As they prepared to set out from Gerudo Valley, Link and Nabooru were met with a gathering crowd. There didn't seem to be a unified sentiment among the group that was watching this couple embark on their political journey. Some thought that Koume and Kotake had finally banished Nabooru for proposing to end the isolationist policies. Others thought this was a more gentle form of political exile that still removed the leader of the subversive groups that had been gaining traction recently. Only a few recognized the Hylian at her side, but all of the crowd would burn the image of Nabooru and the Hylian-as-Kokiri into their collective psyche, as the building blocks of the legends told by future generations.
—
Nabooru and Link passed out from the Valley into Hyrule Field, stopping to rest by the river emanating from far away Zora's Domain, checking on the mineral feel and temperature of the water. The water quality had improved substantially in the past few years, likely indicating a moderate return to normalcy for the aquatic life upstream of their resting spot. Nabooru finally asked the question that she had been holding back until they were out of earshot of the crowds.
"Why are we even pursuing Ganondorf for this Council? What good would come of including him, given he was banished by the Gerudo Matriarchs? You heard their opinion, they feel I am a competent representative for the Gerudo of the Valley. Ganondorf clearly has no place among us. His semi-nomadic band of Hylians and Gerudo will likely not last in any cohesive manner past the next few years. What legitimacy does he bring to this Council?"
Link sat pondering the question. He had struggled through the same mental exercise on his way from Kakariko Village to Gerudo Valley. The King of the Gerudo had truly been disgraced. Cast away by his own people. Leading a group of Hylians, the very same race despised by the Gerudo for their association with the Royal Family and their pilfering ways. Ganondorf's nomadic band was not even as well organized as the Gerudo pirates who raided the lands of others. They hoped to make a shell of a home in the shell of an empire out of the shells of two different peoples bound together by hopeless circumstance. Yet, for all of this, he had grown to respect Ganondorf through his belated tracing of the King's journey. He had seen the belief that others held of him, and of his promises. While he held little true power in his disgraced state, he was still earnest and honest. That gave him a level of legitimacy that Link could now see, and hoped that the others of the Council would see in due time.
Link voiced these thoughts. "I have followed this Gerudo King's path for the past few years, up until I parted ways without him knowing to follow Princess Zelda and Impa. I saw the way he thought of others and how he truly meant to bring wealth to the Gerudo of the Valley, and one day to the diaspora as well. He was not playing any short game, any attempt at enriching himself. He wanted the wealth to be held in the land of the Gerudo Valley, in the people, in the trade relationships between the Gerudo and the Kokiri, the Goron, the Zora. He truly meant it. While his own power base, the Gerudo, have abandoned him, I think his time is not yet over. A place with us will give him the opportunity he needs."
Nabooru pondered this for some time, not taking her eyes off the water. As she stood up, she seemed to physically settle into a new expectation for the Council. "I can understand your point. I may not want Ganondorf to join, but if he is interested and is able to provide wisdom as you say, then there is no harm adding one more person to this Council. We are still only seven at that point, if we do not include you. By the way, why aren't you counted among the Council? Did you do something to anger the Princess?" she jabbed playfully.
Link smiled and shook his head. "These political games are not for me. I will support and protect you all with my life, as I now see the need for such a group. But I am not interested in joining. Who could I represent? The Hylians? Princess Zelda is there for that, as is Impa who is also a Sheikah. The Kokiri? I'm not like Saria, she was favored by the Great Deku Tree for her tenacity and love for the forest. I am fit to play my part, which is not at the table where the Sages will sit." After that, they left the river resting place and traveled in silence for the remainder of the trip to Kakariko Village.
—
Upon arriving in Kakariko Village, the budding Council met for its first deliberations as an almost complete group. The biggest question was how to approach Ganondorf. They had heard nothing from Castle Town in the past few months despite the improvements in life for those in Kakariko Village, the Gorons, the Zora, and the Kokiri. With the Gerudo now on a path of reintegration with the rest of Hyrule, Castle Town remained the only question mark. It was decided that Princess Zelda, as the initiator of the idea of the Council of Sages, would bring the proposition to Ganondorf. Link would act as the trusted advisor, as much for Princess Zelda as for Ganondorf. The Council agreed that Link's most important task would be to bridge the gap between Ganondorf and Nabooru. As they gathered their supplies and left the Village, a group of Hylians and Gorons followed them out of town for a bit, cheering them on. The warm send off stood in stark contrast to Link's and Nabooru's onlookers in the Valley. Despite the qualitative difference between the two crowds, both indicated something of immense import for their project. The Council of Sages were gaining fame and notoriety, and could not hide behind anonymity much longer. Their time window to engage Ganondorf was short, for they had to either step into their role as the leaders Hyrule needed or risk being conspired against by other forces consolidating political power, ones that might not have the same ethos of distributed power that the Council had planned so hard to implement.