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Chapter Text

Part One

Age of Calamity

“It’s cold,” I said, adjusting the black, gold, purple, and green decorative spaulder on my shoulder.

“Yes. You are the one that decided to wear your traditional voe armor,” the woman on the horse next to me said.

“And I’m hungry.”

The woman closed her eyes and groaned. “Must you whine so much, Hakim? We’re almost there.”

I frowned. “You said that an hour ago.”

“I promised I wouldn’t strangle you, dear nephew, but you’re making it rather difficult,” The woman said. “Why not look around? Hyrule is very different from the desert, is it not?”

I scanned my surroundings. It was different, certainly. That wasn’t the issue. I had been led to believe that Hyrule was a land of great beauty, with rolling green hills, majestic mountains, and forests the likes of which a Gerudo that had never left the desert before could scarcely imagine.

I had seen the great plains of Hyrule Field. Not as many forests as I was able to imagine so that part didn’t seem accurate, but it was certainly green. The best part of all was our brief stop in Castle Town, where we were supposed to initially meet Princess Zelda and the Swordsman and travel the rest of the way to Zora’s Domain on horseback. Castle Town was rich and diverse, with artwork prominently displayed, people laughing and playing music. However, it turned out that Link and Zelda had left a few days earlier with Champion Revali to avoid a particularly nasty storm that he had seen in the air, coming that way.

Castle Town was the natural meeting point for the people of West Hyrule, since they were traveling east. The river below me flowed rapidly, which was a sight that I had truthfully never seen, but it wasn’t what I had been promised. It wasn’t nearly as beautiful as the stories say. I found that the majesty of Hyrule was greatly exaggerated. Maybe some vistas were breathtaking, but it was hard to appreciate the sights when I was getting saddle sore. It’d been a week on this horse already.

Now, here we were in the Lanayru Province. Maybe it could be beautiful, but on this winding road, there was very little to see but gray rocks and green moss, though the peculiar lamps made of a bioluminescent blue stone had definitely captured my rapt attention. Apparently, they were markers left by the Zora, so visitors could find their way to the Domain even if it was dark. Urbosa was willing to stop so that I could inspect them, too. Silver, with luminous stone to provide the glow at night. Natural, and it didn’t need maintenance or oil like the more common lamps of my own people. It spoke of a people that appreciated artistic design, but were still very practical with their approach. It was something I could appreciate. Conservation of resources was a necessity in the desert, so it was interesting to see something like that mirrored in this plentiful area.

 I’d heard stories of the Zora as well, though I had never met one. Fish people were the general consensus. I knew what a fish looked like, and a fish and Hylian hybrid sounded absolutely terrifying. Those things certainly didn’t go together. It didn’t help that Zora had never once visited the Gerudo. The Rito, the Gorons, and the Hylians were a familiar sight in Gerudo Town. They even had a Sheikah or two from time to time. However, the desert was hostile to the amphibious Zora, and the sand would choke their scales. The heat would dry them out. They weren’t able to survive the trip unless there were heavy preparations beforehand, and at the end of the day, it was just easier, simpler, and cheaper for the Gerudo to go to Zora’s Domain instead of us trying to come up with some kind of concoction to let the Zora handle the desert. The desert wasn’t for everyone. I’d know. I’d been in it since the day he was born.

However, this was no mere meet and greet. This wasn’t a social event, as my companion, aunt, and mother had continually reminded me. This was a sword meeting. A strategy meeting where we would discuss any new information to fight the coming storm, the return of Ganondorf Dragmire, or whatever was left of him. The prophecy hadn’t been particularly clear on that front, and there was no telling what Piggy had been up to since my mother died infiltrating the Yiga.

“Mostly, I’m nervous. I don’t know these people, Aunt Urbosa. You assure me that all will be well, but they’ve never met me. They don’t know what I can do. I doubt that they’ll just accept your resignation willingly and appoint a voehir, a little boy they’ve never met as the Gerudo champion.”

“Yes, but at the end of the day, it’s not their decision.” she said, looking over to me. “The various peoples of Hyrule were allowed to pick who would serve as their champion. I was only picked because you were too young to do the job, but I’ve trained you well. You are able to pilot Naboris like a second-skin, and your skill with a blade is unrivaled. You’re better than even me. Since you also have access to our family’s lightning abilities, it only makes sense that we’d appoint the better warrior.”

I shook my head. “I just don’t think this is a good idea.”

“And I think you think too much. You’re eighteen now, Hakim. You are a voe in our culture, not voehir, or a vaihir, but I’m not about to start splitting hairs because of gender. That’s complicated enough for us as it is. I know that you are uneasy, but it’s that uneasiness that drives home my decision. Your unease means that you are going to approach this with greater care and caution than would normally be required. Since you are piloting an ancient device that has capabilities that we still haven’t unlocked, I fail to see how a healthy dose of caution is a drawback. You lack experience, and that has made you lack confidence, nephew. Perhaps you should find a girl to take your mind off of it. Princess Zelda is quite beautiful, and currently without a suitor. As royalty, I think you would make a wonderful match. Or perhaps Princess Mipha? The Zora are beautiful, though from what you’ve heard, I can see how that seems hard to believe.”

I frowned. “I’m not here to get laid, Urbosa.”

She snorted. “Are you not? I think that you have forgotten, Prince Hakim, that you are expected to have a sizable harem and sire as many Gerudo as you can while you live. I would expect a voe your age to jump at that opportunity.”

“It’s hard to think about my dick when the Gerudo’s Greatest Shame is rumbling in the background.”

“And you cannot let your father dictate your life. My sister gave her life to get you away from him, so that the Gerudo could have hope. The curse has been broken. You are a testament to that.”

I glared at her. “My mother was assaulted by a pig during a Yiga ritual. That thing isn’t my father.”

Urbosa glared back. “That man is named Ganondorf Dragmire, and you can deny it all you want, but he is your father. Dehumanizing him defeats the purpose of us fighting him. We created him, we will be a part of unmaking him. You are not king yet Hakim, and you will not take that tone with me while I am still your chieftain.”

I ground my teeth, angry, but she was correct that I had spoken out of turn. To deny a person’s humanity was to consider them less than a person, and that was a great taboo in the Gerudo. Being unable to admit that a person was capable of great atrocities was denying the darkness inherent in all living creatures. I knew that better than anyone, thanks to Gannondorf. I had darkness in me that I was constantly keeping at bay. Urbosa could have beat ,e black and blue for the outburst and the taboo. It was her respect for me and our familial connection that kept her from doing so. I may not have to be happy with it, but she was still right, like always. “I apologize, chieftain,” I said through gritted teeth.

She nodded. “I don’t wish to argue with you, Hakim. In fact, I had hoped that we could bond further during this journey. I know that I am not my sister, but I did still raise you. I love you as my nephew, and as my son. I’m just worried that you’ll give in to your hate. To deny him is to deny the darkness in yourself, and you can’t vanquish the darkness if you don’t acknowledge it as a part of you. Don’t let it consume you.”

She placed her hand on the back of my head and pressed her forehead against mine. A sign of affection from a mother to a daughter in our culture, but Urbosa had never been overly picky about gendered responses, so I was treated as a Vai in many respects. “Let’s not worry about that right now,” she said, righting herself on the horse and kicking it into a trot. I matched my horse’s speed with hers. “Zora’s Domain is right around this bend. I know that Hyrule hasn’t matched what you’ve been told, but be ready to be astounded.”

I doubted ‘astounded’ was an apt phrase. So far, I’d seen the reality behind the rose-tinted glasses of Oracle Koume. She was the historian of our people, but she was prone to exaggeration, it seemed. I doubted that this jaw-dropping sight was really worth the title, but who knows. Castle Town surprised me.

We trotted around the corner, and I pulled the reins, urging the horse to stop in my stunned surprise. My eyes were wide. My jaw didn’t drop, but I took back everything I had just been thinking. Urbosa had a smug smile.

Before us was the Domain, with soaring waterfalls, and the high, arching silver of the fish that formed their throne room. I was too stunned to form coherent thoughts. This was truly the beauty that I had been promised. It was also my first time to see the Zora. Two Zora guards stood at the bridge ahead of us that led into the Domain. They were a hybrid between fish and Hylians, but not in the way that I had thought, and I felt foolish thinking otherwise. They had grace and beauty all their own. The sheer culture shock stunned me into silence. I had never seen so much water in one place before. Incredible.

We trotted to the Zora guards, who crossed their spears, but didn’t appear to have an aggressive stance. The action, however, snapped me out of my daze. I immediately analyzed the Zora before me, just as I was taught to do. Because of the Yiga, any person that wielded a weapon, no matter their appearance, could be a potential enemy. Be wary, but not aggressive. The stances of the Zora showed that they were guarded. They were cautious, but not hostile. Guards on duty, on extra edge because of the very important dignitaries currently visiting the domain. It wasn’t hostility, necessarily, and I pushed my defensiveness down. They were doing their jobs.

“Apologies sir and madame.” The first Zora said. I had certainly been taught Hylian, since it was the common tongue. The problem was that the guttural Hylian was very hard for me to speak, coming from the V and S focused sounds of Gerudo. I understood it fine, but had only now considered that I might have trouble communicating. Urbosa may have to end up translating. My accent was thick, and the visitors to Gerudo Town always had a hard time understanding me. I’d have to speak slowly. Far slower than these Zora did. I just hoped I didn’t look simple.

“Zora’s Domain is currently closed to visitors by order of King Dorephan. We can offer you supplies for the inconvenience, but must ask that you move on. The Wetland stables aren’t far from here, and they have good food and warm beds.”

“We are here by request of Princess Zelda.” I said, and Urbosa nodded and reached into a pouch, withdrawing a blue cloth. It was designed to be worn around the waist in the fashion of a coin belt, and bore the blue of the champions with the camel shape of Vah Naboris, indicating to them exactly who the guests were.

The guards nodded and relaxed their stances, pulling their spears back to their sides. “Apologies. We were told that you would be arriving, but…” The guard trailed off and looked at me. “We were unaware that you would have a guest, Champion Urbosa.”

“Prince Hakim is a special case, and I would ask that you make an exception. He has a perfectly valid reason to be here and I am responsible for him.”

The second guard bowed. “Of course. We wouldn’t dare ask your entourage to stay outside. The domain is only closed so that we can keep the meeting for the champions secure and free of spies. Obviously, we would expect any of the guests of the Champion to be thoroughly vetted.”

She smiled. “Considering that I raised him, consider him vetted,” She said. “As you were, gentlemen. Come Hakim. The horses stay. These fine gentlemen will get them to the stable.”

As we dismounted, two more Zora approached. These two weren’t wearing brow plates or other armor, so it was safe to say that these two were civilians. The older one stepped forward. She was bright red, almost pink, with beautiful webbing of yellow, blue, and pink between many of her limbs. She bowed deeply and formally. Information that I needed. Her formality was what I needed to mirror during this meeting.

“Champion Urbosa, guest, I am Laflat, the chancellor to the Royal Family of the Zora.”

I also bowed, though not as deeply, mirroring her formality just as I had been trained. I was very informal with Urbosa since we both preferred to speak plain and, you know, she raised me, but I was also a very talented and charismatic statesman. I had a natural talent for diplomacy. The swordsmanship came later, and it took a lot of broken limbs and bruises to get to the skill I was at now. “Chancellor Laflat, I am Prince Hakim Dragmire ibn Urbosa of the Gerudo tribe. I am honored to make your acquaintance, and look forward to a fruitful and prosperous relationship with your people,” I said, speaking slowly and as concisely as I could. My accent wasn’t going to hinder me. Not this time.

Laflat’s smile widened. “Wow, such a gentleman. We are honored by your visit, Prince Hakim. Pardon my ignorance, but which of you leads the Gerudo? I had thought that Urbosa was the chieftain. I didn’t know the Gerudo had royalty.”

Urbosa nodded. “He’s a special case, seeing that he’s male. It’s a well-known fact outside of our tribe that all Gerudo are women. It’s not as well known that there hasn’t been a male Gerudo in a thousand years. Only one male can exist among us at a time, and by ancient law, they are the King and leader of the Gerudo. By that technicality, Prince Hakim is my superior and he leads our people at home. However, realistically, he has yet to be crowned king, and I am still chieftain until the day he is fit to represent us fully abroad. Given the unique situation, Prince Hakim and I should be considered equals for now.”

Laflat nodded. “Understood,” she said, then gestured to the male Zora behind her. “This porter will take your bags to your rooms, while I am to show you around the domain, or if you wish, you may go straight to your rooms.”

I crossed my arms. “When does the Sword-meeting begin, Chancellor?”

She frowned. “Sword-meeting?”

Urbosa shook her head. “Pardon him. He means the strategy meeting. The Gerudo call it a sword-meeting.”

“Oh!” Laflat said. “Pardon my ignorance. I must make the Zora seem so foolish with my ignorance of your customs.”

“Hardly,” I said. “You wouldn’t know of my royalty if you don’t have contact with Gerudo, and even then I’m not often talked about. As for the wording, I used strange words and you didn’t understand the meaning. This isn’t a fault, Chancellor. In fact, I find your curiosity about our culture to be promising. So far, my impression of the Zora is that they are curious and always strive to be knowledgeable and respectful of cultures that aren’t their own.”

Laflat put a hand to her chest. “How charming, and thank you very much, Prince Hakim. To answer your question, the strategy meeting was to be held an hour after Champion Urbosa’s arrival, so in an hour. As soon as we saw the trademark red hair come around the corner, we immediately dispatched runners to collect the other Champions, as well as Princess Zelda.”

Urbosa frowned, switching to Gerudo and speaking to me. “That’s not a lot of time, Hakim. What do you think?”

“What, you want my opinion?” I responded in the language.

“Given the cultural differences and the lack of information about male Gerudo outside of the desert, I think it might be best if I just defer to you while we are in public. You can always ask my advice, of course, but I want this transition to be as seamless as possible. Consider this your first diplomatic meeting. You’re in charge.”

“Lovely,” I said, then switched back to Hylian, addressing Laflat. “Given how swiftly this meeting is taking place, it may be better for us to get to a room and get prepared. We will have plenty of time to sample the Zora’s famed hospitality after the meeting.”

Laflat bowed. “As you wish. Please, follow me.”

Chapter Text

I was thankful I had decided on my traditional Voe armor, despite Urbosa’s thoughts on the matter. Once we got to our rooms, had a small meal, and squared our things away for the stay, we scarcely had time to get dressed. She had to change, and quickly. Normally, she would do so in another room, but there was no time for modesty. It wouldn’t do to be half-dressed when Laflat came to retrieve us.

While she changed, I kept my back to her to provide some level of modesty. Urbosa was my aunt and my mother. I most certainly didn’t want to see that. Instead, I readied my weapons. While I knew this wasn’t a Gerudo sword-meeting, I hadn’t been tutored on other cultures nearly as much as I needed to. The time that would have been devoted to that was instead devoted to learning to pilot Naboris and learning how to fight, honing my lightning magic.

At a Gerudo sword-meeting, you wore your weapons, though not your armor. It was symbolic. You were willing to defend the others present, and not wearing armor showed you trusted the other person not to drive a knife into your back. Gerudo politics were very pragmatic. Since I didn’t know what else to go on, I did what my culture would do. My desert voe armor consisted of little more than a spaulder and my sirwal. My back and chest were bare because the desert gets very, very hot. Instead of the traditional moccasins with the pointed toe, I settled on Kharij greaves that came up to just under my knee, providing protection for my legs when fighting on horseback. My destrier was trained to react to leg movements, so I had to keep them safe to be a decent cavalry combatant.

I took the hairband that I had been wearing off, and instead began the laborious process of putting on my crown. It required me to wrap my hair around it in certain places to keep it secure. The problem was that it was far easier for people that had longer hair. Gerudo women were expected to keep their hair short until the day they got married. I wasn’t a Gerudo woman. Mine wasn’t short by any means, but it was still shorter than most Gerudo and wrapping my hair around the flanges to keep the crown in place was a chore unto itself. If it wasn’t such a formal occasion, I would have just put on my circlet and called it good.

Finally, I did my makeup. Eyeliner to make my eyes pop. I preferred to keep it minimal. I didn’t like how I looked with eyeshadow. Urbosa stepped up next to me and reapplied her blue lipstick, then looked at me. “Ready?”

“As ready as I can be.”

She nodded as there was a knock on the door, and she grabbed her Scimitar of the Seven and Daybreaker, her shield, sliding the scimitar into the sash at her back and settling the shield on her back.

Laflat led us both through the palace. Unlike the city outside, the palace floor was kept free of water for the safety of any terrestrial guests, but soon, we were out of the palace and being led through the wet streets. I was thankful that I chose the Kharij instead of my moccasins. My moccasins would have been ruined and soaked through after five steps. We followed the silver and tile walkway down to the city square, then up another flight of stairs to our destination. It was a gazebo of beautiful alabaster and blue stones, large enough for us, each of the champions, and even king Dorephan, who was absolutely massive. I mean, I was short for a Gerudo. Urbosa was 7’7”, but I only stood at 6 feet total. King Dorephan towered over Urbosa. He was a giant, easily 10, even 15 feet tall.

Inside the Gazebo were two Zora, King Dorephan and Princess Mipha, one Goron, Chieftain Daruk, one Rito, Champion Revali, and then two Hylians, who had to be Princess Zelda and the swordsman, Link. The legendary blade was on his back, and being near it made me extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t know why. I had no reason to be bothered by it but that hideous darkness inside of me, I felt it weakening in the sword’s mere presence. Maybe I could keep those dark urges in check after all.

I hadn’t met any of the champions before, but I knew them by description, and by the blue champion’s sash that each wore, save for Link and Zelda, who had entirely blue tunics.

“Urbosa!” Zelda said, turning and hugging her. Urbosa happily returned it. “Little Bird. It’s good to see you again.”

Uhh,” Revali said. “Who’s this?” He gestured at me with the feathers on his wing, which could serve as fingers.

I bowed. “A thousand pardons. My name is Prince Hakim Dragmire of the Gerudo. I have recently become an adult by the standards of my people, and will soon lead the Gerudo Tribe. Urbosa has asked me here to take over her duties as champion, effective immediately.”

The gazebo grew quiet. That news wasn’t well received, but I didn’t see any reason to draw it out, either. Still, the complete and utter silence was not a good sign. “I… I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Mipha said.

“What my nephew means is that while he doesn’t do so now, he will very soon be crowned the king of our tribe and be our leader. The only reason we chose me to be the Gerudo Champion and not him is because at the time, he was young. But as he is now an adult, the burden of this falls to him. It is a well known fact that the Gerudo are entirely female, yet a Gerudo male stands before you. This isn’t an accident.”

Zelda frowned. “Dragmire,” she said, then grasped the pendant at her throat. “I have heard that surname before, but I can’t place where. I know it’s ancient.”

Urbosa looked at me and switched to Gerudo. “Do you wish to tell them? It’s your secret.”

“No,” I said back in the same language, though I kept the indication of the negative off of my face in front of our allies. “Knowing my parentage will do more harm than good at this juncture, especially since they don’t know me and aren’t receiving this well at all, like I had told you would be the case. I can speak to Princess Zelda later in private, and seek her counsel on how to proceed.”

“Understood. Just… be nice. They are our allies,” Urbosa said

I turned back, switching back to my heavily accented Hylian. “I can elaborate on that later, and in private, if that is acceptable, Princess Zelda. It’s a sensitive topic, and I wouldn’t wish to cause any concern or panic. Rest assured that I am more than capable to take over Urbosa’s role as champion. I have been learning how to pilot Vah Naboris for the past five years, and I trained in mounted… I think you call it archery, and am a graduate of the Web of Knives, our combat school. I’m a dervish of the Golden Scarabs, our finest warriors.”

“Dervish. A twister?” Revali asked. “I suppose that’s supposed to mean something?”

“It means that he has completed our most elite training regimen for our military. Stop being obtuse, Revali.” Urbosa snapped.

“I’m confused.” Daruk said, scratching his head. “So he’s a better fighter than you or…”

“He’s not just a better fighter than me. He is my nephew, and he too inherited our control over electricity. He’s also a natural at piloting Naboris. He took to her like a sand-seal to the wastes where all I’ve done since day one is struggle. I would say that he’s a better pilot than me too.”

This was going very, very poorly by my estimates. I had to find proof to my claims, and I figured that I had it with me. Sure, it was a Gerudo Prophecy and not at all direct, few prophecies are, but it was something. Something to get them to reconsider.

“Not to mention the prophecy,” I said, and realized immediately that it was the wrong thing to say. Urbosa’s face took on a pained expression and Revali barked out a laugh, or squawked, as the case may be.

“Ha! A prophecy? What, are we considering the muttering of crazy old hags for our strategies, now?”

“In case you have forgotten, Revali, we only know Ganon will return because of a prophecy. That prophecy is the only reason that we are in this room right now. At least hear them out,” Daruk said. I had found the grounding influence in the group. At least one person wasn’t dead set against me taking over.

In response, I reached down and pulled a small tube from my belt pouch. By small, I mean it was as long as my index finger. It was a copy, not the original, but it still bore protection, a wax ring kept the tube sealed against the harsh elements. I pulled my hunting knife from my other side and cleanly sliced through the sealing wax, then withdrew the scroll within and unrolled it, revealing the elegant, flowing script. “I trust none of you read Gerudo?”

Zelda shook her head. I nodded.

“When the light wanes and darkness is on the rise,

the Gerudo will give birth to a voe of the tribe.

He will be the first after a long wait,

and through his power the darkness will abate.

Wary should this new voe be,

For many dangers will he see.

And for those dangers he must be strong,

Lest he go down, and not right the wrong.

For the Gerudo, the shadow looms

And unless it’s defeated, they will see their doom

Let not the sins of the father befall the son

Lest the Gerudo’s fate, become that of none.”

Daruk scratched his head. “Huh.” He said.

“Thoughts?” Mipha asked.

He shrugged. “Theirs rhymes. Yours didn’t rhyme,” he said to Zelda.

No one knew how to address that. I sure didn’t. Surely this wasn’t the best and brightest of Hyrule. If it was, we are all in a world of trouble. A mouthy bird, a stupid rock, a timid fish, and a mute swordsman weren’t the kind of people that were going to save this world. I desperately hoped that my assessment of them was wrong.

“Aside from that, this all fits,” Urbosa began. “It’s called the Prophecy of the Gilded King, and it’s the way for our people to finally end the curse of Gannondorf. Since Hakim is the first male born to us in ten thousand years, it is believed that he is the one born to a tribe after a long wait. Gerudo have a male of the tribe every 100 years, and there can only be one, as decreed by the Goddess. By ancient decree, they will lead the Gerudo Tribe as king. But we haven’t had a male Gerudo since Gannondorf. Hylia cursed us for Gannondorf’s hubris. Hakim’s birth coincides with the time period stipulated. A long wait. Longer than it ever has been. The next passage,  When the light wanes, and darkness begins to rise? Ganon is coming. That’s why we’re all here. Darkness is rising. The prophecy insinuates that the Gilded King will have to fight Ganon, which Hakim would do from Naboris, and then return to lead our people. If it was just one or two coincidences, I wouldn’t pay it any heed either, but that’s a few too many coincidences to be an accident.”

Dorephan put a hand to his chin. “While I am not a champion, I must agree with Champion Urbosa’s statement,” he said. “I am a practical Zora, and even I have to admit that this prophecy is far too accurate to be accidental. I say we heed it.”

“But we don’t even know if he can fight. I want to take Urbosa’s word for it, but he’s a child,” Revali said.

Daruk shrugged. “You ain’t much older, but how about a duel? If we want to test his abilities, have him show us. A fight.”

“But who?” Mipha asked. “Who wants to test him?

“I’ll do it.”

They all turned, and the blonde man who hadn’t uttered a single word the entire meeting stepped forward. “If we need to test him, then I’ll be happy to step into a fight, so long as no one is killed. Wounding should be fine though, since we have Mipha, an ace healer.”

She blushed red at the compliment.

Zelda frowned. “Would that be acceptable?” She asked, turning to me and Urbosa. “While I accept your assessment of Prince Hakim’s abilities on faith as you aren’t known for exaggeration, it would be beneficial for us to see his skills first hand.”

Urbosa turned to me. “What do you think, Hakim?”

I sighed and sized Link up. He was about my size, and he was tough and no doubt skilled if he was chosen by Hylia to wield the Master Sword, but it was the Master Sword that gave me pause. I glanced at it over his shoulder, and it made me shudder. I didn’t know why, but I could take a fairly educated guess that it was because of my parentage. That sword would hurt me if he used it, and I doubted using it against allies was its purpose, anyway.

“Fine, but he’s not using that sword,” I said, pointing to it. “While I can admit that not all fights can be fair, to cross my blade against the Sword That Seals the Darkness feels like heresy.”

Zelda turned to him. “Is that acceptable, Link?”

He shrugged, then took the scabbard off his back, offering it to Zelda. A man of few words.

Chapter Text

I finished strapping on my wristguards, bangles made of steel and gold leaf that protected my wrists from both disarming blows and the snap of a hasty bow shot. Link was across from me, swinging around the sword that the Zora had brought him and stretching. He had his shield too, silver and blue, with a red bird and the triforce on full display. Shields like that were given only to the most accomplished Knights of the Royal Family of Hyrule, having to fight a Stalnox and survive to be granted it.

I glanced at Urbosa, and she pulled the Scimitar of the Seven from her hip and offered it to me. The blade was mine anyway, but it was supposed to remain in the possession of the ruler of the Gerudo. That was still Urbosa for now on a technicality, but she had no qualms letting me borrow it. I took it. It was perfectly balanced with my personal scimitar, Warda al-Sahra. I cracked my neck.

“So the rules are simple,” Revali said, standing between us. “You two are to fight like it’s a real battle, but no killing your opponent. We’re ostensibly allies, so it wouldn’t do any good to kill each other. That said, the fight only stops if someone either falls unconscious, takes far too many injuries to safely continue, or if someone concedes the fight. Champion Mipha will be able to heal you both up quickly, so don’t be afraid to really give it your all. Any abilities that you may have, Prince Hakim, you mentioned that you inherited your family’s control of lightning, those are allowed.”

Link nodded, then squared off, raising his shield. I crossed the scimitars in front of me in a Gerudo salute, then dropped into my dervish stance. Dervishes were specially trained to use two swords in combat, a feat that seemed simple on the surface until you took the weight of the weapons into account, as well as muscle coordination. Without training, you could easily injure yourself with two weapons. It wasn’t like what people tended to read in books or heard in stories. I had that training. I kept one sword high and arched over my head to parry, and the other I kept low, to guard.

“Are you ready?”

I locked eyes with Link and nodded. He returned the gesture. Revali flapped his wings and shot into the air on a gust of wind, his own abilities. Revali’s Gale. “Begin!”

Link shifted his grip and stalked close, his feet splashing in the inch or so of water, his shield raised. I had to take a moment to appreciate the symbolism. The descendant of the Hero of Time facing off against the Descendent of the King of Thieves. A retelling of the old tales, but this time, I planned to achieve the other ending. Link stayed cautious, but as a dervish, aggression was one of my biggest advantages.

I stepped forward then slammed my shoulder into his shield with a shout, taking him by surprise and knocking him off balance. He was fairly agile though, and he did a standing backflip, gaining some distance to regain his footing. I ran to the side of him then charged forward but he successfully recovered, blocking my overhead strike with his shield, then counter-attacking with a horizontal swipe of his sword. I jumped back and out of the way, but I noticed that while his strikes were precise and calculated, every blow he made, he tilted his hand just slightly so that if he hit me, it’d be with the flat of his blade. That’s why he had no qualms going for killshots. Fine then. I can do that too.

I knew that if I stayed defensive, this was a losing battle. He was a decent swordsman, but he wasn’t fighting as well as he could have. He was trying to keep from hurting me. He was taking it easy on me! I was enraged. Fine. Maybe it was time I also took off the kid’s gloves. I watched his sword come in in an arc, then intercepted the blade with my own, hooking the scimitar’s curved shape around both ends of his blade, successfully locking it. I then brought down the Scimitar of the Seven hard, aiming at the exact middle of his blade. The slender little silver Zora sword shattered into pieces.

He wasn’t expecting that, and those two seconds of hesitation were exactly what I needed. I moved in, my face inches from his. This close, that shield was more of a hindrance than a help. I pulled my head back, then slammed it into his. The only difference is that I was wearing a crown that protected my head. He staggered backwards, dazed from the impact, and I lifted my boot, then drove it directly into his nads.

Daruk winced from the sidelines. Mipha raised a hand to her mouth in shock. Revali was in the sky so I couldn’t see his response, but I imagine he was cackling.

“Hardly sporting,” Zelda said.

“But Gerudo tactics rarely are. It was effective,” Urbosa responded.

“No arguments there,” Zelda replied.

I tuned them out. There was an enemy in front of me. My little dirty trick bought me time and the advantage but it wasn’t going to work twice. He was reeling, blood trickling down from his forehead. I reared back then slammed my shoulder into him again, knocking him off balance, then whipped the Scimitar of the Seven directly towards his neck, twisting the blade to the flat at the last second.

I didn’t have to. Link decided that if balance was getting in the way, then he’d remove balance from the equation entirely. He let himself fall, and my sword whistled over his head. I didn’t waste time, bringing Warda al-Sahra down in an overhead blow before I even finished the motion with the Scimitar of the Seven in my other hand. He rolled, and I pulled my attack at the last minute. No need to damage the sword by attacking the stonework

I recovered, and Link took those valuable seconds to get onto his feet and put that shield between us again. He turned his head and spit, and blood mixed with saliva came out. He was angry now. I could see it in his eyes. He had been trying to fight honorably, and I returned it with ruthless practicality. He wasn’t playing around anymore either.

He shouted and charged me, planning to use his shield and weight and power straight through any block I tried to make. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get out of the way in time, so I brought the scimitars up in an X in front of me, and he slammed right into them, but he didn’t stop there. With his free hand, he grabbed the hilt of Warda al-Sahra, yanked my hand away, then swung his shield directly at my face. I had two options. Get hit in the face with a slab of metal, or let go of my sword. Sneaky, but it worked.

I let go and spun down low, bringing The Scimitar of the Seven up at the end of my spin, only to have the blade slapped to the side by Warda al-Sahra, now in his hand. It was a smart tactic on his part, taking my weapon and rearming himself, while disarming me. Maybe there was some hope for Hyrule after all.

“Heh. Impressive. I’ll give you that.” I said, holding my side and wincing. He must have cracked one of my ribs or something. It was getting hard to fight through the pain.

Link didn’t respond. He was focused, watching me and trying to figure out my next course of action. He didn’t want to get caught off-guard by a trick again, but he didn’t know everything I was capable of.

A glint of metal out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. His arrows spilled out of his quiver when he did his little tumble. I could use that to my advantage. I could probably pull this off if I timed it right, but taking this risky move could also cause me to lose because of my rib. I had to be fast and it couldn’t slow me down, or I was done. Fight through it, just like in training.

I moved before he did, and he rushed his swing, missing me entirely. I scooped down and grabbed the arrows that were bobbing on top of the water. I had seven of them. I scanned the area quickly, and found what I needed. Thunder rumbled from the gray, overcast sky as I moved to end this. I started tossing the arrows at the ground, moving in a circle around him. It confused him, and that was the point. The arrows were nothing. A distraction so that I could reposition. I fell into a backwards handspring, and when I pushed with my arms, I infused the action with wind magic, to give me the height I needed. I shot up far. Far enough to be out of his reach, and landed on top of one of the gazebos. Urbosa’s eyes went wide, and she yanked Zelda back, catching onto my plan as I lifted my fingers. In the pure silence of the moment that followed, the snap of my fingers was sharp. It was then echoed by an even louder boom, and lightning arched down from the sky, smashing into the platform, though not him, specifically.

The arrows had distracted him from the fact that he was sopping wet, his shield and my scimitar were metal, and electricity would always flow along a conductor, in this case, the water on him, and the water he was ankle deep in, which is why Urbosa had yanked Zelda back. He realized my plan a moment too late, and his error cost him.

The lightning smashed into the ground, and the electricity flowed over him, arcing across his body. Though it wasn’t visible, Link fell to the ground, his muscles spasming out of control while he screamed in pain. I knew the kind of pain he was in all too well. I had electrocuted myself a hell of a lot learning to master my control over lightning.

As if calling fury from the sky opened the clouds, a fine mist started to fall down around us. Link’s muscles stopped twitching, and he rolled with a groan, taking several deep breaths. I don’t care how strong you are, having that many volts arc through your body is enough to break anyone. “Concede, Swordsman. The next one will hurt just as badly as the last.”

Link growled, then squared his feet, his eyes flicking across the area around me, looking for any way that he could get to me quickly. The desert, however, had taught me a few things. To survive, you had to be ruthless. I had to be ruthless. A second snap of my fingers, and Link fell to the ground again, screaming. Yet, as I stood on that gazebo, I felt it. Raw mirth. Laughter and rejoicing at the pain I was causing him. The darkness in me swelled as the Chosen of the Goddess suffered in agony, and it terrified me. I bit my own lip hard enough for it to trickle with blood. The metallic taste grounded me. I couldn’t lose control. I had to fight the darkness inside, and pushed, sending it kicking and screaming back into the corner of my mind.

Mipha turned away. She couldn’t watch anymore. Daruk frowned deeply. Urbosa was watching, fascinated, her hand to her chin, and Zelda had her hand to her mouth, watching with horror. The wielder of the Sword That Seals the Darkness was getting electrocuted in front of all of them, and there was nothing Link could do to stop it unless he quit.

He rolled again. This time he didn’t bother trying to grab the sword or his shield. It took all of his strength to keep his head above the water.

“I can do this all day, Swordsman. Concede,” I said, but the damn fool didn’t know when to give up. As shaky as he was, he stood again, then uttered the first words since the duel began. He looked at me, defiance in his eyes. “Make me.”

I closed my eyes, distaste and regret written all over my features as I had to torture this man then snapped again, a repeat of the first two times.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Daruk said. “This can’t keep going.”

Urbosa put her hand out in front of him. “Stop.”

“Why?” He asked. “Link needs a healer!”

Mipha spoke, glancing over at Link, who was again sucking in air, again on his hands and knees. He had less strength each time. “Because the fight’s not over.”

“Not over? The Gerudo’s gonna kill him!”

“They both know how to make this end. Link is being defiant, and Hakim is showing him the price of that defiance. Until Link breaks and concedes, this continues. Hakim knows what he’s doing. Voltage hurts, amperage kills. The lightning is more volts than amps. You will not intervene.” Urbosa said, turning her sharp, dangerous gaze to the Goron.

“It’s not over, Daruk,” Zelda said. “As much as it pains me to watch this, It’s over when Link decides it’s over.”

Daruk frowned, but stepped back out of the water. “Some things are just hard for a guy to watch.”

My eyes slid back to Link. He had gotten to his feet again, but his legs were shaking. Every shock was making his muscles weaker. He couldn’t continue. I didn’t want to continue either, regardless of the beast that was screaming in my head to finish him.

At this point, it was senseless suffering. Basically torture. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. That wasn’t who I was. I was interested in plants and exploring the dunes. I was empathic, a diplomat. Hurting him like this was making me sick, but I couldn’t give in. As Zelda said, it wasn’t over until Link decided it was over. “Please concede. You’re very brave, but I take no pleasure in this. The pain isn’t worth it.”

“No!” Link snarled. “You fight dirty. I refuse to give in to that!”

My face fell. Okay. Object lesson time. If he wanted to be defiant, he could learn the price as we learned in the desert. I stood, then hopped down from my perch, landing on the ground with a splash, then started walking towards him. He immediately went for the scimitar, but while voltage doesn’t kill, it’s hell on the nerves, and his weren’t firing right. They wouldn’t until he rested. He couldn’t take more than two steps towards the sword before I was within arms reach. I reared back and planted my boot into his chest. His balance was shot, so it didn’t take much, and he fell on his back. I lowered my boot, placing it on his throat, and applying pressure. Not enough to strangle him, but enough for him to have to struggle to get air.

“Listen to me, Swordsman. I don’t know how it works out here in the beautiful and verdant fields of Hyrule, but I’m from the harsh, empty desert. In the desert, there are no birds that sing in the trees. There are no deer to hunt. The only company we have is monsters. That’s the truth. The desert is a hard teacher, but I learned how to survive. If you fail, you die. There is no mercy,” I said, applying a slight bit more pressure.

He struggled harder, but this fight was over, and everyone knew it but him. “You have courage. I’ll give you that, but the only difference between bravery and foolishness is that the brave survive to talk about it. It’s a fine line, and you’re dancing all over it.”

I knelt down, retrieving Warda al-Sahra. “I’ve given you three chances to concede with grace. After watching you writhe in pain, I don’t think even Revali would think less of you if you did so. At this point, you’re just being stubborn. I’ve asked you three times. That’s more of a chance than Ganon is gonna give you. Trust me, I would know.” 

I lifted my boot off of his neck, and his hand immediately went to it, like it could shield him if I brought the boot back. “I don’t hate you, Swordsman, but you need to grow up. You can throw a tantrum over someone not fighting fair, but the result will be the same. I promise you, Ganon and his servants aren’t going to fight fair either. Learn, adapt, and overcome,” I said, then leveled my swords in an x shape over his neck, but didn’t move any further. “Or die, because it wouldn’t take much from here. Dead.”

Revali came down from the sky, flapping his wings twice, then touching the ground. “I think it’s evident who won that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Instead of moving your beak, Drumsticks…” I said, offering Link my hand. I was surprised when he took it, and hauled him to his feet. “You can support Link’s other side and help me get him to the Healing Pools.”

Revali seemed so stunned that someone bit back in the same annoying fashion as him that he didn’t even argue. Either that, or he felt that bad for Link. He gave as good as he got, though. I needed to see a healer as well. My arm was out of socket, one of my ribs was definitely broken, and I was gonna have a nasty bruise from where he slammed into me with that shield. If he had any strength left, it wouldn’t have been much of a fight. That lightning trick is draining just once. Twice in rapid succession? I took it a step further and did it three times. I was almost dead on my feet as well. “Let’s get you looked at, Sadiq.” I said to Link. “No need to keep suffering.”

Chapter Text

Link was worse off than me, but that was to be expected. I managed to get fixed up and be out in less than an hour, but Link was going to have to stay in the healing pools with Mipha overnight. I felt really bad about that too. As callous as I had sounded, I didn’t like conflict, and I didn’t enjoy inflicting pain. The darkness inside was another matter, and one that I absolutely had to keep the lid on.

At the same time, I was barely eighteen. Wasn’t Link the same age? Zelda was seventeen almost? We were just kids, when it came down to it. Someone had to reinforce the stakes. This wasn’t a game. There was a very real chance that we could all die, and I think that the fight was a much needed reality check. I just wish I wasn’t the one that had to deliver that reality check.

I was sitting on the window sill in nothing but my sirwal. The room wasn’t what I would consider as luxurious, solely because things like down pillows didn’t tend to hold up in humidity like Zora’s Domain had, thanks to the climate and the waterfalls surrounding them on all sides. Still, the room was comfortable. The beds were soft and filled with cotton, which was far sturdier than goose down, the floor was covered in a nicer, smoother tile than the stone in the hallways and the city itself, and I had things like a wardrobe and mannequin, on which sat my spaulder and my desert headband and built in circlet. Laflat was kind enough to bring me a bucket of hot water and a cloth, so I was looking out the window at the Domain in the lake below the cliffs we were in; they had built the palace into the sides of the Lake’s natural borders itself, trying to not feel how tender my freshly healed bones were and dipping the cloth into the bucket, then running it across my skin.

There was a knock on the door and I narrowed my eyes at it. Since we decided to postpone our meeting until Link had a chance to recover, Urbosa decided that she wanted to learn how to fish. It was a thing they did here that was impossible for us in the desert. That meant that she wasn’t who was at my door, and that meant that it was someone I had to wear a mask of nobility and regality around. Something that was incredibly exhausting and taxing to do for an introvert like myself. I mouthed a curse in Gerudo, but instead said “It’s open,” in Hylian.

I expected Daruk, coming to scold me for taking things too far, or I expected Mipha, who would want to check me over again to make sure the healing was fully completed, and we hadn’t missed any nicks or cuts. I hadn’t expected Princess Zelda to walk in, shutting the door behind her. I immediately slid off the windowsill. “Princess…” I began.

She paused in shock at my state of undress, and I recognized her reaction. The uncontrollable glimpse at my naked torso, then her eyes flicking back to my face, then she averted them entirely, trying to not let her attraction show. I had seen it A LOT back home. I, after all, was a Male Gerudo. I was always going to be swimming in suitors. “I’m not here to chastise you. You did what no one else wanted to do. You showed us the stakes of our mission. That’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I remembered. Though I felt, given how touchy the subject may be, to come talk to you about it first. Dragmire is the last name of Ganondorf, isn’t it?”

I closed my eyes, then decided that the mask, right now, wasn’t worth maintaining. I had a feeling she could see through it anyway. Princess Zelda was sixteen, just shy of seventeen, but she wasn’t a fool, and I was a miserable liar as it was. I hopped back up onto the windowsill and fished back out the cloth. “Yes,” I said.

“And you’re his son.”

I closed my eyes in regret and frustration. “Yes,” I said again.

She put her hands on her hips, frowning, finally meeting my eyes, my physical attractiveness forgotten or put aside for now. “I’m not going to pretend that I understand the significance of that. The designs of the Goddess are far beyond my limited understanding. Would you care to enlighten me? We are going to war against your father, so I want to make sure that everyone’s motives are clear and we are all, in fact, on the same side.”

“So you came to talk to me instead of Urbosa, because you figured that I could give you a more measured answer to your concerns, and there’s less of a chance that I would lie to you, as you feel Urbosa may lie to protect me. Shrewd, your highness.” I dipped the cloth back in the bucket, then ran it across my shoulders and my arms. “Do you know what I’m doing, Princess?”

She shook her head. “I trust this has to do with your explanation? I would love to converse with you like normal, but I can’t deny that if you are lying about your intentions, I am in danger,”

I smiled, but not out of humor. Mostly because I didn’t know how else to respond. “It’s relevant. I’m bathing, Princess Zelda. In Gerudo Town, I get to bathe once a week, at most. Sometimes less. Now that I have free time and there’s water in abundance here, I figured that I would enjoy that luxury. I wanted to submerge myself into a basin of hot water, but this will do.”

She crossed her arms. “What does bathing have to do with your explanation?”

I rinsed and wrung out the cloth again, then ran it along my other arm. My other shoulder. “Everything, Princess Zelda, though it may not seem obvious,” I said, then dropped the cloth into the bucket and pushed it aside. I was going to wash other things, but now that there was a person in my room, that was no longer an option. Instead, I leaned back on my hands and looked at her, crossing my feet and stretching, which elicited a pop from my back, and the tension eased, which caused me to sigh. She watched me move, and her eyes went to my stomach and chest again, but she tried to not let it show.

“We don’t live very far from water. Yes, we’re in the Gerudo desert, but the Regencia River is just outside of the valley. It only takes a few hours by horse. Water is heavy and it’s impossible to use the river as a water source because of water’s weight and the strain it’d put on a horse, who would have to cart it through the very hot desert. A desert that even Gerudo born in it healthily respect, because it’s claimed more than one of our people. The desert doesn’t give up her dead. That’s an aphorism for us. No horse can do that. However, bathing in the river is easy. It’s not far. I don’t have to carry any water back. Knowing that, it’s not the availability of water that keeps me from bathing every day. So what could that reason be?”

It clicked. I saw it on her face, and she quickly looked down to hide her expression and to stop looking at me as like a piece of meat, because that very thing was part of the problem. She truly did understand. Finally, some success in gaining the trust of these people. “You’re a male Gerudo. The only male Gerudo.”

