Mom! I curse you sometimes! Can I go to the Spirit Temple now? I want to try and fight the Hylian that you just turned into an Iron Knuckle."

"Go then! And don't let me see you lay one hand on your sister again." When the ten year old boy ran off into the desert, the old woman turned to the girl. "Are you all right Nylania?"

The girl nodded despite the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Honestly. We know your abilities. You know your abilities. Why don't you use them next time he attacks you?"

"I'm never going to use them! I don't want to! I don't want to attack Hyrule! I don't want to help Ganondorf slay innocent people!"

"But they're not innocent. When will you see this you confounded girl?!" shouted the witch, quickly losing her temper. "The Hylians have forced us to suffer in this desert for centuries while they live in the lap of the luxury. Why should they be so fortunate? Your brother is going to even things out for us. It will be the age of the Gerudo. And you will help him."

"No!" Nylania stood up and ran off into the distance.

Another elderly woman approached the first. "What was that about Koume?"

"Ganondorf was attacking Nylania again."

"I was thinking earlier, and I believe I might have a solution to this problem."

"And what is that?"

"You know where her father is?"

"Of course. I've seen it in my visions, just as you have."

"And you know who he is?"

"He's a Hylian."

"Yes. But he's not just any Hylian. He's probably the most powerful Hylian wizard to ever be born into this world."

"Of course. I knew that. So you suggest we send his daughter to him?"

"Yes. He can take care of her. And he might be able to connect with her and get her to realize how important it is for her to learn the ways of magic."

"And then we won't have to worry about Ganondorf killing her in her sleep."

"Ah, you've sensed it too."

"How could I not? It's on his mind nearly all day, every day."

"So it's decided then. We cannot afford to keep Nylania here. We will send her to her father."

"And what if he does not accept her?"

"We'll make him."

"Then it truly is decided. Tell her to get ready for her trip to the Lost Temple."

Ganondorf awoke from his brief fit of daydreams groggily. Lately, dreams of the past had been popping up in his mind at all hours of the day without warning. He looked around at his army proudly. Soon they would be ready to attack Hyrule. During his scan, he saw the balcony that led to the rear entrance of the chamber that held his army. He was startled to see a young boy in green standing upon it, looking directly down at him. And it was not any young boy in green; it was the Hero of Time. Ganondorf could not help but smile. He had his greatest adversary in his grasp at last. There would be no escape.