Chapter XL – Dark Lord
"My king, this is all we have."
Ganondorf looked down on a man, the mayor of the town. His hair had turned grey, his brows grew thick and a beard reached down to his chest.
Another villager stood by his side. He trembled just as much as his mayor. "My king, please, there is nothing more we can offer you. We are only peasants and in need of the crops for the harsh winter."
"Did you just reject my order? And dared to address me like you would address a commoner? Fool." Ganondorf grabbed the mayor on his throat and lifted him up with one hand. The residents in Hyrule should learn whose requests they should never deny under any circumstances. "Do you value your life and that of your people that low?"
The man gasped for air. Dread crawled up into his eyes.
"Father!" The man who had stood silently nearby, rushed towards them.
Ganondorf looked at him. The man did not hold a weapon. He did not even reach up to his chest. That fool could do nothing against him. Ganondorf raised his hand, unleashing a spell of dark magic. A painful scream echoed through the town as the son crashed on the ground. He remained there.
Ganondorf loosened his grasp and the mayor fell to the ground.
Fearful, the man stared up and then he looked to his son. "Noah!" He ran to his son and shook his body. He still breathed though the movement of his chest was slim. If he died to such minor spell, he was a weakling. And a weakling had not right to see another day.
"So, your son decided to attack his king. I hope you're very well aware that this is a capital crime and that it should be punished as such. But today I'll be generous. Give me five more horses and ten more sacks of crops and I will think about not burning your precious village to the ground."
"I'm truly sorry, my king. I promise, it will never happen again but please spare the lives of my people." The mayor let go of his son who was still knocked out of consciousness and bowed towards Ganondorf. "I will speak to them. We will get you the horses and crops."
"Fine, but hurry up. I and my men are running out of patience with you lot and I can't be bothered to keep them back from ravaging your village once they get too bored." The mayor nodded and hasted away to get Ganondorf's order fulfilled.
Dusk called as Ganondorf walked through the town with his men and monsters following him. The streets empty. The shutters closed. The doors sealed. Fear lay in the air. Dread. None had the courage to come out, none after the mayor had handed him over his goods. They would be an easy prey, he could burn it all to ruins before the night even called, yet he let the village grow smaller and smaller in his backs. They rode over the open fields.
"My lord, what shall we do with all that things?" A man on horseback approached him, pointing at the wagons full of crops and tools that had plundered from the village.
"Do whatever you want. Burn them if you feel like it." He seldom had need for the people's belongings. He owned enough to keep his followership in best shape, be it food, armory or mounts. With his raids, he wanted to make sure the inhabitants bowed down to his rule and understood that his word was absolute, even if he demanded that they take their own lives. For what reason they obeyed, be it respect or fear, he could not care less. As long as they followed his every order, he would not harm them. Well, most of the time at least because if he killed them, one day there would no one left to rule. Then his new gained kingdom would become a place of solitude just as his homeland, the desert became.
The morning sun inked the walls of Hyrule Castle Town in a warm red once Ganondorf returned from yesterday's raid. Months had passed since he had claimed the crown his own.
The bridge to the town was lowered on his behalf. As he rode along the main street back to the castle, he observed his followers within the streets. Cheerful ones, filling the air with their screams of joy. They were loyal to him and his powers. Men and beasts, yet none of them was a Hylian. None of them was even a native to the city.
Back in his castle, Ganondorf walked along one of the corridors. He had kept most of its structure, however, he had made sure that everything resembling the Hylians even in the slightest got destroyed. Sickening to look at portraits of his archenemies, even if slain. Now being the ruler of them all, no need to disgruntle himself.
"I hope you've watched my throne carefully, my phantom." Ganondorf looked at a being which resembled him. Phantom Ganon he called it, a masterpiece of black magic. It wore the same armor, yet it was shorter and its hair had much darker tone compared. A mask, formed like a skull with horns of a bull and a jewel on his forehead hid his face. Of course Ganon did not answer him for it was never meant to speak. It only was created to carry out his orders with powers he had granted it. Powers that surpassed those of the ones surrounding it.