“Because I’m a male Gerudo. Because I’m different. I can only leave the desert and travel through the Gerudo Canyon under heavy guard, because Hylians that don’t know any better only see a male Gerudo. They don’t ask. They assume that I’m my father because you know, he’s kinda terrible, and they attack me, even though the man hasn’t been seen in ten-thousand years. Yet, I don’t hate them, because I know why they do it. They’re scared, and my father caused them to feel that fear.” I looked down at my hand, and clenched it into a fist. “If you question my loyalties, you may put your fears to rest now, Princess,” I said, and looked at her.

“My father was a monster. My mother died giving birth to me, specifically because my conception wasn’t consensual. My father wasn’t Ganondorf really, at the end of the day. Gannondorf is just Ganon in the form of a man. If only I could be so lucky to have a man as my father. My father is Ganon himself. I may be from him, but I’m nothing like him. He’s the reason that I don’t have a mother. He’s the reason that I can’t leave the Gerudo desert without guards. I have no loyalty to that creature. I don’t think he even knows that I exist. The only reason that I didn’t want to say that was because I didn’t want to cause unnecessary strife amongst the Champions by making them aware of that identity. Y’all were already on the fence about letting me take over for Urbosa. There’s no way in hell anyone would agree if they knew that I was Ganon’s son.”

She frowned, thoughtful. “I suppose that I could have been more sensitive, in hindsight. I shouldn’t have doubted you. Urbosa and the Gerudo have never given me a reason to doubt. I just… I guess I’m nervous. Urbosa is a much needed mature outlook in our group. Daruk is in his forties and Urbosa is nearing the same age. The rest of us are... Well, we’re very young. Revali is only now twenty-five, and Link is your age. I’m the youngest one here, and have the very hard duty to lead you.”

I shrugged. “So? Are you not up to the task?”

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it and crossed the room. She made intense, intimate, direct eye contact a mere three feet from me. I don’t know if you have ever had someone lock eyes with you and not break their gaze, but it’s a very uncomfortable feeling. I looked away first, looking out the window like something caught my attention.

“My ancestor wrote down her encounter with Gannondorf. She said that he was an appealing man. He was highly attractive, charismatic, and a strong leader. But there was no mistaking his intentions. Gannondorf had evil eyes.”

I flicked my eyes back to her. She was watching me, analyzing every move I made. Despite my best efforts, I felt a flush creeping across my skin. No matter what I said or thought, Urbosa was right. I was still an eighteen-year-old man, and testosterone is a hell of a drug. A strange warmth pooled in my chest, spreading through my body. I didn’t know I could be so affected by something as simple as being watched. Scrutinized. It was different than in town. Zelda wasn’t watching me out of lust, at least, not entirely. My skin, darker than Urbosa’s and closer to bronze, took on a warm, ruddy tint around the thinner areas. Erogenous zones. I could feel it—an involuntary response that made me shift uncomfortably. To mask it, I slid off the windowsill and turned to look outside, hiding my reaction.

She smiled. “You don’t have the eyes of your father, Hakim. I can’t imagine what you’ve grown up in. I don’t know your prior experiences, but I do know that despite all of it, your eyes are kind, not evil,” She sat on the edge of the bed, putting her legs together and resting her hands in her lap, her posture rigid and straight. Prim and proper, even if it was unintentional. Part of me guessed that she could partially imagine how I grew up. Yeah, the lives of the nobility are different from the lives of the rest, but that doesn’t mean they’re easier. I would rather worry about what I’m making for food than have to bend over backwards for a visiting dignitary so that I didn’t start a war, no matter how vile that dignitary may be. I would rather be concerned about what to buy from the bazaar than have the burden of commanding soldiers that I knew would either live or die because of my tactics.

I decided to lighten the mood and flirt a little, though the last part… Like I said, hormones are a hell of a drug. “But I’m still attractive and highly charismatic?”

She chuckled softly. “If times were different, Hakim, you know that we’d likely be married, yes? Asking something like that…” Her face turned red, and she shook her head and cleared her throat. “I think maybe…’ She said, twiddling her thumbs. “I feel like I can trust you, Hakim. You are strong and silent, but a good listener, much like Link. Urbosa was my confidant for a long time, but I suppose that if she is returning to the desert, then I must find another one,” She swept some of her hair back, and it gave my blood flow time to return to normal. Stupid body.

“I’m happy to lend you an ear whenever you have need, Princess. You and I are equals. Though Gerudo desert isn’t under the rule of the Hyrule Royal Family and my people and yours have always had a rocky history given the awkward balance of power, we stand together now. The only way that we can ensure that this air of peace continues between our nation is to work together and grow to trust each other, then instill that trust into our children.”

She nodded. “I may take you up on that offer, Hakim. I don’t know you but… I know Urbosa, and I know that if she raised you, then you are a man of character and honor, despite how you fight.”

Right. That. I looked out at the city again, over my shoulder. “How is he?”

She shrugged. “Alive, not that I’m unconcerned. Link was very well aware that he may come to some physical harm, but it was his duty to participate in the conflict, and he has never been one to shirk duty, even if I want him to. When he was first appointed to me…” She shook her head.

I didn’t want to pry. If she felt safe talking to me, then she would say what she needed in time. I could carry on from there. “I’m more worried that I hurt his pride rather than his body. Being electrocuted is an excruciating experience, and having it happen in front of the people you are sworn to protect? To scream and twist in pain and be unable to resist that? I can only imagine how embarrassing that would be. It was the main reason I honed my lightning abilities in the desert, far away from others.”

The darkness inside of me started laughing, but I pushed it down. It was getting harder for me to control the dark urges every day. They grew in power as Ganon did. It was definitely tied to him, and to the Calamity.

She chuckled. “You seem very world-weary, Hakim, but your words show that you don’t understand Link or the duty he has taken. This is not a lack of intelligence, nor does it make you lesser. I didn’t understand him at first, myself.”

She swept some of the hair out of her face, trying to figure out how to put this seemingly simple concept into words. “Link doesn’t really see himself as a person. That’s not to say that he has no self-worth, however. He doesn’t talk much, and in the interactions that we have had when his more guarded nature relaxed over time, he opened up to me. He said that he considers himself as a tool more than an individual. A mere vessel chosen to wield the Master Sword, and to deliver the wrath of the Goddess to the wicked.”

I frowned, seeing where the issue was. “Ridiculous. Life is hard. How can a man give up everything he could have for some magical lady in the sky, excuse my heresy.”

She shrugged. “While he knows that it’s his heart and his mind that impressed Hylia, and that his skill is nothing to scoff at, he is honored to be a tool for the Goddess. It is his choice to be seen this way. That overriding sense of duty to the Goddess drives every action he takes. Sex, food, love, those sorts of pleasures are all secondary to his task to serve Hylia through the Royal Family. You can’t have hurt his pride, because according to his words, tools have no pride to hurt. He may have felt embarrassment for a moment, but I guarantee that right now, he’s thinking through your mock battle, and figuring out how to take your fighting style into account, so that he won’t fall for that as easily if one of Ganon’s monsters tried the same. That devotion to his duty is what made me let go of my own prejudices against him. Simply put, it’s foolish to distrust a servant of the Goddess when Ganon is a much more dangerous threat.”

She stood from the bed and approached again, but this time, she stood next to me, looking out the window. She was just far enough away that she wouldn’t be in my personal space, but still easily within arm’s reach. A calculated maneuver. Showing she trusted me not to hurt her or do anything untoward.

And that was a problem. Zelda was the princess, the reincarnation of the Goddess, and she was close, and she was pretty, and I was aroused. The darkness in me was definitely not helping. It was pushing me to act. To take her. To rut and enjoy the pleasure of control, not even for the sex itself, but for the misery and suffering it would cause. It was the Darkness thinking. The Dark Urge, as I called it.

I turned green and forced myself to remain in control, but I couldn’t be around Zelda much longer. I had to get this conversation over with so that I could wrestle with my head. Consent was key. Consent is holy. I couldn’t violate that, nor could I violate her autonomy. I wouldn’t. The Dark Urge may want those things, but I absolutely wouldn’t satiate it. That wasn’t what I wanted. I was thankful that Zelda couldn’t see in my head at that exact moment, as well, because it made me feel sick, how would it make her feel?

Instead, I also turned, following her gaze. As I had suspected, it was focused directly at the healing pools. “When Link was first appointed as my guardian, I despised him, you know? It was never anything that he personally did. It was because of the sword, and what he represents. LInk’s abilities grow with each day, and he gets stronger and stronger with each victory. He is a hero. A man of legend. Not even Revali can deny that Link is favored by Hylia and the Golden Goddesses. He is going to leave his mark on history.”

I glanced over at her, and could see the regret and guilt on her features as she opened up, showing me ugly truths that she’d never utter to anyone she didn’t trust. Did she trust me that much? It seemed sudden, given that we just met, but I had a feeling that Zelda was one of those people who didn’t expect people to earn her trust. She gave it implicitly until they had proven that they couldn’t be trusted. A level head. Awareness, but not expecting the worst from her own people. She was a good leader. The leader that Hyrule needed. If times had been different, she was right. We would likely be wed as a political move for peace, but if that came after we beat Ganon? Honestly, Princess Zelda is what I would want in a wife. I wouldn’t be affronted by marrying her. I would probably enjoy it very much. I had to wonder how she felt. The thoughts going through her head. How did she feel about me?

“And it’s that excellence that made me hate him. That feeds my own inadequacies. I will share the details upon knowing you better and trusting you more, but that is the basics of the situation.”

I shrugged. “I, of all people, understand that, Princess. I’m no fool. If I hadn’t insisted he use a blade other than the Master Sword, I would have lost that fight. I only bested Link today because he wasn’t expecting me to be ruthlessly efficient about fighting, and I know that if we had a rematch, he wouldn’t make that mistake again. I outsmarted him, but I’m not so arrogant as to think I am better than him.”

She nodded. “Wise words, and humble. You are the epitome of grace, Prince Hakim.”

I snorted. “Only because you haven’t seen me try to dance yet.”

The flippant joke right after the intense discussion caught her by surprise, but it wasn’t unwelcome. Princess Zelda genuinely laughed. There was no one in this room but me to judge her if she didn’t do what the public expected. Her laugh wasn’t forced. There was no one to impress. That alone showed me the struggle she fought daily. A struggle I also had. Balancing her duties to the people with her own, personal desires. When I looked at her while she was laughing, I wasn’t looking at the Princess of Hyrule. I was looking at Zelda, a girl that had a very hard job, and didn’t get to enjoy the pleasure of laughing often.

I kept a sly smile, looking out the window and leaving her to her fits of giggles in peace. It was nice to know that she felt that comfortable around me, even if we had just met. I was worried about fitting in, but Princess Zelda was able to make friends with anyone, and her real strength as a leader was that she was likable. We all cared about her. She was the glue that kept the Champions wildly different desires and personalities aligned. That was what it meant to be a true leader. At the end of the day, it wasn’t about how big an army was, or how many people followed you. Being a true leader meant being loved, not feared. It was the first lesson that Urbosa had taught me. That basic tenant of power that my arrogant father had forgotten. Power means nothing if a leader doesn’t have the drive or willpower to use it towards a noble end. Ganon was certainly strong, but even if we fell to him, others would rise to oppose him. He would be embattled in the palace for the rest of his days. Power means nothing if you can’t live your life the way you want to. It has to be tempered with empathy, and human experience. Those were things that my father lacked.

She got her fit of laughter under control, her face red from the exertion. At least, I assumed that it was the exertion. She couldn’t finish her next sentence. “Hakim, forgive me if I am being too forward, but would you…”

The door opened, and she turned, falling silent immediately. “Urbosa!” She said, surprised. As kind as the girl was, subtlety was not her strong suit. We weren’t doing anything wrong, yet when she acted surprised, it certainly sounded like we were. I was sure to catch hell later the way Urbosa arched an eyebrow at me, before going to the bed at the opposite side of the room. Smooth, your highness. Real smooth.

“Little Bird. Wanted to meet with my nephew on your own already?”

Zelda shrugged. “I had thought you were in here when I arrived. He has been nothing but a gentleman.”

I sighed. I absolutely had to stop her from shoving her foot in my whole mouth for me. I was adept at it on my own. “Princess, when you say that, it makes it sound like I was actually doing something untoward,” I said, turning and leaning against the windowsill, crossing my arms. “Urbosa didn’t insinuate that I was acting un-gentlemanly. For you to assure her that I wasn’t when she had made no indication that I might, it makes her immediately question if that’s the truth.”

Zelda frowned as she pondered over my words, then it hit her. Her face flushed bright red and she put her hands to her face, trying to hide her embarrassment. Urbosa laughed with her rich, powerful laugh. “Have no fear, Little Bird. While you may have accidentally implied otherwise, Hakim knows full well that if he did act untoward, I would have no qualms with pushing him out of that window. Free-falling from two hundred feet directly into a lake can serve as a powerful object lesson in respect.”

I swallowed and took a half-step away from the window at the thought. No lessons needed. Even my dark urges were cowed by the idea. Time to get back on track before she decided to share any more nuggets of wisdom for the Princess to think on.

“The Princess remembered where she had heard the name Dragmire. She wanted to ask me about it in private, to figure out my intentions,” I said, not acknowledging Urbosa’s idea of learning with a response.

I had been on the receiving end of such lessons before. I couldn’t say she wasn’t correct, though. In the desert, you learn, adapt, and overcome, or you die. Her training and mentorship of me reflected that ethos. Nothing sticks in your head better than learning techniques when your life's on the line. I had more Lizalfos and even Molduga kills to my name than sexual conquests, which was remarkable considering that in Gerudo Town, I was basically a glorified breeding stallion. I hadn’t lied to her on the way here. It was hard to think about my dick when I was focused on fighting the greatest evil Hyrule had ever known. The blight that wouldn’t stay down. Zelda had me sorely tempted though. I wonder if she had been about to ask me out? I would have said yes, but this was a bad time and nothing would be more embarrassing than to ask myself, especially with Urbosa there to hear it. I’d never hear the end of it.

Urbosa nodded. “And what is your take on our handsome Prince Hakim, hmm?” she asked, her own sly smile directed at Zelda.

“Okay, I think I’ve done enough damage,” I said, rising from my position and crossing the room to grab a tunic instead of my spaulder. I had a black, silk, sleeveless tunic that meshed well with the white of my sirwal, though I still had to wear my kharij because of the water around here, even if moccasins would have been more comfortable. “I’m going to go check on Link and make sure that I didn’t scramble his brain by accident. I would like to experience this beautiful city for myself, as well.”

Urbosa nodded and stood, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “Stay safe my little sand-seal. We’ll see you at dinner. Little Bird, I would like to talk? Catch up. Would you be willing to stay for tea?”

Zelda smiled. “It’s been too long, Urbosa. I would be delighted.”

Chapter Text

I didn’t head to the healing pools right away. Mostly because I didn’t really know what to say. I was worried that I might have hurt Link and I wanted to check on him, but I also felt like it would be seen as gloating. I mean, I won. Now if I was there, what other reason would I have to check in but to gloat? I knew that I had hurt him. It was kind of the point, but I was starting to regret how hard I was on him at the end. It served as a reminder of the stakes, but I hadn’t considered that maybe no one needed that.

I knew that that was a little paranoid, but it was enough to keep me from heading that way immediately. Instead, I decided to look around the city itself first. You could only have a first experience once, and I wanted to make sure that my first impressions of Zora’s Domain were a complete picture. I walked down the long ramp that led from the cliffside palace to the city. The water flowed down the ramp, little more than a sheen. I stopped and knelt down, placing my hand on the cold stone of the ramp and letting the minute flow of water trickle over it, continuing its downhill trajectory.

I had a theory and curious, I stood again and continued down the ramp, noting the holes in the ramp hidden behind decorative columns. It rained here. The holes were for overflow so that the ramp didn’t flood the city at its end during heavy rain, but it could also be related to my theory. The water was enough to cover the ramp entirely, but so little that it didn’t come up more than an inch at most. Yes, decorative, but I suspected that it had a function too.

As I got to the end of the ramp, my theory was confirmed. The water from the ramp mingled with the water on the main city platform, disappearing into one of the silver waterfalls that fed into Ruto Lake below. I followed the flow back to the top of the ramp with my eyes. When I had left the palace, I noticed the water spilling from a small lip at the top of the ramp. How it got there was unknown, but I imagined that somewhere in the palace, there was a pump house that pulled the water from the lake below and fed it into the various ramps. Now, down here on the main city platform, I noticed the same lips around the edges of the platform, performing the same function and providing the same amount of water.

The water was decorative, but it was also a city cleaner. It washed away any dirt that anyone may track in before it had a chance to settle, whisking it directly into the lake and away from the beautiful gray and blue stonework of the city’s streets. An ingenious solution to a very mundane problem. Say what you want, but the Zora were able to fuse form and function together seamlessly just as they had with the luminous stone torches. Aside from Castle Town, I could say with absolute confidence that this city was the most beautiful one in Hyrule.

My wandering led me to one of those gazebos like we had met in for the meeting. Other than the palace’s gazebo, which was for that exact purpose, these gazebos served as shops, storefronts, and meeting areas for the aquatic people, who had no need to hide under a roof because of rain. Only personal homes and lodgings were completely enclosed, and even then, the window in my guest room was fairly large and easy to open. I was resting in the wall’s confines for the window when Zelda came by to talk, after all.

This gazebo had a Zora out front, and when she saw me, she smiled brightly and came forward. “Hello, Prince Hakim!”

Normally greetings to me from strange women weren’t so informal, nor would they approach so quickly. It was jarring and caught me off guard, but I had to remind myself that these people didn’t know me as a Prince, even if that was my title. I was just a strange, funny colored Hylian to most of them. “Hi,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “So sorry, have we met?”

She shook her head. “No, but we have heard a lot about you. We witnessed your battle against the Swordsman. You were so cool! I’m Marot. I own Marot Mart!” She said, gesturing to the two gazebos behind her. One seemed to be a general store, but in the back, there was the unmistakable ringing of a hammer on an anvil. She then extended her hand.

“Marot Mart. Is it a smithy or is it a store?” I asked, noting that smithy was a particularly hard word to say with my accent. Blacksmith from now on. I took her outstretched, webbed hand in a firm shake. It was an odd sensation. The cream colored part of their skin looks smooth, but after feeling her hand, it was more rough, like sandpaper. The colored parts of their skin, red, blue, a few browns, were solid, interlocking scales. An odd dichotomy, reminiscent of the skin you’d find on a shark. It was called dermal denticles, according to the tutor back home. I only knew it because Molduga had the same skin. The purpose was to reduce drag, effectively speeding up a shark in the water, or for a molduga, through the sand, and the fact that the Zora had the same type of skin and very, very sharp teeth told me far more about them than their pleasant demeanor suggested. Make no mistake, the Zora were carnivores, and the only reason that they were friends with the various other species of Hyrule was because Hylian and Gerudo weren’t on the menu. Fish was. We weren’t fish, so they didn’t view us as food. Interesting, indeed.

“It’s both, actually,” she said, taking her hand back and gesturing for me to follow. “And just so you are aware, I am absolutely trying to sell you something.”

I grinned and followed. “At least you’re honest about it.”

She stopped in the middle of the first gazebo. The male Zora at the counter glanced up at me and smiled. “Welcome to Marot Mart, Prince Hakim,” he said in a deep timbre.

Once again, I was amazed at the Zoras and their hospitality. They already knew my name. They knew that I respected things like honesty. These Zora were as adept at socialization as I was. My respect for them was only growing. I started to reconsider my stance on Mipha and her role as a champion. I had assumed that she was timid compared to the brash arrogance of Revali, but she wasn’t. She was soft-spoken, and I knew from back home that that said nothing about the strength and skill of the speaker.

“So, this section of Marot Mart is the general store,” Marot said, turning to me. “It’s called Coral Reef. This is Cleff. He runs the place for me. We have anything you could need, from rice to arrows. From Octorok eyes to delicious, locally caught fish. If you need it, it can be found at Coral Reef!” She said, excited. I was waiting for the grift. I had already expected one, but at least I knew one was coming. She admitted to it. I suspected that she planned to play into that as a part of the grift to show her sincerity as well. Some things didn’t change, no matter the culture.

“And in the back, we won’t go back there because it’s so loud, is Hammerhead. It’s the Zora smithy, and my grandfather, Dento, is our smith. He’s very skilled as well. If you need any metalworking done, grandpa Dento can make it, for a small fee of course.”

“Oh, of course. That’s only natural.” I said, nodding, and she grinned.

“Hush. I’m in the middle of my thing. He’s the master artisan behind our beautiful weapons, and I saw you inspecting our cleaning system. He’s the brilliant mind behind that, as well! King Dorephan liked the idea so much that he promoted my grandpa to royal armorer!”

Ah. There it was. I caught on. “Which is why you think he’s the perfect person to craft a blade for me to take back home, as a souvenir.”

She turned to me and winked, sticking her tongue out. “You could at least let me finish the spiel,” she said with a laugh. “Let me go get you some samples. Be right back.”

She disappeared into Hammerhead, and Cleff folded his arms, leaning against the counter. “I don’t know how she does it,” he said, shaking his head. “She admits to the con, and manages to be successful with it anyway. That girl is dangerous.”

I smiled. “In truth, I know that while she’s trying to sell me something, her grandfather is the Royal Armorer, so that verifies the quality of anything she shows me, no doubt why she mentioned it. No worries though. she hasn’t succeeded just yet. I have yet to produce my wallet,” I said, patting my notably empty pouches to show I hadn’t brought it with me.

He snorted, realizing what I meant. “So you’re letting her do this whole thing just so when she’s done you can say you forgot your wallet?” He grinned. “You’re devilish, Prince Hakim. I like you. The Gerudo are lucky to have you.”

Marot came back out with her grandfather, Dento, behind her. I assumed it was her grandfather, anyway. He looked like a very, very old Zora. Even if we were different species, one thing transcended all species, and that was that elders had a lot of wrinkles. He was holding a trident, using it to propel him forward. He had to have been on a cane, but wanted to present his work to me himself. Dedication. I liked it. Marot was behind him, holding a sword and on her head was a helmet fit for a Gerudo or Hylian, so it was off kilter and barely staying on because of her head fin, settled on top rather than being worn.

“Prince Hakim,” the old Zora said. “I am the royal smith, Dento. I am honored that you decided to visit our humble stores.”

“And I might not have, had Marot not approached me so boldly. You have a very skilled businesswoman for a granddaughter, Master Dento.”

He smiled. “You are too kind, Prince Hakim. Marot mentioned that you would like to see some of my work. I am not as mobile as I once was, but I decided that for an esteemed guest such as yourself, I would like to present some of my pieces to you, personally, if you can take the time out of your no doubt busy schedule.”

I shook my head. “Not at all, Master Dento. My goal for the remainder of the day was to learn as much as I could about the Zora, so witnessing their craftsmanship is part of that busy schedule. Please, I wish to hear about the pride you take in your work.”

He smiled, and he, I, and Marot went into Hammerhead to sit and discuss his work. I got a little more than that though. “You see,” Dento began. “We have a very unique technique. We fold the silver in the forge over and over again, combining as many as eight or nine ingots to make the silver as strong as steel. All of our pieces are silver, not steel. However, this is one of my finer pieces and is made from neither.” He offered the trident and I took it, looking over its tri-pronged head and the very fine carvings in the haft.

“This is simply a replica. Ceremonial more than functional. It’s made to resemble the Lightscale Trident, the very Trident that I forged for Princess Mipha. Someone as graceful and deadly as her deserves a weapon to match.”

I frowned. “Deadly? She didn’t seem the type.”

“Oh no, you misunderstand Princess Mipha, Prince Hakim,” Marot said. “Princess Mipha would rather exhaust all other options and only fight as a last resort, but that doesn’t mean that she’s unskilled. Her abilities with a trident are said to be rivaled only by Princess Ruto herself, a warrior and sage of our people that lived ten-thousand years ago. The very same namesake as Vah Ruta. Princess Mipha’s strikes with a trident are so fast, that most don’t realize the trident moved at all, and her footwork is rivaled by the greatest dancers. To watch her fight is to watch a deadly and beautiful dance. I think she could even be a handful for you.”

I lowered the trident, setting it in my lap. This weapon, instead of being made of silver, was a white, bone-like material. Something we had a lot of access to in the desert, if you dug down far enough. “Well, let’s hope that I never have to cross blades with her, then.”

The entire form of the trident was made from coral, from the sharpened prongs to the haft. Embedded along the trident’s head were garnets that shifted in beautiful colors in the light, though they were primarily pink.

“The Lightscale Trident is my magnum opus. Even this replica is a mere shadow of the true weapon’s glory. Because I don’t have it on hand to show you, as it belongs to Lady Mipha, I wanted to show you this, to showcase my skills with materials other than silver and sapphires, which are evident if you look around the smithy.”

I ran my hand along the haft, then offered it back to him. He took it with an inclination of his head, and placed it gently on the table. “There’s no question that you are highly skilled, Master Dento, and your process of forging precious metals is inspiring. The way these gems are set…” I said, leaning over and gesturing at the garnets. “ Molten silver or gold poured into a groove, then the gem gently pushed into it, so that when the metal cools the gem is locked in place. Then you smooth down the edges of the ‘glue’ with a stone chisel. That’s a Gerudo technique. We don’t tend to share these things. I’d know it anywhere. I have to ask, where did you learn it?”

He looked up and tapped his chin. “Oh, It was centuries ago, when I was still an apprentice and my predecessor owned this forge. What was her name?” he asked. “She was a Gerudo jeweler and had come to speak to my master about a shipment of sapphires that she had sent but never arrived.”

He ran his hand over his head fin, looking down now. “My master wasn’t there, but she wanted to wait since the journey was long, and the error was hers, as the supplier. She was there to apologize and figure out what happened. While she waited, I went back to the necklace I was making, and the topic came up. She shared the secret with me but…” He frowned. “I’m so sorry, Prince Hakim. My memory isn’t what it used to be and I can’t remember for the life of me, even though she was instrumental in my career. Ryka?”

I put my hand to my chin. “Rika? Are you thinking of Tali Rika?”

“Yes!” Dento exclaimed. “That was her name. I feel so foolish for forgetting.”

I smiled. So the Zora’s were particularly long-lived as well. Interesting. “Don’t feel so bad. It was three hundred years ago. Tali Rika was the jeweler that created that technique. You didn’t just learn from a jeweler. You learned from the greatest Gerudo jeweler in the modern era, and your skill attests to that. Now, Marot told me in advance that this was a grift, but even knowing that going in, this work is exquisite. Alas, it seems that my own wit has bested me. I was planning to let Marot get through her entire grift before I informed her that I left my wallet in my room. This was clearly an error.”

Marot narrowed her eyes. “You sneak.”

I grinned. “You aren’t the only person that excels at charisma and deception, Ms. Marot. I may have an accent, but I’m just as talented as you. However, back to the task at hand, leaving my wallet may be a blessing in disguise. I was expecting to see average to high quality work and commission you for a sword to hang in my room as a nicety, because you obviously are talented, but that would be doing your talent and your mentor a disservice, and I wouldn’t dare suggest that your work is inferior. I want it to be prominently displayed, therefore, I have a request. A commission.” I said, then dug around in my belt pouch, withdrawing the crown of the Gerudo. One of our most important symbols as a people.

“This crown has been passed down amongst the chieftains of the Gerudo since the beginning of time. As you can see, it’s age shows. There have been adjustments and repairs over the years, but I think it’s time we modernize this design.” I said, then slid it over to him. He looked stunned.

“Normally, this job would fall to the Gerudo, not the Zora. However, since the last person to make major alterations was Tali Rika herself, I feel it’s only right that her student continue her work. Master Dento, would you please do me, and all of the Gerudo, the honor of customizing this crown in the style of Tali Rika?”

His jaw dropped. Marot may not have understood the depth of the honor that I was showing to Dento, but she understood the significance of a Zora working on the Gerudo crown. She put a hand to her chest, surprised.

Dento shook his head, made a small nod to himself, then reached out and picked up the crown. I got to see the master work. His hands were practiced and his motions precise as he inspected every single detail, committing it all to memory. The most intricate and important part were the jointed golden flanges in the center, for the hair of the wearer to wrap around and hold the crown in place. The problem with that was that my hair, while falling to my chin in length, was still shorter than most Gerudo women as I mentioned before, who were forbidden from growing their hair out until marriage. Or at least until womanhood. The tradition was falling out of favor, as more and more Hylian men, the primary supplier of children for us, seemed to prefer long hair to short. If there were ever any other Gerudo kings that preferred short hair or if an unwed woman were to wear the crown, then it needed to be fit into short hair too.

He carefully set it down, then turned to Marot. “Dear, I need my drafting paper and my pencil.”

She jumped up and went over to his desk, and he turned back to me. “What kind of alterations are you thinking about?”

“Well, for starters, making the thing wearable for people with short hair. On top of that, it’s notably devoid of ornamentation, but that wasn’t always the case. Ten-thousand years ago, the precious stones in the crown were removed, to signify the loss of the soul of the Gerudo people thanks to Ganondorf. Yet, here I am, the first male Gerudo in ten-thousand years. The soul of the Gerudo has returned, and I want to see the crown restored to its former glory.”

He nodded. “One of the issues I see immediately is the gold used in its construction. It’s of a very rare makeup that you only see in meteorite deposits. You can tell by the shine, the luster of the gold. Something about its time being superheated in the atmosphere gives it a shine that never fades. I don’t have that kind of gold and am not blessed with the luxury of waiting for a meteorite to fall. I may have to use a different metal to replace the joints in the hair flanges. They are old, and they can be modified so they are less likely to pull the hair. I could use the Zora silver folding technique, but this is the Gerudo crown.”

“And are the Gerudo not friends of the Zora?” I asked, smiling. “If anything, it shows the bonds between our people if Zora silver were meshed with Gerudo gold.”

Dento nodded. “You do us a great honor, and a kindness. It’s appreciated by this old Zora, at least.”

Marot came back with the drafting supplies. “So if we’re set on how to do this, let’s talk about price.”

“Price?” Dento exclaimed. “Foolish girl, the honor of this commission is payment enough! I haven’t felt like this in years. I will do this as a token of friendship between our people. Adding a price tag devalues the request!”

“On the contrary, grandfather, adding a price tag adds monetary value, which can be used to, you know, buy things? I don’t think the market rate for honor is very high.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry. I am more than happy to pay for your expertise, and don’t see this as dishonorable at all.”

Dento shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, I must refuse. You have given me my passion back, Prince Hakim. I can’t ask for your money as well.”

Marot rolled her eyes. “Oh we absolutely can. Gems are common in the desert, but they aren’t here. It’s going to be expensive, grandfather, and I still have to pay the bills on this place, not to mention we have to buy the gems from the Gorons.”

I raised my hands in supplication. “Okay, how about a compromise. What if I pay for the materials, but not for the craftwork itself? That way, Marot Mart nets even, and you don’t feel as if you are taking advantage of me.”

Dento frowned. “That seems rather reasonable, wouldn’t you say, Marot?”

She groaned. “You’re such a softie, grandpa,” she said, and threw her hands up. “Fine. We’ll tabulate the cost of the materials used. I can’t force grandfather to accept payment for his work. He decides the value of his expertise. You’re going to be in town for a few more days, yes?”

“I will. My gift for King Dorephan isn’t scheduled to arrive until tonight, and I believe we planned to wait here and take King Dorephan’s offer for respite for about three days before we head back. That should still be the plan, but it seems the weather in Hyrule has been unpredictable of late, thanks to Ganon’s growing power. I can definitely let you know if that plan changes.”

Dento nodded. “Plenty of time, Prince Hakim. I am going to cease my work on all other projects to focus solely on this one. You won’t be disappointed. We do need to discuss the design, however.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to change the design at all if it can be helped. I understand that some changes are going to be necessary, but this crown doesn’t belong to me. I may wear it, but only because the Gerudo allow me to. This crown belongs to my people, not me. The alterations are for function, but I want its form to be as close to the original as possible.”

He nodded. “I can feel slight indentations along the flanges and the actual headpiece. The sockets for the original ornamentation have been removed, but to take out the indentations, it would have to be reforged entirely. I should be able to use those as a guide for where to socket the gems, but I may have to be creative in other places where the indents are too worn. I do promise, however, to stay true to the original style.”

I stood, then bowed deeply. “Thank you so much, Master Dento, for doing this for me. When it’s finished, please send for me and I will return,” Then winked at Marot. “With my wallet next time.”

Marot stood. “I love men that shower me with rupees. Watch yourself, Prince Hakim, or you may not be able to get rid of me,” she said, extending her hand. “Pleasure doing business. I haven’t seen my grandfather so excited in decades.”

“It was my pleasure, Marot. Now, I must excuse myself. I need to check on our favorite Swordsman.”

Chapter Text

I finally worked up the courage to go to the healing pools. I still didn’t know what I was going to say. What do you say to a person that you barely know then give a sound thrashing? It wasn’t a long walk. It took all of a minute. All I had to do was step out of Marot Mart, hook a left to get on a ramp, and it led me right up to the next tier of the city. The throne room was up the sweeping staircase in front of me, but instead of going up, I walked under the throne room, heading to a covered area dotted with round, small pools of water. The healing pools. What served as the Zora infirmary and an emergency shelter should something happen to their homes in either the East Lake Reservoir or in Lake Ruto below.

The place was quiet, befitting a house of healing, and I was pleased to see that there were only three patients in the entire room. One of those wasn’t in the water, but was laying on a bed, and a red Zora princess was standing over him, her hands glowing green. I swallowed, then made my way over, dodging the small, empty pools on approach.

When I stepped up, Mipha spoke to me quietly.

“Link is sleeping,” She said, but didn’t look at me. She was focused on him and her healing magic. “But he will recover none the worse for wear. I assume you came to check on him?”

“Considering that I’m responsible for his state, it seemed only right.” I said in the same hushed tone. “How bad off was he?

She opened her mouth to speak, then his eyes opened. Not even a second later, Link started coughing. It sounded wet, but wet was better than dry. That meant that he was still hydrated. He coughed a few times, and Mipha smiled and leaned down, picking up a spitoon, which he promptly spit whatever he coughed up into. Ew.

He looked at me. I expected to see something on his face. Annoyance. Anger. Instead, he just looked neutral, and he thumped his head back onto the pillow. “Ow.”

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Sadiq. How do you feel?”

“Do I need to answer that?” he asked, weak.

I guess not. Man, how was I so awkward? “I guess… yeah, that was pretty stupid to ask. When I was learning, I took a few direct hits from the lightning, as well as getting blowback like you did. Having a soft bristle brush around helps. You’ll have neuropathy and muscle twitches for a week, but the brush, if you run it across the itchy area in tight, gentle circles, resets the nerves. I would also suggest trying to keep your muscles warm. Hot baths help, and it makes the twitching and spasms hurt less.”

He frowned, then looked at me. “Thank you.”

Mipha reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I hate to interrupt, but I am very tired after using my magic. If you two don’t mind, I would like to rest.”

I looked at her. “Certainly, but I want to talk to you sometime soon. I want to get to know my fellow champions, and I learned a few things about you from your people. Seems that you aren’t as passive as you appear.”

She smiled. “I’m not, and I would like to speak to you as well, though after I have rested.”

Link nodded. “Go ahead. I won’t die overnight.”

She nodded, then curtsied as best as she could without the dress before turning, heading out of the pools and towards the palace.

I rubbed the back of my neck, and he smiled. “I’m not upset with you.”

“I noticed,” I said. “Zelda told me a little about you a few hours ago. She came to visit me and Urbosa. Urbosa wasn’t there, but we were able to talk. She told me that you wouldn’t be angry, but I can’t figure out why. I mean, I get that you’re the Chosen of Hylia and a tool and all that, but how are you able to keep composed? I would be livid.”

He shrugged. Again, the movement was slow. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You did exactly as you were asked. I could have given up at any time. I refused, but only because I ignored my limits. I wanted to keep going. To keep fighting. To find a way around your guard and succeed. My spirit was willing, but that’s why your attacks were so effective. The electricity. My spirit was willing, but my body stopped responding to my brain’s commands. I’d will my limbs to move and they wouldn’t. It was all I could do to keep from drowning. Is there any chance I can learn that? It’d be invaluable for protecting the princess.”

I smiled. “Unfortunately not. Not through any means I have access to, anyway. It’s hereditary. What I can do, however, is teach you some basic treatment tips in case you ever get hit by something like it again. We aren’t the only ones that have power over lightning. Electric Lizalfos are particularly nasty.”

He nodded. “That’s just as good. The more I learn, the better I can serve the Goddess.”

“So you take your job that seriously?” I asked.

He nodded. “Of course. Hylia needs me to wield the sword, and I have the honor of smiting foes in her name. While I certainly don’t take pleasure in taking a life, I know that with every swing of that sword, I’m making the world just a little safer for Hylia’s people. That’s something to be proud of.”

I chewed my cheek. It was hard to argue with him. He was doing what he could for the people that depended on him. In truth, we weren’t so different. I felt a strong sense of camaraderie towards him, just as I felt repulsed by the sword resting on the bed’s post. He glanced at it, then back at me. “Dragmire. I didn’t say anything at the time…”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s not pleasant and if you don’t mind, I feel like I’ve told the story enough for one day, but yes, I’m the son of the Demon King, Ganon. I assure you, however, that I feel no kinship with him.”

Link shook his head. “I didn’t think that. Everyone at the summit today had their own reasons for being there, and you were no different. It’s not my place to pry, so I opted not to ask. Urbosa vouches for you and the Princess doesn't feel threatened. That is all I need to trust.”

I smiled. “You know, I think we’ll get along, Link.”

He nodded. “Maybe, but I’m not very talkative, and if the princess is in danger, she comes first above all things.”

I shrugged. “I don’t have to talk or be around someone all the time to get along with them. Be yourself.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted. Bazz, one of the Zora guards approached, and bowed. “So sorry to interrupt, champions. A group of Gerudo have arrived at the bridge. They said that they were here by your request, Prince Hakim.”

I nodded. “Sounds like our gift for King Dorephan has arrived,” I said, turning back to Link. “Will you be okay?”

He nodded. “The worst has passed. Don’t worry about me. No hard feelings, Hakim. I look forward to working with you.”

I put my hand on his shoulder, then turned and Bazz bowed again, then started walking. I went with him. “Has a messenger already been sent to Urbosa?”

“Yes. She was dispatched at the same time as me,” he said. “We simply need to verify that you asked for them and for you to vouch for them, and then they are welcome inside the city. We have to be tighter on security than usual because of the presence of all the champions in the same place. This summit isn’t exactly public.”

“And so far, the Zora have gone to great lengths to set my mind at ease. You’re doing a fine job, Bazz.”

He nodded as we got to the main bridge, and I saw all the Gerudo on the other end. “Yes, I sent for them,” I said as soon as I could make out features. “They are our gift.”

He nodded and got to the end of the bridge and bowed. “I’m so sorry for the wait and the inconvenience, ma’ams. Welcome to Zora’s Domain,” he said, returning to his post, and the Gerudo, all save two dressed in sirwals, cloth tops, and veils, stepped past him.

“Randi,” I said, offering the woman in the lead a hug. She gratefully returned it. “My Prince. I apologize for being so early. We had to leave before a dust storm hit Gerudo Town.”

I shook my head and turned, gesturing for the women to follow. Five of them were wearing coin belts and they jingled as they walked. The other two were dressed in normal Gerudo clothing. All save Randi who had been here before marveled at the Domain just as I had. “Don’t be sorry. The weather has been nasty all over Hyrule because of the Great Betrayer’s return. I have always emphasized safety over all things. I’m glad that you’ve arrived. We had a change of plans anyway, so I consider this fortuitous.”

As we neared the ramp, Urbosa was descending with Laflat behind her, who looked relieved when she saw me with the women. “Thank goodness Bazz found you,” she said. “I was worried these ladies were going to have to wait in the rain.”

“Your haste is appreciated, Chancellor Laflat. Have no fear, however. Gerudo are far more rugged than we seem. Each of these delicate petals would face down a charging Lynel and each one is a trained Golden Scarab of the royal guard. A little rain would hardly register,” I said.

“His Grace is far too kind,” Randi said. “But he speaks the truth. We understand that you are simply doing your duty, and no offense has been taken. We simply wish to rest after the journey.”

“I’ll lead you there, so that the good Chancellor may return to her other duties,” Urbosa said, and Laflat smiled, inclined her head, then hurried off. I fell into step with Urbosa.

“How did you fare on the journey?” I asked.

“Not much to report. Mari ate a mushroom and hallucinated for a whole 6 hours. That was entertaining.”

“I told you, it looked like a Hylian Clusterspore, not a Skull Kid’s Laughter.” Mari, one of our chefs, said. “If I had noticed that the gills were ochre, and not white, I wouldn’t have eaten it.”

“That’s decidedly not true.” Sava, the other chef said. “You would have just dried it first.”

The rest of the women laughed, and I smiled. I was comfortable around the Zora, don’t get me wrong, but I was far from home still, and this banter made it feel like I had never left.

“I am pleased to hear the trip was uneventful. That’s better than coming across monsters,” Urbosa said.

“Certainly, but the Guardian Corps of the Sheikah are keeping the monsters very far from the roads. Nothing can stand up to those mechanical wonders,” Tara, one of the dancers said.

“Yes, with the guardians at our side, Ganon won’t stand a chance, and the Gerudo can be redeemed!” Yasmin, the lead dancer and widely considered the most beautiful of the Gerudo, said. She batted her eyes at me. “All thanks to our wonderful Prince Hakim, of course.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t done anything yet, Yasmin,” I said. “And may not be as directly involved as everyone wishes. I met the Swordsman today. Given his skill and the number of guardians at our side, I may not even need to leave Naboris during the battle. But I’m certainly okay with that. If the best way for the Gerudo to help is to be far away, weakening Ganon with Naboris’ laser or crushing his army, then that is where the Gerudo will be. This is our best chance to get rid of the Demon King and this black mark on our history once and for all. We’ll do exactly as we’re asked, no heroics.”

“Well said,” Urbosa said before anyone could gainsay me. “And correct, but this is neither the time or place for such a discussion. We have yet to conclude the sword-meeting. Wait to develop our plan until we know of our allies' decisions. Until then, I have already made the arrangements. Mari and Sava, you two have a full run of the Zoras’ kitchen. Randi, you and the troupe have been afforded an area known as Shatterback Point by which to practice. It is up at the peak of Ploymus Mountain,” she said, stopping and pointing at the peak from where we were. “It’s technically in the Domain, but the guards only go up there when they are requested, so be wary of any bold monsters.”

“They won’t stay bold when my warrior-dancers remove the heads from their shoulders. Do not worry for us, Lady Urbosa. We are well trained by the headmistress, Pelor.”

I opened the door and everyone filed into the palace, talking quietly to each other. Most of it was about the domain and the amount of water. They were all excited, and I smiled. They were my subjects, and Randi was a friend. Yasmin was a suitor, but I wasn’t interested. She was very beautiful and skilled at dance, but I needed more than beauty in a partner, especially if they were to rule at my side. Yasmin was weak in diplomacy, and that was where I needed a partner to be skilled.

“When shall we perform?” Randi asked.

“When will you be ready?” Urbosa responded.

“Since we are performing our more traditional dances, we can do them whenever. They are the first ones the girls are taught, and by now they can do them in their sleep.”

“Good to hear, because you may be on tonight.” I said. “We have to postpone tonight’s section of the sword-meeting because they insisted that I beat their Swordsman to a pulp.”

