I make no claims to the Legend of Zelda.
Before setting out, Erliol sat down and let three objects drop from his hand:
A hunting glove stained with Prang's blood
A handful of Oasa's ashes
A palm knife once wielded by Vehl
He had followed each of them, silent and nearly invisible; he had watched each of them find the hero; and in the end he had watched each of them die. Slain by sword and by magic; defeated by the friendship of Hyrule's creatures and the blessings of its goddesses. Erliol understood well that should he try to confront the hero, he would follow them into oblivion. So instead he took his perfectly groomed beard and rubbed dirt into it until it no longer looked fine. And he wore a dirty tunic and a wide-brimmed hat and sought out Link.
Unlike the others, Erliol was not starting from scratch. He knew who Link was and where he could be found. But for additional assurance he reached into his little bag and pulled out an ocarina. It had once been beautiful, but he'd spent a long hour whittling all decoration and sheen off it until it looked old and worn, like something that might be possessed by a poor old man. And he played a melody as he traced the steps of Hyrule's hero. And sure enough in time he heard a response. The tune of a second ocarina joined in, coming from the other side of a hill. Erliol hurried to meet his destiny.
And there was the boy. Resplendent in green and as much part of this land as the fields around him, Link played a melody that was sweeter by far than the simple tune Erliol created. Truth be told, Erliol could play much better; but even if he tried his very best he couldn't hope to match this music in quality.
"You are the hero of Hyrule, aren't you?" Erliol asked, as if he didn't know exactly who Link was. "Please, I need your help. My people need your help. And so do yours."
And then he told Link the truth, in incomplete snatches. He told the story of Itac's takeover and the suffering of the people under him.
"Itac isn't satisfied with the territory he has now. He plots to take over Hyrule and reduce its people to slavery worse even than my people's condition. You're the only one who can stop him, Link. You must do this thing for your people and for mine."
On another day this all might very well have worked. But like his comrades, Erliol made a miscalculation. He learned a lot by allowing the others to try and fail against the hero; but he'd also roused that hero to full vigilance. And so it was that Link decided to raise the Lens of Truth to his eye and see what he could see.
Immediately the deceptions and illusions made up of half-truths woven by Erliol so carefully faded away and Link could see Erliol for what he truly was. No ancient and broken peasant was he. True, Erliol was old; but he'd been old for a long time and, if allowed to, would keep on being old even after people who were now in their cribs crumbled into dust. And he wore broken and marred finery that was nevertheless just a little bit different from the possessions of an actual refugee; and he leaned over carefully to make himself seem less fearsomely tall than he was. And as Link beheld the somewhat proud, somewhat cruel, strange old man before him, the honeyed speech faded into a background drone and he could hear the actual truth.
"After you kill Itac there will be a war. I'll make sure of it. And I have aligned myself with all the right factions to ensure that I will be chosen as the new Emperor. Naturally, I won't touch Hyrule while you still live. But heroes die, and one day this land will also be mine."
And Link nodded as though he was still listening to the poor peasant trembling under Itac's rule; and then in one swift motion he drew his sword and removed the liar's head.
Somewhere outside Hyrule a precious bell shattered into pieces no larger than an ant's head each. The great Emperor Itac stared at it and knew that The Four were gone, their lives lost and their mission unfulfilled.
Feeling great fear, Itac lumbered up and reached a horn of brass inlaid with ivory and sapphires. He put it to his lips and blew with all the breath his enormous puffy cheeks could give.
Outside the landscape for hundreds of feet around became dotted with Itac's army. Row after row of soldiers stood to attention. Catapults threatened the enemy from atop earthen fortifications. Many days of travel from his capital, Itac was nevertheless suddenly at the very heart of his power.
And he was still terrified.
"Protect me!" he cried. "Don't you dare let anything happen to me!"
And so when the evening came, ten thousand eyes watched the sunset.