"Good then. I've expected nothing less of you but to slaughter our common fiends." Satisfied, Ganondorf walked past his phantom. "You there!" He pointed at a Bokoblin bustling about. "Bring me my robe!" It nodded and rushed off. As much as he liked the armor the two witches had given him, there was no need to run around in it all day long. He also needed to get rid of all the spilled blood. Fresh it gave an appealing look of a warrior but once dried, it looked more like he took a mud bath.
The servant returned and with others of its king helped Ganondorf to take off his armor. As he slipped into the robe, a Moblin entered the hall. "Ey, Lord, there are two whatever wantin' a chitchat." It scratched it nose.
Ganondorf sighed. "Well, let them in." Albeit not in a bad mood to just kill them outright, it was seldom that any visitors had anything interesting or even importing to say. Ganondorf looked inward. Actually, that had never been the case ever since he ascended the throne. They just wanted to beg him for something or plain bother him with their whining. Annoying.
After Ganondorf sat down on his throne, two men entered the hall. One man of old clad in a tunic while the other, higher in size, looked more like a warrior with his sharp features and the fierce glare in his eyes. Once he took a closer look at their ears, long and pointy, his mood worsened in an instant. He knew of only one folk that shared that treat. A folk he despised.
"My king, it is a great honor to meet you." The old man kneed down, the other followed his example.
Ganondorf braced his head on his hand. "A one-sided honor indeed. Now, I hope you have very good reasons to steal my time." He tipped on the armchair with his fingers. Certainly, he had to control his impulses to not turn them into ash right now.
"Ye-yes, my king." They both stood up and the old man raised his voice. "I took the long journey to your castle, my king, because of my people. You must know, our small village is surrounded by mountains and most of our fields give only spare yield, therefo-"
"I've asked for your reasons! Not for a bedtime reading!" Ganondorf leaned forwards, drilling his fingers into the armchair. Yes, that was the reason why it was such a waste of time to listen to the whining of the inhabitants. Always the same: Lamenting and begging for pity or any indulgence so he would not claim that much of the village's resources. Such a waste of time! He did not even know why he did not set them ablaze on the place they stood.
Feared, the man backed down while the other put his hand on his back for support yet he looked just as troubled. The old man trembled like his voice did. "My deepest apologies, my king. As I've liked to say, my people request me to ask your majesty to maybe just take a little less of our yield. As the winter is coming, I fear my people will starve and feel cold as we don't have enough wood and food to keep everyone satisfied."
"Very saddening, yeah. I feel your pain." Ganondorf leaned back in his throne and watched amused the hope rising inside the men's eyes. "Of course there is no need to ask about that. Because my answer is 'no' and always will be 'no'."
What an enjoyment to see those two people watching losing their facial control. Just how he loved to make the lives of Hylians a miserable one. Satisfying, truly satisfying.
"But… my king… How shall we survive?" So much hopelessness swung within his voice.
"Well, let me put it into simple words that even you fools understand." Ganondorf pushing his two fist together. "First off, I don't care about you Hylian scum and the sooner you're erased from the surface, the better for all of us. Second, that exactly you Hylian scum dare to even come close to my fortress is pure blasphemy. And for that crime you're sentenced." He waved towards his guards within the throne hall. "Show them the way to the dungeon."
"No, please, my king, we did not mean to insul-" One of the guards rammed his fist into the Hylian's stomach. The other tried to help him but was easily overthrown. They got carried out of his sight. They could struggle and beg as much as they wanted, for them, those Hylians, there was no mercy.
"Any fools that came here?" Ganondorf looked at the Moblin who had told him about his visitors.
"No, at least none alive."
"Wonderful." The fewer visitors, the fewer morons that wasted his time. As long as not every single one in this kingdom and beyond its borders had subdued to his rule, he would not give in to any of their begging. Later maybe but first they had to understand that his power was divine and his word absolute. As long as some wasted resources on organizing resistances to depose him, as long he would rule them with an iron fist. They could not be in such a desperate state if they were able to waste resources on defying him.
Ganondorf stood up and looked outside. The sun shined from its highest peak and a clear blue sky greeted him. Time that he paid her a visit.
"Tell the men to lead anyone asking for an audience to the dungeon. I have important matters at hand." The Moblin nodded. "I don't care what you do with them down there, but I won't mind if I never see them." Without waiting for an answer, Ganondorf left the throne room.