All of the dancers laughed, but it was Yasmin who spoke. “As if he could possibly stand up against you, a dervish.”

I shrugged. “I may be the best fighter in the Gerudo, but don’t underestimate the other people of Hyrule. If I had been even a second slower or took a moment longer to come up with a plan, I could have easily been the one in the healer’s care. Link is just as skilled as me, if not more so.”

“And we shouldn’t be rude. We are guests, and they are our allies,” Urbosa said.

We got to the room in question for our guests, right across the hall from the one Urbosa and I were staying in, and we all filed in. This room was much larger, consisting of ten beds lined up in rows of five on either side. Otherwise, the design was the same. I closed the door then turned. “I’m sorry, Urbosa, but that’s a load of Bokoblin shit. Everyone that I have talked to, even Link, has stated that if you vouched for me, then they could trust me. If that was truly the case, then why did I need to be tested? Ganon could return at any moment, and Link can’t very well fight him if I put him into intensive care. We are way too far along to be pussyfooting around about allies, right now, or to be distrustful. I appreciate that these people aren’t us, but so far, I have been fairly unimpressed with any of the Champions I have met, save Link and Zelda.”

She smiled. “I know that, Hakim, and you are correct from a Gerudo perspective, but our allies are not Gerudo as you said, and you can’t expect them to be as pragmatic as we are. The desert shaped us, but it didn’t shape the others. You also forget that not long before you were born, the Hylians and Gerudo were engaged in a bitter war. The Century War? A pretty important part of our recent history? Those wounds take time to heal.”

I shook my head. “I just wish that they’d acknowledge the seriousness of the threat. It’s like Revali doesn’t care about anything but being petty, Daruk is, frankly, an idiot, and Mipha only cares about Link. If anyone knows what Ganon’s capable of, it’s us.”

Urbosa rolled her eyes. “You had so many incorrect statements there, I don’t even know where to start. Maybe you don’t see their strengths, but they have them, son. Don’t dismiss their skills. Maybe you are the one being underestimating? Daruk, for example, isn’t the sharpest sword in the armory, but he’d be the first to tell you that, and his strength and heroism put even some of your deeds to shame. Mipha may seem timid, but she’s a stalwart ally that we can rely on for ages, not just for the Calamity, and Revali, while he has a sharp tongue and wit, is still here because he understands the gravity of the situation, and his skill with a bow combined with his flight makes him very likely the finest archer in Hyrule, even amongst us. Yes, we argue and snipe at each other, but that’s a good sign. You should be concerned if they ever act overly formal.”

The conversation took a natural pause as I fumed. Mari stood. “I think it’s best that Sava and I begin dinner preparations.”

“And we need to get moving to rehearse. Just because we can do them in our sleep doesn’t mean we shouldn’t review our basic dances,” Randi said.

Urbosa nodded. “I will lead you all to the places you need to go. Hakim will join us, since he is providing musical accompaniment,” she said, then placed her hand on my shoulder. “Trust, My Prince. I know it doesn’t come naturally, but trust our friends.”

I sighed. What choice did I have, otherwise?

Chapter Text

The dining area was lively. King Dorephan, of course, dominated the room, laughing jovially at a story that Daruk had told him. We were at a particularly large table. The champions, Dorephan, little Prince Sidon who I was just now meeting, and of course, Princess Zelda.

“So, Prince Hakim, Lady Urbosa, I am told that you are responsible for the delectable fragrance wafting from the kitchen,” Dorephan said.

“Not us, so much as our retainers. Credit where credit is due, they are the masterminds behind tonight’s menu. We just advised on diet,” I said.

“And they will come out to present the meal and explain what everything is since it’s a cultural food for us. They were adding the finishing touches a moment ago,” Urbosa added.

“And it’s not cuckoo, so you can relax, Revali,” I slid onto the end, and Revali’s feathers ruffled.

“Surely you didn’t just insinuate that I am a relative of the common cuckoo, Prince Hakim. That would be an error on your part,” Revali said.

“Mmm but see, I did bird boy. What are you going to do about it?”

He narrowed his eyes, then crossed his wings and decided that I was no longer worth his time, which was decidedly fine with me. He was my least favorite of the people gathered at the table.

Daruk laughed. “Well, that’s one way to shut him up.”

“I don’t feel very valued or appreciated as a member of the team, right now,” Revali said.

“Great. Now I want you to think about when I first arrived and how I felt, mostly because of you. Make a comparison. Sucks, doesn’t it?” I asked.

“Okay, leave Revali alone, boys,” Zelda said, attempting to be the voice of reason. “He is very much an important member of the Champions and his skill with a bow is unmatched. No need to tease him… too much.”

The doors to the kitchen opened, cutting off any other conversation, and a small army of Zora chefs entered the room, carrying plates of food. Mari and Sava followed them out, but instead they stood near me at the end of the table, waiting for all of the dishes to be served. The Zora set the plates down and I resisted drooling, just barely. My favorite, and I was getting tired of rations so this was a definitely welcome reprieve.

I stood, and the room fell silent to allow me to speak. “Honored King Dorephan,” I began. “Once again, I would like to thank you so much for this invitation to your Domain. The Zora have been nothing but kind and accommodating, and I am humbled by the hospitality we have been shown. This kindness shouldn’t go without acknowledgement.”

I clapped my hands twice, and Randi and the dance troupe came in, carrying instruments and jingling as they walked, the ring belts and the bells around their ankles shining in the light.

“As such, we wished to provide you a gift, for all the kindness you have shown us, but I was at a loss as to what gift would be appropriate. I could have arrived with precious stones and metals, but while those are valuable they are material, and as any Gerudo knows, the material always pales when compared to the ephemeral. The spirit. Sage Nabooru, who Vah Naboris is named after, was the Sage of Spirit, after all, and the Gerudo have always held this position in one way or another. I’ve brought gems and metals because this region isn’t blessed with them in abundance like the desert, but they are not truly a gift fit for a king. They are common for us, and that defeats the purpose.”

I gestured at the dance troupe and the chefs. “So, instead I wish to offer you a memory as a gift. Something that will neither break or dull with age, and that can never be taken from you. My chefs have provided you with a meal that is culturally significant to the Gerudo and just happens to be my favorite, and Ms. Randi…” she smiled and waved. “And her dance troupe is going to perform for you all. Now, I am an abysmal dancer, as Randi can attest.”

“At least you can attend a formal event, but let your partner lead, My Prince.” Randi said, and everyone in the room chuckled.

I smiled. “While I would do nothing but get in the way of these lovely women if I tried to dance, I am an accomplished musician, and Urbosa and I will provide the musical accompaniment with the troupe for their performance.”

Dorephan smiled wide. “I certainly look forward to the performance. And what is this delectable dish that has been set in front of me?”

I motioned to Mari, and she nodded, taking it away from there as I sat. “When tasked with preparing a dish for such varied and distinguished guests, Sava and I were at a loss, initially.” she said, folding her hands behind her back. “The Rito, Gorons, Zora, Hylians, and Gerudo are so different in not only what they eat, but what they can’t eat, that we had to get creative. We settled on our own cultural dishes to bless your palettes, but with variations to Champion Daruk and Champion Revali’s food, to provide adequate nutrition and edibility.”

She gestured to the two, who nodded in appreciation, and she smiled. “Tonight, we prepared Samak Harra. Using the natural bounty of your beautiful Domain, we grilled hylian pike and fileted it, then added a spicy sauce consisting of tahini, garlic, peppers, and other delicious offerings. It has been served atop a soft bed of cardamom pilaf made with the finest Hylian rice, and served alongside two fresh loaves of Naan a piece. The proper way to eat this dish is to utilize the rice and naan to absorb the leftover sauce and juices from the fish, but of course, however you wish to eat it, it all digests the same.”

Sava cleared her throat, taking over. Her voice was deeper than Mari’s, but no less beautiful. “For your beverage, we prepared Gerudo mint tea, which is simply green tea with mint leaves brewed into it, and then finished with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice. Its cooling effect will assist your tongue and balance out the spiciness of the fish. For champion Revali, we adjusted the sauce to make it not as heavy for the Rito’s delicate stomach, using more pine nuts and chickaloo tree nuts and less broth from the fish, but we cranked up the spice level to account for the spicy food the Rito eat on a daily basis.”

Revali surprised me. He bowed deeply. “That is very thoughtful of you. Thank you so much for your attentiveness.”

Sava bowed. “And as for Champion Daruk, we replaced the Hylian Pike with rock bass, meaning that we asked Master Dento if he could have some of the youth find mineral rich stones at the bottom of the lake and dredge it up to be seasoned. Instead of cardamom, we used pine nuts and other, nutrient rich stones, ground into a powder. And of course, instead of tea you have mint infused mineral water, so that you can absorb the appropriate nutrients from the food.”

“Never let it be said that the Gerudo aren’t thoughtful. We can’t eat regular food like everyone else, and I was planning to eat a sack of rock candy when I returned to my room so as not to be rude, but I’m pleasantly surprised. Thank you for the consideration,” Daruk said with a smile.

“And with that, dig in.” I said, but left my food on the table. I didn’t mind if it was a little cold when I got back. Urbosa was playing the drum, and was very skilled, so she enjoyed the hot food while I sat down near the stage, strumming my own instrument, the Gerudo guitar, and tuning it, listening to the conversation in the background.

“Well, I for one am certainly excited,” Dorephan said, cutting into his fish.

Revali’s eyes lit up as he took his own bite. “This is very good,” he said, looking down at the plate.

“Did I just hear a compliment from Revali? To a boy of all things? Do I hear wedding bells?” Mipha asked, teasing him.

“The boy didn’t cook it, did he?” Revali bit back.

“I am much older than I look, Sir Revali.” Mari said, smiling. “Prince Hakim was my apprentice in the kitchen between the ages ten to fifteen. He can cook just as well. Sava is his replacement.” She glanced over. “Not that you aren’t as talented as he is, dear. You just have three years less experience.”

Sava smiled, sweeping some of the hair out of her face. “No offense taken, Mrs. Mari. I myself have sampled His Grace’s meals. He only got to be this good thanks to a great teacher.”

The plates themselves were very well put together presentation-wise as well, each person’s according to their traditions. For Daruk, his rocks were piled on his pilaf, with the drizzle all the way across it. Goron fare, so you can get it down and get back to the mine without having to waste time mixing and picking through it. A small bottle of Goron spice was set next to the plate so he could spice it to his leisure. If they made it as hot as Death Mountain itself in the kitchen, the fumes would have forced us to evacuate the palace. I could only handle a pinch of the spice, and I loved spicy food. Daruk had used half of the bottle. Good Goddess. I’d be shitting fire for months but it didn’t even slow him down as he put it away, and he could certainly put it away, by the Seven.

Revali’s was far more artistic. Rito food, while delicious, was often whites and greens and reds. They weren’t strangers to meat, but they were mostly vegetarian and anything fattier than fish would make them violently sick, which is why Sava and Mari hadn’t given him as much meat. The plate reflected that. The white sauce had green parsley and chives for garnish and color. It was drizzled over the fish, the smallest filet of everyone’s to account for his stomach. The pilaf itself was garnished with pine nuts for more color and small slivers of tomato. These two dishes were on two separate plates so that he didn’t have to fight to get fish in his craw to break down for easier digestion, while the easily digested rice could pass straight through into his stomach. He could separate the dishes per bite.

The Zora all had slight variations but largely the same presentation. Sidon was still fairly small if not what we considered young; he was already in his teens but the Zora aged far slower than we did, and his food was cut into more manageable pieces, where Mipha who preferred veggies to meat had less fish and more vegetables in her pilaf. Otherwise, The fish was the star of the show, on the bottom and in the middle of the plate. The pilaf was formed around it like a pillowy dam, with the sauce on the other side. This allowed it to mostly cover the pilaf per bite, and when that was gone, the rest would naturally transfer to the fish, but there was less so it wouldn’t overpower the delicate flavors that only Zora could taste in fish. Something the rest of the races of Hyrule didn’t get to experience.

The Hylian and Gerudo food were exactly the same composition, but they had been arranged differently. The fish was on a bed of pilaf like Daruk’s, but the garnish on the Hylian food clearly defined the shape of the Triforce, with the fish in the center, where ours was shaped like the ancestral Gerudo tribal medallion.

I finished tuning the guitar and Randi sat next to me, tuning hers and I tuned Urbosa’s. We needed her to do rhythm for the first song, where I would do melody and solo and Randi would take backup, blending our sections together.

When we finished, Urbosa joined us, and I stood. “For us, dance is a cultural and spiritual celebration, as well as a group activity. After all, we value life and the spirit, and what better encompasses that than dancing and music? This is a gift, but this is also a celebration. All races of Hyrule have come together in peace to fight a greater threat, and there is nothing more joyous than friendship, and nothing more valuable than bonds in the face of the threat that looms by the Great Betrayer. You are encouraged to participate, be it if you want to clap along with the castanets, or try your luck keeping up with our lovely petals of the Cactus Bloom dance troupe. And if you think any one of these women are delicate, I implore you to think again. Each one is a highly trained Golden Scarab, who has taken the art of dance and turned it into a martial skill. The scimitars they wield aren’t decorative. Each one is a family blade, passed down through their ancestors. They are priceless, beautiful, and very, very sharp, and each one has spilled blood at some point or another, so please, don’t try what you are about to see at home.”

Everyone laughed as I sat back down and nodded to everyone, and the dancers took their places, drawing their curved scimitars and everyone made doubly sure that they had at least ten feet between them and the stage for the dancers.

I started tapping my foot, and Urbosa and Randi matched mine, setting the tempo. The dance troupe put on their game faces, each one sporting an arrogant smile, their hips bouncing in unison to my foot, the coins on their belt adding to the steady beat.

The opening riff of the song has a syncopated rhythm that grabs attention immediately, called a hook. Its off-beat accents and energetic strumming create a lively and engaging introduction, setting the tone before the main melody kicks in. I strummed it out, the beginning of our oldest ancestral song, “Gerudo Valley.” After I played those notes, the girls started tapping rhythmically with the castanets, and Urbosa kicked in on the Rhythm riff. E, G, B, E, E, G, B, E, then the same chords an octave lower. Very soon after, I began on the iconic melody, and the foot work began. The two girls with swords, Yasmin and Amira, began circling each other with their swords swirling slowly, while the three other women stood at the back, tapping their feet and clicking the castanets. Randi clapped with them until I joined in, and once I began the melody, she played the strong bass notes to accompany us.

Daruk’s head immediately got into it, bobbing in time with the music. The dancers moved slowly in the opening as I strummed, the hot, staccato feel of the song adding a distinct auditory feeling of hot and dry to the dance, a tale of the ancient battle between the Hero of Time and the Demon King. I glanced at Link while I played. Oh how far we’ve come.

As we hit the end of the verse, I jumped up an octave and the tempo increased, as represented by the castanets. This was mirrored by the dancers with swords, who then began the isolation of their stomachs, twirling around each other with those deadly swords, each one in complete unison. They had to be. Being a half step off could have been fatal. They were dancing around each other symbolizing the deadly duel between the hero and villain.

I switched tracks. Urbosa took over the melody while I started hammering out a solo, and Yasmin, playing the hero, whipped her own movement into a frenzy, noting the moment that the Hero of Time felled Ganondorf in that climactic battle. As my solo ended, we shifted, and Yasmin and Amira took a step back while the back up dancers lunged onto center stage, stamping their feet and spinning on each eighth note. The dizzying, frantic feel of the song was to symbolize the moment when Hyrule Castle began falling down around the ears of the Hero and Princess Zelda of that age, having to make their quick exit before it collapsed on top of them.

In the background, it also allowed Amira to strap on her wooden mask that symbolized Ganon's demonic form while Yasmin pinned pelts from desert hares and other small animals to Amira’s outfit.

I shifted back into a climactic, majestic solo and crescendoed as the backup dancers stepped to either side of the stage, and Amira and Yasmin stepped back to the fore in unison. Their scimitars weren’t being used as a dance now. They were, but it looked more like a sword fight, with the blades narrowly missing as they came whipping towards each other. This was the most delicate and harrowing part of the dance as the climax, the swords sparing each other's exposed midriffs by mere centimeters, only their synchronized isolation of the belly dancing movements kept them from accidentally slicing each other open.

This effect was not lost on our audience. Mipha had both hands to her mouth in shock. Daruk had left the table entirely, dancing like he didn’t care who was watching, and he definitely didn’t. Even a dad would have been ashamed of the moves he was busting out. Zelda and Link were grinning and clapping along with the castanets. Even Revali’s head bobbed slightly to the rhythm. While Daruks’ performance was most lively, everyone was participating as would have been appropriate at a Gerudo Town fireside holiday, the only days of the year where everyone left Gerudo Town and went to Kara Kara bazaar, so that the wives and daughters could enjoy the festivities with their husbands and fathers that were barred from town.

That’s when my improvisation came to the fore. The original notes were played on separate strings of the guitar, but I stood and stepped forward with it strapped around me, and the dancers flowed around me, falling solely into the steps of the dance in unison. No swords for this part. We had rehearsed this a few hours before.

I burst into a powerful version of the melody using the full chords of the song instead of individual notes, adding to the volume and power of the final act. It represented the Hero of Time’s triumph over the Demon King, saving the land of Hyrule, and freeing the Gerudo from their chains to the tyrant.

I hammered out the last notes which mirrored the opening. E, G, B, E, E, G, B, E.

And then we all stomped in unison on the final note, the dancers falling into a bow, breathing heavily.

Chapter Text

The talk during dinner after our performance was lively, and everyone had compliments for the Cactus Bloom troupe. I ate my food, enjoying it immensely even if it had gotten slightly cold. It still beat the snot out of rations. Even though there were smiles all around the room, I still couldn’t shake the feeling of my discomfort.

It was the stupidest thing, too. We had planned to have the troupe perform, we had planned for this meal, yet even now, I felt like we were wasting time while Ganon was still growing in power. That growth affected me too, represented by the Dark Urge. It got stronger as Ganon did, and I knew that he was growing in power. It wouldn’t be long, so why were we sitting around? He was coming, and soon. I knew that, but I also knew that people couldn’t keep going. At some point, we had to have a break. We had to have the good moments to bond and to grow trust to counter the bad, especially for the Champions, who were going to have to work together seamlessly. I knew that, but I was still restless.

Needless to say, after I had finished my meal, I stuck around for another thirty minutes conversing as to not be rude, then excused myself, saying that despite my energy, I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest. Not a lie because of the Dark Urge, but still an excuse because after I left, I only stopped in our chambers for a moment to grab my pack, then shouldered it and the guitar and headed out.

I didn’t stay in the Domain. Well, I did, but after rehearsal at Shatterback Point, I decided that it was quiet and empty enough that I could use it as my introvert quiet spot, and quietly left the city itself. I wasn’t necessarily being sneaky either, but I did check to make sure no one was paying too much attention as I made my way across the bridge over Ruto Lake, making the short, thirty-minute hike up to the Point.

I sat down on the ledge when I arrived and closed my eyes, taking a deep inhale. Doing so in the desert meant that all you were going to get was a nose full of sand, but not here. This place was so different. There was so much nature. It smelled so… green. Alive. So many plants that were, honestly, hell on my sinuses because I wasn’t used to them. Still, botany was a hobby and passion of mine that I had developed outside of any other influences. I couldn’t say that for my other skills, but I knew the plants around me by name because I had chosen to learn. It wasn’t dictated. This spot was even pleasant. Not hot at night like this. It was cool enough to sit outside, but not so cold to be shivering like it got in the desert at night. The Zora truly were gifted in location, even if they didn’t realize it.

I looked out at the city far, far below, the luminous stone in the architecture still allowing me to see every detail without being lit up too harshly. It truly was one of the most beautiful sights I had seen, but I also saw how that whimsy wouldn’t last forever. If I lived here, the waterfalls would get mundane. Things here were particularly static, where the dunes of our home were dynamic, ever changing, uncovering some things and burying others every single day. My wanderlust, my desire for seeing new things was satiated in the desert because of that, but here?

I sighed and strummed a few chords on the guitar idly, as I often did in the rare moments when I was alone. That was thanks to Randi. She may not have seemed like it, but Randi was my tutor for music just like Mari was my tutor for cooking. She had told me that if my hands were free, practice chords. It was thanks to that that I knew them so well and that I was so good at music, but I knew that if Mari weren’t there, if Randi weren’t there? I wouldn’t be anyone. I’d just be a weird Gerudo that knew way too much about botany. I wouldn’t have any skills beyond that and fighting, the only thing my father passed down. That and the Urge. But I was tired of fighting. I didn’t want this.

The Urge. I frowned, thinking about it. Specifically, thinking about that interaction with Zelda.

It had deeply, deeply frightened me.

I had never once considered doing that to anyone, yet it’s like the beast in me knew exactly who she was, and it amplified its malice. I had to keep an iron grip on it at all times, but I had to clamp down especially hard when she was around. But at the same time, I had to wonder. Where did my attraction and feelings end, and where did the Urge’s begin? It’s not like the Urge wasn’t a part of me. It absolutely was. It was the deepest, most visceral, primal, and evil part of my psyche, just way stronger thanks to Ganon. My curse for being born is what it felt like.

Now? It wasn’t my friend. I had to maintain control. The Urge wasn’t my master, and I wasn’t its slave like Ganon was to his. The sins of the father can’t be passed on to the son. I had to be better. I had to work to keep from giving in to that evil, but it was getting harder and harder every day. I hadn’t told Urbosa, but even I had to admit that it was getting difficult, and she should know so that she could stop me if it ever won out over me.

I sighed again and strummed a few more chords, and that’s when I heard the footsteps approaching. Dammit, someone had noticed after all. When I glanced over my shoulder, it was also exactly who I knew would notice, and who I was specifically trying to avoid.

“Urbosa said you’d be here,” Zelda said, sitting on the peak next to me. “She said that you probably wanted alone time and was willing to give you space since this had been a fairly social event for someone so introverted, but I wanted to check on you, without her knowledge, of course. I know that she is much like your mother, and sometimes, you can’t tell your mother everything. I wanted to make sure you were alright since she also noticed that you’d been acting strange. Angry. Apparently you said some things earlier. She wouldn’t tell me what it was, but I figured if you were going to be my confidante and help me shoulder my burdens, then I could do the same for you.”

I chuckled softly. She was so kind. Gods, I really did feel like a beast in the face of that kindness, and that wasn’t even because of the Urge. This whole trip, I had been incredibly selfish. I whined to Urbosa the whole way here, I beat up Link to prove a point, hell, I even stole some of the spotlight from the dancers towards the end. And still, here Zelda was, giving me space in her thoughts. Cutting out time from her life to spend with me. Now I had to talk to her, and it was the last thing I actually wanted to do. But still, she came all the way out here to help me. It would have been incredibly selfish and unkind to turn her away, considering that she was here to help and barely knew me.

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to help,” I said, leaning back. “I do appreciate the attempt, but this monster I have to face alone.”

She looked out across the city beneath us. “You have to, or you want to?”

I frowned, looking at her, and she turned, meeting my gaze. She had a smile on her face, but not patronizing. “No Zelda, my job is to protect you. I’ll fight the monster alone,” She said in her best masculine impression, then she too leaned back on her palms, reverting back to her normal voice. “You two are so similar, are you sure you aren’t related? Maybe twins separated at birth? The similarities are uncanny.”

I shook my head. “More like a reflection, I think.” I strummed a few more chords. “When I got near the Sword… It makes me uncomfortable. It makes the hideous thing in me squirm with hate. I think it’s much more like a reflection than twins. He’s the heroic, honorable side of me, and I’m the ruthless and pragmatic side of him.” I snorted derisively. “The Goddess has a twisted sense of humor.”

She looked at me and frowned. “Is that what you think of yourself? A monster that pretends to be a man?”

I looked down. Was she always this perceptive? She could spear the heart of the issue better than the Zora below could spear fish. Of course that’s what I thought.

Zelda pulled her knees to her chest, a strangely vulnerable gesture from the Princess of Hyrule. “Hakim, may I be frank with you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Might want to ask Frank first.”

She smiled, amused, but there was no deflecting with humor. “I feel it’s only right that we speak as friends. As equals. We are, after all, in the same position in our respective countries.”

I waved my hand to give her leave, strumming my guitar quietly. My fingers danced over the strings, connecting chords in an interesting way. It was almost a song. It was like I knew it, but I couldn’t quite place it. C, E, G? I had never played those three chords in succession like that. It was something. There was something deeper in those chords. It was more significant than I had thought. I knew without a doubt that I hadn’t played them by accident.

She nodded, her eyes not leaving me. “I don’t see a monster, Hakim. I know that you may feel that way, but I see a man that has a huge weight to bear, and you’re slowly being crushed by it.” She picked a blade of grass, turning to look out across the Domain again, fiddling with the grass. “You don’t have to carry every burden alone, though. I know that your parentage makes things… well, difficult would be an understatement.”

I missed the chord, playing the wrong note. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“But that’s the thing,” she said, turning to me and resting her hands on my own on the guitar. She was gentle. Her hands were soft. I could feel it rising up, telling me to destroy her. To ravage her. “You aren’t alone. You have me, and I know you have Urbosa. If you talk, we can help you.”

I looked down at her hands. “Zelda, please don’t touch me. You of all people can’t touch me.”

She frowned, but did remove her hands. “Can I ask why?”

I missed the chord again, then just let the guitar fall into my lap in frustration. I stared at the silver strings, trying to not just toss the damn thing into the ravine in front of me. I didn’t want to have this talk, but the sooner I said it, the sooner this talk would be over, because she was very stubborn and wasn’t going to let this go. The words felt like sandpaper on my tongue as they came out, but I said it anyway, even if I didn’t want to. “Because there’s a monster in me, and it wants me to hurt you. You’re the reincarnation of the Goddess. My father was her enemy. That darkness is in me, and every time…” I took a long, shuddering sigh. “Every time, it tells me to hurt you, and I don’t want that.”

She frowned deeper. “Are you a threat to me?”

“Goddess, I hope not,” I said honestly.

She nodded. Though she didn’t touch me again because I had asked her not to, she still did her best to smile at me. “Then I trust you, Hakim. You may feel hopeless, even powerless, but you’re in control at all times. I know that if it ever came to it, you couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

I stood, yanking my hands away and running them through my hair. “Yeah, well, I’d rather not test that theory.”

She didn’t seem offended. Not even upset. She just nodded in understanding, and that in itself was driving me mad. How could she sit there and just… be that? Kind, understanding, fucking perfect in every sense of the word. She turned back to the Domain, taking her eyes off me. That trust. That trust was pissing me off, and I closed my eyes. It was time to get to the root of this problem. Why was that making me so angry?

Because I felt like I didn’t deserve her kindness, obviously.

But why? Why didn’t I deserve her kindness?

Because Ganon had enslaved my people, and I was the poor son of a bitch that came from him. I didn’t deserve kindness like that because I was guilty of Ganon’s crimes.

But was I? Had I performed them? What did the sins of the father actually mean?

I sat back down. I didn’t know, did I? We knew he was awful, but Ganon was a problem ten thousand years ago. How could I possibly know the minutiae of everything he had ever done? It’s not like anyone kept a record of his crimes. Not that we’d found, anyway.

“I must seem like an ungrateful, selfish asshole.”

She shook her head. “No, you seem like a man that’s struggling under the weight of expectations you can’t possibly hope to fill, and it’s crushing you.” She sighed and tossed the blade of grass. “I know what you think. You think that you have to do your duty, regardless of the cost. You think that you have a divine mission, and dammit, you’re going to fucking do it.” She paused. “His words, of course. I don’t normally use coarse language if I can help it, but no sense cleaning it up, especially if we are talking as equals.”

My eyebrows went up. I was shocked to hear that kind of language come out of her mouth.

She pulled her knees back up. “Because you two are so damned similar. It’s driving me crazy. You don’t have to do everything alone, Hakim. There are people that care about you, and they want to help you. You just have to let them in.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” I snapped, then immediately tried to rein in my frustration, but she, again, didn’t seem upset with me. Goddess, this world didn’t deserve her.

“If you really want an answer to that, I can give it to you, but it requires you to trust me, and you don’t trust easily. Ask me how I know.”

I shook my head. “It’s not personal.”

“I know. It’s why I’m not upset with how angsty you’ve been tonight. Can you trust me, Hakim?”

I snorted. “Can you trust me, Zelda?”

She smiled. “I believe that I can. Stop dodging.”

I grumbled something uncharitable, but went back to strumming.

“Come here. I want you to close your eyes, and I want you to lay your head in my lap.”

“Why on earth would I do that? The last thing I want from you is physical contact. Haven’t you heard a word that I said?”

She nodded. “I certainly have, but as I have said multiple times, I trust you. I acknowledge that you have the capacity and potential to hurt me, and I acknowledge that you are physically stronger than me. I know the risks, but Hakim, I only want to help you. Can you extend that same trust to me? Just for a moment?”

I deflated. I really was being an ass this time. She wasn’t asking for much, and Urbosa would have smacked the shit out of me if she had seen my behavior. I was better than this. I sighed once again and lifted the guitar strap over my head. I set the guitar in the grass gently, then turned around and leaned back, and she guided me, her hands on my shoulders, as I laid my head in her lap and closed my eyes.

Her fingers left my shoulders, only for them to reappear in my hair, playing with it idly. “Tell me what you think about this. My fingers in your hair. Silence. I want to know your thoughts. I don’t care how horrible they may be. Just say them. The first thing on your mind.”

“Anything?”

“Total honesty, no judgment. Let me see into your head.”

I focused, trying to get my snarled head straightened out. My thoughts. The first thing that comes to my head. God, I felt so stupid, and I could feel the heat rushing to my face as I spoke. I knew I was blushing, turning that dark, ruddy color that I did when I blushed, but I pushed past it.

“Your hands are soothing. Calming. The world is quiet, at this moment. It’s peaceful.”

“What else?”

What else. I searched deeper. What else was I feeling? “Gnawing hunger. Something telling me to throw you down, and destroy you. To take my fill, but to leave you alive to maximize the suffering.”

“Good, now isolate that thought.”

I frowned. How on earth was she taking this in stride? If I was a woman, I would have been running away screaming. Still, her patience was evident, as was her trust, and when I finally realized that she was serious about that trust, that she truly wanted to help me, it was like something inside me broke. Like a dam that I didn’t know was about to burst was finally letting out some of its water. Pressure easing. I found that stray thought easily, and the thing it was attached to.

“This is the thing that scares you, isn’t it? You fight and are so belligerent because this scares you. It feels like it’s going to overwhelm you at any moment.”

I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I could only nod. Goddess, how did she know? How did she know how scared I was?

“Hakim, this is a part of you. I know that it’s revolting, and I know that it feels like it’s eating you alive. You have to accept that it’s a part of you. Even if it bothers you, even if it’s abhorrent, this is you. These are your thoughts and feelings. There’s no external force at work. Not that I can feel, at any rate, and I can at least do that. As soon as you accept that, you’ll realize the power you have over it.”

This was… part of me? This gnarled, disgusting darkness that had ruled me through fear? I started shuddering, hardly able to contain my sobs as that thought connected. I really was a monster then. I really was just like him.

“And the thing that sets you apart from him is your control. Only you can tell your body what it does. Only you can get your head in order. Telling yourself that this part of you is what causes you to do bad things is only going to lead you down the same path as him.”

Goddess, I had said that out loud. But at the moment? At the moment it didn’t feel like it mattered. Zelda felt a world away. My problem was fear. I had responded to that fear as a wild animal did. I was lashing out. The darkness in me was just as scared of me as I was of it. If I was terrified of it and lashing out, then of course it was defending itself in turn. I was fighting a battle with myself, so of course I wasn’t making progress.

I isolated it. The darkness in me. Yeah, it was definitely tied to Ganon’s influence, but She was right. It was just an amplification of my own desires. I put my hand on its head. I told it I was sorry. I told it that I wouldn’t fear it again, and that I would guide it to use its fury for good, and deep in me, I felt… a purr. I felt content. I felt at peace. My war with myself was finally over, and I could stop running.

My hands relaxed on something. Cold, solid wood. The metal strings of my guitar, and something in my head started to take shape. C, E, G, right? There was something there, on the edges of my memory. I didn’t open my eyes, but I did pick up the guitar, resting it on my chest though I was lying down, and let my subconscious take me. C, E, G. C, E, G. What was next? B. I strummed a B, and it hit right, so I started over. C, E, G. C, E, G. C, E, B, E, C, E and F in a double note, G. 

Zelda’s hands froze. “That… That song. I know it. My mother’s lullaby. I’d know it anywhere.”

I played it again, but this time, she sung along with it.

"Rest, dear child, so far from home,

Safe and sound, you're not alone.

Whispered winds will guide you here,

In dreams, you'll find me near."

I shuddered, and the tears started streaming from my face again, but as I began sobbing, I didn’t feel ashamed. It may have been a lullaby, and it may not have been for me, but those words spoke to me all the same, and as I sobbed, I finally, for the first time in my life, felt true and total peace.

Chapter Text

“Now that Link has recovered, I feel that we can finish our discussion so everyone can get home and get some practice with their divine beasts,” Zelda said, looking at Link. “If you would, please give us your assessment of Hakim.”

Link furrowed his brow and put his fist to his chin, thinking, then ran a hand through his golden hair. “His talent and skill are evident. While I’m certain that if we had a rematch in a dry area it would have gone down differently, this also serves to showcase tenacity and ruthless tactics. As upset as I am about the battle, there is no denying that Hakim is right. Ganon and its minions aren’t going to fight fair, so it makes sense that we return that same energy. The Gerudo have always been mavericks of a sort. Lady Urbosa was no different,” he said, then nodded. “I would say he’d make an excellent Champion. I don’t agree that he’s better than Urbosa, he doesn’t have the same level of finesse, but I think that since she’s training him and we still have time to practice, he’s able to improve. I have no objections.”

Zelda nodded. “And I trust you to give an honest assessment. You’ve never been known to lie,” she said, then turned back to us. “Then if there are no other objections…” She paused and turned her head. “Useful objections, Revali.”

He slowly put his wing back down, clearly miffed.

“Then I see no reason to refuse the Gerudo’s request. I give my blessing and would like to welcome Champion Hakim Dragmire into our presence!”

Everyone present clapped, save me. I was thinking. “So, I’m sure that most of you have realized by now that Urbosa and I are quite close. That’s because my mother is dead. Urbosa is technically my aunt, but she raised me. She’s as close to my mother as it can get. I know who my father is, and as much as it may hurt, I have to accept that. However, that doesn’t mean I always have to be associated with him,” I said, then folded my arms. “And that means that I can take my mother’s maiden name, and Urbosa’s name as well. Hakim Al-Amir Fatima ibn Gannondorf is my name. He can know that his son had a part in his death.”

Zelda smiled, her gaze thoughtful. “Your name, Hakim Al-Amir Fatima ibn Gannondorf... It holds a certain power, doesn’t it? Prince Hakim, son of Ganon.”

I shifted uncomfortably, the weight of my name pressing on me. “It’s my mother’s name that carries the most meaning for me, not my father’s. Fatima represents everything I strive to be—everything good. Gannondorf... is a name I bear out of necessity, not pride. He’s a reminder of where I come from, but I won’t follow his path. Instead, I’ll do what he was too weak to do. I’ll fight to make myself worthy of the name Fatima.”

Zelda smiled approvingly. It was thanks to her that I came to the decision. Urbosa rested her hand on my shoulder, her eyes warm. “You honor your mother, our people, and me, Hakim. Names remind us of who we are and where we come from, but it’s up to us to decide what they will mean for the future. You may not feel worthy yet, but you are ready for what’s ahead. And I couldn’t be prouder to call you ‘son.’”

Daruk grinned, his voice a booming affirmation. “Hear, hear! You’ve got fire in you, kiddo, and that’s what matters. Titles and history? Just details for the scholars. What counts is what you do.”

Mipha, soft-spoken but resolute, added, “Names carry weight, but it’s actions that define us. I believe you’ll live up to the name you choose. I have faith in you, Hakim.”

Revali remained silent, his sharp eyes distant as if lost in thought. I had imagined him to be all bluster, but there was a depth there—a calculating strategist, not just the hot-headed warrior I had expected. Perhaps Zelda saw the potential, rather than the reality that I saw, but I was starting to get it. I started to get why he was there. We’d never be friends, but allies? That I could do.

Zelda broke the silence, turning her focus back to the map. “Now that we’ve settled that, let’s move on to our battle lines.”

We spent a lot of time talking and deliberating. 6 hours, in fact, but none of it was worthless. Revali had a genius stratagem using the Rito and their aerial mobility to run supplies. They just weren’t cut out to fight like the hardier races of the Gorons, Hylians, and Gerudo. So, it was decided. As the fastest of the Divine Beasts and mistress over the sky, Revali would pilot Vah Medoh in a supportive role, providing air superiority and handling communications as a sort of mobile central intelligence hub, where he could unsnarl the information and pass the relevant info to the relevant people. His fastest Rito runners would be on board Vah Medoh with him, to disseminate said intelligence. They would send requests for supplies straight to Rito Village, but any battle reports would go right to Princess Zelda as the Commander of the United Hyrule Royal Corps, the new name of our army now that all the races were together. King Basphoramus would take a lesser role, acting as Captain of the Hylians on par with me and Daruk and the Gerudo and Gorons respectively, and Link would stand sentinel over our commander until we managed to find Ganon, at which point he and Zelda would rendezvous with me on the Great Plateau.

Meanwhile, Vah Ruta and the Zora would secure the oceans and handle any navy that Ganon might marshall. This is where their talent lied, since they were just as vulnerable as the Rito. That meant that the Gerudo, the Hylians, the Gorons and the new Guardian Corps and their Sheikah engineers were going to be the footsloggers alongside me and Vah Naboris with the Elite Golden Scarabs, the top graduates of the Web of Knives, our elite training regimen that ended with slaying a molduga alone, unarmed and unarmored. Vah Rudania, with Daruk and his Goron Heavies at the helm, would handle a bulk of the forces. We decided to use Castle Town’s central location to our advantage. We didn’t know where Ganon would return from, but the best guess was the old Temple of Time on the Great Plateau. Since the Great Plateau wasn’t far from the Castle, the Gorons and the Hylians would meet the main force from there, while the Gerudo did what they did best and would emerge from the Great Plateau which we would have already secured from our forward base on the other side of Lake Hylia, in the Faron Region, to catch Ganon’s monsters in a pincer. It wasn’t a bad plan.

“That means that your job, Hakim and Urbosa, will be the hardest. It will emerge from the Temple of Time, and you and the Gerudo alone must hold it until we can arrive. However, I believe that you and your people could do it. In fact, I believe that you, Hakim, would relish the chance more than anyone to bloody Ganon’s nose,” Zelda said.

“Absolutely. My only issue here…” I said, “Is that we don’t know for sure that Ganon will come from the Temple of Time. It’s also a master of deception. It may not even take a form we’d recognize.”

Zelda looked down at the map and nodded slowly. “I see what you’re saying, but…” She shook her head. “Hakim, what do you know of the Sacred Realm?”

I adjusted the new blue sash that was now draped from my shoulder to my hip. It was going to take some getting used to. It was looser than the strap for the spaulder that ran across the same area, and that made it itchy. A shirt would fix it, so I no longer had a decent excuse to wear as little as possible, which was disheartening. Still, the color of the Champion’s Sash contrasted nicely with my skin and hair. I could rock it. “I only know some of the stories, like when the Twili and the Interlopers came back to Hyrule a couple thousand years ago. They got trapped there, right?”

“Yes, but again, it’s not so simple, my prince,” Urbosa replied, looking at me. “The Sacred Realm isn’t like… a room with a door.”

Zelda shook her head. “No Urbosa, in a way it is! Let’s go with that,” she said excitedly, as a way to explain this concept clicked in her head. “Think of it exactly like that. The Sacred Realm has many entrances, but most aren’t in Hyrule. For our purposes, think of the Sacred Realm as a room in the castle with two doors. Obviously, the best and easiest entrances and exits are those doors. What you’re assuming is that Ganon can come from anywhere. Technically, that’s correct, but it would be the equivalent of it battering its way through the walls, when using the doors is far, far easier. I have no doubt that Ganon could force its way back from any point in Hyrule, but doing so would leave it far too weak to lead an army and stop us from sending it straight to oblivion. The Sacred Realm is protected by the Goddess, after all. Her power can only be matched by the Demon King, Demise. Ganon may be a reincarnation of Demise like me, but he’s not Demise. He doesn’t have that power, just as I don’t have the abilities of the Goddess.”

“Yet,” Mipha said, smiling sweetly at Zelda. “I’m certain you’ll unlock your powers in time, Princess Zelda. You have the strength in you to do it.”

Zelda frowned. It was subtle, it wouldn’t have been noticeable if I hadn’t been paying attention, but after our talk last night, it was hard to pay attention to anything else. Goddess, what was wrong with me? We were supposed to be strategizing. Isn’t that what I had been wanting this whole time? But now that it was actually happening and after our talk, I was finding it hard to focus on anything but her, and it was keeping me distracted from the plan.

“Regardless of that,” Zelda said a bit rougher and forcefully than she meant to, “He has to use one of those doors, and the other one is in the Chamber of Hylia in the Castle. It would be foolish for Ganon to emerge in the middle of our nerve center, and all of the reserve and veteran soldiers that will be there. All of that considered, the only viable exit will be the Temple of Time.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. It was hard to argue with her logic, but the entire idea sounded shaky, and I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to explain why. “I just don’t like that we have no contingencies.”

“We can brainstorm a few on the way back. We will be traveling with Zelda and Link after all. Not that Daruk, Revali, and Mipha aren’t also wise, but they have other parts to play, and we can inform them of any further plans by courier.” Urbosa said, resting her hand on my shoulder.

I sighed, but nodded, and Link smiled. “Don’t worry. Hyrule wasn’t built in a day.”

It was meant to put me at ease, but it didn’t. Hyrule wasn’t built in a day, but neither were plans or armies, and had we not just done both?

“Any other plans to discuss?” King Dorephan asked, and we all looked at the map again, but no one spoke. I wanted to, but I was too damn distracted to find any holes in the plan.

King Dorephan nodded. “In that case, I see no reason to tarry. I call a conclusion to this strategy meeting. You, of course, are welcome to stay as long as you wish.”

“Unfortunately, my father is waiting for a report,” Zelda said, turning to him. “We will leave at first light, but I will be pleased to tell my father of the Zora’s hospitality, as well as the Gerudo, for sharing their culture. It warms my heart to see all of us working together.”

“Mutually assured destruction is a great motivator, it seems,” Revali said. “Though, that does seem to be a bit callous on my end. I am prideful and arrogant, and I am aware of that fact. That said, even I can recognize the great pains everyone has gone through to be here and make this meeting a success. While it may have been the threat of death that got us together, I truly do hope that warriors like me are no longer needed after the dust settles. I would like to find a husband someday.”

“Look at you!” Daruk said, patting his back hard, and it almost knocked Revali over. “That’s called growth. Took you a while, but you got there. You had me Grow-ning? Eh?”

Revali turned back to the table, rolling his eyes with a long, suffering sigh.

Urbosa smiled. “That very desire to no longer be needed is one of the reasons that I have chosen to retire. I’m almost forty, and have no daughter of my own. Hakim is a delight, but I need to have children while my beauty is still to my advantage.”

“Oh Urbosa. I don’t think anyone could ever be as magnificent as you, even at fifty.” Mipha said, smiling and leaning on the table.

