THE CASTLE ATTENDANT found Lord Ganondorf one morning, four months after the visit from General Vincent of Erudone, lying bloody and still in his bed. She let out a shrill cry of fear and panic, lamenting the king's murder, until she horrifyingly saw his head lift from his pillow, brow furrowed above annoyed eyes. It was only then that she saw the simple dagger in his own right hand, spattered with the dark blood, almost purple in the dim light, from his chest.

Once he'd been cleaned up and his wounds dressed, he sat in a remarkably small room with a single table and a few chairs, Koume pacing back and forth in front of him. The worried look that only a mother can achieve was plastered to her face.

"I simply don't understand," she muttered for the hundredth time.

Lord Ganondorf was looking at the far wall despondently, as he had throughout the whole morning. He said nothing in response for the hundredth time.

"You are the king now, Ganon," she said, turning to look at him. Her whole body seemed to sag, as if her skin would fall off her face at any moment.

"Do not call me that," said Lord Ganondorf quietly.

Koume stopped pacing, seemingly not hearing what he'd said. "You asked for this. You became king far earlier than any ruler in Gerudo history. You are a gift sent from the Golden Goddesses, a chance to give our people the respect and longevity we deserve."

"Actually, I am a curse," said Lord Ganondorf. He looked up at his mother lazily.

"You are not a curse," she said. "My sister and I are doing everything in our power to help realize your goal for prosperity. The Flight of the Green Goddess is already taking its toll on our bodies." She held out her arms in example, which were also sagging. "That spell sucks the energy out of even the most powerful sorcerers. But we do it because we love you, and we believe in you to better our people."

"You don't understand," said Lord Ganondorf suddenly. "Our people do not need betterment. We are already so strong and powerful that the Adventaries practically begged us to join their forces. We do need respect. This whole country needs to learn what respect is."

Koume paused, sensing the unusual hint of bitterness in her son's voice. She knelt down in front of him, only slightly below his eye line. "We can teach them respect," she said. "But you need to be alive to do so."

Eventually, a small smile perked Lord Ganondorf's lips. He kissed his mother on the forehead, beside the ruby jewel, and stood. "I believe we have some secret matters to discuss."

They met with Kotake in the war room, where she stood gazing over the map of Hyrule. Her body was just as wearied as her sister's, only her skin seemed to carry a blue pallor with it. They got right to business.

"We've discovered the Dinerat leader, although he calls himself the organizer to emphasize a lack of rulership," said Kotake. "He's a round-ear, goes by Link most likely as a way to rally the troops."

"He can't be the Hero of Time if he's not Hylian," said Koume.

"It's probably not his real name," said Kotake.

"Not a very good one," said Koume. "The mere existence of the Hero of Time shows an acknowledgement and a belief in the Divine Cycle they are rebelling against."

"It could be a statement," said Lord Ganondorf, "that the Hero could be anyone."

"That would make Hylia's reincarnation anyone as well," said Koume thoughtfully.

"Anyway, his name is of little importance," said Kotake. "We found him upon visiting, surreptitiously, the little town beneath Death Mountain, Kakariko Village."

"Isn't that the Sheikah town?" said Lord Ganondorf.

"It is. But the villagers didn't seem to have any idea this man was the organizer behind the rebellion."

"And what of the Sheikah?"

"They cannot be found so easily," said Koume. "They are probably the only clan of people with more knowledge of stealth magic than the Gerudo."

"I can only imagine they are fighting on behalf of the Royal Family," said Kotake. "They have been loyal servants for as long as Hyrule has been in existence."

"This Link must be a cunning man," said Lord Ganondorf, more to himself than his mothers. "We'll need to double that cunning."

"What do you propose we do?" said Kotake.

"We should pay a visit to Castle Town," said the king. "Besides, I hear the Queen is with child." He grinned, gold eyes twinkling in the torchlight. "I can only imagine we'll be receiving a viewing invitation, as honorable allies in the war."

"That's months from now," said Koume. "The organizer could have moved positions by then."

"I don't think so," said Lord Ganondorf. "There is a reason he's waiting in Kakariko, and I believe it's the same reason we will be visiting Castle Town in a few short months."

Just as the small, secret committee was about to disperse, Kotake held up a hand. "We found something else by the foot of the mountain." She reached into a pouch fastened to her sash. She placed a greenish-yellow scale on the table between them and the king. "That's all we could uncover while in hiding."

Lord Ganondorf picked up the scale and held it up to the torchlight, watching as it glinted with hints of blue. "Any idea where it could have originated?"

"I haven't seen anything like it," said Koume. "It's nothing like a dodongo scale."

"Did you hear anything about it from the Gorons?" said Lord Ganondorf.