“I want Link to go through the Web of Knives,” I said, changing the subject. I had been mulling over the idea, and forgot that people couldn’t see in my head, then cleared my throat to explain. “Let’s think about it. Link is good. No arguments from anyone at this table. He’s talented with several different weapon styles, and to no one’s great surprise, is Hylia’s chosen for the Sword That Seals the Darkness. My lightning took him by surprise. He asked me if I could teach it to him to better do his duty. Unfortunately, he’s a little too white to have this be hereditary, not even considering that he’s a man. That doesn’t mean we can’t teach him anything. If he went through the Web of Knives, then that gives him a few more tricks in his already impressive arsenal, as well as learning to fight with two weapons. A dervish, like me. It would also serve as a powerful symbol of unity. The Gerudo have never accepted a non-Gerudo applicant, let alone a male. This could be a way to heal the rift between our people.”

Urbosa nodded. “Something to consider, but he’d have to be in Gerudo Town to be able to keep up with the grueling regimen. We’d likely have to find a way to obscure his identity for the girls. They can’t associate with men.”

“And the regimen is grueling,” I said, turning to him and Zelda. “I know. I went through it myself. We’re talking two hours of sleep a day for a week, and then a hundred laps around the Gerudo Desert after that week. This is something that only you can decide to do. People have died trying to finish training in the Web of Knives.”

Zelda frowned and opened her mouth to object, but Link stepped forward. “I’ll do it. If it will make me stronger, if I can better serve the Goddess and Princess Zelda, I’ll do it.”

“Link,” Zelda said. “You don’t have to. I would never ask that of you.”

I held up my hand. “Let me take this one.” I said, then did my best impression of Link, which was horrendous because of my accent. “No, Princess. I am a tool for the Goddess. It’s my duty.”

Zelda had to put her hand to her mouth, but the snort still escaped her face and she was horrified. Urbosa had no such issues with propriety. She laughed and slapped me on the back. “There he is! I was wondering where my son had gone.”

I smiled at her, then turned to Link. “Jokes aside, I doubted you’d refuse. I’ll go over the details with Headmistress Pelor when we return to town. You’ll still need to apply, but I can make sure she takes note of your application.”

Link nodded. “Then let us all return to our chambers. Our party will leave at dawn.”

Chapter Text

The trip back from the Domain was much more eventful than the trip there, but only because we had traveling companions, and for the two days we were on the road, I really got to see Link in his element. He didn’t look like it, but he was an expert tracker and hunter, so rations weren’t even needed. The first night we had a brace of hares, but the second, he asked me to go with him, because he was tracking a buck and it might have still been in the area. So, while Urbosa and Zelda made camp, I got to go on a trip with Link.

“You’re sure?” I asked.

He nodded, gesturing at a tree. I frowned. “Buddy, I’m from the desert. If there’s something special about this tree, it’s lost on me.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry, hard to keep that in mind. This,” he said, gesturing more specifically to a part of the tree that looked like it had been smoothed down. It was free of bark, with little bits of… it honestly looked like dead, dried skin around the edges and on the ground.

“Deer, when they age, grow in antlers. This happens to every male deer, regardless of age. The antlers however, come in covered in antler velvet, not to be confused with the textile. Two very different things. This is important for the deer when the antlers aren’t yet fully formed, but as their antlers harden, they scrape off the itchy, uncomfortable, and dead tissue of velvet, usually with trees, and it looks just like this. You can see where the bark is missing and the raw living wood is scraped. This serves a dual purpose. Yes, to scratch off the velvet, but it’s also a territorial marking. Bucks don’t get along this time of year, and they don’t take kindly to other bucks in their territory.”

I knelt down, picking up one of the flakes of velvet and scrutinizing it, but it just felt like flesh to me. “And this velvet and the marking tells you there’s a buck in the area?”

He nodded. “Probably one with a sizable harem, judging by the damage to the tree. I figure he’s older. A stag, really. Not a buck. They can be dangerous this time a year, so keep your eyes open, and try your best to stay quiet. We only have one shot at taking down the stag, but if he bolts, we can take down a doe instead. Just don’t let it get close to you. You don’t want to see what those antlers do to our squishy bodies.”

“Getting gored. Sounds bad. Understood,” I said, dropping the velvet and standing. “So what’s the plan?”

He made a funny face. “Plan? Hakim, this is hunting, not war. There is no plan other than to find the stag and kill it.”

“Right, I get that, but surely you have a plan to kill it?”

He smiled. “Hunting doesn’t work like that. We have to think on our feet. Make our decisions in the moment. I take it that’s not how you typically roll?”

I shook my head. “Definitely not. Not if I can avoid it.”

He shrugged. “Well, there’s no avoiding it. We just don’t know where it is or what it’s up to, other than existing in this general area. Just follow me and keep your bow ready. If you see a shot, take it.”

I raised my eyebrows and nocked an arrow. “Yeah, sure. Just find a shot and take it. Sounds so easy.” I muttered to myself, but he glanced back at me.

“Don’t grumble. It will hear you. Just stay quiet and follow my lead.”

I wanted to sigh, but that would make noise, so I didn’t. I looked around. With so many dead leaves on the ground, it was going to be impossible to be quiet. This wasn’t my terrain. I looked down to watch where I was going, but each step brought another crunch of leaves, which sounded deafening in the silence. I guess I just needed to avoid sticks? That’s what Link seemed to be doing.

We walked as stealthily as we were able, our steps crunching across the ground. Link jerked his head to the right, then held his hand up. Closed fist. Military sign. Something I knew. I stopped dead as soon as I saw his hand go up, keeping my eyes moving, looking for the threat.

He took a step back, then whispered in my ear. “Running water. You go this way.” He said, pointing forward. “I’ll go around. If there’s water, that means there’s prey. Just take it nice and slow, like I told you to.”

I nodded, and Link took off like a shot to the right, moving way smoother and quieter than I was able to. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then crouched down to make my silhouette smaller and started moving as quietly as I could.

Before long, I had come to a clearing. He’d actually been right. There was a stag, a big one, taking a drink from a brook, and there were two doe with him. Perfect. I leveled my bow, but I didn’t take the shot yet. I waited. I watched.

I was doing exactly that when all three deer shot their heads up, their ears swiveling like a dog’s. And just like that, they took off, bounding into the forest. I let my shot loose, but I missed by a yard. However, the stag still went down, braying, a feathered arrow protruding from its chest, right where its heart would be. Link dropped down from a tree in front of it no more than a second later, drawing his knife. He placed his hand over the deer’s eyes and muttered to it quietly, then quickly whipped the knife across its throat, keeping his hand over its eyes and petting it, murmuring softly as it thrashed and kicked before eventually going still.

He bowed his head and started muttering something else, though I couldn’t tell you what it was, but I know what I saw. My respect for Link soared. He didn’t let the animal suffer. He did his best to ease its panic as it bled out. He clearly respected life as much as I did. We were definitely going to get along.

He stood, walking over to me. “He bolted. Did you step on a stick?”

I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t even moving. I froze when I saw them and readied a shot. They realized something was wrong after I froze.”

He frowned, then had the same idea that I did. His hand went to his sword, and I dropped my bow, placing my hands on the hilts at my back, and we both drew right on time. His shield was up as soon as I heard the whistle of the arrow coming towards us, and he blocked it, tracking its trajectory, not like he had to.

Bokoblins, five of them, ran at us from the woods, each one clad in fur and wearing necklaces made of animal bones. “For the Goddess!” Link shouted, and as he did, that sword flared with holy light. It seared me to be that close to it. I was the son of the creature that sword was meant to destroy over and over again, and the light itself formed blisters on my arm. I stumbled back out of that blinding, painful radiance, and Link ran forward, engaging the bokoblins.

I was very, very wrong about my initial assessment. If he had started the fight all in instead of playing with me, he would have mopped the floor with me. He closed on the first bokoblin but didn’t stop his charge, slamming the shield directly into its face. At the same time, he swept his sword around, taking off the head of one of them as it was still trying to register that the prey charged them, and not the other way around.

He didn’t stop, continuing the slicing motion and taking the one he had shield bashed across it’s belly before spinning in a side flip, a feat of acrobatics not even I could pull off. An arrow whizzed by where he’d been, and as soon as his feet hit the ground, he charged forward with a shout, impaling a third bokoblin with his sword, then pulled his sword free and dodged a clumsy swing from the forth, ducking under it and getting behind the bokoblin before grabbing it by the neck, holding it in position. An arrow drove right into it’s chest, and Link kicked the dying monster forward, then dropped to his knee and dropped his shield and sword in the process, pulling his bow and letting an arrow fly before his knee hit the ground. The fifth and final bokoblin screamed before disappearing in a puff of smoke and he picked up his sword, spinning it twice before slowly, purposefully sliding it back into its scabbard.

Holy hell. No, Holy Goddess. This was what the Chosen of the Goddess was capable of?  We… We might actually have stood a chance against Ganon! He took down five bokoblins in as many seconds, and he didn’t have a scratch on him! I stood in complete and total awe. “How did you do that?” I asked in disbelief.

He glanced over his shoulder at me, then lowered his hand from the blade and knelt down much more casually, picking up his shield as the bokoblins burst into puffs of black, dark smoke. “Just practice, I guess.”

“Practice?” I asked, taking a step forward. “You’re just gonna tell me that was practice!?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t born with these skills, Hakim. I had to learn them like everyone else. Now come on, help me with this stag before the meat spoils.”

I shook my head. How could he be so nonchalant about that? That was incredible to watch! Granted, now my arm was burned. Badly burned. “Hang on,” I said, walking over to the stream and knelt down, looking at my arm. He frowned and walked over. “What is that?” he asked.

“Blisters. I got burned. What’s it look like?”

He rolled his eyes and put his fists to his hips. “Yes, I can see that. How? It wasn’t there a few minutes ago.”

I scooped up some water with my good, free hand, splashing it onto the burn, which hurt like a son of a bitch, let me tell you. I punched the ground a few times from the pain, gritting my teeth. I didn’t scream in pain, but only because it hurt worse than that. It was like having my arm sawed off, so not a normal burn.

“Ow.” I said, which in no way encapsulated my pain, but it was all I had. “Your sword, I think. Looks like the Goddess doesn’t care much for me or my lineage.”

His frown deepened and he reached out, gingerly taking my arm at the wrist and elbow, looking it over. “That’s not normal.”

“Really? I never woulda guessed!”

He raised an eyebrow at me, then let go of my arm. “You’re a lot funnier when you aren’t trying to act proper.”

I rolled my eyes. “You, I like. That sword? It could fall into the sea for all I care.”

He sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

I shook my head. “Not your fault. Neither did I. Now we do, though, so no repeat performances?”

He shrugged. I’ll do my best, but maybe run if you’re next to me in a fight again?”

“Ugh,” I grunted. “I’m a warrior, not a coward. I don’t run.”

He stood. “If you won’t run for you, then do it for Zelda. She’s taken a shine to you, and it’d be upsetting for her if you got injured any further,” He clapped me on the shoulder. “There’s no shame in running from a hopeless fight, Hakim. I’ve run from more fights than I can count. You can always survive to win another day.”

I stood, still wincing from the pain, looking around, then spotted something that would help. I walked over to a plant budding with beautiful yellow flowers. Tons of them.

“What’s that?” Link asked.

“Calendula. Marigold is the common name. Its petals are known for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties.”

Link folded his arms. “Meaning? I don’t speak plant nerd.”

I stood. “And I don’t speak hunting jock, but here we are.” I said, putting five of the flower laden plants in my pouch. “Ooka ooka, plant make Ogg better. No more burn. No more ouch.”

He grinned. “Come on, asshole. Help me get this stag back to camp.”

Chapter Text

“Boys are back,” Urbosa called over her shoulder to Zelda, who was stoking the fire. They had already gotten the camp set out and Urbosa had unpacked her travel cookware set. They had even gathered firewood. Nice. Less work for me and my burned arm. “And they got a stag. Nice going, you two. That’ll hold us until we get back to Castle Town and then some.”

I dropped my end of the stag, but since I was the one in front, that meant that Link tripped over it, and he narrowed his eyes at me, but there was an amused smile on his face. “Sure, I got it. No worries,” he said.

“Did you just crack a joke?” Zelda asked him in disbelief.

“Guess Hakim’s rubbing off on me,” He said, dropping his end of the stag with a thump then moving to the other side, attempting to drag it the rest of the way with a few grunts. Stags aren’t light, so he wasn’t making any headway.

Urbosa rolled her eyes and moved to help him. “Please Goddess no. The last thing I need is two of you. Now go back to where you were. We don’t need anyone getting a hernia either,” Urbosa said, resigned.

 “We got a mortar and pestle?” I asked, walking over to the fire.

“I think I have a travel one in my bag. What’s wrong?” Zelda asked, then put her hand to her mouth and gasped when she saw my arm. It wasn’t discolored, but the blisters made it look really gnarly. “I have Calendula. Need to get a poultice on this ASAP.”

She wasted no time, running into the tent. Urbosa and Link got the deer to the prep area, then Urbosa sat next to me, taking my arm by the wrist and elbow just like Link had. “What happened?”

I explained the whole ordeal with the hunt and the bokoblins. Halfway through my story, Zelda emerged from the tent with a small mortar and pestle, and I took it from her with a nod, pulling out the calendula I had gathered and pulling off the petals, then ground them up.

“I mean, we expected monsters. That’s not the part that concerns me,” Urbosa said.

“My reaction to the sword?” I asked, pouring just a small amount of water into the mortar, then grinding again with the pestle, turning the powdered flower into a paste.

“It’s a little concerning, don’t you think?” she asked.

“More than a little,” Zelda said, sitting next to me. “Give me that. I can do it faster and blend it smoother.”

“Good, cause my arm was getting sore,” I said, passing it over to her. “If it helps, it took both of us by surprise too. It hurts though. Really badly. Worse than a regular burn.”

“That’s because it was caused by radiance. Basically, the sheer presence of the Goddess and her power that still fills the sword to this day,” Zelda said.

“Lovely,” Urbosa said, then turned to Link. “Linkie-poo, Would you be so sweet and manly as to help me bleed a deer?”

He sighed as she walked to the prep area, then followed her, rubbing the back of his neck. “First time anyone’s asked me that in a seductive fashion,” he muttered to himself.

Zelda turned back to me, applying the poultice she made, and she might as well have dipped my arm in Death Mountain for all the pain it caused, then rummaged in her bag for bandages. “You need to be more careful.”

“I did say that it was a surprise? To both of us.”

She pulled out the bandages, grimacing again when she looked at the wound. “I just… I don’t like to see people get hurt.”

What Link had said in the forest came back to me. How she had taken a shine to me and how she’d be upset if I got injured. “People, or me?”

She met my eyes, and there was clear hesitation before she answered. “People, but you especially,” she said, then broke eye contact, going back to the wound.

I frowned. Why? What was so special about me? Whatever, maybe it was just because she was aware of my condition. She inspected my arm a little closer, then went back to the bandages. “We’ll wrap it loose for now to keep from bursting the blisters, but we need to keep it dry and you need to rest, at least until we get back to Castle Town and the Royal Apothecary can see you.”

“Look, it hurts, I hurt, but I’ve dealt with worse. It’s nothing to fall apart over.”

She shook her head, but her eyes told a different story. She was lying. “Fall apart? I’m not falling apart! I’m not worried.”

“Zelda…” I said, softer, and her eyes flicked back to mine. “Please, don’t worry so much about me. I promise, I’m okay, and I’ll try to be more careful.”

She fastened the bandage like an expert, not even having to look at it to do it. She kept the eye contact. “How can I not?”

“Ow!” Link shouted, and we both looked over. “Can we not drop the several hundred pound dead animal on my hands, please?”

“Don’t be such a baby. You whine more than Hakim, and he’s a whiner,” Urbosa said, putting her hands on her hips.

“All of you,” Link said, pulling his knife out of its sheath and spinning it twice in his fingers before holding it steady. It was an unconscious maneuver, but it served to show how comfortable he was with bladed weapons, to do it without even thinking. He drove it into the stag, starting to skin it. “All of you are like this. What is wrong with you Gerudo? Why are you like this? I can’t very well wield the Master Sword with broken fingers.”

Urbosa smiled. “Oh, I’d love to see that. Come here, I’ll break them properly.”

“Keep your man hands away from my man hands!” He shouted.

“Oof, she’s gonna beat him for that one,” I said.

Zelda shook her head and turned back, looking over the bandage. “That should hold. At least until we get to Kakariko. They might have a healer there.”

I stood. “Okay. I’m gonna take a walk.”

“You’re injured!” Zelda shouted, also standing.

“And you’re fussy, so I’m gonna take a walk. Don’t worry, I’ll be back. I can’t have the Princess of Hyrule falling to pieces over a burn.”

“I am not fussy!” She said in a huff. “It’s not a normal burn, Hakim. It could be worse than we realize. The Master Sword has never burned anyone that it wasn’t supposed to. We don’t know what kind of effect it will have.”

“Yes,” I said. “You are absolutely correct, but unless we’re planning to pack up now and get on the road, we aren’t going to get there any faster. A walk isn’t going to stress me more than this thing you’re doing right now.” I said, putting my hands on her shoulders. “I don’t know what’s up with you, but I need you to take a few deep breaths and think about it for a sec.”

She frowned, crossed her arms, and puffed out her cheeks. It was really cute, but it was also incredibly unhelpful, and I groaned in frustration and turned, walking away. The last thing I needed today was to have the Royal Princess pout like a child because I didn’t want her to worry.

“I’ll come find you when dinner’s ready,” Urbosa said, then turned, headed for the tent. “Little Bird, can I speak to you for a moment? Just a few minutes.”

I definitely didn’t want to hear Urbosa scold someone that wasn’t me, so I turned, heading deeper into the woods, looking down at my arm. Ouch though. I didn’t want her to worry, but mostly because I was also incredibly worried. This was new, and I wasn’t crazy about it. The power of the Goddess hurt me. No, the Master Sword is what really hurt me, and that was very, very worrying.

From everything I knew and had read, the Master Sword couldn’t hurt innocents. LIke, it physically was incapable. If swung at an innocent, it’d burn the hand of the wielder, forcing them to drop it. Even if the wielder hung on, it’d still just pass through the innocent like it was an illusion.

And the Master Sword had hurt me. Me. It didn’t bode well. It made me deeply uncomfortable, and I could feel the Urge, but it too was cowering in fear. What the hell was that? Why was the Urge scared? Hadn’t Zelda told me it was a part of me? It wasn’t physical. The Urge had always been mental. It whispered, but it’d never taken over my body.

That was the real reason I needed to walk. When the light from the Sword flared, I didn’t recoil. The Urge recoiled. Somehow, it had taken over my control, throwing my arms up to protect me from the radiance of the Goddess. That had me deeply unsettled.

I sat on an old stump, grimacing in pain as I slowly undid the bandage, taking another look at the wound. Physically, it looked like a second degree burn. I had had an accident in the kitchen before, and this looked just like that. The pain, however, wasn’t like a normal burn. It was intense like it was on fire, but all the time. I had played it off because whether she realized it or not, Zelda was very upset and it wasn’t conducive to finding a solution. Now, I knew that Urbosa was going to talk some sense into her. It’s the only reason she wanted to speak to Zelda in the tent, away from Link and me. Still, I felt like how upset she was… it felt like there was more to it. A lot more. It was slightly over-reactive, if I was being honest. But I guess I could ignore it. I wasn’t a porcelain doll, and she’d realize that with time.

I looked at the burn again, then carefully went about covering it, minding the blisters. If one of those burst, I was in danger of an infection. I had to be really careful over the next few days so that I didn’t do it by accident. All it was there for was to protect my skin as it was. That’s all blisters were.

Zelda came into the clearing, looking suitably chastised. I looked up at her, then went back to covering the burn.

Umm, can we talk?” She asked, not meeting my eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, gesturing at the stump next to me. “Small stump, but we have small butts.”

I had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but whatever it was, it was embarrassing. It was the only reason she sat down, beet red, staring into the distance. “Hakim… Goddess, why is this so hard?”

I decided that maybe at this point, discretion was the better part of valor, so I kept my lips sealed.

She took a deep breath. “I’m an adult,” she said to herself. “I’m an adult, and adults have normal conversations. I can do this.”

I didn’t know what she needed a pep-talk for, but I figured that if she needed a pep-talk, she needed space, and my hyperactive brain needed something to do. I flicked out a knife and stood, looking for a suitable hunk of wood. If I wasn’t going to be practicing, and there was no way Link would let me with my arm this damaged, then I might as well do something useful, like whittling. I always did enjoy it, even if we didn’t get much suitable wood in the desert. 

She folded her arms. “I feel like maybe you should know. You’re my confidante, after all, just as I’m yours, and considering that Mipha blabbed about it in front of everyone, though I don’t think it was on purpose,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself just a bit tighter. “As of yet, I’ve been unable to unlock my divine powers.”

I knelt down to pick up a piece of wood, but her words made me stop cold. That was decidedly bad. Why didn’t I know that until now? Mipha had said something at the meeting, but I was so distracted, it whizzed right past me at the time. It must have been what she was talking about. I grabbed the wood, standing and turning, looking it over. No longer attached, but also no longer alive. It hadn't rotted yet either. A good piece of wood. “Someone’s been keeping secrets, Princess,” I said, walking back over and sitting down again. “And it’s not Hakim for once.”

She just stared out into the distance again, looking more annoyed than anything. “Yes.” She said, haughty. “If you must know, I have already failed at both the Spring of Power and the Spring of Courage. We are waiting for my birthday next month to make the attempt at the Spring of Wisdom. The problem is that it’s not intuitive. My mother was supposed to teach me.” She looked down at her hands. “And she can’t.”

I began stripping the elm branch I found of bark, scraping the knife down from end to end. “So you haven’t awakened to your divine powers because you can’t figure out how, like there’s some kind of key or puzzle to unlock it. You know how stupid that is, right?”

She fixed me in a glare. “I don’t find this very funny. If I can’t unlock my powers, how am I supposed to bind Ganon? That’s central to our plan. It’s the only way to stop him.”

I shrugged, shrinking the wood down further to a nice, manageable size. “I don’t find it funny either. I find that nasty little tidbit of info absolutely terrifying, but at the same time, your thought process is still flawed. These are the powers of the Goddess. They aren’t just going to… appear, just because you say the right word or pray at the right altar. Hylia hears you at all of them. If it’s not time, then it’s just not time. No use crying about it. There’s nothing to be done until you awaken to them.”

She frowned. “No. No that’s not correct, because my mother is supposed to help me!”

I crossed one leg over the other. “Zelda, I have a serious question for you. How do you know? Is there a book or something that tells you how this is supposed to be done? Because if so, you think they’d have written down an instruction manual. Trust me, I know how stressful it is. I live in this world too.”

I sighed and set my new stick beside me. Soon, it’d be beautiful. I just had to help it get there. I then turned to her. “Look, I get it, okay? It’s one of the things I appreciate about you. You know what it’s like to be under a lot of pressure. We both do. That doesn’t change the fact that this isn’t how it works. It’s not like a divine version of Tab A in Slot B. You know that, just like I do. Just like really anyone that’s faithful to the Goddess does.” I rested my hand on her shoulder, forcing the Urge down. No, not again. I was in control. You had your fun. The Urge grumbled, but remained down. “I don’t think the people of Hyrule view you as a failure. I think you view yourself as a failure.”

She looked down, then abruptly stood. “Stop doing that!” she shouted.

“Doing what?” I asked, really, really confused.

“Making sense! You’re not supposed to make sense. You’re supposed to just be hot and stupid!”

Uh.. wow. Well, if I needed any confirmation on how she felt about me, I think she made it pretty clear, and she realized it too, burying her face in her hands and turning red. This was definitely not the time for that discussion, so I was just not going to have it. I picked up the wood. “You know I’m right. Did we not just do this for me a little less than a week ago? You aren’t a failure, Zelda. That’s just now how you awaken your powers. It doesn’t work like that. You’ll get them when Hylia decides your ready.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Yeah? And when is that, Hakim? Is it before Ganon comes back, or after?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are you angry? No really, I’m not being patronizing. Ask yourself why you’re so upset with me.”

She frowned, then crossed her arms and rejoined me on the stump. “Because you got hurt. Because when I wasn’t there, you got hurt very badly. On top of that, you were hurt by the Master Sword. The very same person who is supposed to grant me my powers hurt you even though…” She paused. “Even though the Master Sword shouldn’t be able to do that. It’s concerning. The only logical reason that it would hurt you is if you were an enemy, but I refuse to believe that. If you were our enemy, you would have killed both me and Link by now. I mean, we all sleep in the same tent. It wouldn’t be hard.”

That’s not what she was going to say when she paused, but it was still a valid point, so I could worry about the unspoken words later. “Yes. I’m rattled, but not panicking. Not yet. I’m sure there’s a reason.”

She threw her hands up. “Sure, but us mortals will never understand the divine will of the Goddess.”

I frowned, turning to her. “What kind of talk is that?”

She sighed and deflated, hugging herself tighter. “I… I don’t know. I want to trust in Her plan but… Sometimes it all feels like some twisted, divine joke. Like she’s taking joy in our suffering. I just don’t know what else I can possibly do. I’ve thought of everything. I’ve researched every prayer and ritual I’ve even caught a whisper of, but none of it works. What if nothing will?”

I folded the knife blade back in, then adjusted, stretching my arm out, resting it on her far shoulder and pulling her into me. It was far more physical contact than either of us had had with each other, but goddammit, she was a human being, and when humans are sad or scared, you hug them. She leaned into me, trying to hide how wet her eyes were. “You tell me. What if nothing works? What do you do?”

She shook her head, then buried her face in my chest, crying softly. Hopelessness. Despair. Not knowing what your job is or how to fit into the puzzle. Hell, if anyone knew how hard that was, I did. I turned, fully hugging her, and her crying turned to sobs. It took her a few minutes, but sobbing can’t last forever, and eventually, she had gone to only sniffles.

“Zelda, I think maybe the issue is that nothing will work. You’re a self saving Princess. You’re resourceful, a badass, and fiercely protective of your friends. You know how Ancient Tech works, according to Link you work on it even when you were told not to. There is practically nothing you can’t break down in your head and figure out. And I think that’s why it hasn’t come to you. You excel at science, but you have no faith, and the Goddess only has our faith. I think that if you stop asking the Goddess when, and just know that the Goddess will, your powers will come to you.”

“But why?” She asked, clinging to my shirt like a drowning man clings to a barrel. “Why does it have to be so hard? Why is She so cruel?”

I sighed. “When I figure that out, I’ll let you know.” I said quietly, hoping that she didn’t hear me, but secretly hoping that she did.

Chapter Text

“Hey, don’t talk shit about the stump. That’s the Honesty Stump. I’m gonna have it uprooted and shipped back to Gerudo Town.”

Zelda snickered, then started chuckling softly and I smiled. Yeah, it was stupid, but at least she was laughing again. Urbosa’s eyes flicked from Zelda to me, but she didn’t say anything. Probably for the best. Zelda would have been too embarrassed to function, and I would have run away screaming.

“Honesty stump?” Link asked. “Glad I missed that party.”

Zelda rolled her eyes, but couldn’t keep the smile off of her face, and I was happy to see it. “We’re only a day's ride from the castle. This is Kakariko Village, the home of the Sheikah. Before Link, I trusted their chieftain, Impa, to be my bodyguard. Aside from the Castle, this is the safest place for us in all of Hyrule,” Zelda said as she dismounted in front of a grand building. It had a sweeping stairway, and at the top, waterfalls streamed from the hills directly in front. This was the Sheikah chieftain’s lodge, for lack of a better term. The kage-yashiki, as they called it. The House of Shadows. “I must go speak to Impa and acquire our lodgings, but feel free to look around. The Sheikah are wonderful people.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and looked around at the village before me. First Gerudo Town, then Castle Town, then Zora’s Domain, now Kakariko. Given the first three places I had been to, it was underwhelming, to say the least. There was no bustling market, there was no seat of a ruler, this is what the true lives of the people of Hyrule looked like. This was a place that tourists didn’t bother to visit. I doubted there was much of worth to see in this decidedly sleepy village but… “We won’t stray far, Princess,” I said, smiling.

Zelda nodded and turned, heading up the steps of kage-yashiki with Link a step behind and to the right, his belief that he was the sword of the goddess couldn’t be more evident. The position that he stood in was traditionally filled by the Knight-Errant, the bodyguard of a powerful noble so that they could step in to get their charge out of the way in an instant. They could also step forward on their master’s right like they were the blade a right handed man would draw.

I made note of that subtle, non-verbal statement and squirreled it away for later, when I could decompress from the journey and figure out what I learned about my allies. Right now, it was raw data flitting around in my head. Zelda likes sweets and children and me, apparently, Revali didn’t eat meat if he could help it and not because of his diet, and how Mipha very obviously had a crush on Link that she thought was a closely guarded secret.

Noting these things just by watching was a very useful skill to have, but that information was useless in its current form. Trivia, really. Once I sat down and was able to organize all of those bits of trivia onto a piece of paper, I could then combine them, and get a feel of who these people really were and what they stood for. A constant war of information in my head. After all, Hyrule had gone to war with us once before, what’s to say they wouldn’t hit us when we were weak from fighting Ganon? Allies yes. Potential adversaries? I hated that I couldn’t logically discount the possibility. They had chosen to put the Gerudo directly in the line of fire after all. We were the first thing Ganon was going to face. We would be the ones that got hurt the worst. It hurt to know that these people that I genuinely liked and begrudgingly put my trust in could be my enemies someday. Such was the life of a ruler. How grand.

I turned to Urbosa and raised an eyebrow, and she gestured for me to follow her with her head, walking up the walkway. “What do you think of the Princess and her knight?”

“I haven’t had time to process. You know that,” I said on auto-pilot, looking around and absorbing the culture of the Sheikah. The paper walls. The tatami mat flooring, the sweeping roofing that kept the paper dry in the rain. The large eye that adorned every building, clearly their tribal totem. These people may be in the nation of Hyrule, but they weren’t Hylian. These were the Sheikah. A culture that worked in the shadows, utilizing grace, skill, and silence to perform the uglier work of Hyrule’s royal family. These were saboteurs and assassins.

“Sure, tell me anyway. I don’t want your logical, detailed analysis, Hakim. I want to hear your honest opinions. Mostly, I’m curious about this dynamic with Zelda.”

I rolled my eyes, taking in more of the village. “An analysis, by virtue of being an analysis, is always honest. Maybe not factually correct, but honest.”

Urbosa flicked her eyes to me. “Nice dodge. It’s not so hard,” she said, then grabbed me by the arm, forcing me to stop walking, then stepped in front of me. “I asked you a question, son of mine. Tell me.”

I sighed and swept my hand up over my forehead, taking a few tousled strands with it and combing it back. Man, I needed a haircut. “Why are you doing this?”

She shrugged. “Asking you to give me your thoughts on our allies? Seems pertinent.”

I shook my head. “Not that. Why are you making me do this now?”

She placed her hand on her hip, cocking it out to one side subtly, shifting her stance and appearing more conversational than confrontational. With her other, left arm, she gestured as she spoke.

“Because your enemies aren’t always going to give you time to formulate your thoughts either. You said the same to Link. That Ganon’s minions weren’t going to fight fair? You’re smart, Hakim. I made sure of that. You grasp tactics like a true Gerudo, using the environment and the creatures of the area to your advantage. Unfortunately, there’s always someone better than you are. Better than I am. If there is ever a time where the enemy outflanks you or catches you by surprise, all of your tactics and subtlety and traps aren’t going to help you. This is what Link was trying to teach you when you went hunting yesterday. Take that for example. When the Master Sword hurt you, did you have a plan?. You have to be able to think on your feet. This is what I am trying to teach you. Think on your feet. Have a rough idea of who these people are before you get a chance to do your analysis. Your initial assumptions sometimes are wrong, but you need to learn to trust your gut when it comes to allies. As for the timing, well, this is the first time that you and I have been alone since we left Zora’s Domain. I haven’t had a chance.”

“Right, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Zelda giving me eyes.”

She shook her head. “Honestly, right now, it has no bearing at all. We will talk about that later, I won’t forget, because if you’re serious then I need to tell you a few things, but right now, I don’t care that she’s the princess of Hyrule.”

I folded my arms, thinking through what she said. Now, I obviously had thoughts on them. It’s just that I didn’t want to share them. I was private. That was the part that was bothering me. She wanted me to share my opinions, and I’d never been big on that. She knew that too. That’s why she was doing it. It didn’t make it suck less. “I just don’t see why my thoughts matter. They’re our allies, and they aren’t going to stick a knife in our back just days after a successful sword-meeting.”

Urbosa shook her head, frowning, though she didn’t seem angry. “No, you still don’t get it,” She said, crossing her own arms and thinking. “I want you to be able to think on the fly. Improvise. You’ve never been good at handling scenarios when your plans are thwarted. It’s because while you’ve honed your intellect, you’ve forgotten instinct. Just going with your gut on things. You have to have both of these things balanced to be an effective ruler, my prince. That’s why I asked. You have to learn how to go with your gut again. Just because you're a champion now doesn’t mean that I am going to stop being your mother and advisor.”

I started walking again, and she fell into step beside me. “I get it. I’m just not very good at thinking ahead of the enemy. You aren’t asking my personal thoughts. You want my opinion on their culture and the Gerudo, and how we might fare in negotiations and diplomacy.”

“Yes. That’s what I wanted to know,” She said, pausing in front of the general store. “But after we get supplies.”

We both headed in and took a look around the small building. They had a lot of vegetables on display, but it looked like they also worked with the butcher, because there was a sign up that stated the price per pound of various cuts of meat.

Despite that, the place was made of dark wood and was lit by lanterns. It made it feel cozy, homey. A wise decision for a store. Psychology at its fullest effect. These Sheikah were impressing me more and more.

“Welcome to Farmhands!” The younger lady, a shopkeep, said from the counter. “We don’t see Gerudo come through very often. What brings you two in today?”

Urbosa gestured for me to do what I do best. She jerked her head towards the lady and went back to browsing, but I walked over to the lady at the counter, smiling.

“Good evening! We have only just arrived with Princess Zelda herself. We were procuring supplies for our journey before we continued on to Castle Town, while the Princess informed Chieftain Impa of our arrival.”

“Oh!” The lady said, raising her hands to her mouth. “Dignitaries. I’m so sorry for my casual demeanor. I hope I didn’t offend.”

“No no, that’s quite alright,” I said, smiling as pleasantly as I knew how. “You can treat us as travelers, for that’s what we are. We’re simply making our way back home. What would you suggest for the road?”

We spoke for a few minutes about supplies, then we paid for them and made our way back out of the store with bags in tow. “She gave us a discount?” I asked.

“Like always. Good job, son.”

“Hey, I’m hot. I can at least use it to my benefit,” I shrugged, helping her get the supplies bags on the horses for now. It was only a day’s ride to Castle Town from here, but from there, Urbosa and I would have to trek much farther, heading through the valley and then across the sands back home. I was actually looking forward to it. I wanted to go home and see what I could see with the fresh eyes of someone that had witnessed the ingenious ideas of another culture.

“So, now would be a good time to share your thoughts, if you have them.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but was immediately silenced by someone. They wrapped a hand around my mouth and held something cold and metal to my throat, though the fact that I was aware of this at all meant that they weren’t going to kill me immediately. Whoever they were, they could have. My eyes went wide as my body moved on autopilot, fighting against my unseen assailant, but they had a tight grip, keeping me locked in place and not moving.

“Yes.” Purred a girl’s voice in my ear. “Tell her what you think about the grace and skill of the Sheikah.”

My eyes went wide with panic, and Urbosa took a step back. The horses bucked with all of the sudden movement and were noisy as hell, which worked to my advantage. There was no way it wouldn’t catch local attention. Hell, even this assassin could have picked a better location. We were in the middle of the damn village, in front of the kage-yashiki itself.

When I noticed that Sheikah were watching, but no one was moving to assist, it dawned on me. This must have been a Sheikah assailant. It was the only reason that the villagers wouldn’t immediately respond to either assist or run away. They just looked surprised.

And then the Dark Urge came to the fore. I knew it was coming, but unfortunately, I had to admit that it definitely sounded right in this instance. This time though, and much more horrifyingly, it spoke.

The thing in my head spoke.

It was new, and absolutely terrifying because not only had it taken control of my body, but now it was speaking?

“It is as you feared, my host. Your Hylian allies have turned on you, locked away in that safehouse while their village of assassins have turned on you. I’m so sorry my host. However, I consider this an opportunity. I can help you. Help me help you. I have broken my silence so that we both may live.”

The voice. That voice. It was my own but it was… it was twisted. Wrong. That thought alone scared me more than the assassin could. I tried to track down the Urge. I was loathe to trust it, but as I said, the evidence here was damning. It certainly sounded like that was the case.

But no. No! I couldn’t trust it! It was acting strange. There was no way that this help wasn’t going to mess me up further. I started panicking. But could I get out of it on my own? Were our allies worth the potential for death?

No. No they were not! I am from the desert, and the desert had one rule. Improvise, adapt, and overcome, or die. It was time to improvise and overcome. That’s what Urbosa wanted anyway, right? If this was an object lesson, we were going to have words.

I couldn’t track down the Urge. I only heard twisted laughter in my head, and then… knowledge. A new ability. A way to get this girl off of me. Intuitive. A new application of the lightning magic I employ, the family magic “Fatima’s Fury.” Mine was different, stronger because of my parentage. I could tap into that heretical power. I shouldn’t, I knew I shouldn’t, but if I didn’t, this girl was going to kill me. I didn’t have a lot of choice. I bit down into the metaphorical forbidden fruit, and I felt raw energy fill me. I was stronger, faster. I was rested. Hell, I hardly even felt my arm, which had been hurting at a steady rate, but slowly healing.

I am going to destroy this woman, and burn this village down around me.

Wait, what?

What just went through my head?

Ugh. I didn’t have time for this. Get out of danger now, worry about your head later, Hakim!

I dug my fingers into the arm of my assailant, then focused, and black and purple lightning flicked out. It burned a patch in her armor too.

“Son of a…” The woman shouted, but I whirled and shot out my fist. Two quick punches, and combined with the lightning, she staggered backwards. My fists were crackling with the same, deadly black and purple electricty. It crackled and popped as it sparked erratically, reminding me of the sound of breaking bones, of searing flesh. Of stones grinding together, or the distant thunder. It was all of these things at once, and It. Was. Glorious.

“You’re mistake. Al'ān tamūtu, ya ʿabd." I snarled in Gerudo.

“Hakim, stop!” Urbosa shouted, trying to keep me from what I was about to do, but I didn’t care. I was a king. She was a woman. She could mind her place, or I would make her. I ran forward and drove my boot into the woman’s chest, knocking her back a few more steps, then reached for that lightning, and it came at my command. This lightning, it wasn’t like the Fury. Fatima’s Fury was all about external, but this lightning was internal, fueled entirely by my rage towards this woman. I reached for it and it erupted from my fingertips at my hand sounding like angry, raging electricity.

The lightning enveloped her, and she started screaming and fell to the ground, spasming, but her pain. Her suffering.

“More, my host. You must make her suffer. You must make an example of her. Isn’t power just ecstasy at a new level?”

I started cackling as the raw energy coursed through me, filling her with more and more volts as she screamed in pain, spasming and trying to get away, to hide. That is what had the Sheikah moving. All of them were darting towards me with weapons drawn, each one, even the elderly, moving with speed and purpose to defend one of their own. I wasn’t having it. I reached even deeper, readying a massive blast of deadly energy that would kill everything in the village, and then there was a hand on my shoulder, and I was spun around, hard, the lightning dissolving from my fingertips.

Urbosa was snarling at me, her own face twisted in fury. The dark power fled in the face of her wrath, and I realized at that exact moment, I was in a hell of a lot of trouble. She raised her arm, and I only saw her shield, Daybreak, coming towards my face before everything went dark.

Chapter Text

When I woke up, it was night, and the dark felt heavy. Oppressive. My body ached all over. My arm definitely hurt, and now? Now my nose was throbbing. I reached up and winced when I touched it, hissing at the pain. There was a bandage and splint over it though. Broken? Had that girl broken my nose.

The girl!

I sat bolt upright in the bed, looking around wildly, but there was no girl. There was only Link. He was sitting in a chair. The Master Sword was sitting in front of him. It was in its scabbard, but the point of the scabbard was on the polished floor of wherever we were. His hands, however, rested on the hilt. He had it in front of him and it wasn’t drawn, but he wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t emoting at all. His face impassive.

“Link! Link, where is she?”

He slowly stood, then unsheathed the blade, leveling it at me, and I started to panic even more. What? What was he doing? The blade’s radiance burned, even now, though it wasn’t glowing like it had before, I could still feel its power. Instead of a raging inferno like last time though, it was a hot, visceral presence. No pain, but it could flare to life at any moment and sear me to death. I swallowed, my eyes landing on that tip that hovered six inches from my neck.

“Get back in the bed, do not move until I tell you you can. Do it now,” he said, but his voice… I had never heard it so… so cold. So devoid of anything resembling humanity. Link was going to kill me if I didn’t do what he said, and he had already made peace with that. This cold impassiveness he reserved for monsters. For things he was going to kill, and right now, I was another monster in his eyes.

“What’s going on? Link, why are you threatening me?”

His eyes softened. For the briefest moment, hesitation crossed his features. Everything was clear. He was here, but he didn’t want to hurt me. He didn’t like the idea. But almost half a second later, his features hardened again, his duty overriding his wants, even though I had no idea why I was a part of his duty.

At the same time, he hadn’t killed me yet and since I was unarmed and unarmored, it wouldn’t have been a challenge. Hell, I had been asleep.

Okay, so something had happened. Clearly it had to do with me, but I must have done something bad. He wanted to confirm before he hurt me. Cautious. He was being cautious.

I raised my hands very slowly, showing that I was unarmed. “Link, I don’t know what’s going on, okay? I’m just confused, and I can’t help clarify the situation if no one tells me about it. I won’t hurt anyone. Please. You know what that Sword does to me.”

“And that’s why I have it, Hakim.” He said, his face and tone kept passive. “That’s why I’m keeping an eye on you and not Urbosa, and certainly not Zelda. You say you won’t hurt anyone, but you sure as hell hurt Makoto.”

I frowned. “Who?”

He rolled his eyes. A neat trick, considering that they stayed on me. “Makoto, the guard that ambushed you? You hurt her badly.”

I frowned, thinking. The girl. That was who he meant. The girl that snuck up on me. Me and Urbosa both. That was some talent but… “I don’t remember that, Link. I remember her, and I remember being scared and then…”

The horror of the situation set in. that dark, twisted reflection of my laugh sounded in my head, and I knew that somehow, I had been played. I didn’t know how, but I knew that whatever had occurred after I lost my memory… something had been taken from me, mentally, and I would never get it back. Not just the memories. Something else. Something fundamental to my being. Autonomy.

Link frowned, watching my eyes as I wrestled with that, and then he sighed and sheathed the Master Sword. “I trust you. If you betray that trust…”

I shook my head. “I’m telling the truth.”

He nodded once. “I see that. It’s in your eyes. You’re confused.”

“But what happened?”

He shook his head and looked up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, there are two people that can answer that. The problem is that one of them is in intensive care, Zelda’s tending to her now, and the other one is furious with you. I got there after the dust settled.”

I frowned and looked down. “Urbosa and this girl. This Makoto.”

He lowered his hand and nodded once again.

I groaned and went to stand. He took a step back, but he didn’t put his hand back on the hilt of the sword, yet his eyes didn’t leave me either. Something told me that if I was a threat, that sword didn’t have to be unsheathed to bathe me in Radiance, and no doubt turn me to ash. “Urbosa. She’s mad, sure, but I’d been through worse, and I needed to get to the heart of the matter, not scare the life out of a girl I hurt.”

“Almost killed.” he said, then stepped behind me. “I trust you, but you aren’t in the clear yet, Hakim. You have earned the benefit of a doubt, but no more than that. Stay in front of me, no sudden movements, Urbosa is past the door on your right, down the steps, then up the hill until you find a ridge on the left. Go up that ridge, she’ll be next to the Ancient Sheikah shrine.”

I swallowed, but I knew what he was doing. I was thankful. He was watching. He was giving me a chance. He was warning me that I wasn’t in the clear, and telling me exactly where to go so that it didn’t look like I was going to run. He was telling me how to not get hurt. He was showing that he cared, but he still had a duty to do. I could respect that. It was better than the emotionless, passive mask. That terrified me more than even Urbosa’s fury.

I stepped out of the room with him behind me. I paused to glance to my left. There were several benches, and then a large seat. A woman was in that seat. She had white, long hair and was in the traditional clothing of the Sheikah, though on her forehead, she had painted the large eye motif that I had seen all over Kakariko. Judging by where she was sitting and that she bore the motif on her brow, I surmised that she was the Sheikah chieftain, Impa.

She didn’t smile when I came out. Her eyes turned down slightly when she saw me, and her mouth twitched into the smallest frown, almost unnoticeable. Oh boy. She didn’t like me. Granted, if what Link was saying was true, and he had no reason to lie to me and I don’t think even would if he did, then I had almost brutally murdered one of her people.

I looked down at my hands. Goddess, what had I done? What did I do? Was I capable of instilling this level of fear and revulsion? Was I just as bad as Him?

“Keep moving, Hakim. Door on the right.” Link snapped, and it jolted me out of my reflection. I glanced at the woman again, then just shook my head and did as he asked, turning right and pushing the door open.

I had been in a side room of kage-yashiki. I had been in the Chieftain’s home. The stairs were in front of me and I started down them, bracing my unsteady legs and placing my hand on the rail to keep from falling. As I approached the bottom, the two Shiekah both held up spears, keeping them pointed at me as I passed. I glanced up at one of the homes. The shopkeeper whispered in a little girl’s ear, who was playing, and the girl looked at me, then jumped up and ran into the house. The woman braced her feet and crossed her arms, glaring.

My god, these people were terrified of me. Why? “Link, they hate me,” I said quietly.

“All will be clear soon.” He said. “Keep going. Looking for the ridge. You can see it from here. There’s a trail cut into it. Take the trail.”

I hated that. I hated this. Now I knew. This is what people thought. This was truly what people thought of the son of Ganon. I was never going to be accepted, and it was foolish to think that I was. Hell, Zelda probably hated me now too. The worst part, I was still in the dark.

I found the trail Link mentioned and headed up it, and the Shrine came into view. Urbosa was leaning on the entrance, a deep frown on her features, tapping her crossed arms with her drumming fingers. When she saw me, her eye twitched, and she stood. “Thank you, Link. I want to have a word with my son.”

He bowed, then turned and headed down the trail. I glanced back, then turned back to Urbosa, before shaking my head and walking to the edge of the ridge, overlooking this once sleepy and pleasant village.

Urbosa walked up next to me. “Why?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

She scoffed. “What do you remember? I’ll fill in the gaps.”

I shook my head, then sat down. “The girl. She came around the horse but… I remember that I was scared, and I remember that I was angry. I thought the Hylians had betrayed us then… then it spoke.”

Urbosa raised an eyebrow. “It?” She asked and turned to me, just getting angrier. That was her way. It was mine too. Fatima’s Fury wasn’t called that for nothing. Our family had always had hot tempers. I knew that she wouldn’t hurt me, though. She had never hurt me unless I was a danger to others. “What’s it?”

I shrugged. “I was going to tell you as soon as we got back home, where I knew it’d be safe.” I pulled my legs up to my chest, hugging them. I could feel the fear and the insecurity that I had come to know so well start to rush in, making my throat tight, making my eyes burn.

“For the past year, there’s been… something. I don’t even know what it is. There’s something in my head that wants me to hurt people. To control. To dominate. At first, I thought it was just intrusive thoughts and everyone had them, but the Dark Urge got so much stronger in the Domain. I think… I think Link’s Sword triggered it somehow? It was just thoughts until then, but those thoughts then started turning to impulses. Impulses I was having trouble resisting. When I realized that, I knew I had to tell you, but I couldn’t. Not until we were home, where I could get help. I didn’t need you worrying about me until then. And now? Now I've hurt someone," I said, my voice quivering. "I lost control. What's happening to me?" The tears began to roll down my face. My nose throbbed, and blood dribbled from it. “Goddess, I’m so scared.” I said, burying my face into the gap between my knees and my chest.

Urbosa watched me for a moment, then her features softened, and she knelt down, pulling me into her in a hug as I cried. She ran her fingers through my hair like she used to do when I was afraid that my father would come for me. When I was scared of the imaginary monsters in my wardrobe. She switched back to our Native Gerudo. “Hakim… things aren’t okay. I can’t lie and tell you they are, and I am so furious with you that I can’t see straight, but you’re still my son, and I still love you. I wish you would have told me sooner, but I understand why you didn’t. Still, I know now. You’re my star in the sky, my Najm El-Samaa, and I will never let anyone take you from me.”

I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was cry, and trust my mother to protect me, just as she had always done.

Chapter Text

“He told me the night of the feast. I had gone after him against your wishes, Urbosa, but I’m glad that I did. He didn’t keep it a secret at all. I believe that he’s telling the truth. He wanted to tell you, but he didn’t want you to worry,” Zelda said, cradling her tea. “Besides, he never talks about his problems unless someone makes him. It’s in character.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I muttered, crossing my arms. We were back in kage-yashiki, and after Urbosa filled me in on what had happened, we decided it’d be best to talk to Zelda, Impa, and Link, so that they could all be aware that it was a mistake, but still a very serious and concerning one.

“But it does explain why the Sword hurt you,” Impa said, rubbing her chin. “Sorry, I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m Impa, chieftain of the Sheikah.” she said, nodding to me. “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

“Yeah. Me too.” I said, lowering my hands and fidgeting.

“The sword?” Zelda asked.

“Right. Sorry. So, the Sheikah value knowledge. It’s just a part of our culture. Because of that, we have a vast archive of texts above this room, most of them better preserved than you’d even find in the royal library. We’ve been collecting and safeguarding knowledge for… millennia, now that I think about it. Because of that, naturally we have knowledge about the Master Sword as well. Link, it may benefit you to go over a few texts.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I use the thing, and I don’t even know what all it can do.”

I frowned. “You don’t?” I asked, looking at him.

He held his hands up. “I mean, it’s a sword, Hakim. It’s not like I need a manual to know to stick them with the pointy end. I just don’t know about its other, more surreal properties, other than that flash of light what burned you.”

“My point is…” Impa interjected. “The Sword isn’t an inanimate object. It has its own sentience, in a way. There are rumors that it can even move itself over time, always finding its way back to its pedestal in the Lost Woods. The oldest of our texts speak of a time when humanity lived in the sky, and the first of us walked. It was her that did the most research on the Sword. She believed that a being was sealed inside, and that being is what the Sword truly is. That being is what distinguishes good and evil, and it may just be that this being sensed this Dark Urge in Hakim. If it grows in power with Ganon, as you say, then logic states that it’s connected to Ganon. That connection is what the Sword attacked. That’s why the Urge took over to protect itself. The sword wasn’t trying to hurt you …” Impa said, pointing at me. “It was trying to sever the connection that Ganon has on you, and kill this parasite. This Dark Urge.”

I frowned. “Then why did I get hurt?”

Impa rubbed her chin again, scrunching her cute button nose. “That’s the part I can’t figure out. I don’t know if your burn was just collateral, or if it was going to kill you because you’re Ganon’s son. I mean, all we have are theories, and if we wanted proof, we’d have to be willing to accept that it could kill Hakim, and I know that no one in this room is okay with that. It’d also defeat the purpose of getting the proof.”

Zelda sighed. “Is this a portent? Hakim isn’t violent. You’re sitting with him now. If Ganon can influence even him…”

“Look, it’s not that hard if he wants to,” I said, putting my hands out. “I mean, if we think about it logically, I’m his lineage. His heir. My blood is his blood. Just one of those things could let a wizard do all sorts of nasty things, and he has all three. I have a personal stake in taking him down. That’s why this is worrying. I may have a strong mind, but stronger have been breached with less.”

“And of course, he’d target you because you’re the soon-to-be leader of what he views as his property,” Urbosa said, then planted her chair, going from the back legs to all four with a thump. “And that’s because he fears us. It’s because he knows that if he doesn’t hit us first, then he can’t win. He is not taking you from me,” she said, and as she did, static filled the room. The other non-Gerudo were looking around.

That made sense. I mean, Fatima’s Fury is tied to our emotions. It’s why we worked so hard to remain composed. Usually Urbosa had better control, but she was fiercely protective of her people, and double that for kin, then double that for her son. I put my hand on her shoulder, the only one that could do so without getting a zap. “Urbosa, hot passions, cool head. Just like you’ve always told me.”

She bit her lip, then closed her eyes and took a deep inhale. On the exhale, the static dissipated as if it had been blown outward from her. “You’re right, Hakim. I just… You’re my son. I’ve always thought of you as such. He’s targeting my son. I’m pissed.”

“Yet now we know.” Link said. “What is it you told me, Hakim? I think it was to improvise, adapt, and overcome. I think it’s time we adapt and overcome, don’t you?”

I grinned, then it faltered and slowly fell. “There’s something I need to do first.” I said, standing. “Apologize.”

Zelda stood. “She’s resting, but I’ll see if she wants to talk,” she said, then turned and headed out of the room and headed up a flight of stairs.

I shuffled awkwardly, but Link stood and stretched. “Alright, it’s late. I’m headed to bed. Shout for me if you start thinking about red rum.”

“You joke, but this is distressing.” I said to him.

He shrugged. “And some of us cope with humor, but I’ll lay off. Goodnight, y’all.”

Urbosa was the next to stand, resting her hand on my arm. “He’s right. We have a long journey tomorrow. Try not to be up too late.”

I nodded, and she frowned and hesitated, like she didn’t want to leave me alone, but she knew she had to, then shook her head and went into the side room I had been in. I was left in a room with a woman I didn’t know, who was scrutinizing me. “You have a touch of destiny about you, don’t you?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She smiled. “I mean that I’m a seer, and I see an uncertain fate. It’s not something often encountered. The only evidence I have is in the Sheikah Archives. Those with uncertain fates go on to achieve great fame, or great infamy. Link has the same uncertain destiny, as does Zelda.”

I reached for the chair and pulled it over, sitting back down. “But what does that mean? What can you tell me?”

She folded her arms. “Do you believe? Many have come to me, just to dismiss my abilities as fraud. I can tell you what I know, but only if you are willing to believe.”

I frowned and looked down, thinking it over. Believe? Believe in magic? Or believe that she may tell me I was destined to be evil? Would I listen, is what she was asking. Would I consider her words.

I nodded. “Ma’am, I can call lightning down from the sky and apparently shoot it out of my fingertips. I believe you have the talent, and I need to know why my fate is so uncertain.”

She nodded, but then turned her head just as Zelda appeared at the end of the stairs. These Sheikah were no joke.

“She’s willing to see you, Hakim.”

Impa nodded. “Go, I will set up for when you return.”

I bowed my head, then stood, making my way to the stairs, then began the slow walk up them. Zelda was behind me, which was for the best. I didn’t need to be alone with this girl. Not after what I did to her.

When I crested the top of the stairs, there was a bed in front of me. The woman, Makoto, was in it. She had a long white braid that easily fell to her lower back. It was braided tightly and decorated with beads and semi-precious stones. She wasn’t in her Sheikah armor anymore. Instead, the blanket was pulled up to her stomach, and white bandages were wrapped around her chest. She also had a multitude of burns. Each one I knew was my fault. I was going to leave this woman with scars. Still, that left her red eyes, bright, piercing, and they drilled into me, her mouth set in a firm line. She didn’t look scared like everyone else in the village. She looked like she wanted a rematch, and I didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment, or if she’d make a second attempt.

“Uhh…” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. I didn’t know what to say, but Zelda, as always, saved the day. “Hakim, this is Makoto, though you didn’t know her name at the time. Tomura-san, this is Hakim al-Amir Fatima, of the Gerudo.”

“Charmed,” The woman said. Her voice was weak, but there was no mistaking her tone. She was a mix of intrigued, wary, and angry. My guess, she hadn’t expected me to apologize, and wanted to figure me out.

I sighed and pulled over a chair, setting it in front of her, then sat down next to her, like a normal person and not like the fool I had been impersonating. “I’m sorry.” I said. I didn’t feel like my pride needed to get in the way. The Urge, however, was pleased with its ‘kill’ and I was disgusted by it. I was going to find a way to get this out of me. “I could say I wasn’t in control, but I still made the active decision to give up that control in fear.”

“This Dark Urge? I only heard some of it.” She shook her head. “Not that it matters. It was my over-zealotry that led to the entire situation.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

Makoto looked to Zelda to explain, who nodded. “Her throat is still a little raw, so I can fill in the blanks. Makoto is what is known as the Sentinel of the Sheikah. This is an important role. It means that it is her job to secure the areas around Kakariko Village and keep an eye on any threats that may be approaching.”

“It also means that I have to do a lot of research on the people of Hyrule.” She said, reaching for a glass of water. “Like the Gerudo.”

“And while she knew me and Link by description, she recognized the Champion sash, but to her knowledge, the Gerudo had no men. She knew that the Yiga had settled in the desert. So, she thought that you may be a Yiga spy that somehow got your hooks into me, Link, and Urbosa.”

“You have to understand, after ten thousand years, it seems odd that the next male was born and barely anyone knows about it. Word hasn’t traveled out of the desert.” Makoto added at the end.

“By design. Given my parentage, we want to be careful about who we trust with that knowledge. It’s crucial that only select people know where I came from, to prevent widespread panic. That and we just ended a war with Hyrule. We don’t want to share information that might start another. So your misinformation is completely understandable but I could have waited for that explanation. I knew by the fact that you captured me instead of just shivving me meant you wanted to talk. I was scared, and I let that fear rule my emotions. That doesn’t make my part in this okay.”

She smiled. “I understand. I appreciate you coming to talk to me. I… admire that. What would you say we call it even and start fresh, Hakim Fatima?”

I frowned. “Makoto, I almost killed you.”

She nodded. “Yes, but almost implies that you were unsuccessful. That and you were able to get past my guard. That’s not easy, Hakim. I feel I could learn from you and teach you much.”

I shook my head. “Are all Hylians this crazy? This is the second one that has tasted my lightning, and now both of you want to learn from me. It’s hereditary, and very, very dangerous. It’s not something I can just teach, even if I wanted to.”

She laughed. “Such is the price of power, Prince Hakim. You will have admirers until the day you die, but that’s not what I meant. I don’t care as much about your martial prowess like Link may. I want to see your culture. I made a critical error today because I neglected to learn all I could about the Gerudo. I want to learn more about your people to correct my mistakes, and in kind, I would be happy to teach you about the Sheikah. Think of it as a Cultural Exchange. A give and take on both sides. I think the ruthless pragmatism of the Sheikah may impress you more than you realize. The Gerudo are quite similar, from what I recall.”

I smiled and stood, but as I did, I heard the strangest noise on the roof and paused. It sounded almost like… like footsteps? It was accompanied by whistling, but that sound I knew. Oh no. Oh no no no. Those were arrows.

 Makoto’s eyes went wide. “The village. Kakariko is under attack!”

As she said that, two men vaulted into the window across the room, each one wearing a red bodysuit and a mask, the inverted Eye of Wisdom, the symbol of the Yiga, emblazoned upon it, and I gritted my teeth. They both drew vicious, curved sickles and started stalking towards the three of us. I was unarmed, but Makoto pointed at the table, directly at a belt of odd shaped knives. “My kunai! Kill them!”

Chapter Text

My eyes landed on the kunai just as the lead Yiga’s did, and he charged for it, but I lifted my hands, channeling the same dark energy as I had before at Makoto. I had this ability now, but I could use it for good. If I had the tool in my arsenal, it was up to me how to use it, right?

I channeled the electricity then lowered one hand as the Yiga ran at me. There was a better way to do this. I presented my palm, and let fly. The dark electricity was now a focused beam of energy, pulsing black and purple. It lanced out of my hand and collided with the yiga in a short burst, knocking him backwards and into his companion behind him, where they got tangled in front of the window.

I darted forward with the opening, grabbing the throwing knives, the kunai from her belt. They were uniquely shaped. Each one had a long middle blade, then two blades pointing out horizontally, but curved forward slightly, making the blade more aerodynamic. Each one was also tied with a small red ribbon on the end, with the Eye of Wisdom in white embroidered on the very end of the ribbon.

That little trickle of insight as I was charging forward gave me very important info. These weapons were important enough by the pragmatic Sheikah. Each one was very personal, and that also meant that each one was very, very sharp.

I threw the first one like a khanjar rami back home, and it impaled with deadly speed and accuracy into our first Yiga attacker, but the second cursed in a language that I didn’t understand and threw his hands together, then vanished in a puff of red and yellow seals, leaving his dying comrade behind.

No sooner did he disappear than I heard shattering glass from the house under me, and screaming starting in the village. Dammit. I needed to get out there, and it needed to happen now. “Link!”

“Busy!” I heard him yell from below.

“Ya khara!” I shouted in Gerudo and kicked a chair, then rolled my eyes and ran over, picking up the kunai belt and resting it on the bed next to Makoto, then held my hand up to Zelda, who’s eyes were locked on the dead man in sheer terror. “This is the Princess of Hyrule. Do your duty, Makoto.”

She nodded. “Go. She’s safe here.” She said, grunting but pushing herself up to a sitting position, then flicked out three kunai and offered them to me. “Don’t miss. I want them back.”

I nodded and took them, then turned, running down the stairs where a dull light was emanating. “For The Goddess!” Link shouted, and that radiant light burst forth followed by a clash of metal, and my kharij started smoking and I was forced to back up. Okay, not out that way. And I also needed to not be in here when he came to make sure Zelda was safe either. My eyes darted around until I saw the window the Yiga had used, the yiga dead at its base.

I ran for it and climbed out, then grabbed the thatch of the roof and hauled myself to the top of kage-Yashiki, and I had a fantastic view of the carnage below, immediately switching to tactical brain.

Some of the residences were on fire, and they needed to be evacuated. The Sheikah were fighting the Yiga in the streets. Even the elders of the clan had out katana and kunai and were holding their own, which made sense since they were using the same styles and tactics. That said, there were still dead in the streets from both sides. I heard screaming from children in the residential area. That was my first stop. I saw a few more arrows arc over me, and I could see them because the oil soaked rags wrapped around them were on fire. I followed the arc back and saw the two Yiga on the ridge, firing the arrows. That was going to stop right now.

I spun towards them and snapped my fingers, and lightning leapt to my command, arcing down from the clouds and smashing into them, sending them and the ledge they had been standing on into the water below. I then turned and ran, jumping off the top of the building and falling into a controlled roll on the porch.

I glanced back. The Yiga that had attacked me was holding his own now against both Urbosa and Link, and that was troubling. He was one of the feared Blademasters. He had to be, but I had to trust them to handle it, and I could handle the village. I turned and hauled ass down the stairs, skidding to a halt at the end and watching a swarm of bokoblins led by a moblin run down the slope leading to Lanayru. Dammit. More problems. I had to get to the children first.

I sprinted across the open field, which of course drew the attention of the moblin, who pointed at me and shouted, but then three Sheikah appeared in bright flashes of light, each one armed. “Help the children, or die.” The one in the lead said, and I nodded, then turned and ran up the hill as they fought the new forces behind me. When I got to the first house on fire, I lifted my foot and slammed it into the building, but it was empty, not even furnishings. Good, an empty home. I ran towards the next one. This one wasn’t empty. I could hear two girls screaming on the inside.

I ran towards the building, but fire flared from the top and I had to jump backwards. Too close. That one singed my eyebrows. I frantically knelt down and tore off a leg of my sirwal, then wadded it up and ran to the door, masking myself at least a little of the smoke.

I yanked on the door. Nothing. “Can you hear me?” I shouted.

“Yes, the door is blocked! Please!” one of the girls, she couldn’t have been older than eight, screamed. Dammit. I ran around the side of the house, looking for a window, a weak wall, anything, and then I saw it. At the back of the house, cracks in the finish. I turned and ran at it, slamming into it with my shoulder, which was about as painful as it sounded. I felt the wall flex, but it didn’t break, so I backed up and slammed into it again, this time getting a running start and throwing my entire weight into it. It flexed again, but still held.

Dammit, there was no time for this! Every second I spent was another that they could die.

“Use the power I gave you, my host. You’ve already reasoned that you can do good with it, can’t you? Perhaps it can bash through the wall.”

Which told me that It was a very, very bad idea to use that power. If the Urge was telling me to, then I definitely didn’t need to, but there was no doubt that it could help me save these girls, and hadn’t I already reasoned that I could use it for good against the Yiga?

I backed up again. “Stand back!” I shouted, then leveled my hand and sent another bright short blast of energy out, and the wall shattered, allowing me to get inside the building. The girls were still screaming, but I was able to see both and I scooped them up. They panicked at first, but then clung to my sobbing, one around my neck, the other cradled in my arm, and I moved out of the building, then knelt down. “Can you go somewhere safe?”

The eight year old, the one that had yelled at me before said “Emergency shelter!”

“Good. Go. Hurry.”

They clambered off of me and started running towards kage-yashiki, so that was where everyone else needed to go. With both Link and Urbosa there, as well as the equally talented Impa and Makoto, they’d be safe.

I turned, running to the next building and slammed my shoulder into the door. This one gave way, but there were adults in here, and they started screaming. I held my hand up and well, they were wary, but at least they didn’t kill me immediately. “Emergency Shelter! The kids are there!” I shouted, and they looked at eachother, but I didn’t have time to argue with adults. There were still people to help.

I spun and raised one of Makoto’s kunai as a Yiga charged me, cackling like he was drunk on the suffering he was causing. His sickle met the spot between two tines and I twisted, locking his blade into the kunai. It was designed for this exact purpose, and twisting the kunai trapped a blade between the middle tine at the bottom, and the outer tine at the top. I’d never even seen a kunai before, but it said something to the simplicity and effectiveness of the weapon that I immediately knew how to use it.

I yanked back on the kunai, and by extension, the Yiga who hadn’t yet registered that his blade was locked, then dug a second kunai into his gut with my right hand, driving it as deep as I could before twisting, sparing the gory results as I pulled free. One more yiga, dead. “Go!” I shouted over my shoulder to the people in the burning building, then continued up the trail to the last building on fire. This one was massive too. The School. I slammed into the doors, but it was a no go. Unlike the other buildings, however, this one had walls of paper, so I just went through that, running into the main room were a bunch of kids were cowering.

“This building is on fire, emergency shelter! Let’s go!” I shouted.

One of the girls in the room, she couldn’t have been older than fourteen, locked eyes with me, then turned. “He’s right, come on! Together we can make it!”

As she said that, two more Yiga soldiers burst through the paper walls, and the boys and girls in here screamed. I raised my palm and let fly on the member that had raised his sickle to bring it down on a boy that couldn’t have been older than five, and the yiga screamed, getting launched through three more paper walls and deeper into the individual classrooms.

“Go now!” I shouted and the older kids, who were terrified, make no mistake, started to form an organized exit, and that let me turn, locking eyes with the other yiga behind her mask. “I’ve already killed six of your kind this day. Do you want to be the seventh?” I said, gritting my teeth. Stained with soot and sweat, I knew I looked terrifying.

She huffed out a laugh. “That only shows the skills of the man that birthed you, traitor. Surrender or die.” The woman in the mask snarled back, bringing her sickle up and across in a ready gesture.

“I choose death!” I shouted and ran forward, tossing a kunai. The Yiga cartwheeled to the side and rushed towards me, putting up her hands in front of her and forming several handsigns as she did, making the sickle rotate with each one. On the final rotation, the sickle flashed and she was gone, and I looked left, then caught sight in my peripheral. I spun and narrowly deflected the first strike as she appeared behind me, then the second, but I was off balance and on the defensive.

Just as she pressed her advantage, She jumped back and formed another handsign and vanished into the red and orange seals. I spun as the second yiga I had already shot charged back through the demolished classrooms, ready to gut me. I chanced a glance at the kids. They were evacuating. I had to trust that they could handle it. It looked like most of the kids in the village had run here, but couldn’t make it all the way down and up the stairs to kage-yashiki. I turned back and flicked out a kunai, but the man deflected it. I had one left, then. Well enough. He closed and I spun out of the way, narrowly avoiding his first strike, then locking his blade with the second. I didn’t have another knife, so I pun ched him in the gut, letting that lethal electricity crackle across my first in black and purple. It flowed into him and he screamed as it arced across his body, which let me turn and slash my kunai through his throat. The kids screamed and the woman appeared right in the middle of them with two blades, but I wasn’t about to let that happen and let fly my final knife, burying it into her face, a gout of blood coming from the cracked mask.

I wheezed, the smoke was getting challenging. I looked around and picked up my cloth, then collected all three of the kunai, readying one. “Okay, let’s go!” I shouted, and the kids ran after me as I jogged down the hill, noting that the fighting had left this area. Unfortunately, I chose that moment to relax. Something was here. I could feel the darkness in the area grow, and the Dark Urge reacted in response, growling to some kind of challenge. I exhaled, then turned, looking up.

Above us, beating wings the size of houses was a massive monster. It had three heads, with fire crackling around horns on each one, and each head bore one massive, beady eye, each one locked on me. A dragon, with three heads, the wind from its wings buffeting me, threatening to knock me off my feet.

“Nik.” I muttered under my breath, squaring off as the massive creature with fire around its horns lowered itself, shaking the ground as it landed right in front of me. I glanced at the kids, who were hauling ass up the stairs, then looked back at the gleeok and tossed my improvised mask, grabbing another knife from my belt then dropping into the dervish stance, one knife high to parry, and one down low, to strike. Aqrab style, as we called it. Scorpion style. “Come on!” I screamed.

All three of the gleeok’s heads roared in response, shaking the very earth around me.

Luckily, I didn’t stay on my own. Link ran down the stairs, his sword shining, and he stepped up next to me. Tucked into his belt behind him were the Scimitar of the Seven and Warda al-Sahra, thank the Goddess. That meant that Urbosa was safe, and it meant that everyone else was in the emergency shelter. The Yiga likely ran and were using this Gleeok as a rearguard. It meant that we couldn’t follow them, and that meant that all we had to do at this point was keep this thing from demolishing the town.

I threw the Kunai down into the ground then reached forward, pulling my swords free from Link’s belt. “Urbosa?”

“Everyone is safe.” Link said, slowly drifting away from me, drawing the attention of one of the heads.

“Got a plan?”

“Not yet.”

I nodded, slowly circling in the opposite direction, drawing attention from the middle and right head as it watched us, trying to figure out how to beat us just as we were thinking. It came to its decision first however, and all three heads roared in unison, spitting gouts of fire in both of our directions. Link dropped to his knees, hiding behind his shield to take the brunt of the attack, but I didn’t have that option.

I skidded to a halt then started hoofing it to my right, towards Link, as the gouts of fire shot out into the distance. I then altered my course, running directly towards the head that was focusing on Link then jumped, landing on it. The fire stopped immediately and it roared. The two heads that were busy spraying nothing stopped the fire and turned to me, darting towards me to bite me on my perch. I pulked the Kunai from my belt and drove it into the Gleeok’s eye, and it shook its head. Combined with its furious shaking and getting smacked by two other heads with gnashing fangs, I toppled off of it, falling square on my back with a wheeze. Ow.

Link ran forward, yelling, but the Gleeok flapped it’s wings, and I was also caught in the draft. He got picked up off the ground by the massive amount of wind and both of us got knocked twenty feet backwards towards the chieftain’s house, landing in a tangle of limbs and weapons.

The one head I blinded was hanging limp now, the kunai sticking out of it’s ruined eye socket, but the other two heads inhaled. Both Link and I scrambled, getting untied and both darting in opposite directions as a huge ball of fire shot from the creature’s mouth, exploding and obliterating the bottom half of the stairs. I was safely hidden behind a statue and him? He had driven the master sword into the side of the cliff that held the beautiful pond under kage-yashiki, holding onto it with both hands and watching me, his eyes wide.

So even he could feel fear. We were no match for this thing, but then something else caught its attention, and it looked up. I followed its gaze. A dark shape with large wings descended from the mountain above us, and it eventually revealed our savior in the light.

“Honestly, do I have to do everything myself?” Revali shouted, then flapped his wings, halting his speed. He was holding his Great Eagle Bow in his talons and with hardly even aiming, he drew the string back with one of his talons, and fired an arrow, nailing the left head in it’s mouth in the middle of it’s roar, causing it to gag and cough, if not hurting it more.

The water burst up under Link right after Revali appeared, and I saw a flash of coral and garnet before Mipha arced at least twenty feet in the air in a graceful, nimble flip before she landed on her feet and started slashing at the Gleeok’s flank with her Lightscale Trident. The Gleeok roared again and the left head turned to bite at her, and at the same time, a rolling mass came screaming down the hill, a shell of orange surrounding it. It slammed into the head before it could close on Mipha and then uncurled, and Daruk stood, swinging at the now retreating head with his Boulder Breaker. He caught it in a glancing blow, but even that was enough to knock it senseless as the main weight of the Boulder Breaker slammed into the ground, easily going down a foot into the earth. Daruk’s strength was nothing to sneeze at.

“Got some news before we left, figured you guys could use a hand!” Daruk shouted, then spun, slamming the Boulder Breaker into the side of the Gleeok. It roared and fell to its side, which Allowed Mipha to vault onto it and started stabbing with that fabled speed that Marot had mentioned, leaving a bloody mess with each strike as she speared the unarmoured belly of the massive creature. Revali took to the sky again, letting a rain of arrows into its belly before circling, firing arrows at its thrashing heads.

Our reinforcements arrived, I darted around the statue and Link nimbly kicked himself up in a backflip, pulling the Master Sword free and landing on his feet. We charged forward, but the Gleeok knew when it was bested. It rolled its massive body then flapped its wings, but Revali altered his aim, punching arrow after arrow through one of the Gleeok’s wings while Mipha did the shame with the other, silently but with determination on her face, she dug her trident into the beast’s wing and ripped down, grounding the monster.

It roared and sucked in a breath, but Daruk jumped in front of its mouth, aiming at Link, then put the Boulder Breaker across his chest. The orange shield sprung up as the creature released its fiery payload. Now lamed, the creature was done, and I saw exactly how to end it. I narrowed my eyes on my glinting target, then drew on the dark power in me and shouted, throwing both hands forward, lightning arcing out of them and got conducted to the closest metal, the kunai in the creature’s lamed eye. The lightning poured out of me and the creature roared and fell flat, but it wasn’t dead yet. Link ran around from Daruk’s shield and shouted “Avaunt!” As he did, the Master Sword flared with it’s brilliant radiance, and thankfully, I was out of range of that sacred light. He raised his sword over his head, then slammed it down into the eye of the middle head, which was sort of anti-climactic in a way. There was no roar of defeat. There was no fanfare. It just was there, and then burst into malice, which got pulled into the Master Sword, purified.

I dropped my swords, then fell on my ass, breathing heavily. We won. Somehow, we won. If the others hadn’t come when they did, we would have both died.

Clapping began in the silence followed, and we turned to see the Sheikah streaming out of kage-yashiki at the top of the hill, clapping and cheering. Daruk smiled, then walked over to me and offered me his massive hand. “Good job, Champions.” he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Chapter Text

“Ow.” I said, wincing as Mipha pushed the needle through the skin on my arm.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know it hurts, but we need to make sure this stays closed for the rest of your journey, and since I’m here, I can look at your arm too.”

I shook my head, looking around the building. Where once there had been beautiful dark wood and silk in reds, golds, and pinks, there were now ugly red stains over everything. Half of the chairs were destroyed, and one of the walls was missing entirely.

“But it was thanks to the scouts that we came to see you at all. It seems we showed up just in time to save those two losers.” Revali said, crossing his arms and addressing Zelda, but implying me and Link..

Zelda frowned and looked to Impa, who was sitting in her throne, still a beacon of calm despite that the village had been attacked. “And how fares the village?”

Impa sighed. “Well, the damage reports have come in. We only lost three buildings, homes, but the school is badly damaged and still smoldering. A few of our men are inside, looking for embers to prevent potential flare ups. We can rebuild it. It’s a good time for a break anyway. We can do outdoor classes until it’s repaired. Still, they only burned four buildings, and they knew they couldn’t beat us in Kakariko. They must have had another objective.”

“And I’ve been thinkin’ about that.” Daruk said, also standing solely because they didn’t have a chair that could withhold a 600 pound Goron. This was apparently a fact he was accustomed to with the other species, and didn’t utter a single complaint. “Now, we all know that I ain’t the sharpest boulder on the mountain, but this attack served a purpose, and it’s tied with the scouts report.”

“Which you don’t want to share until Urbosa gets back, correct?”

Mipha sighed and snipped the end of the line as she finished suturing me, then stood. “Because it has to do with her and Hakim. It’s about Gerudo Town.”

I stood. “I know that Urbosa’s trying to help put out the fires, but if our home is in danger, we have to get back as soon as we can to help.”

“On that note…” Revali said, turning to me. “We agree, Hakim. The others can tell you the detail of the report, but I can fly there far faster than anyone can ride. I can do some reconnaissance and meet you at the stable at the mouth of the desert in the canyon.”

I looked at him. “You have my gratitude. Please go, and fly safe.”

He saluted as he backed out of the door then turned. I”ll send Urbosa this way too.” He said, glancing over his shoulder. “Pettiness aside, I’m glad we got here in time.” He said, then flapped his wings, taking off into the sky.

“Huh. He surprises me more and more every day.” Daruk said, running his thick fingers through his beard.

“Revali is young. He’s starting to realize that his people need him, and that means that he has to temper his attitude. He’ll be a stalwart ally for years to come, I think.” Impa said, clasping her fingers together.

I walked over to the rest of the group and grabbed a chair, and Link took my spot in the corner, where Mipha checked him over for injuries.

“You’re disgusting,” Zelda said, looking at me. “Would you like something to wash your face?”

I waved my hand. “I’m too exhausted to worry about it right now. I’ll have to get some rest once we get this news if I have any hope of being useful on the way to wherever we need to go.”

She frowned, but nodded, and Urbosa walked in, putting a hand on her hip and cocking them slightly, looking at me first with a small, pleased smile, then turned to Impa. “The school is no longer smoldering, and your engineers think they can have the roof fixed in two weeks. After that, all the damages were to the paper walls, not the structure itself.”

“That’s excellent news!” Zelda said, smiling.

“Indeed. Thank you all for your help. The Sheikah are forever in the Champions’ debt.”

There were steps on the stairs at the back of the building, then Makoto hobbled down them, back in her Sheikah armor. Impa frowned and stood. “Makoto, no.”

Makoto met her eyes. “I have to help my people, Impa. I can breathe, I can walk, and my hands work. Give me a task. Please. This is my fault.”

“If I hadn’t injured you, then none of this would have happened, if we’re going to point fingers.” I said. “You’re injured. The best way you can help your people is by resting so you can get back on duty as soon as possible.” I said, standing and going over to her to provide support. “But you don’t have to actively do anything to provide your tactical expertise. Let’s get you in a chair, and I’m certain that once she finishes with Link, Mipha will be happy to look you over too.”

Mipha smiled. “Of course. I plan to spend the next week here with Daruk to see to all of the citizens, while Daruk can keep the place secure so that all the guards have time to heal.”

Makoto winced when I lowered her in a chair, but she nodded. “Thank you both, so much. The Sheikah never forget their debts.”

“Unfortunately, it ain’t all good news, and now that Urbosa’s here…” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Mipha rolled down Link’s sleeve, then stood from her kneeling position walking back over to us. Link followed her.

“Castle Town got a request for aid, who passed it along to us by carrier bird, and we rushed here. The report said that Gerudo Town was in danger.”

“What?” I asked, and the room charged with physical static at my anger. “What do you mean, danger?”

Urbosa put her hand on my shoulder. “Hot passions, cool head. Mipha can’t stay in this static. It’s hurting her.”

I looked at Mipha, who had one eye closed and was gritting her teeth from the pain, so I did what Urbosa did. I closed my eyes and inhaled, trying to clear my head. Even if what I was going to hear was upsetting, there was nothing I could do this far from home, and my allies were suffering. I slowly exhaled, and the static dissipated with it as I reined in my emotions. “Sorry.”

She shook like she was shaking water off herself, then shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You should be upset. According to the reports, three Molduga were bearing down on Gerudo Town. The Gerudo sent a bird which made it to Castle Town, then they sent a bird to us since you were somewhere between us and them. As soon as we got word, we headed directly this way. Revali can fly, I swam through the rivers, and Daruk can roll quickly, so we were able to make good time. We left this morning. When we saw the fires, however, we knew that there was a fight, hence our dramatic entrance.”

“And it’s a good thing too. Hard to fight a monster when you’re hiding from its attacks,” Daruk said. “I was glad I got to lend a hand. Hadn’t been in a fight in a while.”

“Molduga. La `nat! You said three were approaching?”

She sighed. “A bit worse than that. Five were. Three headed towards Gerudo Town, but the other two broke off to attack Vah Naboris.”

I grit my teeth. We were too far away to get there to help, but it was so hard to do nothing. “Urbosa, we need to go.”

“No.” She said. “I want to, Hakim, you know that I do, but if we rush, then we can get caught in a trap.”

I stood. “I think this was the trap.” I said, gesturing around. “It’s like Daruk was saying. This attack wasn’t random. It’s no secret that the Yiga are in the desert, and they are the only ones other than the Gerudo that not only knows what a Molduga is, but knows how to fight them. I bet they learned to train them too.”

Urbosa crossed her arms. “Train a Molduga? Hakim, I think you hit the painkillers too hard. That’s impossible.”

“No. I don’t think it is.” I said, turning to her and putting my hands on my hips. “Think about it. The Yiga have been embedded like ticks for the past ten years. Now, if you remember the report two years ago, we had heard that the Yiga had been seen around several Molduga hunting grounds, but at the time, we decided that if they wanted to get eaten, that was their choice. I think we made a mistake. Further, this attack just happened to occur at the same time they attacked Gerudo Town, when we just happened to be here without our guards? That tells me that the Yiga were targeting us, and if they could kill a few Sheikah in the process, then it was a bonus. That also explains why a Goddess-Damned Gleeok was here! They were after us, Urbosa. They failed.”

Urbosa rubbed her eyes. “Tabban, I hate when you’re right.” she said. “If there are Molduga, it’s likely that Gerudo Town’s been damaged. We can’t possibly get there in time to prevent an attack, but we can get there to help with the aftermath. We’ll have to leave as soon as the sun rises though, and there’s not going to be a chance to make camp until we get there.”

I groaned loudly, but shook my head. “Well, this is why we were only allowed two hours of sleep for a week, then had to run 100 laps of the desert the next day. I hate it, but we can do it. Revali is where? the Dueling Peaks by now?”

“As long as the winds are fair, that’s about how fast he can fly.” Zelda said.

“Then I’d say it’s going to take him a day if he doesn’t stop to sleep to get to the Desert. That gives us…” I closed my eyes, doing the math in my head. How fast we could travel, where we could cut across the field instead of following the roads, and then a few shortcuts in the canyon itself. “If we leave at dawn, I give us three days. That leaves him two to do reconnaissance.”

Makoto turned to Impa. “My lady, I have a request.”

She nodded for Makoto to continue.

“Though my relationship to Hakim is… rocky, we all know by now that it wasn’t entirely under his control. More than that, he has not only repaid his debt to me by saving this village and facing down a monster that would have had me reconsider my abilities, but he saved my personal life when the Blademaster broke in. I think he has shown his worth as an ally and more than proved his intentions have been good. Would you permit me to retire from my post since I still need to recover? If Champion Daruk is here in my stead, he’ll be able to get home much faster if we just find a new Sentinel instead of waiting on me to heal. That also frees me up and I can ride to the Ancient Tech Lab and get Purah and Robbie. If Naboris has potentially been damaged, they can fix her and that’s not something we can ignore.” She turned to Mipha. “If you’re still willing to give me that healing boost, that shows you what areas of my body needs the most attention as well, and we can focus a majority of your abilities to those areas before you need to rest.”

She nodded. “Of course. I will stay as long as I am required to see to the rest of the Sheikah, but I will send a letter, and have a supply of healing tonics sent by carriage to Castle Town, so that it can then be sent to the Gerudo to assist, since I can’t go there myself.”

“And of course, Hyrule will help her new allies as well.” Zelda said. “I will return to Castle Town with Link, and we can bring the stonemason’s guild out to see how they can assist, since Gerudo Town is almost entirely stone, they can definitely help with any repairs Gerudo Town may have received.”

“There ain’t much the Gorons can do, and the Zora can’t even go to the desert, but I bet I can talk Bludo into sending a shipment of gems to help with the rebuild. I’ve never been inside, but I know that pure sapphire is embedded in those walls alone. There’s bound to be even more beauty inside, aside from the beautiful women themselves,” Daruk said.

“I hate to ask you all for more than you’ve already given us but…” I turned to the rest of them. Allies. I could say that now. Urbosa had told me to trust my gut, and my gut told me that every person in this room was worthy of trust and respect. Daruk with his joviality and his dad jokes, Link with his no-nonsense duty and silent support, Zelda with her leadership abilities, Mipha with her nurturing personality, hell, even Revali had proven more than once that he was an ally, even if he had a sharp tongue and the Sheikah I barely knew, and yet they were quick to assist.

I was no longer expecting a knife in the back. These were my allies, through the good and the bad. I knelt on the floor and placed my hands in front of me, then bowed down, placing my forehead against the cool wood. “The immense gratitude of the Gerudo goes towards you if you all agree to this. We have long memories, and are truly humbled by this offer of assistance.”

Chapter Text

"It’s a disaster,” I said as my horse crested the dune, showing me the destruction of Gerudo Town. We could see the trail of smoke as soon as we left the canyon with Revali in tow, but it hadn’t decreased in the day it took us to cross the desert to this point. We made it a point to ride through, but didn’t stop in Kara Kara bazaar, and I was pleased to see that the point was clear. A battalion of their guards from the Kara Kara garrison were soon marching in formation behind us, and that kept any of the monsters from attacking.

But part of me wished I died to the Gleeok. The devastation to the city… the northern wall was just gone, like it had been devoured by the earth. Knowing the Molduga, that’s probably exactly what it looked like as well. They had been known to loosen the ground around a permanent structure so much that it sunk into the sand. That’s why most of the Gerudo buildings sat on rocky land that they couldn’t swim through. The sole exception was Gerudo Town. Usually though, there were enough people that the Molduga stayed away from the noise. What had happened was starting to get clearer.

“They attacked the artisan quarter,” Revali said, landing next to me. “That’s where all the smoke is coming from, the entire section near the north wall. All that’s left is rubble from what I saw above, and soldiers are still combing the wreckage.”

“Dammit.” I said, running my hand through my hair and speaking through gritted teeth. “They took down the defenses and made sure we didn’t have anyone left to repair those defenses so that we’d be forced to spread our guard out more to make up for the weakness. They’re planning another attack, and it will be bigger than this first one. This one was just to lower the shields. These Yiga are cunning, I’ll give them that.”

Urbosa trotted up beside me. “Then it’s a good thing Princess Zelda has taken a shine to you. She should be on her way with the masons by now. By our speed, I’d say she’s just now entering the canyon. They’ll be here in the next two or three days.”