Kotake nodded. "Apparently whatever they are have been plaguing the Gorons for years now. We couldn't get a name from them. Perhaps they are natives of Goronia as well."

Lord Ganondorf eyed the scale, which covered a majority of the palm of his hand. "We'll keep an eye open. Whatever this is could be deadly to either side of this war."

A couple days later, Lord Ganondorf was sitting at a large wooden table in the palace with a number of books splayed before him. It was already past sunset and the torchlight was minimal at best. A candle stand rested on the table, shedding a little more light.

He wasn't even sure what he was looking for; he only wanted some kind of confirmation that the entity inside his head was a non-negotiable presence. It was beginning to dawn on him that, regardless of Ganon's claiming to be his father of sorts, this being was not looking out for the Gerudo's best interests. He peeled through the pages of a Desert Mythology book, reading mostly about the legendary dragon Lanayru and how the region was once a vast ocean connecting two very distant lands. Eventually he came across a section titled "Gerudo Mythology" and stopped flipping the pages. The very first myth was that of Ganon and the Beast.

This version was a bit different than how he remembered it, however. This time, instead of the Beast devouring Ganon, the Gerudo warrior killed it after much struggle. But to his dismay, he found himself gradually becoming the Beast over time. Eventually, out of honor and to protect his people, he drifted away into the Desert to become the thing he was always destined to be: a horrible, callously murdering Beast.

Ganondorf was about the close the book when it flipped to a page concerning the land before the Desert. He briefly saw that there was another myth, a deep one that survived only through heresy against the Royal Family, that seemed to originate in the lush land that was once the dragon Lanayru's territory. Ganondorf saw a drawing of a mask that looked rather plain, colorless from the drawing, and looking much like a regular human face. There were ancient markings around the border of the drawing, like some kind of language spoken only by an ancient people. But before he had time to read anything about it, there was a knock at the door. Nabooru came in quietly, closing the door behind her.

"You should be at the Fortress," said Lord Ganondorf without looking up at her.

Nabooru stood by the end of the table, looking at him closely. "Tell me what's wrong."

Ganondorf looked up, eyes glazed slightly with candlelight. "Nothing's wrong."

Nabooru smiled. "You act like everything's changed, like I don't know you at all. You're forgetting that we used to be like brother and sister."

"That's not how I'd put it," said Ganondorf with a smile.

Nabooru pulled out the chair next to him and sat. "Tell me what's wrong."

Ganondorf looked down at the book with a slight sigh. "I don't think I can."

"Why?" said Nabooru.

"You could get hurt."

Nabooru watched his golden eyes while they watched the flickering flame of the candle. They seemed so much deeper than anyone else's she'd seen, and she thought it best to not press him.

"You should leave," said Lord Ganondorf suddenly, leaning back in his chair. "It's late to be travelling to the Fortress."

"I need to tell you something," said Nabooru, ignoring him. "I know I shouldn't, but…"

Ganondorf looked at her, expression unreadable. It was as if something had grasped his attention from within, and it was intrigued by her secret.

"There had been a secret, passed down from Chief to Chief for years," continued Nabooru. "Have you heard of the Arbiter?" When Ganondorf nodded, mentioning the old cautionary tale he knew, she glanced at the candle apprehensively. "He was the spirit who protected the Arbiter's Grounds. He kept the evil within from breaking out into our realm."

"Was?" Ganondorf said.

"When my mother took me to see him, something terrible happened." Nabooru's eyes clouded over from the memory as she recounted her experience with the Arbiter. All the while, Ganondorf's back seemed to straighten with intensity.

"Darkness reawakens…" he mumbled. "What do you think it means?"

"It could be the war that tears Hyrule apart," said Nabooru. "But it feels like something far greater. The Arbiter is gone now, and I fear the evil spirits will try to take over our land."

Ganondorf seemed to be shaking now as he placed his face in his hands.

"Are you okay?" said Nabooru.

"You should go," was all he said. She gave him one last worried look before getting up and leaving the room.

That was your final chance, and you have declined my request, said Ganon. Ganondorf stood, gripping the edge of the table fiercely.

"I will not hurt her," he said through bared teeth, gazing intently at the fire. "Do what you want to me, I don't care. But if she is hurt, I will have my revenge."

Fine, said Ganon nonchalantly. But there are consequences to your defiance.

"I don't care."

If you will not give me life outside your body, then yours will have to do.

Ganondorf lifted a hand to clutch his face which was contorted from pain in his head and chest. His fingernails dug into the skin, and he pulled his hand away to see light spots of blood on his fingertips. He stared at them silently for a while, before saying quietly, "Fine," before closing the books on the table and blowing out the candle.