I frowned, fighting off the exhaustion. I hadn’t done more than an hour nap here and there on the trip, and now I was just dead on my feet, but I couldn’t stop. Not yet. Not when I could help my people… I nodded and leaned over, fishing my new, modified crown out, thanks to Dento. He had shown me exactly how it worked, a clamp on the hair instead of having the hair bend around the flanges. It was more secure, and he used his highest grade silver to boot, giving it a gold and silver and overall more impressive and regal feel. Urbosa raised an eyebrow. “I’m fairly certain I didn’t give you permission to modify the Gerudo Crown.”

“I’m a king. Executive decision,” I said, smiling. “Moreover, I highly doubted you’d be opposed since I had it done to fit my head,” I set it into place, but she smiled. She approved, even if I had overstepped what I was actually capable of doing. I had mentioned it before, but my authority over the Gerudo only spanned the desert. Outside of it, Urbosa called the shots but here, my authority was absolute even over Urbosa’s. I deferred to her in those situations out of the desert because she had more knowledge than I did, but I didn’t need her diplomatic knowledge here. I turned to the soldiers at attention behind us.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Are our sisters going to suffer because of our inaction?”

“No sir!” The guards shouted in unison and we started marching across the dunes back towards our home, and had quite a welcoming party when we arrived at the gates. Pelor, the guard captain and headmistress of the Web of Knives, stood at attention flanked by two other soldiers. She saluted as we rode forward and dismounted.

“This is Revali,” I said, gesturing to him. “He, Link, and the Champion Daruk have shed blood by my side and in my defense. They are given free reign to enter and leave Gerudo Town so long as they abide by our laws and keep the peace,” I said, and Revali inclined his head just slightly towards me.

“Now, report.” I said without waiting for any other greeting, striding by her and walking into the gates of the city. Revali and Urbosa followed.

“North Walls down. Forty dead. Morale is low.”

“Yiga?”

“Slain to the man.”

“Good. Get those without homes into the underground shelter while we work to rebuild. Any that are able, children, elderly, I don’t care. If they can carry stones, then we need them. Hyrule is on its way with a team of engineers to help us rebuild, but I want that area cleared by the time they get here.”

Pelor nodded. “ETA?”

“Yesterday. This place has been damaged long enough.”

She nodded and turned to relay orders, no further acknowledgement needed. That was why I liked Pelor. She was good in a crisis, and had a great personality when she let her hair down. Right now, she’d focus on my orders, and that’s where I needed her.

“Let’s get you to bed, my prince.” one of the guards said, approaching me.

“I would like to, but I don’t sleep until my people can sleep knowing that their walls will protect them,” I said, cracking my neck. “Come. We need to clean up.”

It took the better part of the day, but my and Urbosa’s return had inspired people at least, and seeing me put in the same amount of labor was inspiring. We were going to work together to rebuild.

One of the major things we teach children in school is architecture and building. Engineering. We do this because the Gerudo out here in the desert have to be self-sufficient and know what can be preserved and what’s beyond repair. The children were able to keep us organized and keep tallies of the clean-up, and they could also look over the larger pieces of rubble, determining what we could use to rebuild and what was garbage. They couldn’t carry the bigger rocks, but they could delegate, and they were able to focus on their tasks given that even they understood how many of their people they’d never see again. A grim certainty that no child should ever have the burden of facing. The Yiga were going to pay. I was going to make them pay, but I had to hone my rage. Lightning strike. Spear, not sledgehammer. They would pay once the repairs were finished.

Since we were able to get everyone on board, we had the district cleaned up after two days, free of the bigger stones, and the smaller rubble could be swept up. Revali kept everyone hydrated and airlifted the bigger stones that could be reused over to the wall, where some of the artisans that survived were already putting up scaffolding. When we were finally done, I got to bathe and rest, and boy, I needed it. I slept through most of the next day, but had been informed that the scaffold was complete and the walls were ready to be rebuilt.

That made Zelda’s timing incredible. I strode up to the gates as she dismounted, a full team of twenty men behind her. She strode forward with a big bald man, and of course Link, ever at her side.

“Prince Hakim, may I introduce Sir Mudo,” She said, gesturing to the man. “He’s the head of the Hyrule Corps of Engineers and has been knighted for his services to the Kingdom in the domains of architecture and building. When I informed the Stonemason’s Guild and they informed him, he rallied some of the best builders in town to assist.”

“The princess tells me that you need some repairs done?” he asked.

“I have a whole city quarter and a barrier wall to rebuild. We were able to salvage some of the materials and I already have fresh stone being hauled here from the quarry in Dragon’s Exile, as well as have the two smiths working overtime to crank out the fittings and other metal items you’ll need. I trust your men are up to the task?”

He looked back and grinned. “Of course, we’d love to help the lovely ladies of the Gerudo in this troubled time.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Ugh. Men. I needed their help, so I couldn’t tell him off. Pelor stepped up beside me, however, and had no such compunctions with niceties. “Prince Hakim, I must remind you that men aren’t allowed into the city. Those that shed blood next to you are one thing, they have paid the blood price.”

I turned to her. “And what’s going to stop them? The gaping opening in the north wall, perhaps? We aren’t in a place to refuse this generous assistance. However…” I said and turned back to Mudo. “I must ask that your builders and masons confine themselves to the Artisan Quarter. While we are willing to accept your very humbling offer, we can’t tread on our traditions, either. If any of your men are found outside of the Artisan quarter, I will be sure to keep the Princess well-informed.”

Some of the men with them grumbled, as I had come to suspect, but Mudo turned. “Y’all want to eat after this job? So do I, and the Princess’ coin promises that. Keep it in your pants.”

I looked at Pelor. “Please show good Sir Mudo and the engineers to the temporary barracks we constructed for them. Make sure to take them through the north wall, if you please. The children should be in the southern section for school right now, and these men likely want to assess the damage as soon as possible.”

Pelor nodded and started speaking with Mudo, but Zelda and Link approached me. “Makoto is also on her way. Purah needed to get a few guardians together, but they should be here by sundown.”

I sighed. “That’s definitely good news. This aid couldn’t have been more timely. I’m so sorry that we had to waste your time like this.”

“Think nothing of it. The Gerudo are no longer enemies of Hyrule, and we help our allies. That said, I trust you, Hakim, and if I can help my friends, I will move mountains for them.”

Link cleared his throat. “Permission to speak?”

She snorted. “If anything, I wish you spoke more. You don’t have to ask me every time you wish to do something, Link. Please do it. I am not like my father. We have discussed this many times. Just because we are back in the company of the Hylians doesn’t mean you have to ask again. Just behave like you did in the Domain. That was more than enough for me.”

He looked like he wanted to say something on that matter, but instead turned to me. “How did the attack happen? Was anyone able to see it?”

I sighed then turned waving for them to follow me. “We station guards on the walls because sometimes, men get creative. Particularly Hylian men.”

“Yet you have no issues with me in town?”

I turned and smiled, placing my hand on his shoulder. “You have crossed blades with me, Link. You have also shed blood in my defense. We have the Sayef Code, the Code of the Sword. You and I stood against each other, and yet here we are, working together. You also stood with me, which makes you equally as worthy. You are my brother in blood, and that makes you a trusted ally.”

Link nodded, but said nothing on the matter and I turned, continuing over to a ladder and climbing it. The pair followed me up and onto the walls, where we had a much better vantage of the entire city. Our walls were at various places throughout where we’d expanded, providing additional layers of protection, and dividing Gerudo town into Residential, Artisan, Entertainment, and Mercantile quarters, with the palace in the middle, dominating the westernmost wall.

I gestured at the northern wall and beyond it to a fierce sandstorm in the distance. “See that storm? When it’s not there, you can see the mouth of Karusa Valley. It has large caverns all over it, but for the most part, we used it to mine stone. It also has natural access into the heart of the Highlands, so its primary use was for travel. To get to the Highlands, you had to pass through a very large cave, but over time we cleared it and had it lit with torches so it’s relatively safe to use and we widened it by hand over the years.”

“And the Yiga attacked,” Link said.

“Not immediately. After their attack and take over of the Karusa Valley area we were able to make a well educated guess that they had thoroughly staked out the Karusa Valley Cave, as we called it for months before. They must have waited, because they chose to attack when a shipment of stone left the cave. Those shipments are crucial to everything in Gerudo Town from building to making tools and weapons. Because of our lack of bodies, we had to hire out some men to do the mining and everything when it comes to stone is down to bare necessities. If we miss even one of those shipments, people go without the tools they need to survive.”

“So you kept the shipment heavily guarded,” Zelda said. “It’s what I would do.

I nodded. “And we gave no thought to the cave itself. We didn’t even get news of what happened. All we know is that when the guards returned for the next shipment, there was a large wooden door over the mouth of the cave with the upturned Eye of Wisdom of the Sheikah, and the bodies of the miners were strung up along the cliff face above. At first, we thought it was a Sheikah attack. Luckily, Urbosa was familiar with Lady Impa’s predecessor, who had no issues telling Urbosa about the rogue Yiga.”

Link rubbed his chin, thinking. Zelda raised an eyebrow at him, as if she could see the wheels spinning in his head. “How long ago was that?”

“Ten years ago. I wasn’t in charge, then. I was still a kid learning about my role, but was sitting in on any matters brought to Urbosa so I could see how to handle them. That’s when I learned what happened.”

“And knowing the Gerudo, you immediately went out in force to take it back.”

I shook my head. “Not me. I was a child. Urbosa did while I stayed back, so that I could lead if she didn’t return. But she and half of the unit returned. Impa’s predecessor’s information had been wrong. There were forty former Sheikah that called themselves the Yiga, yes, but also a veritable army of monsters to back them up being led by Ganon. We had no way of taking back Karusa short of a very costly siege, and that just wasn’t feasible since we were still recovering from the Century War with Hyrule.”

Zelda nodded. “I remembered hearing reports that the Gerudo Highlands were now considered unsafe for Hylians to travel to, but I never discovered why. I suppose I never looked into it either. It had no interest to me so I naturally accepted it and moved on. That was in error, it seems.”

I shook my head. “Not necessarily. It’s only human. I wouldn’t have cared about Karusa either except for one very important thing. The Gerudo have other mines, and stone is plentiful if you dig deep enough. Why, we have a quarry out in Dragon’s Exile that would put the Gorons to shame. That’s the one that’s bringing most of the materials for the repairs. The quarry was built after we lost access to Karusa. The problem is that where stone is plentiful, water is not.”

Link snapped his fingers. “You collect most of your water from the runoff in the Highlands. That’s what the gangplanks all over the place are for. We saw them in the canyon but couldn’t make heads or tails of them, though Sir Mudo said that he was certain it was used to transport something. We had figured it was precious metals and gems, but you weren’t looking for anything like gems and sending water from the city, you were bringing water to the city.”

I nodded. “And that’s why Karusa is such a slap in the face. The Yiga have indirect control over our water, and if they got creative and motivated enough, they could destroy Gerudo Town because of that control. I think the only reason they haven’t yet is because they don’t know we collect the runoff. Urbosa, Pelor, and I were able to come up with fifty ways to kill the entire town with poisons ourselves, and the Yiga have far sharper minds because of their Sheikah training, not to mention that we were three people, they number in the double digits. That’s why we can’t leave Karusa alone, but also why we can’t attack it in force. If we did and we failed, then they’d naturally wonder why we attacked with such a large force, and they might discover that we collected the runoff.”

Link frowned. “What else have you tried?”

I shrugged. “It’s hard to get spies inside, and we’ve lost more brave women than I can count trying to get intel. The intel that we do get is very very rare, so we’ve been locked into little more than a cold war with them for the past ten years, each side waiting for the other to act.”

Link rubbed his chin. “Okay, so why not draw them out into the desert onto your territory?”

I shrugged. “Because they avoid it like the plague. We’ve tried to lure them out multiple times, but they don’t leave. They’re embedded like a particularly loathsome tick.”

Zelda cleared her throat. “This history is very interesting, and I certainly have no problems figuring out how to get rid of the Yiga, but let’s stray away from the more… visceral similes, if we could. We should also do that after we have had a chance to rest from the journey. Tell us about the attack here.”

I crossed my arms and turned back to the destroyed wall. “From what the guards in this very spot saw, they were doing the rotations when the ground started to shake. It was assumed to be an earthquake. We have those. They’re usually annoying, but our buildings can withstand them so they aren’t any reason for concern unless they are especially violent. Normally they knock over a few stalls but those are quickly fixed. The problem though…”

I paused, pointing at where the North wall had been. “Was that the wall sank a few feet into the sand during the quake. Our walls aren’t totally connected. They touch at the corners, but we can’t connect them because we expand over time, and the walls get pushed further and further out. Our guess? The Molduga were very deep, but the three of them were able to use their sonic abilities that loosen the sand they swim through, weakening the sand under the wall, but they were deep enough down that we didn’t sense it at all. It just looked like the wall sank a little, which we could easily correct once I got back and was made aware of the situation. When they began their attack, the three molduga breached.” I said, arcing my finger up in a curve. “They dove out of the sand, and all three of them with their strength and weight behind it was enough to force the weakened sand to pack again, bringing the whole wall down with it.”

Zelda had turned green, looking at the ground uneasily like the building we stood on could be the next target any second. Link looked absolutely flabbergasted and put his hands on his hips. “You’re joking. How smart ARE these things?”

I held my hands up defensively. “Like I know? Everything we knew told us that they weren’t that smart. Sure, they could sink a building if they got creative, but they’re still animals, not monsters. They aren’t controlled by Ganon. We didn’t even know that they were capable of working together, since they’re fiercely territorial. We had also never seen them do something this well-coordinated. As terrifying as they are, they’re animals, not monsters brought on by ganon’s blight. When you kill them, they die, they don’t explode into malice. Ganon wasn’t leading them. When you combine that with the coordinated strike to take out me and Urbosa in Kakariko, it’s the only plausible explanation. They were trying to kill us, and they missed. They were the ones that led the Molduga here.”

Link tapped his chin. “Okay. After that?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Horror stories,” I said, quietly. I was too worried to say it louder. Some of the people in Gerudo Town were never going to have a restful night asleep again. “Nightmares. Screaming, smoke, a fire started. The whole time, these things roared, fighting with our Golden Scarabs. Seeing as your graduation test is to hunt and slay a Molduga on your own unarmed and unarmored, they’re the closest we have to experts on slaying them. Even those reports were odd. The Scarabs, each one a woman of the highest fortitude, both mentally and physically, swore that the Molduga weren’t raging or panicked. They were patient, they were calculating. They knew exactly when to attack and when to roll, killing a good number of Scarabs in the process. Eventually the Scarabs were successful but by then, the wall was already gone, the fires were spreading, and the quarter was little more than rubble. We arrived two days later. Three days ago. We just finished the clean-up yesterday afternoon.”

Zelda shook her head. “And the Yiga?” She asked, almost too scared to know how they were involved.

I shrugged. “A theory, not for certain but the coordinated attacks say it was them. They are the only other desert dwellers for hundreds of miles in every direction. The desert is as big as Hyrule, if not bigger. We haven’t seen anyone else in millenia other than a few nomadic tribes. The only ones that even know what a Molduga is has either been to Gerudo Town or live in this desert, and since I don’t want to assume Hyrule had a hand in this because we have enough problems, that points to the Yiga. That’s assuming that the Molduga weren’t acting alone, though given that this behavior goes against every record we have of them since ancient times, I’m willing to bet that’s not what happened.”

Zelda sighed, closing her eyes, and Link and I looked at the ruined wall, where some of the workmen were already painting down designations for its rebuild.

Chapter Text

A few weeks had gone by and the wall was proceeding smoothly. It was already able to stand up on its own, and looked exactly like the old one, with Hylian steel reinforcing the entire structure to make sure any Molduga that tried to ram it again was only going to end up with a cracked wall and a cracked skull. Sir Mudo even showed us a demonstration, quite willing to have our artillery woman shoot a cannon at it, and it didn’t even leave a mark. The iron slug just impacted the wall then fell directly into the sand in front. I was definitely going to have all the remaining walls reinforced in the same way. It was miles beyond what we could do industrially. We just never had a need to industrialize on the same scale, and that’s why trade and cultural exchange was important.

Like Zelda said, Makoto had shown up. With her were two very… eccentric Sheikah named Robbie and Purah, and their army of twenty guardians that were there to provide the parts needed to repair Vah Nabooris. They brought their own team of engineers, and those repairs were ninety percent complete. They only needed five guardians to do it. The damage wasn’t as bad as we thought. Vah Naboris, even on auto-pilot, made mincemeat of the two molduga that came for her, and just had some scarring on her legs that needed reinforced. Still, it only took five guardians to do the repairs and that got my wheels turning. That’s why I called the strategy meeting.

“Well, they’re already here, aren’t they? Fifteen guardians could easily handle the Yiga, and we wouldn’t even have to get involved.”

Purah leaned back, putting her boots on the table. Crass, but not unexpected. Hell, stone ground can kill your feet. They needed a break. “They definitely could and I’m more than willing to do it. That’s not the issue, pretty boy. The issue is that we don’t know what’s inside the Karusa hideout. These buggers are tricky. We’ve had to… our engineers are calling it “programming.” We had to “program” in a list of things that are considered enemies, and are considered friends. They are also capable of making complex calculations in mere seconds that allow them to differentiate thousands of different variations on a creature based on their evolutionary possibilities in the region. Far beyond anything we can do on our own, I might add. Our ancestors were geniuses. That means if we said something like “Kill a Lizalfos” it’s going to kill all the lizalfos and all variations of it from green to gold, fire-breath to ice-breath, but also regular lizards, since they are from the same evolutionary family, and we don’t need guardian beams firing at random to take down defenseless animals. While Bokoblins and Moblins and whatnot can be humanoid, they are very different from humans genetically, and for Ganon’s human forces, we have to rely on the armies. That hasn’t changed.”

“Which means…” Robbie cut in, speaking in a grandiose, over the top way, combing his white hair streaked with black. “That we can’t just order it to kill Yiga. Yiga are human. We would be considered as Yiga in those variations since we’re all also human, Hylian, Gerudo, Shiekah, the nationalities notwithstanding. I’m sure that we can find a work around, but that takes valuable time and moolah.” he said, rubbing his fingers together.

Link cut in. “Which means that if the guardians are going to do anything, it has to be in a support role. If the Yiga are planning another attack, then you need to hit them with a counteroffensive before the next one. Strike them before they strike you, take them down with one blow. If your counteroffensive fails, fall back and rely on your walls. There’s no time to fiddle with technology that we hardly understand. Maybe if we knew more about how to program the guardians, it would be different. I’m not particularly comfortable around them as it is.”

I drummed my fingers on the table. “This is the limit of false intelligence though. While what they can do is incredible, all machines have limits. These wonders are no different.”

Makoto frowned. “I want to scout the Yiga base.”

“Absolutely not.” Pelor said, turning to her. “For starters, you are a guest, and I will not have a guest die for us, even if your injuries have healed.”

Makoto flashed a wicked grin. One I had grown accustomed to. She found a job, staying at my side and protecting me while the much sturdier and less injured Gerudo Guard focused on the walls. That said, Makoto had become quite the friend, even if there was a nasty little white line across her jaw, the only scar from our initial encounter. Mipha does good work. “But while I am a guest, I am also Shiekah, and the Yiga were once kinsmen. It is our responsibility to contain our kinsmen, even if they themselves do not want to be contained. In a way, I understand them. The Sheikah way, it’s hard and it’s unforgiving. Some of our children die during training. That’s a cruel fact for us. The Yiga split from us because of those strictures, but that also means that they aren’t honed. Every Sheikah is a knife to be wielded, but they are knives that have been neglected and been left unsharpened, while I can cleave through a feather in the air. In addition, they’ll be looking for Gerudo spies after the attack, but I assure you, they won’t be looking for their kinsman.”

“She makes a fair point,” Urbosa said. “But you will not solve this threat alone. We are Gerudo, and though it may hurt our pride to seek assistance, we have sought it nonetheless. Please, allow us to gain some measure of pride and honor back by being the bulk of this assault. Information only.”

Makoto nodded. “This is where we differ. You seek the act of removal of the head, I only must return the head of Kogha. How I got it isn’t important. Results are. If it’s severed at the end of a Gerudo blade, it makes no difference. It has still been severed.”

“That is… ruthlessly pragmatic,” Zelda said. “The Shiekah and the Gerudo have much in common.”

“Yet her stance is no less true. It’s one of the reasons we came, after all,” Purah said, taking her feet off the table. “Yeah, we gotta repair Naboris, but the engineers can do that on their own. Our cousins are being absolute shitheels. We’ll help you put them in their place. They give all of us a bad name.”

“Which leads me to ask…” Link said. “You mentioned before, Hakim, you had tried to lure them out of the valley. How?”

I shrugged. “Fire was our first attempt. Fire doesn’t burn stone. We had figured that they had furnishings inside and that it would spread through things like rugs and tapestries.”

“Only like us, the Yiga are ascetics. They don’t have much use for form. They require function and form follows with time.” Robbie said, crossing his arms.

I nodded. “After that, we tried a terror team, but the Yiga don’t fear death. I was reminded of that in Kakariko Village. Those Yiga knew they were going to die in the assault, but they did it anyway. I carved through eight of them during the entire encounter, and not one was afraid of me.”

Makoto nodded. “That’s because of us as well. All Sheikah are taught to not fear death, but to embrace it. Death means an end to your grisly tasks, and a release to a more pleasant, less bloody hereafter.”

I nodded. “And the third attempt was to cave them in, but our Hylian mining teams were a little too good at their task. The walls are reinforced heavily and we can’t blow it or cause a cave-in, no matter how hard we try. Because the cave entrance is on a long slope, that also defeats the chances of a cave in to seal them in at the front entrance. That and there’s the back exit to the Highlands, which is far more open and far harder to block, not to mention it would be traveling through the bitter cold of the Highlands themselves.”

Zelda tapped her chin. “I have a plan. It’s not a good one and the valley will certainly be destroyed, but it may serve as inspiration. Vah Nabooris has the might to crush that stronghold and blast it to pieces.”

Urbosa set her glass of tea down with a thunk, also sighing, though she was thinking. “Which is something we considered, but the consensus is that while it would solve the problem, it would also create a new one. Primarily, the Karusa Valley’s link to the Highlands was vital to our water supply, as Hakim has already mentioned. We were able to bring in trains of water before they took it. That has been reduced severely and we’ve had to ration it. That’s why our famous crystal pools are the only things that still have water in them, because it’s a necessity for people to cool off and put cool water on their skin from the crystal pools around the city. But our fountains? The adornments that line our streets? All of those aren’t running and haven’t been since the Yiga took Karusa ten years ago. We knew how bad the situation was and even though we immediately started our water conservation efforts, it’s been ten years. They aren’t going to hold out forever and we will have to attack Yiga at some point or die choked on sand.”

Purah scratched and smoothed her hair, then grinned like a flash of inspiration had gone off in her head. “Okay, we know that, but do the Yiga?”

I crossed my arms and frowned. “Explain.”

“Well, think about it,” she said, setting a little wooden flute she had been toying with on the table. “We know that Vah Nabooris can’t do an assault like that because of the water supply, but the Yiga don’t know they control the water, as you mentioned. Otherwise, they would have already utilized it. I mean, let’s be honest, poison compared to training molduga? And clearly they fear that Naboris can be used against them. They could have wiped Gerudo Town off the map with five Molduga, no offense.”

I shook my head. “None taken. It’s the truth.”

She nodded. “But that’s not what happened, is it? They sent three for the town, but two went to Naboris. My theory is that Gerudo Town was their distraction. It’s what I would do because of my Sheikah training. If you attack Vah Naboris then the Gerudo swarm you in the desert, which they are masters of. If you cause a big enough problem at home, however…”

“Then the guards around the giant death machine would return to defend their home,” Link said.

“Leaving Vah Naboris open and vulnerable. They just underestimated her power. If they had sent an extra Molduga either way, they could have destroyed one of the objectives,” Robbie added. “Naboris is powerful, but three molduga? They could have just sunk the ground under her feet with their sonic abilities like they did with the wall.”

“Ruthless pragmatism, like I said,” Zelda said. “But they now know that Vah Naboris is stronger than they could have imagined because it beat their attempt. Their next strike has to be even larger than they had initially planned. They know that the Gerudo know that as well. They know the enemy, so they know that the Gerudo are desperate.”

“And may just be desperate enough to destroy whatever the cave was for, reasoning that the Gerudo then have the time they need to fix the problem efficiently,” Makoto added.

“Which we can’t do,” I repeated.

“And that’s why we’re going to play pretend!” Purah said, throwing her hands up. “Who’s a genius? That’s right, the gorgeous Purah.”

“What she means…” Robbie said, “Is that if you pretend that you’re ready to wipe out the pass, they will likely come out in force to keep Naboris from marching all the way there. They’ll have to throw everything they had for their second assault directly at her in the desert before she can destroy the valley.”

“Which means that you have the glowing ember to dislodge your tick,” Link said. Zelda shuddered at the visual.

“Which means that I can then actually, tactically prepare a plan,” I said, standing. “This desert is my home. I know every dune as I would a close friend. I know them as well as I know Urbosa, or any of the Gerudo in this city. There are other creatures in these sands. Molduga are fearsome, but that sword cuts both ways. I can’t share more, as it’s Gerudo state secrets, but know that I can almost certainly ensure the destruction of a bulk of whatever forces they sent out.”

Urbosa jerked her head to me. “Hakim, surely you don’t mean to wake the Sleeping King? That isn’t something that we can control. He’s never been woken on purpose, and we make sure to supply hundreds of sand-seals to keep him from coming to Town.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t have guardians then, did we?” I asked, looking at her. “The Sleeping King is certainly unique. I think that you’d be hard pressed to find acceptable variations that we want to keep around, don’t you, Urbosa?”

Robbie grinned. “Hell yes!” He shouted, strumming an air guitar. “So what’s the plan, Prince Hakim?”

I put my knuckle to my lower lip, scanning over the map of the desert on the table in front of us, and came to an inkling. “Have a seat. This might take awhile, but it will work.”

Chapter Text

Well, it was a plan, at least. An idea. Not a great one but Robbie and Purah agreed that I after I explained the Sleeping King to them, any particular genetic variations around wouldn’t be missed if they happened to appear anywhere else near the guardians. In fact, the Guardians would be one of the few things able to stop this type of creature.

They went to go program the Guardians, while Link went with Makoto to assist her in her infiltration since Zelda was safe in town. He wouldn’t go in, he just wasn’t good enough at stealth by his own admission, but he could assist in infil and exfil. That left Urbosa and Zelda, who were talking about progress on the wall when I decided to leave the throne room, turning and heading up the stairs. This room was mine, though normally it belonged to the Chief, I had seniority, and Urbosa was happy to give it to me. She wanted to show a potential voe a home, not a palace.

I pushed the curtain aside and stepped in. My room was cozy. While hewn from stone, it had ample rugs thrown around on the floor so that it wasn’t too hard on the feet. That and the desert gets cold at night. There are few things worse than having to pee at night and sliding out of bed to stand on the cold floor. Hence, rugs. Function. Form came later.

I knelt down in front of the hearth and put in some fresh logs, then lit them before unbuckling my spaulder and resting it on an armor stand. I placed the two scimitars I carried on the weapon stand, then sat on the bed, taking off my sirwal. These were knew and didn’t match my others being black instead of white with the Gerudo crest on them, but my others were ruined because I needed a smoke mask, and all the coughing and wheezing over the past week while my tiny hairs in my throat grew back only showed it was the best decision I could make at that moment.

I sat on my bed, naked, then fell back, enjoying the cool air as it washed over my body. I idly scratched the soft trail of hair that began at my navel and trailed down, then looked at my arm.

Mipha had done wonders with it. The blisters had receded and most of the pain was gone. Now, it only hurt if I touched it like a really bad sunburn, but it was still bothering me. I frowned, then hopped to my feet and got in an armoire, digging around until I pulled out a pair of hylian trousers, also in black. The Sirwal was good for the desert in the heat, but now that the sun had set, it was much more comfortable to wear the trousers. I then pulled on a pair of boots and left my room, climbing the ladder to the side and walking across the roof of the palace.

I had a little table and a few chairs brought up here with a hookah built into the table, so that I could either entertain or come up here to think and be alone. I got into the small crate to the side of the table and pulled out everything that I would need. I lit a small brazier, then tossed two pieces of charcoal inside. While those lit, I turned to the hookah itself. It was attached to the table, but it didn’t look like it at first because of the shape of the vase, its beveled design securing it in a hole drilled into the table itself.

I pulled out the shisha I wanted and smelled it. Delicious scents of peach, jasmine, and honey filled my nose, and I smiled, then packed the bowl before setting a small metal tray with holes in it over the top. Once that was done, I fished around in the brazier and pulled out the charcoal, settling them on the top to cook the shisha under the grate.

Finally, I sat down and took the hose, taking a short pull to get vapor into the vase, then took a much longer one. The water in the vase bubbled and as I pulled, taking a deep breath, I could feel the knots in my spine loosen ever so slightly, the tension easing out of my body as the tobacco lowered my mood to a more even, mellow state. Mild narcotics at work.

I wasn’t, however, alone for long. I doubted that I would be, but before long, I heard steps on the ladder, then her moccasins as she padded across the roof, softening as she walked across the carpets, then pausing, taking in the scene before her. “The guard said I might find you here,” Zelda said, pulling out a chair and sitting across the table. They had been here a few weeks, so instead of her usual attire, she had decided to try on the local style. I hadn’t told her yet, and I honestly didn’t know if I ever would, but the sirwal and the cloth halter looked incredible on her, and it made her incredibly beautiful. She even had her hair pulled into a tail instead of leaving it long. “We’ve been here a few weeks, and I finally get to see your ‘Thinking Space.’”

I smiled. “Do you feel you should have access to all of my private places? I was gonna put the honesty stump in the throne room.”

“Oh that stump,” Zelda said, but she was laughing. “You can’t be serious.”

“We’ll have to find out, won’t we?” I asked, then passed her the hose. “Ever tried it?”

She frowned. “No, I don’t believe I have. What is it?”

I turned, just now remembering that I was shirtless. It was different than usual. I mean, obviously the spaulder didn’t cover much of my body. I mean, Why hide that from the world? My body is a gift for the masses. Yet here, in my home, wearing hylian trousers and not having anything on… It felt much more intimate. I tried to think past it as I set the hose down and stood. She stood with me. My head came over the top of the hookah, but she had to stretch to see.

“So, you put the tobacco under this grate into the bowl. The tobacco is blended with flavors like molasses or honey or fruit juices, it’s left in it for a while to absorb those flavors. When it’s ready, you take the wet tobacco and set it in the bowl on top of a few holes. The coals go on top to cook the tobacco and it sweats the juices down the holes, all the way down the tube where they are evaporating from the heat.” I said, tracing the golden tube all the way down to the base with my fingers. “From there, the heat creates steam in the water, which mingles with the evaporated shisha juices. Both aren’t as dense as the water, so the steam settles over the top, and you inhale that steam.” I said, putting my fists to my hips and smiling. “Smoking, but way more intricate than it needs to be. Not my people’s finest invention, but it does the job well, and it provides a much more flavorful experience than a cigar.”

She frowned, then sat back down and placed the tip of the hose into her mouth, then took a drag like every amateur, immediately starting to hack her lungs out.

I laughed and took the hose from her, kneeling in front of her. “Cough it out, it’s fine. Happens to everyone.”

She lifted her wrist to her mouth, still coughing, but she was at least able to breathe through it. “It’s hot,” she said.

“It’s steam, Princess. Of course it’s hot. Tobacco can be hard on the throats of people not used to it as well.” I offered it to her again. “Take another one, but slower and not as much this time.”

She frowned at the hose, unsure, but lifted it to her mouth again and this time took a slower, much more measured pull. She pulled the hose away from her mouth, held it for a moment, then exhaled, her eyebrows going up when she tasted it.

“That tastes wonderful.”

“Like I said, it does its job well.” I said, standing and going back to my seat. “It’s just not as efficient as it could be, but it’s a cultural object, and I have no complaints on that front.” I settled in the chair, letting my back relax and taking the second hose. “I make a point to do this at least once a week. At night, I climb on the roof, prop my feet up, smoke something tasty, and look out across the desert,” I said, waving my hand across the expanse. “A sea of golden sand, blanketed by the ebony silk of the night sky, studded with the diamonds of the stars. True beauty. Not grand vistas like Shatterback Point, but beauty all the same.”

She smiled. “It sounds so poetic when you put it that way. I must admit, I’ve never been fond of the desert. I hate sand, it’s coarse and it gets everywhere, and then there’s nothing to see but more sand. Maybe a cactus.”

I nodded. “True, but that’s why you have to look deeper, Princess. These dunes shift every day, and every day they bury some ancient ruin, but uncover another. There’s so much out there to see, and that’s the truest beauty of this desert of ours. The view from Shatterback point will likely never change, and it gets old. Blase. But the desert’s dynamic, and some of the old ruins have art that can bring a man to tears. It’s why the archaeological team asked us permission to set up an outpost.”

She watched me the whole time I spoke a bit more intently than I was used to, and I glanced over at her. “What? Is something on my face?”

Her face turned pink and she smiled, shaking her head. “Not at all. You just speak with such passion about your home. It shows how much care and dedication that you have to it. I find that admirable. In Hyrule, sometimes it feels like I am the only one that wants to preserve our natural beauty in the march of progress. I admit, people need places to live, but every building destroys more nature, and I wish that people would consider that. Conservation. We can definitely build, but we have to build around the things that we wish to preserve.”

I passed her the hose and she took it, quickly finding how much was as much as she could handle, taking my tip about it being harsher to heart. “Very different issues from us, and definitely not one I envy. If there were ever a push to expand the city across the desert further, to try and build a castle? I couldn’t allow that. I couldn’t allow a civilization as large as Hyrule in these sands.” I said, leaning on the table and looking out. “Not only because of the dangers any settlers would face, but also because there’s nothing out there but more sand. There’s no other place that can truly be habitable. That and it would destroy several millennia of our culture. One of the reasons that the Gerudo are so distinct culturally is because the sands preserve objects that others would consider lost to time. To build on that is to lose that potential irreplaceable object. The Gerudo are small, and we are quite happy at the point we are. Small, but respected.”

She giggled. “You’re so passionate. It’s one of the things I like about you.” She sighed. “But that’s not entirely why I came up here. I’m concerned.”

I took the hookah hose. “Go on.”

“Well, it’s just this plan. You want to do it in a week. That’s not much time to prepare.”

“I know,” I said, then took a long pull of the hookah before I set the hose on the table, exhaling slowly. “It’s not. There’s not a lot of time to get organized and to get everyone aware of what we’re going to be doing, but it’s like that on purpose. If the Yiga knew what we were planning, then they’d know that we aren’t going to destroy the valley. We have to move before they know what we’re up to, and the longer we take to prepare, the longer they have to find out. If I wasn’t relying on Makoto’s intel to formulate contingencies, I’d push to do it sooner.”

“And you truly think that Naboris and the Guardians can defend against this “Sleeping King?”

I smiled. “Zelda, there can only be one king of these sands, and you’re looking at him. The Sleeping King is a menace. It’s not something we created, and it’s something that we would be better off not dealing with. If I can kill it atop Naboris, then we’ve done my people a service already, whether or not the Yiga take the bait. I have to try.”

She frowned. “But what if you get hurt?”

I shrugged. “I’m always finding new ways to get hurt. I care about surviving, with minimal maiming, if I can avoid it. Taking on the Sleeping King, I admit it makes me uneasy, but I can’t let that unease get in the way of helping my people. It’s a dangerous unknown, but I have to take the leap of faith here.”

She shook her head. “Hakim I… I’ve had time to think, and to take counsel,” She said, not meeting my eyes. I frowned and offered her the hose, and she took it, taking a pull. When she exhaled, she met my eyes, then looked away again. “This was easier when I was on my way here, I’ll admit.”

“Okay. Any way that I can help?”

She shook her head, then met my eyes, resolve on her features. “Hakim, have you given any thought to life after the battle against Ganon?”

I shrugged. “Not really? I figured that I’d come back and just live the life I want, in my home.”

She nodded. “That’s what I want too, but I’m finding myself thinking of the conditions. My father is old now. He won’t live forever, and when he passes, the throne passes to me. But I often find myself wondering if I am doing this alone. If I will carry this burden, or if I will have a person to help me. To support me when things go badly.” She crossed her arms. “And then I think of you. You know how to lead. You already know politics, and I genuinely like you and well…” She turned pink. “Your physical attractiveness is also a huge draw.”

I leaned back, knowing where this was going. Yeah, I’d thought about it, but we’d been here for weeks and still had no progress on the Dark Urge and I highly doubted it’d be nice and quiet during “intimate” moments. I mean, I was elated, emotionally. I genuinely liked her and I did have feelings, but I had kept them suppressed given the state of things. At the same time however, There was the state of things. I didn’t even know if I was going to survive next week, let alone when Ganon returned, and I didn’t want to accept, only to leave her as a widow.

“So what I’m saying is that if you also share my feelings, then perhaps we could consider a relationship,” Zelda said, eagerly awaiting my response. She expected an answer, but I didn’t have one.

“I would like to think that’s an option. I want it very much, but I have reservations. I know you’ve thought about them too. There are serious political and social ramifications that come with that kind of suggestion. I mean, we are kind of in agreement in the sense that we are going to get married no matter what, right? For political reasons.”

She nodded. “It seems to be what my father wants, and it would solidify the Gerudo as members of Hyrule through marriage, yes. But I keep thinking about the time that we have now. Perhaps we might actually hit it off, and the marriage can be something we want, instead of a duty required of us.”

I nodded. “I see a few holes here, but you said you’d taken counsel?”

She nodded. “Yes, as foolish as it sounds. I…” she paused and cleared her throat. “I may have allowed my personal feelings to affect my relationship with Link. I felt that instead of trying to speak to you, my confidante, since you were also a romantic prospect and therefore couldn’t be impartial, to instead speak to him myself, and see how he felt about the idea of, well, he and I.”

I leaned back and crossed my arms, tossing my head to flick some of the hair out of my face. “Let me guess, it would violate his duty.”

She smiled, but somehow it felt self-deprecating. “Yes, and I suppose I should have seen that coming, but during the conversation, I brought up my feelings about you, and he told me that while he can definitely see some rocky spots what with cultural flubs and mishaps, he does believe that we have remarkable chemistry, and he was in support of the idea.”

I nodded. That was my biggest concern. Their relationship wasn’t particularly common. I would more say it was unique. The right hand and left hand of the Goddess? That was something out of a storybook, so I could have definitely seen romance blossoming, but he had the opportunity and he turned her down, so no harm done.

“Okay, the next roadblock that I see is that if we do this, it will likely be permanent. Once it goes public, that’s all your dad will need to declare a marriage. Considering that we honestly don’t know each other that well, it’s a concern.”

She nodded. “Which is why I would say that we don’t publicize it. I must get to know you to know if this is the right course of action. Late night rendezvous, much like this one here. We would have to be seen to be professional in the public eye.”

I nodded, tapping my chin. It wasn’t an issue on the Gerudo side of things. I was supposed to have a harem, and I could even have Rito in it if I wanted. It would be notable because it’s the princess, but not a topic of gossip. “Right, that. Okay, so cultural flubs that we will have to sort out. Do you know what a harem is?”

She frowned, then buried her face in her hands.

“What books have you been reading, Princess?”

“None of your business.” She said through her hands.

I grinned and picked up the hookah hose, giving her a moment to regain her composure. “As silly as it sounds, it’s something we have to take into account. I’m honestly not crazy on the idea myself? Like, sounds weird coming from a young guy I know, but I don’t feel like that tradition is a necessity anymore. It’s from a time when we were at war with the Hylians, and when the Gerudo didn’t accept outsiders. When it was the sole source of our population. Now, I should have just a small family like everyone else.”

“Is that not something that you can just order away?”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “Unfortunately not. I mean, I could definitely do so, but ordering away traditions is what tyrants do, you know? It’d be something that I’d need to talk over with the Tribal Council and get officially removed, and I could probably do it, but it’s not a guarantee.”

She tapped her chin. “Even if your future queen raised the objection?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Alone, yeah. Monogamy is a Hylian thing, and it would look like an extension of that, but if I were to raise the subject, and then you were to talk about the relevant points in our history like I just did, I bet it’d do a lot of good. It’d show that you were coming from our traditions, not from jealousy. Tradition is everything to us. We can only break it when absolutely necessary.”

She nodded. “I do think that if you were to call on me in Castle Town, it may be best to have business to discuss with my father as well, otherwise he may catch wind. I am assuming I am not as subtle as I think I am.”

I nodded. “Well, that’s all the issues I have.”

She smiled. “Then I guess you have no reason to say no.”

I nodded. “I guess not. We can celebrate if I don’t die next week.”

Chapter Text

The drums were the first thing that the Yiga heard, almost certainly. They were the big conga drums of our people, each strapped to a drummer that beat a slow, steady beat for the marching forces behind them. Three full battalions of Gerudo warriors in gleaming gold, their faces covered with veils to protect them from breathing sand, while still allowing a full field of vision. The drums bore a steady booming staccato as the drummers each beat their molduga skin head, the drums of war leading the way.

Each eighth drumbeat was followed by a lower, booming noise as Vah Nabooris lumbered ahead, her metallic elements glinting and gleaming from the sun. All I could think of though, as we were marching through the sweltering heat of the morning sun was damn, I was glad she had some kind of air cooling device.

The sun at this time of day could heat the area to 90 degrees, and it wasn’t even the hottest part of the day. That came just before sundown, and was easily in the 120’s. People were told to not be outside at those times. The soldiers below were sweating buckets, especially at this pace. It was something I hadn’t considered. Vah Naboris wasn’t particularly fast, but she had a very big stride. The army had to move at almost double speed to keep up with her, even as slow as she was.

The army was keeping with the grueling pace, because this was to defend our home. Each one was ready to do what they had to to remove the rot that had insinuated itself for a decade, each warrior ready to die for their sisters, and to slay the foes of those that watched behind the walls, to old or young or otherwise unable to be here. We didn’t just fight for rage. We fought for survival, just as the Gerudo have always done. They were able to cope with the heat as well because of our armor. The way it covered only the chest where the vitals were, but everywhere else was the flowing, breathable clothing of the Gerudo, dissipating the heat.

A cloud of smoke materialized next to the console I was standing at and the Golden Scarabs helping me keep Naboris defended tensed, but I held a hand up as Makoto materialized out of the smoke, and they eased, going back to keeping their eyes open for outside threats.

“They know we’re coming. I managed to sneak through. It’s a veritable fortress. There are far more than forty Yiga, as well. It looks like they formed some sort of cult. I counted numbers in the thousands, most camped in the Highlands where they won’t be spotted. I think you may have accidentally stumbled upon the bulk of Ganon’s human army. However, they were mobilizing as I made my way out. This plan may just work, as crazy as it is.”

I smiled. “Not great news, but I like your enthusiasm, Makoto. Unfortunately, we’re already committed if they’re mobilizing. We’ll just have to hope the plan works. Let’s excise a tumor,” I said and threw forward a lever on the massive machine. It roared and reared back, the army going completely still as I began the plan. This was the point of no return. Nabooris fell back to the earth on her feet, the ground shaking, and I pressed a button. Several sheikah glyphs appeared on a thin glass screen in front of me, and I started tapping back commands in Gerudo. These machines were so incredibly advanced. I was able to interface with Naboris with precision and that was only a fraction of this machine’s potential. A powerful weapon against Ganon, and a deadly adversary should the Divine Beasts try to destroy us instead. I stepped forward onto the large, flat platform in front of my console, and once I was in position, I sat, closing my eyes and crossing my legs, and the Scarabs formed up around me. I was particularly vulnerable when I was piloting the beast this way, but I was also much more effective, and precision was key to this operation. “Makoto, press the glowing orange button,” I said, then all of my senses… changed. I have trouble describing the feeling.

As I saw out of Naboris’ eyes, I felt as a god. I was the biggest beast around, and none could stand up to me. Though I may seem an unthinking being of metal and stone, I was furious at being dragged around through this place by these lesser creatures.

I huffed in the air through my olfactory sensors, I recognized the scent. I was home, in the desert, but it didn’t smell the same. Familiar, but not right. I was in the desert, but I was certain that much time had passed. The time had come to finally strike at the heart of Ganon, or assist my defendants in preparation for that glorious day.

My auditory sensors hummed, I could hear the herd around me. They were excited. My herd was excited, so why shouldn’t I be? Excitement meant new, safe places to graze, and fresh water.

As I tasted the sand on the air, I relished in it. Certainly, I could handle these insignificant Yiga. After that, I would use my proven strength and power to conquer the rest of this pitiful, blighted continent, and then I would watch as it burned to cinders around me, before turning on the goddess herself, triforce in hand.

And as I felt the vibrations in the ground, I knew that I had to isolate each of these warring parts of my and the machine’s various personalities, or I would lose control. It was a constant struggle to stay attached to this thing, but I stilled my mind. I had overcome them before, and I would do it again.

I isolated the machine’s dominating instincts, using those various instincts to key up and support my other functions in response, putting wild energy to purpose.

Next, I treated with the thoughts of Nabooru. Her divine soul had been used in the creation of this machine. Our Eighth Heroine. She made her choice to fight Ganon, and to sacrifice her human body to become this walking behemoth. Her sacrifice was to not be remembered as a hero, but as the one that delivered us into Ganon’s clutches. Even amongst them again, the Gerudo still feared the destruction that Nabooru could bring if she were to turn against her people again. She knelt to my purpose and stood ready to take over the weapons, resolved to not threaten her people once more, and to aid them as she was eternally meant to do.

After that, I stalked the mind of the beast that this machine represented. The camel. It was a stalwart ally, but was easily spooked, and you had to work very carefully and earn its trust. I approached its personality fragment gently and carefully, assuring it of my good intentions and leading it to its spot in my mind, safely contained, where I could become one with the form of Naboris.

Finally, the hardest shard of all. The part of me that I chose to never acknowledge. The Dark Urge. As the son of Ganon, I had an inherent drive to seek power, and use it for destruction. This is the part of me that had led me to have rigorous self control. It was always there, lurking and whispering sweet nothings, and I was going to have to wrestle this shard of my consciousness into submission, because this shard was my personality, not Naboris’. I dove onto it, beginning a battle of will as I asserted my dominance on the thing in me that respected only strength. To let it in would be to wield sorceries the likes of which the world had never known. To aspire to be a god, because at some point, a being becomes so powerful that they might as well be one. That could be me if I gave in. It was for that reason that I struggled over my own head each and every day. It was for that reason that I had access to some dark applications of magic, certainly, but I was sure that there was a price for that power. It was for that very reason that I refused, because nothing good could come of such ability. I beat it into submission in my mind, then tossed it into the final corner, latching it behind its door and dusting my hands. Now, Naboris was ready to heed me, and me alone.

Naboris’ decorative hinges on her head flipped sideways, and energy started to spill forth from them. The energy coalesced in the center of these two points, then a brilliant red beam shot forth, smashing into the ceiling over the center of the Karusa Valley Hideout. It was just light, but the sheer intensity of it was enough to shake the entire mountain, causing an avalanche higher up in the Highlands. Gods, I really hoped this worked. It hinged on the Yiga taking the bait. If they didn’t, then I would have no choice but to actually fire into the pass, and that meant years of trying to regain access to water. People died of thirst at that time. This was a bluff. I had to hope they weren’t planning to call it.

In truth, after hearing Makoto’s report, I was worried. That was a lot of soldiers, and we had very little information about their abilities or experience. Before, I would have said that we could handle it but after the pounding we took at Kakariko, a slight flutter of nervousness hit my stomach.

As the beam hit the hideout, the drummers changed tempo, beating out a slow droning that echoed over the dunes. Our challenge to the Yiga, by traditions. We beat our drums of war. Would they meet us in kind, or would they kneel before us? Any other outcome was to die to our blades. The Cactus Bloom Troupe, each a trained Golden Scarab, were on the dunes, performing elaborate dances of war, showing the martial skill we had mastered and turned into dance.

The air took on a quiet tension as the soldiers took up battle line formation, locking shields and shouting their own challenges at the Yiga, who no doubt were paying very close attention. In fact, as if on cue, a horde appeared. While there were several archers that appeared from various points in the mountain, more were spilling from the valley, each clad in the red bodysuits of the Yiga, each sporting a mask, wielding sickles and Sheikah made blades, and more than a few units were sporting glowing magic staves. They started to form up into ranks and battle lines, showing that they were actually organized. That fact alone cast doubt for me. They may have been cultish fanatics, but that made them no less dangerous as they formed a real organized army.

There weren't a few more. There was a whole army. We were about to pit two full armies against each other in open combat. These things were supposed to be settled in different battlegrounds, not entire armies on one field. This was going to be bloody. These dunes would be red for centuries and if the Yiga won, I doubt the Gerudo would be able to recover. There were far more soldiers than we had ever dreamed. This must have been one of the larger parts of Ganon’s army for the Calamity like Makoto said. There were just too many. My plan was starting to look better and better, however. That meant if we won, then Ganon was missing most of his soldiers at this crucial point of his resurgence.

However, if we lost, then we wouldn’t be able to help with the Calamity. Hell, we probably wouldn’t survive when what was left of their soldiers stormed the walls. This single battle was supposed to be across a grand theater of war in smaller battles. This was most of the Gerudo fighting force. We were going to have to win, because the outcome was the fall of our people, who would be forgotten and lost to the sands.

The red sea expanded until one figure strode out from the writhing mass. Trumpets sounded as he stepped forward, heralding his arrival. He was dressed in red like the others, also wearing a mask, but his had fire-shaped designs at the four points of a compass, and he wore a large black and red cape that showed me he definitely wasn’t from the desert. That thing was hot. He had to have been sweltering in that stereotypical storybook evil getup.

 The war drums ceased, leaving nothing but hot, still air between us. He shouted, and my enhanced sensors could pick it up, though I am certain that my soldiers couldn’t hear him.

“Pull back, Gerudo! No one has to die today. I have a counter-proposal that you may be interested in, son of the Master!”

The Dark Urge began scratching at the walls of my mind. “You are his son, aren’t you, my host? These Yiga are a rather large army, and they had found a way to tame even the molduga. Imagine if they were able to tame the Sleeping King? The destruction they could reap, why, the Sleeping King could end this whole war alone. Sure, it may take a few years, but all dams erode against the flood over time, my host. Accept his offer. All you have to do is activate the lightning generator around your feet, and the whole army would fall right there. It’s certainly the easiest and most profitable for you. Why not?”

I Closed my eyes and focused, biting my lip. I had to admit, The Dark Urge had a point. I was the son of Ganon. I wasn’t locked in. With the size of the army before me, fear was gnawing at my chest, but… I bit my lip, reminding myself. The taste of iron reminded me that I was flesh and blood. I was human. Ganon wanted my death too, even if he took it later. If the Dark Urge could talk to me, then I could talk back. “You seek to dominate. Tell me, does that mean to bow in submission to Ganon? Why not prove our strength by beating my father? Wouldn’t that show that we were the strongest, and that we are the ones that should rightfully rule?”

“Hmm. Wise, my host. I concede to your point.”

With the Dark Urge unable to argue with my logic, I opened my mouth. I spoke there, on the bridge of Naboris, but at the same time, that voice was transmitted from Naboris, sweeping out, booming, over the dunes. It wasn’t my voice. Instead it was deep, booming, I was speaking with the Voice of Naboris. “The Gerudo… Do not… share… These sands… with Oathbreakers.” I said, almost laboriously. Trying to wrestle with the spirits to have us all speak at the same time was difficult. “Surrender… or die.”

This Yiga, this master Kohga, put his hands on his hips, then laughed. He laughed and laughed, putting his hand on his mask, then turning back to face us. “Yiga, slay the heretics!”

The Yiga shouted, rushing forward in their formations, their weapons raised, bits of armor flashing, ready to kill in the name of their god and their Master Kohga. Ganon was their master, just as he was once ours, and in that way, I pitied them.

“Forward!” Makoto shouted next to me, drawing her kunai and I reared up, roaring in response, and the Gerudo in front of me shouted, locking shields. Our course was set. Only one of us was walking out of these sands after painting it red with the blood of our foes, just as my people had done to all other interlopers for millenia.

The Yiga’s blades clashed with the shield wall, and the first blood was spilled in the war against the Calamity.

Chapter Text

As the Gerudo charged, I slammed my feet back down. The bait was taken, now to unleash the true monstrosity. After that, the guardians and I were going to have our hands full, but the repairs were done, and I needed a workout. The fallout would destroy the Yiga in the process. I still wasn’t confident we could take down the Sleeping King, but I had led us to this crazy plan and it really was very crazy, but that’s why the Yiga wouldn’t expect it. Success hinged on the guardians identifying the Sleeping King as one of the acceptable variations of its species.

The guiding lasers appeared before my faceplate again as I reactivated them and aimed, and the red beam slammed into a strange depression in the dunes in front of the enemy. The Gerudo knew of it, of course. We knew this desert, but the Yiga weren’t natives. It was why they had been so wary to confront us in the desert itself, because we knew what lied beneath the dunes. To those that weren’t from this desert, this depression I aimed at looked just like another depression in the dunes, granted, a strangely unnatural one. The sides were sharp and steep, studded with dragon bones, or so they seemed. The pit itself was known to shift from time to time, its form changing slightly. The center of the fifty foot circle led anyone unlucky enough to slip on the slopes of this dune into the very bowels of the earth, where hell itself was said to await any unfortunates who stumbled into this unnatural, circular chasm.

I aimed my guiding laser right into the center of this pit, and as I did, the belly dancers from the Cactus Bloom Dancing Troupe shot out from the base of my feet like hidden knives, each one quite literally dancing, yet their blades reaping a bloody tally. They flowed over the field, dancing out of the way of the sickles and blades of the Yiga before quickly altering course, slicing the Yiga open instead. The blood of the Yiga painted their faces, their clothing, and their blades. The blood of the Yiga spilled on the sands. The Cactus Bloom was performing a sacred rite of the Sleeping King. A sacrifice was needed to rouse him from his slumber, and their blades provided that sacrifice, the mass shedding of Yiga blood.

The drums beat out a rhythm in time with each other. It was primal and sharp, the drums of war being led in a complex and complicated rhythm to entice the spirits of hate and vengeance into the being we were summoning. The drums reflected that time, each beat signaling one of the deaths the Yiga had caused, the spirits of those angry people ready to reap their bloody vengeance. They slapped the molduga skin drum heads with flawless precisions, singing the ancient songs of the Gerudo out over their drums, their voices mingling into something unholy, joined by the screams of the dead and the sounds of the battle into a mighty crescendo.

Naboris took over, my control ceding to it, successfully integrating in unity of purpose, man and machine, one whole being. 100 percent synchronization of the body, and the fractured minds within, a very difficult state to reach, and one I had many hours learning to come to. “Sleeping King, I beseech thee.” My words, infused with the voice of Naboris thundered from me, my prayer reaching into the depths below.

“We have been your shepherds in this desert for Millenia, seeking to allow you the most restful of sleep, but we are threatened beyond all hope, milord. We accept that your vengeance on us may be harsh, but your might can end this battle. Please, my lord, AWAKEN!”

The power accelerators in my head whined and a crackling brilliant beam of blue energy almost as wide as the depression itself lanced down, deep into those depths, and then ten seconds later, the faintest of booms.

The field had gone quiet. The dancers had ceased moving, breathing heavily in a kneel towards the depression. The drummers stopped playing, bowing forward. The Gerudo and the Yiga went silent as the gravity of what I had done sunk in for all present, and the fighting stopped. For one perfectly crystalline moment in the Gerudo desert, all was still, and all was silent, as if to pay homage to the awakening of its king.

Then the earth rumbled violently as the Sleeping King roared his response, echoing across the desert for miles in every direction.

“All forces, retreat! Make for the walls!” I shouted, and the Gerudo didn’t have to be told twice. This was no orderly, military retreat with a rearguard. These women were running for their lives. The Cactus Bloom Troupe fell to their knees in supplication, the mad woman, before they too rose, retreating and singing hymns of supplication to the enraged God they had awakened behind them. Even I was forced to take a step back at the sheer presence that had noticed the battlefield, and I was a towering war machine.  Even I struggled to keep balance as I turned, putting my long legs to full effect, striding across the dunes with speed that could only be achieved with equal size, turning and lowing, pawing at the ground. The guardians flanked me where we had stationed them. Zelda and the others watched from the walls.

The two kings of the desert were deciding who would reign with ultimate authority, because you see, this would certainly destroy the Yiga. That was the fallout of these monstrosities going toe to toe. If I didn’t kill Leviathan right here, right now, then his eyes would be set on Gerudo Town, and the Yiga would be the least of our worries.

The ground began to shake and the depression in the dune rose, revealing not a pit to hell, but a massive maw, attached to an even more massive beast. It was as long as I was tall, all of it covered in thick, chitinous scales the size of adult humans. It was a Molduga. Not just a Molduga, but a Molduking, and a massive version of that. As its massive form breached, all anyone could do was watch in stunned disbelief as this thing cleared a full twenty feet in, before its massive bulk came slamming back down, right on top of the advancing Yiga.

As it slammed down, the ground shook enough that some dunes collapsed entirely. Even I was knocked off balance. Leviathan roared and its ancient and colossal eyes landed on me. It had finally found a worthy foe, and it looked forward to fighting for its crown. The Yiga were done, and so was Leviathan. I couldn’t have doubt hold me back now.

“What do you say, Dark Urge? Is this worthy of your power?” I asked the creature in my head.

“Oh ho ho! Oh yes it is, Hakim. Unfortunately I didn’t bring you a gift as well, but how about I help you decorate? Let’s paint these dunes with his blood!”

“Goddess preserve, you’re fighting that!?” Makoto asked from the cockpit. “You’re the craziest man I’ve ever met! Let’s do this!”

“Then let the duel begin, Leviathan! Let’s see who is the true king of this desert!” I shouted, and I charged. The Guardians sped along beside me, their lasers linking to my own guidance beam. I knew, inherently, what they were doing. I had Naboris’ knowledge in this state. These machines were designed to work in conjunction. My targeting beam was on Leviathan, and their unique systems allowed them to take my target and process it, they then also targeted Leviathan, their red beams whizzing over the sands before landing on the beast.

“Incredible!” Purah shouted from the walls. Even from this distance, I could hear her. “Robbie, are you seeing this! The Guardians are working with the Divine Beast!”

“We’re learning so much, and you were worried!” he said to Purah.

Leviathan moved. I let loose a hasty blast of my beam at Leviathan as he moved to burrow, and it glanced off his thick hide, careening into the Highlands and causing a landslide that propelled off the cliffs and down onto the now retreating Yiga forces, cutting off their access back to Karusa Valley. A happy accident, really.

Leviathan burrowed into the ground, and I planted all four of my feet. The Guardians froze stock still as if they were an extension of me, so their vibrations wouldn’t disrupt my detection. I was sending out sonar and radar pulses, feeling in the ground for Leviathan’s own vibrations and disturbances. He’d surface, and I’d be able to begin my attack. I felt… a buzz. A slight pressure, that was soon turning into vibration, and then the ground directly under me was shaking violently. I planted my feet and lunged forward, gouging up chunks of desert as I landed and immediately bent my knees, trying to halt my skid. I made it free by mere inches before Leviathan breached from the ground I had been standing on, trying to engulf me in one entire bite. I kicked my feet out defiantly and turned, charging forward. As I did, the turrets that formed my camel humps started to spin, crackling with bright green electricity.

As I did that, the Guardians activated a sort of shielding, and I knew intrinsically that it was designed to protect them from the electricity that was about to fill this place. That whole time, they continued firing, each beam like a bee sting to Leviathan.

“I’m speechless! Oh Goddess!” Robbie shouted, jumping up and down. “Learning! So! Much!”

“I never imagined I would see a Divine Beast in combat with such a foe. Hakim is really giving it his all,” Zelda said.

“I just hope “his all” is enough. That scourge of the sands has killed so many Gerudo, I don’t want my son to be one of them,” Urbosa responded sharply and much more realistically.

Leviathan scanned the guardians, but their beams barely bothered it besides annoying it. I was the real threat. I jumped, landing on the beast and as I did, I released my static charge, a brilliant green lance of lightning slamming into the monster. It roared, but roaring meant it was still alive, so I started thrashing my feet, kicking and bucking and trying to crush the thing under my mad thrash like the camel that I was designed after.

Leviathan roared in pain then twisted, knocking me off balance. I stumbled, and he used my unsure footing against me. His massive mouth latched onto my leg, then he twisted his body viciously, and I went careening into the side of the mountain, causing several other avalanches and rockslides. Worse, I felt it in my real, physical leg like he’d bit me. It was agonizing and I screamed, causing more rocks to come crashing down on top of me.

I shook my head to shake off the pain, then began tracking him with my beam again, but had to take another hasty shot as he dove back beneath the sands. This time, I noticed something. I needed someone to go see if it was what I thought it was. Now though, I knew how to command my guardians.

“Guardian Sigma, taking control.” my voice boomed from Naboris, then my consciousness shifted.

“He can do that?” Purah asked, astounded.

Four legs became eight, my size returned to normal, and I felt cold and mechanical. Still, I knew the power I held in my own formidable defenses, and I would act as the scout for my general. I started skittering across the sands, the other guardians at my flanks in formation, rotating their heads to keep aware of all sides of approach while I led them forward. When I reached the position, it confirmed my suspicions. Naboris’ beam had hit the sand, and the sheer heat of it had a good mass of it into glass, and there was deep, vibrant red splattered across the glass. That told me two things. Naboris could manipulate the terrain, and her beam had hurt Leviathan. Warning klaxons started blaring in my head, drowning out all sound and my consciousness was jerked back out of the guardian and shoved back into Naboris. The transition was smooth and seamless. Though I wasn’t aware of the danger as a guardian, I knew what the issue was immediately as I stepped back into Naboris. I leapt away from where I was standing as Leviathan breached under me again, the guardians and Naboris and my consciousness in sync. The transitions were so smooth. Like this, I truly felt like a god, and the Dark Urge cackled with malicious glee as it reveled in the power, but I forced him back down. “Focus first. We can laugh later.”

“Of course, my host.” It said back in that twisted reflection of my own voice, what I would sound like if I lost all restraint. “But I will remind you of this power again. We are allies for now, Hakim. But only because right now it’s convenient!”

The Urge quelled, I charged my beam before anything else this time, whirling to face Leviathan, then fired, not worrying so much about punching power as area of effect. I changed the shape of the energy dispersal in my cannon from a tight focused beam into a cone, and the bright blue laser launched out into the cone shape. A large swath of desert immediately turned to glass in front of me. Leviathan couldn’t dig through that. He couldn’t escape, and even better, the energy from the attack left him stunned, dazed and confused on the ground. I targeted it with my red guiding beam, and then the guardians responded, targeting my beam. They didn’t target Leviathan, they kept a solid lock on my targeting beam.

“No way, could they be…” Purah said but she was more shocked than able to process.

Leviathan hissed at me as it came around then twisted, angling his body as if to suddenly rush me, and I knew that he could. He could propel himself right across this slick glass. His muscles tensed to do just that, right as I unleashed my attack. As I did, so too did the guardians.

Time seemed to slow. Leviathan was in the air, propelled from the ground and sailing towards my face. My beam was moving blisteringly fast, but was it fast enough to stop this thing from killing me? The guardians had shot their beams into mine, and in that split second, I knew why. They were going to resonate together in a harmonic way with my own, amplifying my beam’s destructive capabilities a hundredfold. My more rational, Hakim centered consciousness mused on Mount Hebra. We had been told for millennia that its mighty peak had been pierced by a meteor, but now I was beginning to wonder.

The sweat beaded across my brow, and I could feel my thoughts briefly mingle with the Scarabs and Makoto who had completely forgotten they were securing Naboris, unable to look away from the creature bearing down on us. They too felt anxious. They too wondered if the shot would connect in time.

My mind lurched back into the moment as time immediately resumed, and my beam, amplified by the guardians, was now as thick as Leviathan itself, and that beam lanced directly into that monster’s mouth. The results of which, I should spare you the details. Suffice to say, it was a spectacular mess. Chunks of the creature started to patter down in the silence that followed. The Yiga, obliterated. The Sleeping King? I was wearing him like clothing. I reared back, roaring in triumph and as I did, the fabled Rain of Blood fell on these dunes, painting them red, forevermore, earning them the name the Dunes of the King for the rest of Gerudo history.

Chapter Text

Unmerging from Naboris had never been harder. See, each time you merge and then remerge, A bit of Naboris rubs off on you. Urbosa had this experience too, so I imagine it’s like that for all of the Champions. After experiencing that kind of efficiency, that headiness of dominance, it’s hard to let go of it, and that goes double for me because the Dark Urge didn’t want to give up that power. I likened it to addiction. Every time I disconnected from Naboris, it was even harder on my willpower, such was the cost of these destructive weapons.

I screamed as I wrestled with Naboris. See, when you merge with the machine, it’s not only spiritual. The machine starts to absorb you physically as well. It’s how the original sages, Medli, Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru merged with the machines in the first place. My body and soul could be permanently added to that consciousness. I could always be this big and this powerful, and it made fighting back against it all the harder.

I wrestled at the wires wrapped around my body, every moment, my mind telling me to just give in. I couldn’t though. I wouldn’t. I was the king of the Gerudo. I had proven my dominance, and I wasn’t about to bow to a machine.

I screamed and yanked hard with my hand, and wires popped free, their sparking, crackling ends shooting jolts of pain up my body. My arm was free though, and I was able to get my knife. I was fully cut free five seconds later, laying on the ground, breathing heavily, sparking, snapping wires above me, and the ground littered with their pieces. Makoto stood over me with her arms crossed.

“So, that was cool,” she said like it was the dullest thing in the world.

“I just achieved a moment in Gerudo history that will be added to the storybooks until the end of time, and all you have to say is ‘that was cool?’” I asked, wheezing from the immense physical strain that was piloting Naboris, and I was worried about my leg. I still had no feeling in it from where Leviathan bit me, or bit Naboris, leaving a spiritual wound on my leg. The leg was fine, physically. The psychic backlash from Naboris, however, when I’m that deeply synchronized it affects my brain, which then affects the nerve endings. I’d regain control of my leg over time, but for all intents and purposes, I felt like my leg had been removed at the knee.

She shrugged. “I can’t think of a better way to explain it. We didn’t get front row seats either. That was the most terrifying horse I have ever ridden, mostly because I was in its head. I’ll stick to the normal sized horses from now on. There were energy shields up. If there weren’t, I guarantee that every single one of us would have fallen out and to our deaths. We were being tossed around so much, forget protecting your body. If anyone can get to you when you’re piloting this thing, then they deserve the kill. If it were me, I would declare it too risky. I’d find a better way, like sharp-shooting you with an arrow from a mile off.”

“That’s not... That’s not physically possible.”

“Yet it’s more possible than if I were to attempt to assassinate you while you were piloting the divine beast,” she said and offered me her hand. “All that said, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.”

I reached out and took her hand, rising, steadily, to my good leg. Even now, fully disconnected, it was like a part of me was missing, and I had to reconnect to feel whole again. I had to drive off that gnawing need through willpower alone, and I decided to start by leaving the temptation.

When Naboris passed by town, now automatically headed back to where it typically sat, it knelt down, and Me, Makoto, and the Golden Scarabs all stepped out of the machine, Makoto giving me her shoulder and helping me limp out after I explained the situation, and were met with thunderous applause and whistling as the machine stood. All of the Gerudo were out here, as well as our current guests, applauding and cheering for me.

I had… mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, it felt good to help people, especially my people. I had felt powerless to help them for so long, finally taking charge and removing not one, but two parasites in our home was an incredible feeling. That kind of recognition was nice. Yet, on the other hand I didn’t do it for accolades. I did it because it had to be done, and as king, I couldn’t ask my people to take on a monster that terrible. I couldn’t ask them to do something if I wouldn’t do it myself. That's my credo of leadership. That was how I determined the limits of my orders. If I wouldn’t do it, then I couldn’t ask it from others unless they volunteered like Makoto had for spying on Karusa, not something I would have been capable of, but she was more than able to do it, and she volunteered. 

Yet, even I know that I couldn’t have killed Leviathan without Naboris. He would have squished me and not even known it if I hadn’t been in the walker. That thing wasn’t just a war machine. Naboris felt like a god-engine, especially when you fully sync up. I’d put in a lot of practice, but had never actually piloted her in combat. In truth, none of the Champions had. The machines were just that new, to say nothing of the massive mental strain. All of that a given though, I’d say her first true combat run was a success. After feeling that power in a real fight, my resolve against my own father was strengthened. Even he’d have trouble with one, and we had a small handful to throw at him, with potentially more still underground.

I cleared my throat to quiet the cheering. As much as I enjoyed it, I felt a more tempered approach was necessary especially since we weren’t out of the fire. “I appreciate your praise, I certainly do, but let’s celebrate once we’re sure it’s safe. Saffia, you go with Barta and make sure none of the Yiga that are still breathing don’t suffer for long. I doubt any of them are walking away without assistance after that. Pelor, I want your best team. All of you are to scour the Karusa cave. If there are any Yiga left, I want to know about it. Don’t let them suffer either, even if they can walk, and if you see Kohga, murder him, and leave the corpse for me. I’ll take his head and deliver it to Makoto. Rhoda…” I said, turning to a larger Gerudo woman. “Get your team and get out there. I want to know what kind of ecological harm our little stunt is responsible for both in the dunes, and in the cave itself. Everything from geology to climate. If you can get into the Highlands, see if the Yiga cause any damage. As for the desert herself, our sands are supposed to be golden, not red. Tell me if it can be fixed.”

“Sir!” She said and snapped a quick salute, then headed over to the royal laboratory. I loved having a head scientist, and Rhoda was quite possibly the smartest woman in our tribe. “The rest of you, get some rest. Once they return from their tasks, I’ll have more orders. Move on, people. We can party in a few days once we’re sure the Yiga aren’t a threat and we have our access to water again. I’ll have the fountains turned on as the main event, eh?”

The crowd did disperse, chatting animatedly and leaving me with our guests. I smiled as I watched them go about planning for the return of our water. It was good to see the Gerudo with hope once again, and I was satisfied that I could bring them that hope. We would be slaves to Ganon no longer. We could fight back, just as I fought Leviathan.

Robbie was the first to speak and break the silence. “So? How did it feel? The first ever combat run of a Divine Beast against a creature that could rival it! It was spectacular! You must be running high.”

I crossed my arms, then shook my head. “It’s the most horrible thing in the world to pilot that Beast. When you step in, you know what it’s like to be a god, yet you also must be able to willingly relinquish that feeling, and once again feel mundane. I would call it torture.”

Robbie frowned. “I don’t care about that philosophy crap! I meant how do you feel. Physically? Exhausted, sleepy?”

I frowned. “The humanities are just as important as the sciences, Robbie. You surprise me, as a Sheikah with a unique culture that was only maintained by adherence to humanities, I’d figure you’d understand that.

He shrugged. “I’m a scientist. Impa handles the cultural details, now spill. How are you feeling physically?”

I shook my head. “Honestly, I want to sleep for a week.” I said, leading them to the palace. “I don’t really know how to describe the experience, when you integrate fully and you become one with the machine. I had never achieved perfect unity before. I’ve tried, certainly, but I finally got all the little mental fragments to unite, thanks to the far greater foe. Today I managed it, but I’m having trouble putting the feeling into words.” I fell into the throne, feeling like I had been hit with a bag of bricks.

Zelda nodded, settling in a guest chair that was a bit closer to me than the others, still in the traditional Gerudo garb. I had a feeling it wasn’t accidental. In fact, now that I knew how she felt I was certain it wasn’t. She was showing me she was willing to embrace cultural traditions for me. It felt nice. For once, someone that liked me for me, and not what I represented, because Zelda represented the same thing, and she liked being a Princess about as much as I enjoyed being viewed as a breeding stallion. “Do your best, if you can. It’s all we can ask for, and while I don’t want to ask for that, this is the first combat run of these Divine Beasts. We need to go over it and see the results fully to know how to improve our knowledge, and to write a primer for any future Champions, should they be needed.”

I scanned through my exhausted brain, rubbing at my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. “It was like…” I spun my hand, trying to figure it out with base words. “I was simultaneously four people, it felt like. The machine, the animal, Nabooru herself, and then me. I was those four people, and I had access to those four forms and their vast amounts of knowledge. It’s how I instinctively knew how to utilize the guardians.”

“Oh, we have so many questions about that,” Purah said. “But after you’ve rested, since those are a bit more technical than philosophical and don’t need to be as fresh.”

I nodded. “Okay, but the important thing is that with full synchronization, we all thought in unison. We strove for the same goals, the same purposes. We had one consciousness though we had several different minds, and we all controlled the same body. That’s why it was all done so smoothly this time. With all four minds in concert, the body has no contradictory directions if we all want it to do the same thing.”

“Remarkable!” Robbie said, scribbling that down on a piece of paper with a pencil, as he called it. It was an incredible invention. The guy mixed clay with graphite then just slotted wood over it, making a far less fragile and more controllable writing tool. Robbie was an inventor, through and through, and the graphite hardly even smudged. Even if he came across as eccentric, there was no denying the brilliance beneath that terrible hair-do. “So we can achieve this efficiency with all of our champions?”

I shook my head. “No. That’s the second part. I may have merged minds, but at the same time the Divine Beast was trying to merge physically. Thick wires came down from the ceiling and it was trying to take me… I don’t know, somewhere?” I waved at Makoto, who had an eyewitness account.

“The wires descended from the ceiling and wrapped around Hakim during the course of the fight, but even after the fight was done he was still sitting in a meditative state on the floor, I guess separating his mind from the fragments of Naboris, as he put it. At that time, the wires lifted him into the air, which jarred him out of his meditation, and he started fighting them. Eventually, he cut himself free. I was unsure what to do at the time, so instead I stood there, dumbfounded at the impossible sight.”

I rolled my eyes. “You make the best bodyguard. But it was like she said, and I sure as hell didn’t like it happening. Full synchronization caused that, and we don’t know why. These things are dangerous.”

“But if used responsibly, they could potentially stop Ganon,” Purah said. “I mean, there’s a risk, kid, but we can’t really turn down the potential of the divine beasts. They are the only thing that can match his destructive power.”

I sighed. “And what about wisdom? And courage? You all keep talking about power, and I, the one that struggles with it daily, am saying we need to be cautious. Yes, they’re powerful, but that danger increased for me today. This war can’t be won with power alone.”

“He’s right,” Zelda said. “We need to show wisdom by not risking our allies and their finest warriors to unleash the full potential of these machines, and those champions will demonstrate courage by being fully aware of the risk these machines pose to their pilots, and piloting them anyway. We have to tell the other champions. They need to be made aware immediately to decide if they want to take on that risk.”

If you all don’t mind…,” Urbosa said, and stood. “Prince Hakim needs to rest, I need to speak to him. The rest can wait for the morning. Please, I must ask you to retire to the inn for the evening. We can discuss future events tomorrow, when we have full rest and full bellies.”

The assembled reluctantly disbanded, forming their own little whispering circles as they headed to the inn, full of speculation about what this new, unsettling development might bring. Urbosa folded her arms and watched them go, then turned and placed her hand on my shoulder. “I could tell you were getting stressed out. They’ll come around in time. Let the Princess do her thing. Will you watch the sunset with me?”

I really didn’t want to. I wanted to go get undressed, and sleep for the next month and a half but I stood anyway and joined her, looking out at the setting sun, turning the dunes of the desert that golden and orange color, contrasting well with the red sun. Our desert. My desert, as I proved. It was gorgeous, and I was the baddest thing that roamed its wastes, but I couldn’t get too fat and arrogant, or I might end up like Leviathan, a corpse at the feet of a stronger predator.

“You know, you did the impossible today,” Urbosa said.

“Impossible before, but we have the technology now. Technology makes dreams reality. I truly believe that it’s its own form of magic, allowing us to do things our ancestors never dreamed of, like felling Leviathan.

She turned to me. “I have nothing left to teach you.”

I frowned. “Are you stepping down? Urbosa, I need you to stay on until I can take care of the Dark Urge.”

She shook her head and placed her hand in my hair. “Hakim, you quelled the Dark Urge today on your own. You said as much. You can’t tell me that’s not one of the vague mental fragments you keep hinting at. Today, you overcame the temptation to use your power as a tyrant, and now that that day has come, I feel I can safely step down both as chieftain and champion. I have raised you to the best of my ability, and you proved your competence in my lessons by felling a creature we had long considered a god. That proto-molduga that our ancestors named Leviathan, it’s from another time. Another age. It has existed for millions of years, and you have proven today that even the gods can be felled. Therefore, I see no reason to teach you more lessons that you can learn by experience. So, I am hereby stepping down as chieftain, and name you Hakim al-Amir Fatima al-Khinzir. Hakim, the boar prince, both for your heritage but also for your tenacity and determination, using that dark heritage for good.” She knelt. “And I, Urbosa Fatima ibn barq, am honored to be the first to kneel before you, King Hakim.”

As tired as I felt, a small, content smile found its way to my lips. I stood, watching the sun go down, and as Urbosa rose and stood beside me, I stretched. “Then I guess it’s time I prove I'm worthy of the title.”

Chapter Text

“We finished scouting the pass. The Yiga widened it and made a few additional chambers, but the entire foundation is sturdy and the area is empty. Even more importantly, the supply of stone in the pass hasn’t diminished significantly. Our best theory is that the Yiga may have been living here, but they weren’t mining stone. The only thing that gave us pause was a hole out in the middle of the exit area that leads to the Highlands. It’s deep. We don’t know how deep, exactly, only that torches that we toss in vanish from sight before they hit the bottom. Now, while that’s noteworthy…” Makoto said, flipping a page on her report.

Pelor was hesitant at first, but Makoto was proving a very worthwhile ally, and even Pelor couldn’t ignore how effective Makoto was as a saboteur, spy, and runner for messages. She was quick on her feet, and she didn’t have the same issues with the desert as most Hylians did, which was a real rarity. She handled it as well as a Gerudo. The heat hardly bothered her, the frigid nights were spent at a fire, and the sand hardly slowed her down because of how her shoes were formed, spreading out and giving her a wider surface area so that her weight didn’t make her sink into the sand as deeply.

“It should be noted in conjunction that from the documents recovered, the Yiga also weren’t concerned about the hole. Nothing has come out of it, they have made no effort to cover it. It seems to be a strange natural formation, but still entirely natural. They haven’t sent people into it, nor has anything or anyone come out of it.”

“That we know of. The Yiga were still controlling those Molduga,” I grumbled

“And on that note.” Makoto said, turning to the next page in her exhaustive and thorough investigation. I may not like it, but there was no denying that she took the job seriously. Hell, I might even hire her if she’s willing. It didn’t matter that she was Sheikah, she was very, very good at this. “We have found a laboratory and Purah and Robbie are still searching it to figure out what all they were doing there, but no way to control molduga has revealed itself so far.”

“And if we don’t find one, we have to admit that the two incidents were unrelated. We didn’t retaliate, we just completely obliterated our neighbors. Granted, they were clearly building up a force to attack us, but there was every opportunity we could have been wrong.” I sat down, setting the wrench I had been using next to me and wiping the oil, the black blood of the divine beast, off of my hands. I was in the control room, trying to figure out how this damn thing worked. But it was like a monkey playing with a loaded crossbow. The monkey had no idea what he was doing and the situation could easily become dangerous.

“This job was much easier when Urbosa handled the day to day matters and I was able to focus on my own pursuits.”

Makoto frowned, then put her hands behind her back. “May I speak plain, your Majesty?”

I rolled my eyes. “God, not you too. I’m not your king, and you don’t owe me fealty. Just Hakim is fine. Prince Hakim if you must. And of course you can speak. I don’t silence my subjects, I’m not about to silence my allies.”

She nodded. “Your organization is shit.”

I sighed and she offered me her hand, which I accepted, getting the help to stand. “I respect you, Makoto. Have I ever told you that? You have very blunt and honest opinions, but unlike a blowhard, you keep them to yourself unless they’re asked for. It’s nice to see. As for your statement, you’re correct.” I said, stepping forward and tapping glyphs on the keyboard, quickly running through Vah Naboris’ “Sub-routines” as Robbie called them. “My governance is a mess, but that’s because Gerudo Town has been a chiefdom for as long as we can remember, and while cities grow over time, bureaucracy tends to change much more slowly. I can’t just change every little thing the moment I get in charge without consequences. I told Zelda about this too.”

“And efficiency isn’t enough to make that change?”

I leaned on the console, reading over diagnostics and slowly shaking my head. “If other people cared about efficiency like you and I did, Makoto, then we’d be exploring the stars right now. That said, I may appoint a chancellor or something to handle the more mundane day to day issues that don’t need my personal oversight. Doing it all myself is a pain when I have other, more important things to do. Hard to care about Karusa pass…” I said, tapping a few keys and the floor of the room started to glow orange. “When I’m busy preparing for a war against a god, or when I’m working on a god-engine. Let’s see what you’re hiding, Naboris.”

As I said that, the room started to spin, and gears from deep below us in the very floors we were standing on started to turn.

“What’s happening?” Makoto asked. I had never seen fear cross her face, but she was still cautious, grabbing a rail just in case the divine beast started thrashing her around again. She hated Naboris. Granted, I would too if I got thrown around in her head for an hour.

“Don’t know. Hopefully, more info and not a fall to our deaths.” I said, trying to maintain my own calm.

“Cute, are you always so witty in the face of the unknown?”

The room groaned to a stp like it hadn’t been spinning, right back into the same place. There was a hiss from the giant… thing in front of me. I had always thought it looked like a gigantic stone onion or garlic. In truth, it was the main control unit. Basically the brain of the beast. We weren’t sure about the type of information that passed through the unit. We only knew that this unit controlled every single function in the Divine Beast from walking to its death ray. I had found a secret too. Turns out that you don’t need to write in the special “programming language” that Robbie and the other researchers had devised. The beast was equipped with sophisticated language algorithms. I just spoke to the thing in Gerudo text, and it spoke back. I wondered if the eggheads had really tried the simplest things first.

That’s why when I told Naboris to reveal her secrets, the platform started to rotate and the main control unit began to open, hissing and releasing steam across the entire floor in front of me, though what had been in the main control unit, I couldn’t see for the steam.

Still though, I had to be ready for anything. I was more surprised that Naboris had secrets at all. It was a shot in the dark as far as commands went, so the simplicity of figuring this out was absolutely startling. How much research had they done on the Divine Beasts? Less than the Guardians, but whatever I had just revealed, I knew the moment it hissed that Robbie and Purah were going to be all over Naboris for at least a week. I walked around the control unit as the steam that spilled out cleared, joined by Makoto. It revealed a… sarcophagus? It was a long, seven foot tall indentation, not unlike a sarcophagus or casket. There were glowing orange lights that pulsed inside. Nothing was in it though, and no wires or cables shot out to grab me like when I unmerged.

“What’s that?” Makoto asked.

“I have no earthly idea,” I said, folding my arms.

“Robbie and Purah?”

If you’d be so kind.”

Makoto made no sign of complaint as she headed back to the door, but I knew it had to be irritating. She had just come from the lab, and now she had to walk all the way back. I went back to the command console and had Naboris kneel so that her entrance was close to the ground, and Makoto nodded at me then hopped out.

I was starting to really like her. I didn’t have a romantic attraction to her or anything. She was pretty but I doubted she had any motivation for love whatsoever. Instead, I considered her a good friend. Possibly my best friend, aside from Link. She understood certain aspects of our culture inherently, and she wasn’t even Gerudo. On top of that, it didn’t matter what she was doing or what she was being interrupted from, if anyone needed anything, she dropped it immediately to help. She was a true servant of the people. Something that I aspired to be, and she did it with nary a single complaint. Respect.

I decided to not touch anything else until Robbie and Purah arrived, but it didn’t take five minutes before they were climbing on board hollering about a discovery.

I turned. Robbie was keeled over, trying to talk, and Purah was also getting her breath back.

“You didn’t have to run. Naboris isn’t that fast,” I said, leaning my hip against the console with a smirk. Even these two had grown on me. I was surrounded by good people.

“Shush,” Robbie said between breaths.

“What… What did you find?” Purah asked, having trouble believing her eyes. I gestured and both her and Robbie, still sucking in air, began investigating the main control unit. Makoto stepped up next to me, not making a sound and leaning against the rail next to me where she could also watch them work. I folded my arms. “How far’d you get?”

“King Hakim found a cavity in Naboris and I.”

I stretched my arms over my head, then twined my fingers together and rested my head on my hands. “Further than I thought you would.”

She shrugged. “You have to keep in mind that every new thing you learn about these beasts is new for us too. As strange as they are, Purah and Robbie are also Sheikah. They’re kin. This machine is a link to our ancestors. We can’t ignore it.”

I shrugged. “Hey, no complaints from me. It was just a comment on their enthusiasm. They have it.”

Purah straightened. “Hey, prettyboy!” She said, gesturing me over and walking around to the console. I stood and followed. “So, what’d you do? How’d you find this?”

I shrugged. “I just asked Naboris to show me her secrets,” I said, taking hold of the command ball that moved the pointer on the screen in front of me, then opened something called command prompt. “Robbie designed a language for these things, right? But check this out.”

I tapped a message into the console in Hylian. “ Divine Beast Naboris, what is your function?”

Purah’s frown deepened as I got a response and Hylian script flowed across the screen.

I am Naboris, the Thunder Walker, guardian of the desert sands and the ancient legacy of the Gerudo. My purpose is clear, etched into my very being by the Sheikah who crafted me long ago. I am a weapon, a protector, a vessel of power designed to carry out the will of the champions, the crown of Hyrule, and safeguard the land from those who would bring it harm.

My core programming is driven by a singular purpose: to channel and harness the immense energy within me, converting it into the destructive force of lightning and thunder. I am built to deliver overwhelming power, but my true strength lies in my ability to synchronize with my pilot. Together, we become one, our thoughts and actions intertwined, allowing us to act with a single mind and a single purpose.

I operate on a system of ancient code, woven from the knowledge of the sages who once walked this land. My primary functions include:

Synchronization: My first and most critical function is the merging of minds and bodies with the champion. This process is delicate and requires complete harmony between us. Through synchronization, I can access the thoughts, instincts, and combat experience of my pilot, while they can command my vast power with precision.

Energy Conversion: I am equipped with mechanisms to absorb and convert raw elemental energy from the environment into potent electrical discharges. This energy powers my movements, my defenses, and my primary weapon—lightning strikes that can reduce entire armies to ash.

Combat Mode: Upon activation, I enter a heightened state of awareness, optimizing all systems for battle. My sensors scan the battlefield, identifying threats and calculating the most effective use of my power. I can adjust my attacks in real-time, adapting to changing conditions and enemy tactics.

Defensive Protocols: My armored shell is designed to withstand even the most devastating blows. I can generate energy shields to protect my pilot and myself from incoming attacks, and my systems include automated countermeasures that respond to threats with swift, decisive force.

Autonomous Functionality: While I am most effective when piloted, I can operate independently when necessary. My systems are programmed to follow pre-determined patterns and objectives in the absence of a pilot that are set by said pilot, ensuring that I continue to protect the land even when no one is at the controls.

Memory Integration: I carry within me the wisdom and experiences of past champions, their voices echoing in my circuits, though no pilots have been chosen until you, Hakim al-Amir Fatima al-Khinzir. These memories guide my actions and inform my decisions, allowing me to draw upon centuries of battle-hardened knowledge, as will be demonstrated to the one that comes after you.

But with all this power comes a responsibility—a burden that weighs heavy on those who would wield me. For I am not just a tool; I am a force of nature, and to command me is to walk the line between mastery and madness. My creators knew this, and they built into me safeguards to prevent any one being from fully succumbing to my influence. Yet, those who seek to harness my power must be ever vigilant, for the temptation to lose oneself in the thrill of battle is ever-present.

Together, we are stronger. But remember, my pilot: to control me is to control the storm itself. And the storm is not easily tamed.

Purah finished reading, and her frown deepened even more. “Robbie, love, can you come take a look at this?”

He looked at us from the other side of the control unit then rubbed his neck and came around, before staring at the screen, awestruck.

“Wh.. What? How? We were typing all sorts of things into the console and never got it to speak back!”

I shrugged, then tapped the question into the control unit.

Why did you reveal this information to me? Vah Rudania, the first of the Divine Beast that we uncovered, yielded no information to his researchers.

The script began to flow across the screen again with no resistance, but the very answer was the reason that I met with no resistance.

As a construct of the Sheikah, I am forbidden from revealing any confidential or proprietary data to non-sheikah. In addition, I am keyed only to respond to the proper commands, or to my pilot, and solely my pilot. You, Hakim al-Amir Fatima al-Khinzir, are my pilot. We have merged minds and so, I answer to you. If you were to ask me technical data about my innerworkings, however, that is proprietary information and I can’t provide you with that information. Though you are my pilot, you are not Sheikah and you do not have the proper authorization codes. If it is an emergency situation, you may contact the Royal Mechanic.

I folded my arms and looked at the pair, who were absolutely flabbergasted. Just when they thought they were understanding the Divine Beasts and the Guardians, the game changed entirely. I doubted that we’d ever fully understand what these things could do. The technology to build them was so far beyond us. 10,000 years beyond us, if all the history was correct. Yet, now we knew a title, at least. Something that we could track down. The Royal Mechanic. Surely there was a record of who that was. A lead.

“Can… Can we try?” Robbie asked. “Because if we can do what you’re doing, we’re Sheikah. It would tell us everything.”

I shrugged and typed. If I gave permission, would you be able to interface in this written style with our current Sheikah scientists?

The disheartening text scrolled across the screen.

Unfortunately not. My programming and protocols mean my pilot’s commands supersede all others but the Royal Mechanic, and only the Royal Mechanic can give me authorization to interface with others that is not them or my pilot. If you would like to contact the Royal Mechanic, his name is Hanzo Nezumi, and he can be found in his garage in Kakariko village. If it is easier, I am equipped with electronic letter functionalities to message him. Would you like me to send Hanzo Nezumi a message?

Robbie crossed his arms. “Not as great a discovery as I hoped, but still a remarkable one! We know of Hanzo Nezumi. His inventions we still use in our labs. He’s one of the most brilliant Sheikah to ever live, and the revelation that he invented the divine beasts well… not as surprising as you’d think. It sounds like with the time we have, we aren’t going to fully discover these divine beasts before Ganon appears. There’s just too much to learn, but I have a feeling that this is a lifetime of work, and after Ganon, I’ll be very busy and very happy. There must be a special link to the Champions, because she responds to you. See if she can tell you what the sarcophagus is over here.”

I nodded and tapped in the query, and she spit back immediately what it did. It also turned out that Naboris had a personality and a sentience, and she was a little petty.

That is your cockpit, which would make synchronization far simpler than harnessing the ambient brainwaves in the air, my pilot. From now on, feel free to step into the command suite so that I don’t risk fracturing your mind every time you wish to desynchronize.

I chewed my lip and looked at Purah. She shrugged. “Seems safe enough. Want to give it a whirl?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Umm, no?”

Purah grinned. “Let me rephrase, Hakim, step in and give it a whirl.”

I grumbled. The things I did for science. “Sure. Want to pull me out if it starts to crush me?”

She smiled. “Makoto has some uses, Hakim.”

I rolled my eyes and Makoto kept that amused smirk on her face. I walked around and swallowed, looking at the “Command Suite.” It shouldn’t have been intimidating. I mean, I had already piloted this thing, and apparently I reached full synchronization the hard way, but just the thought of being confined inside what was essentially a sarcophagus was unnerving, especially since Naboris had already tried to absorb me once. But then, maybe it was because I wasn’t in the command suite?

I didn’t know, but so far all I had was trepidation over something that was 90% certain to be safe. I hesitated, but then stepped into the sarcophagus and turned. As I did, the entire ridge of the sarcophagus glowed orange, then burst into a bright blue, and little doors in the walls at my shoulders retracted, showing me channels for my arms. I squinted inside. At the end, there were what looked like gloves, no doubt so I could use more than just my mind to control Naboris.

Purah was writing things down on a clipboard, and Robbie was tapping his commands into the console. The scientists were already here so no autopsy would be needed. No point dragging out either another success or death by squish. I extended my hands, and the holes for my arms auto adjusted so that I could fit into the gloves comfortably. As I did, the control unit started to close.

That was not part of the plan. If this thing trapped me inside… I went to yank my hands free, but the gloves, as if alive, tightened over my hands and forced me to stay in the sarcophagus, and I watched as the door slowly slid over me. “Makoto!” I shouted, but by then it was too late. The sarcophagus closed with a dull finality, and I started to panic. “Let me out!” I shouted. “I am not going to be entombed in a camel!”

“Relax my pilot,” said a voice. It wasn’t a voice that came from outside, through my ears. That was normal. That I would have easily accepted. No, the horrible, terror-filled truth was that this voice reverberated inside my head. As it did, a tiny pane of glass slid into view with a mechanical whir and an image appeared on it in front of me, as if I was looking at a drawing of someone, but way more clear and defined like what Zelda could do with her Sheikah Slate. A crystal clear picture that moved as if the person in it was alive.

The woman I saw was a Gerudo with long red hair pulled into a tail. Her skin was lighter than mine, but there was no mistaking her for Hylian. She had a pleased smile, like her picture was taken by someone else with a Sheikah Slate. Perfect, winged eyeliner, beautiful, sapphire blue lipstick like Urbosa’s. Yet something inside me knew who it was, as if the beast implanted her into my head. In a way it had. I was looking at Nabooru, as she had been in life. The Eighth Heroine. The moment was quite literally divine, for while the Heroines had always been idols of Gerudo society, in a way, they were also godlike. When I realized who I was looking at, however, the gravity of her decision set in.

“You’re sacrifice. You’re still alive,” I said, as if I couldn’t believe it myself. I mean, I hardly could, and she was staring me in the face. 10,000 years was a hell of a long time, though. Had she been here that whole time? Sacrifice was what she represented, and I finally knew what that sacrifice was.

She smiled and looked down. “You are a very bright man, Hakim. Perhaps a more formal introduction is in order. My name is Sage Nabooru Al-Hafla. The Sage of Spirit, the Eighth Heroine of the Gerudo, and the consciousness of Divine Beast Naboris, at your disposal,” she said and bowed in the picture. It was almost like I was standing in front of her, having a normal conversation. My arms should have ached from the suspended position, but they didn’t. Strange bags inflated from the stone themselves, as if to cradle my body and keep me comfortable in the contraption.

“It’s a huge pleasure. You have no idea, but if you don’t mind, can we have this conversation somewhere that’s not me in a fucking sarcophagus!” I shouted. Now that my amazement was passing, the panic was coming back.

“Well, no. I can’t communicate with you this way if you aren’t in your cockpit.”

I frowned. “Okay, what does that mean? Cockpit sounds profane.”

She laughed. “Well of course, I guess it would. Much has changed since the Sheikah put me in this device. The “sarcophagus” that you are in is, in fact, the safest area in my entire body. A cockpit is the area where a pilot would sit in a machine to control it. This is your control room, in a sense. The gel that has surrounded you is impact padding, meaning that even if a cannonball somehow got past my shell into your control room, which is almost impossible thanks to the shielding, then somehow managed to damage the control unit’s casing, again, practically impossible given the shielding and density of the blackstone used to make the control unit, then this gel is the final defense to keep you from harm. That said, the chances of that happening are so low, it only serves as an example. Redundancies should the impossible become possible. Still, we wanted to make sure our pilots were as safe as they could be. As for letting you out, you should know that you can will this control unit open while inside at any time. You aren’t trapped, though I was having to find… creative ways to get you in here. Thankfully I chose the wires for some of my anterior lights, and not the ones for steering. No knives.”

“In my defense…”

She held her hands up. “I know. I don’t blame you, and it was a simple task to repair them with my onboard repair suite, so quite literally, no harm done. I just had to get you in the control unit itself because I am not able to answer any questions that aren’t asked at the interface. Basically, I can’t volunteer information that is not directly related to your query, which is why when you asked about the cockpit itself, I could finally tell you to get inside. This measure is for the integrity of the machine itself. No need to have a war-machine just offer up its purpose if Ganon’s minions somehow gained access to the control unit. Once I had you in here though, I knew that I could interface with you directly, and explain some of what I am capable of. Hence why you thought I was absorbing you. I was just trying to get you inside the cockpit.”

The explanation eased my panic, and I closed my eyes to take in the events. So I was safe. If I couldn’t trust a demigod, then who could I trust? I was so safe that it would take another god to harm me in this cockpit. Though the gel she mentioned was firm, it wasn’t tight or uncomfortable. I could breathe fairly well and it wasn’t too tight around my ribs. That meant that I could congeal my thoughts. Hell, the cockpit was even cooled, so I wasn’t sweltering. That allowed me to get on with my questions, but one needed to be asked before all others, since it was the most pressing in my mind. Prettyboy needed answers.

“Okay, so you’re not only Sage Nabooru, but also Vah Naboris?”

She sighed and swept her hair back, then sat in a throne in whatever room she was in. “I’d tell you to get comfortable, but I think you’re as comfortable as you can get.” She swept her hair back again and picked up a glass. Inside was a drink I recognized. Noble Pursuit. She took a sip then set it down. “Allow me to explain the sacrifice I made, and why I made it.”

Chapter Text

"Hakim, are you okay? I can’t get this damn thing open!” Makoto shouted from outside the cockpit.

Nabooru glanced, as if she was looking at the cockpit opening behind her. “Oops. Forgot about them. Go ahead and respond to her. Talk normally. I can amplify your voice and give you access to your surroundings,”

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, and it was as if the stone I was encased in turned porous. I could hear as if I was standing just outside, and a rock in front of my eyes slid away revealing a small window that I could see out of. Makoto’s face jerked back when my eyes appeared.

“Howdy,” I said, and my voice came out from speakers all over the room. Purah and Robbie looked around, absolutely astounded and simultaneously like kids in a candy store.

“Are you okay?” Makoto asked.

“Perfectly fine. You would never believe what I’ve learned in here! I’m still talking to Nabooru.”

“Nabooru? Like the sage of Spirit, Nabooru?” Purah asked.

I flicked my eyes to the little screen, and she shrugged. “It’s a story. I can tell you, but that guess is close enough.”

I flicked my eyes back. “Yeah, the sage. I’ll tell y’all everything once I finish here. We need to let the other champions know about these command suites.”

“I am quite capable,” Nabooru said. “Stop making plans until I tell you what I can do. Latif w muthaammas? Shu hal kanz!” The last part was in Gerudo, and I definitely blushed, which caused her to laugh. “Oh what fun. I haven’t toyed with a man in ages.”

I cleared my throat and flicked my eyes back to the Sheikah. “Full report. I promise.”

Robbie crossed his arms. “It’s driving me nuts that I can’t be in there myself.”

“Relax. Trust me,” I said, and then willed the little door that covered the cockpit’s window to close, and was astounded when it did.

Nabooru smiled. “Privacy again. You can speak freely. I turned off the speakers.”

“Then let’s start with what you said. How you aren’t Nabooru but you are?”

She crossed her leg over the other. “Yes. This will be complicated since you don’t have this technology anymore, but try to bear with me.” She picked up her glass. “Physically, I am not Nabooru. Her spirit was absorbed into me. You are Gerudo, you understand the spirit. It is the essence of being. It is the soul. Her soul was used to power me, and to give me life. As for who I am, I am Naboris, the very machine that you sit inside. My appearance though, my knowledge, personality, tastes, style, all of that is Nabooru. The me that you are talking to is not alive, per se. I am a very sophisticated program, as you call them, but for all intents and purposes, I am Nabooru in all ways but physical.”

I tried to wrap my head around the concept. Definitely cosmological, but I think I had it. “So basically, your soul was trapped into the machine, but you still live.”

She shrugged. “A very crude and not quite accurate explanation, but it’s close enough to the truth, yes. For all intents and purposes, I am Nabooru, and I am the machine now.”

“So the sacrifice from your story?”

She nodded. “You have to keep in mind that my decisions were influenced by my own unique circumstances. I know your lineage, Hakim. I know who you are and how much you hate him, but you have to understand that 10,000 years ago, to stand against Ganondorf meant death. In that time, the Gerudo were slaves to the king and his pet wizards, Koume and Kotake. I only served him because to do otherwise was certain death. When I spoke out, when I had finally had enough, I was trapped in a prison and had my autonomy stolen from me. I couldn’t move without the witchs’ consent for seven years.”

I was taken aback. So, Nabooru was artificial. The one I was speaking to, yet for all intents and purposes, she was Nabooru. Her soul was right here, and she was crying. On this screen, she was able to cry. It was a wound that had affected her across 10,000 years. I knew now who Naboris was. She was a very sad and angry woman. Not a machine.

“When our incarnation of the hero arrived,” Nabooru said, wiping away some of her tears. “I was finally free. I was free of the tyranny. I was free of their control. I swore to that hero that day as a sage that I would do whatever I could to make sure my people never again bore the chains of a man. My wrath was so great, men were stricken from the Gerudo for 10,000 years. And then, I was given an opportunity. Machines, great war machines were created, and all of the sages were given a choice. Impa refused. Rauru refused. Saria refused. The other three of us though? The sacrifice that I made, Hakim, was to give up my humanity. I gave up every shred of human in me and allowed my soul to be used, so that I could become Naboris. So that I, personally, could have a hand in defeating Ganon wherever he may appear, again, and again. In this way, I was vilified. I, the sage of spirit, offered my spirit for war, but the sacrifice I made ensured that the Gerudo could be free, forever.”

She opened her eyes, meeting mine. “And so, you know the great sacrifice of the Eighth Heroine. The seven heroines are the beacon of our people. They stand as a testament. Each one represents a powerful trait that has been considered sacred to our people, but my trait? Mine was sacrifice. I made a sacrifice to defend our people, and even if it makes our people forget me, or hate me, it’s a sacrifice I stand by to this day. I am fury, Hakim. I am wrath. I am to be used for one purpose, and that is to serve and protect my people. So know now, that I am your ally, and I can help you wrestle that Dark Urge inside of you if you are in this cockp;it. I can expel it from you for a time, but know too, if that darkness takes you over, and you attempt to use me once again to enslave or hurt our people, as you considered with Kohga’s offer, then I will not hesitate to end your life, and make sure that this chamber never comes unsealed. Do you understand me?”

Yeah, that definitely made me feel better. If anything, I felt even more claustrophobic, and started searching for any quick releases in case this machine went mad.

“There are none,” she said, sharply. “In this cockpit, we share thoughts. I am your ally, Hakim. A willing one, but I need you to understand where we stand. I am a powerful ally, but my fury can override all the countermeasures that you were considering in case I went rogue. Don’t forget that, my pilot.”

I swallowed. “I uh… I won’t.”

She nodded. “Good! Then ask your other questions. I am, after all, required to assist my pilot in all of my functions.”

I shrugged, trying to shake off the impending dread and focus on the task. Not easy, but hey, she was just protecting our people from me in case I went full-tyrant, and I had to admit, it was something I needed. A failsafe to keep me in check. “Umm, you said that you could message the other champions?”

She nodded and smiled. “Yes. Well, sort of. I can message the other Divine Beasts. We were created not just as weapons, though that is one of our primary functions. The Divine Beasts were designed to be the generals for the Guardian units. The guardians, as mighty as they are, aren’t frontline units. They are support units. While they can certainly destroy a monster, their main purpose is to amplify the already destructive powers of the Divine Beasts, as you saw when the guardians autonomously powered up your attack on Leviathan. What this means is that while we can certainly dish out damage, we were also designed to serve as mobile command bases to operate an army from. For this purpose, we were created with an extensive communication suite in mind. All of the Sheikah devices you have unearthed work in tandem in this way.”

I frowned. “How so?”

She nodded, speaking with her hands. “The nerve center of this are the massive Sheikah towers that have appeared all over Hyrule. These can be activated by the Sheikah Slate. Doing so not only updates the Sheikah Slate with the current geography, not the geography of 10,000 years ago, but it also activates the tower’s infranet. And you have no idea what that is.”

I slowly shook my head. “Should I?”

She frowned, and I felt a… a sensation in my mind? It was hard to describe it because it wasn’t physical. I knew what it was though. Nabooru was accessing my knowledge, assessing where we were, technologically, then her eyes went wide. “Hoo boy, we went way back, didn’t we? There must have been a disaster. It’s the only way to explain that. A mass extinction event that wiped out all but a handful of survivors. My bet is a flood.”

“Nabooru? Infranet?”

“Right!” She said. “So, for your purposes, it’s like an invisible web all over Hyrule. As long as devices that can access the infranet are in the radius of that web, then they can communicate and access the equivalent of the summation of humanity’s known knowledge, all from their Sheikah Slate, as well as create other programs to do all sorts of things from entertainment to complex mathematics.”

I scoffed. “That’s a lie. That’s not possible. You could only do that with magic.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, in your own words, technology is a form of magic, is it not? Technology made the impossible possible. Why do you think there are so many guardians? Or that I am so sophisticated? It was all technology, now lost to Hyrule. I could tell you such wonders, but for another time. What is important to this is that when all of those towers are activated, the infranet will cover all of Hyrule and its outlying areas, even the desert. These towers are the linchpin in the whole operation, and you must protect them at all costs. If one falls, so does the Infranet, and so does the control of the Champions. Guardians in those areas will go haywire, unable to function properly. The Divine Beasts also generate this Infranet, but it’s localized. Its purpose was as a redundancy in case the towers went down, so all the Guardians near the Divine Beast were still under control. Now, I could communicate with the other Divine Beasts if we had a united infranet, but I must have a link to their network.”

I shook my head. “You lost me again, Nabooru. How exactly do these towers work?”

She nodded and her image disappeared from the screen, replaced with a map of Hyrule, but most of it was blank. Only the desert was visible. There was a glowing orange point on a mountain near the mouth of the canyon. “What you’re seeing now is what my Infranet covers. This is the area as I have mapped it. Normally if I wanted, I could send this map to Medoh. I would do that by first digitizing the map, not a process that you need to understand, and I send it to that glowing point. That is the Gerudo Wastes tower, currently deactivated. This message is sent invisibly and almost instantaneously. Then this tower would send it to the tower in the Highlands.

Another glowing point appeared in the dark, non-visible areas. “I haven’t explored that area, and since I haven’t entered its infranet range, I don’t know the terrain. If the tower was activated and I walked into its range, then it could transmit that data to me and I would be able to see the same map that I sent out. Again, invisibly and instantaneously.”

“Okay, so they serve as a sort of field command station.”

“Sort of.” She responded. “Now, I can’t contact Medoh, like I said, but if I were to send that map to the Highlands tower, and she were to get in range, then she too, could access that map.”

I was stunned at that. That was incredibly advanced, and it gave us a huge advantage. “I hear a but coming.”

“Yes,” she responded. “This is only possible when the towers are active, and to activate them, someone has to manually climb them and insert a Sheikah Slate. The infranet is cast from these towers. Through that infranet, we control the guardians and our other defenses. We can work as mobile command posts, able to transmit real-time data instantaneously to the other beasts, other command posts just like this one to synchronize your tactics effectively. That is also why losing a tower in combat is dangerous. You have just lost a whole zone of visibility, information. All the guardians there are no longer under command, firing on anything in sight. Worse, if two towers are lost, say the Highlands tower and the Central Hyrule tower, then anyone near this one may still have control over the guardians, but they are cut-off, unable to communicate with the other generals, the other Divine Beasts like I am now. This can destroy an entire species in battle. I can’t stress enough the importance of these towers.”

I nodded. “Then it sounds like our first order of business is to activate these towers and get them fortified.”

“Yes, that is a good step, but I have an offer before you go. And to tell the truth, it is also a selfish request,” The map disappeared and she reappeared on the screen. “One of the abilities of this cockpit… I would be able to… I guess implant a shard of myself into your consciousness. It would not be painful or invasive. The potential for this is that you would always be able to communicate with me, or the imprint in your mind. Anytime you re-enter this cockpit I can upload and re-imprint this sliver to keep it up to date. You would always have me and my knowledge at your side, as an advisor.”

I nodded. “And the drawbacks?”

Well…” She said. “Migraines, though that is to be expected. More importantly is that you and I will become one. I will know everything that you know. I will see and sense everything you do. Outside of this beast, I only have what you are willing to show me. But this sliver lets me see it all, even some more… private moments, though I promise I won’t bring them up.”

I smiled. “And this lets you experience the world again, in a way. To taste. To feel.”

“Gods yes. Hakim, you have no idea what it’s like, trapped in a sensory null machine. A few thousand years of unending silence is enough to drive anyone insane.”

I considered her offer. It didn’t sound like the risks were anything I couldn’t manage, and I got to help a divine figure. “Sure, what the hell. Hop in.”

“Thank you so much. This will only take a second.”

Chapter Text

I stepped out of that cockpit as a changed man, and sat on the floor, talking at length with Purah, Robbie, and Makoto about the experience. Makoto had gone and got Urbosa, Zelda, Revali and Link too, since this entire development was fascinating and highly important to the plan. I told them everything that Nabooru had told me about the Divine Beasts and how they were made, as well as how they worked with the towers and the Guardians.

Robbie was running around, whooping as I started to divulge the aspects of the machine. “We have a chance! You bloody maniac, you got in a coffin and now we have a fighting chance!”

“Cockpit, technically. But that doesn’t mean all the work is done,” I said and turned to Zelda. “We need to get those towers activated, ASAP.”

She nodded, And turned to Revali. “And the best bird for the job is here. No one is as fast as you are.”

He smiled. “Glad to see I’m finally getting some notice. I’d have to take the Sheikah Slate with me, but the towers are fairly easy to spot if I’m in the air. I can probably get them all active in a week. Maybe. This spans all of Hyrule, and I can’t guarantee I’ll have fair weather the whole time.”

“Even if it takes two weeks, that’s still far faster than anyone can do from horseback, and I imagine if I tried to climb one of those towers, I’d fall off. You’re the best one for the job.”

Zelda offered him the Sheikah slate and he nodded. “Then I’ll be back in Rito Village in a week. You can tell me about any developments then. I’m ready to get out of this desert.” he said, taking the slate and tying it to his belt. “Good luck!” He shouted, then took off from the throne room, heading towards the Gerudo Wasteland Tower.

Purah smiled “Back to the topic, this Infranet, it’s given me ideas. Robbie has always been good at the machines themselves, but I handled more of the programming aspects. I can think of a few things that we can use this infranet for. I mean, just coordinating trade and supply caravans alone would improve Hyrule by leaps and bounds.”

“And rapid response to things like bandits instead of hoping someone survives the attack and arrives weeks later.” Urbosa said. “We could have gotten back far sooner and maybe have assisted if we had heard about the molduga immediately. Our ancestors had such wondrous marvels?”

I frowned. “You never spoke to Nabooru? Were you not her pilot?”

Urbosa shook her head. “No. I was her pilot, but I had issues merging with the machine. I had thought it was the Fury interfering with the machine for a long time, but with this new information, it seems that the Machines and the Pilots have to connect in some way, or in a way, they can choose who pilots them. I think that even if it wasn’t a conscious act, Naboris simply knew that I wasn’t her fated pilot.”

I frowned, then realized, could I not just ask? She had gone ahead and used the psychic imprint, and told me that she was conscious when I was and we shared thoughts this way, so she could simply answer any questions I thought.

Ah, Urbosa. She is always so swift with her knowledge. She is correct, My king. It was not a conscious act. We just know. I knew it was you as soon as you stepped on Naboris, but was unable to communicate with anyone when they weren’t in the cockpit.

I relayed that information.

“You mean you have access to her knowledge in your head?” Robbie asked, almost frothing at the mouth with excitement. “Inconceivable! Incredible! I must know how this machine works!”

“Babe, turn down some? We want to keep our eardrums,” Purah said, plugging her ear with her finger. “It’s certainly incredible, but temper your excitement. We have to do this cautiously.” She squinted at me, then gestured me over and grabbed my face, looking deep into my eyes. It was immediately very intimate and I didn’t know her. I desperately wanted to get away from her, but she didn’t let go of my face, staring into my eyes and searching for… for something.

“Please let go?”

“Hush.” She said, looked a few moments more, then her fingers relaxed and I jerked away. She straightened her glasses. “You seem completely coherent and in your right mind. You don’t have any erratic eye movements to suggest you’d be stressed and lying.”

I frowned and crossed my arms. “Why would I lie?”

“I don’t think you would,” Purah said, pointing at me. “But apparently these machines can access your brain. Can they alter information? We see that with this psychic imprint. So I naturally have to conclude that they have some ability to take over your mind, and if they can do that, then obviously, Naboris would lie about being mind-controlled. It’s just paranoia. I’m always happy when I’m wrong.”

Zelda frowned, then cleared her throat, catching our attention. “So, it sounds like once Revali get the towers activated, we need to let the pilots know about their cockpits and get them training. I expect our combat capabilities to improve rapidly.”

“Which really drives home how little we know about these machines that are supposed to protect us.” Link said. “I’ve seen a fully combat capable guardian. I could maybe stop one. Two? I’m dead. I just have a bad feeling about it. Something about relying on them when we know next to nothing about them? And with defense to boot.”

“I understand your apprehension,” I said, drawing my legs up. “But we’ve come too far to do it any other way.”

He nodded. “Of course. I wasn’t suggesting that there was another way. I’m just uneasy about them. A bad feeling.”

I stood. “Either way, sitting here isn’t going to advance our plans any further. Let’s get those towers activated. And get back at it.”

And so we did. The next six months were a blur of activity. The Divine Beasts were finally able to function at full capacity. My days were spent training with Naboris, honing my skills with the giant machine. At night, I studied tactics. There wasn’t much time for leisure left. Revali did manage to activate the towers, however. As they came to life, a whole new battle readiness was achieved in the divine beasts. Naboris was a bristling fortress, a central node in the defense of Hyrule. I was able to carry my troops inside if the need arose, and we ended up moving Gerudo central command into Naboris’ control room, mirroring the actions of the other three nations. We were ready for war, and the final three months were spent training on the Great Plateau, where we were expecting Ganon to awaken.

And then the day came. I was waiting at Mount Lanayru with the other Champions. Zelda was making one final attempt to unlock her power, the crucial power that we needed if we had any hope of sealing Ganon, but it was no good. She failed once again and had to admit that maybe I was right, but as that ill news fell upon us, so too did a blood moon, and the mighty roar of Ganon. Battle stations. It was time. Time to end my father, and end his legacy. Zelda stopped me before I headed out.

“Hakim… Please, I know this isn’t the best time but…” She shook her head and got on her tiptoes, kissing me on the cheek.

It was such a simple action, but from her, I placed my hand on the spot where it still tingled, then smiled and leaned forward, taking her face and returning the kiss in the only way I knew how, which had Urbosa grinning, and Link smiling. The other Champions awkwardly shuffled their feet, but when I pulled away, Zelda’s face was red, but she had a new fire in her eyes. “I’ll come back, Zelda. I promise.” I said, then turned, ordering the Golden Scarabs and Makoto to the Great Plateau. We had to ride on horseback, but we could make it.

When I arrived, I stepped inside that cockpit, merging with Naboris and seeing the plateau under different, better eyes, I had to ask myself. Could I really kill him? I had talked a big game, but it was time. Could I fully commit? Nabooru smiled at me and then looked over her shoulder, as if she were looking at the Temple of Time. “We can do this, Hakim. We will be free.”

Her statement steeled my resolve, and the Dark Urge had been quiet ever since I let Nabooru into my head. All signs were good, and I felt confident.

“Drums of the Gerudo, sound your din! Beat out our path as we march. Today, we are freedom fighters, but as the sun rises, the Gerudo will finally be free!”

My battle cry was echoed by hundreds of Gerudo warriors, the biggest army we had ever fielded, and the drums started beating out a sharp staccato, only for us to watch as horror unfolded not from the Temple of Time as we had planned, but the Castle, ripped asunder by that mad malice driven boar.

“I knew it! How did we miss that?” I asked, frustrated, loping Naboris over to the castle.

“Because Zelda thought he’d be insane to come through the palace!” Mipha responded. I could see her from where I was. She and Ruta was locked in combat with a sizable portion of the Lizalfos army, swinging her trunk back and forth and spraying jets of water that could cleave flesh from bone.

“Well, never rely on the bad guy’s sanity. Haaaa!” Daruk said and I turned my head. Rudania opened his mouth and breathed a mighty gout of flame at the taloses swarming Death Mountain, accompanied by screaming bokoblins.

“I can’t get free!” Revali shouted. “Hakim, can you make it to the castle?”

“Already almost there.” I said, scanning the field. There were monsters and soldiers clashing across the entirety of Hyrule Field. Everywhere I stepped, I either stepped on combatants or I stepped on slain combatants.

“We are moving off the plateau to reinforce the soldiers, King Hakim. Can you hit Ganon?” Urbosa asked. She was leading the main force of warriors with Pelor, but it was going to take them ages to reach the raging battle.

“If I had something to hit!” I said. “It’s a massive wall of black and purple! If my shot goes through, I can destroy the castle and kill everyone inside. I didn’t know he could be incorporeal!”

“Don’t lose heart, Champions!” Zelda’s voice rang out from our command centers and portable speakers all over Hyrule. She was in the castle. Would she live? I hadn’t even considered that. Goddess, We were so concerned about my survival. “Zelda!” I said, relieved. “Zelda, are you okay?”

“We are alive, and this battle isn’t over yet! Ganon has surrounded the city in this vile wall, but has made no attempts to harm us. He is planning. We must stop his plan from coming to fruition.”

“Gaaaa!” I shouted through Naboris. “Face me, you coward! You who would call yourself king! Come and face your son! Atone for your crimes, Father!” I screamed, kicking at the wall that was as solid as a mountain.

A wicked laugh radiated from that dark wall in response.

Hakim, he won’t make himself vulnerable to you, but the longer he’s in that state, the weaker he gets. Help the others!” Nabooru said.

My face twisted. So close, and I could do nothing? I screamed, and as I did, the large cylinders on my back began to rotate. I turned Naboris and shouted, and lightning answered my call, a veritable storm rolling across the battlefield, seeking out any monsters that didn’t seek shelter immediately, I could make pinpoint strikes and not harm a single soldier.

“Hyrule field, clear!” I said.

Ruta whipped her trunk out and wrapped a Hinox up in it, then hammered it into the ground three times before tossing the broken body behind her, and she started walking forward. “”Lanayru, clear.”

“Good. Hakim, get to Revali. They are using ice, keeping Revali from taking flight. Revali, once your ice is free, get over and give support to Daruk. Mipha, take Ruta and go into Necluda and Faron. Make sure there’s no lurking surprises,” Zelda said in quick succession, snapping off orders like a true commander. We all gave our affirmatives and I took Naboris into a run. She was the only machine built to do so. Rudania had short legs but an incredible salvo, and Ruta was slow, but was a walking fortress. Only Medoh was faster than Naboris, and that’s because she flew.

I loped around the moat and made my way across the Thundara Plateau. These beasts were big, but it still took time to travel. Twenty whole minutes, in fact. I had to run the entire Plateau, then leap the Hyrule Gorge before I got to Revali, who was being attacked by a swarm of ice lizalfos, with ice wizzrobes icing his wings. He had to resort to fighting with his beak, swatting at the lizalfos when they came in to harry his legs.

I made the jump, and as I landed, the earth shook from my impact, causing rockslides in the gorge. “Revali, lock down!” I shouted, my hull starting to cascade with electrical current, the turrets on my back whirring and accelerating.

“Are you insane?” He screeched back.

“Do it, Drumsticks!”

Medoh’s wings closed, and the whole machine started to tilt, narrowing its profile and reinforcing its shields.

“Now!” I shouted, and the lightning bolted from me, a net of raw electricity that was hurtling toward Revali and his foes.

I couldn’t watch, and looked away as my sensors were assaulted with the smell of cooked meat and the screams of creatures. It made me violently nauseous. I had just taken hundreds of lives in an instant, and was going to have to live with that decision for the rest of my life. War was hell, and I hadn’t been in one for more than an hour.

Goddess, I hated it. I never wanted to take life, and I knew in that instant, my nights of peaceful dreams were over. From now on, it was going to be nightmares of that horrible stench. Of those screams. Goddess, why were children fighting this war?

I risked a glance. “Revali, you okay?”

Medoh started to unfurl, and Revali started cackling. “You absolute maniac! That was incredible! Wanna go out after this?”

“Flirt later, bird boy! I’m starting to overheat,” Daruk said.

Revali jerked his head in that direction, then flapped his massive wings and took off, heading towards Death Mountain. However, while I had freed Revali, I hadn’t even begun to deal with the horde of other monsters that swarmed me. I reared back, then started to buck, each hoof squishing monsters or sending them flying until there was nothing left at my feet but sticky black muck. I snorted.

As I turned back to the castle, I was immediately hit with something overpowering. My head felt like it would explode, and an intense aura of evil hit me. Rot.

“Hello, Hakim.” A deep, resonant voice said in my head. “So noble. So proud. I couldn’t have sired finer offspring. A pity you chose the wrong side. You could have been a prince of darkness.”

“Come out of that castle, coward!” I boomed with Naboris’s voice. “Let’s see how strong I am without your influence.”

His deep, rich laugh echoed around my head. “All in due time, dear boy. First, I have some friends I would like you and your champions to meet. Survive them, and we can talk. You know one rather… intimately.”

His deep laugh echoed across all of Hyrule this time, emanating from the castle, and I watched in horror as he initiated his master stroke. Pure black malice from his hatred shot into the sky, forming balls of black matter, then they landed into the guardians.

Oh no. Oh no!

The Guardians started going haywire, firing on their units, firing on civilians. I watched in horror as those units turned on us, just as we feared. I sprung into action, charging towards the closest guardian corps on the maps, but I didn’t get far before one of those black balls slammed into Naboris, and my entire head was filled with warning Klaxons. Naboris went ape, completely out of my control.

“Hahahahaha! Thought I was gone, did you?” The Dark Urge said, cackling with glee. “Now we can fight face to face, Hakim. Let’s see who’s stronger.” and my head felt like it was splitting open. My scream of pain echoed out from Naboris, and echoed across the comms.

“Hakim! Hakim, come in!” Link shouted over the comms, but I couldn’t respond. The pain was too much, and Naboris was out of my control, panicking like a camel, whirling and kicking at anything and nothing.

“Necluda has fallen! Fall back!” Mipha shouted through the communication between us, as well as to her units on the front. I watched the screen in pain and horror as the entire upper Necluda area went dark, the tower and the infranet gone. I couldn’t form words. I could feel Nabooru. Her anger, her determination, but the most potent was her fear.

I failed! I failed! I failed! We can’t be free. We will never be free! Ganon is here. He is winning! We are lost!

I tried to wrestle with Nabooru’s panic and tried to get a hold of the machine. She was out of control. I had no choice. “Abort!” I shouted into the main chamber. “Abandon ship! Naboris is lost!”

“Rudania is lost! We’ve lost control!” Daruk shouted.

“No, no!” Zelda shrieked.

“Princess, we must leave.” Link said, and then their connection cut.

I had to get out of this damn cockpit, and I figured I’d know what would do it. I hated it, it involved using her fear against her, but I couldn’t help Naboris if I was trapped in her and fighting the Urge at the same time.

“Nabooru, cease this at once and release your king!” I shouted in the most commanding voice possible, and I felt her spirit seize in response.

Yes sir. She said in the saddest, most broken whisper, then the cockpit slid open. I fell out of it, sucking in a breath. In her panic, she had been suffocating me in the chamber.

“No time to sit around, Pretty boy.” Makoto said in her even tone, lifting the Sheikah mask over her nose.

“I told you to evacuate!”

“You are not my king, Hakim, and the Sheikah do not abandon their friends. Now stand up. We have company.”

I rose steadily, turning around, and saw exactly what she was talking about. Now that my consciousness wasn’t fueling the divine beast, its overrides took over, and it turned, heading back to the desert. That meant I had a very clear and unbroken view of the writhing black mass hovering a few feet away from us.

Arms burst from the ball of darkness, then legs. The arms held scimitars, the legs wore sirwal, and the mass coalesced, forming a man. One I knew all too well. The Dark Urge stood. He looked just like me, except that he was completely black and had some evil mist rising from him, and his eyes were solid red. He held dark reflections of the Sword of the Seven and Warda al-Sahra, but the only expression on his face was twisted, smug satisfaction.

“Hello, Hakim. We meet face to face.” the Dark Urge said.

I ground my teeth. “Your mistake. Makoto, allow me to introduce you to the Dark Urge. The bastard that tried to get me to kill you.”

She narrowed her eyes, then pulled two kunai from her waist. “Is he now? I’ve been wondering who I was going to kill for possessing my friend.

The Urge laughed. “Possession, how quaint.” It said, that smug smile on its face. “But not accurate. I am part of you, Hakim. That part that desires control. Dominance. You can deny it all you want, but you’ve already had to rely on me a couple of times now. You know you can’t win. You should accept your Dark Father now, because the alternative is to die to my blades.”

I drew my swords. “Makoto,” I said. She threw down one of her deku nuts, and she vanished in the flash.

“So, death then. Very well. I have no need of your corpse any longer. I am free to act.” he said, taking up the dervish stance.

I didn’t waste anymore words and charged forward. He met my blades with his own. They clanged together as he copied my style, movement for movement, our blades whirling, each step we took was a deadly dance, and he was my equal in all respects.

He parried my blade then quickly shot his foot out, aiming for my chest, but I sidestepped and rammed my shoulder into him. He took the blow and fell backwards, rolling before springing back up and at me again with a shout. I parried his blade with my left hand, just doing what I could to survive the assault. It was the only flaw in the dervish style. Overwhelming offense left little room for defense.

I had to take several steps back in his aggressive advance, my own face twisted with fatigue and rage. No way was I going to let a literal shadow of myself best me in combat. I shouted and threw my hand out, but then… nothing happened. Oh no.

The Urge grinned, taking a step back. “Missing something, are we? Here, you can have it.” He said, then thrust his arm towards me, and that focused blast of lightning smashed into my chest, wracking me with pain and sending me tumbling off of the main platform, down into the belly of Naboris as I screamed.

When I hit the ground, I couldn’t do much to fight back. It was like there were bugs all over me, digging tiny pincers into me. Hundreds of scarabs consuming the flesh of live prey. It was all sensory, but fucking hell. That’s what I had been doing to people?

The Urge hopped down from the main platform, crouching slightly as he landed, the clang of his boots sounding out around the Beast we were in. “Yes, that is the pain you were inflicting on others. Not pleasant, is it?’ The Urge said, walking towards me slowly. “Torturous, some would say, but serves my purposes well. I was always a fan of… lasting torment.”

Makoto appeared from a flash of smoke behind him, already halfway through a roundhouse kick. She nailed him in the side of the head and he took it full on by surprise. It knocked his head sharply to the side with a crack and he went down, not moving from the belly of Naboris.

Makoto huffed out a breath, then ran over to me. “Hakim, are you okay?” She asked, watching me.

I planted my hand, lifting myself up, and as I did, the Urge began laughing. He too rose, though his head was at an unnaturally bent angle. He reached up both of his hands, then yanked it back forward with a sickening crunch, though his jaw was still hanging free, but one more crunch later, he rolled it. “You know, that kinda hurt. Fine, new plan. I kill the bitch first.” he said, leveling his scimitar at Makoto.

“Makoto.” I said, rising. “We don’t die here. Promise me that we aren’t dying on Naboris. Promise me I’ll see you again after all of this.”

She grinned. “Tonight, The God of Death Starves, Hakim.”

“Good.”

“Stop ignoring me!” The Urge screamed. “Your enemy is in front of you, Hakim! Stand and fight!”

I frowned at his words, then turned. “How conceited. I think I may be better off without you.”

He screamed and ran at me in rage, and I pushed Makoto back, leveling my own blades. She tossed another nut, and it flashed as my blades met with his. He began bearing down on me with savage fury, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve still. I was still Gerudo. He brought both of his blades down and I brought mine up in an X. They clanged sharply as I caught his swords in my guard, then lifted my boot and kicked him while he had no leverage. As I did, Makoto, ten Makotos, to be exact, appeared in a ring around us, forming signs with her hands.

“Strength of Ten!” She shouted, then all ten’s eyes opened at the same time, and they all dove on the Urge, limbs sweeping, kunai flashing as they did their best to brutally murder him.

I staggered back. I had never seen Sheikah Ninjutsu before, though I had heard that it existed and it made sense that Makoto be capable of it. It was a terrifying sight. These weren’t just illusions. She had created ten, independent, freely thinking copies of herself, and she alone was deadly. I watched in surprise and elation. The copies all scattered, ten different flashes from ten different points, and Makoto was gone. The Urge, oozing black and red fluid shakily uprighted, looking around for his unseen attacker.

The Makotos sprung into action. One appeared behind the Urge and roundhoused it, causing the creature to turn, swinging his sword. Before he even finished that turn, the first Makoto poofed away in a cloud of smoke, and a second Makoto appeared, slashing the creature’s flank with her kunai, then poof, vanished. The Urge turned furiously, only for the third to appear. This happened ten times, each one making the creature more insane and pressed than the last.

“Death of a Thousand Cuts!” the ten Makotos shouted, appearing once more into a ring, but the Urge had had enough. He howled, raising his arms to the sky, and pure, undiluted electricity poured out of him. He had twisted the Fury and polluted it, drawing on that power. It arced across Naboris, and she screamed in pain. Parts went flying off her walls, the lights started to blow, and the shields shorted. At the same time, I got hit, the sheer force of the blow knocking me backwards, hard. Time slowed as the world blurred.

I knew I was falling. I was watching Naboris as I did, marching ever onward to home. At that moment though, it didn’t matter.

I had failed.

It was a cold, hard truth. In that moment of falling to my death, I knew that it never mattered. We never could have beaten Ganon. The Gilded King prophecy, all of it was a lie. Man can’t beat a god, and that’s the truth. Today, I sought patricide. Instead, we got filicide. He killed me. He won. The Gerudo would never be free, and as that reality set in, my thoughts went to a very different situation. I could see her in my mind’s eye on Storm, racing across Hyrule field being chased by hundred;s of Guardians, Link doing his best to keep them off of her until he too fell, taking a guardian’s beam directly in his back as he was exposed and he stumbled, the Master Sword falling from his grip, beginning it’s slow fall to the mud.

Zelda. Link. Please forgive me.

Time began to resume. My vision failed altogether, but then arms wrapped around me, and the sensation of falling immediately stopped. There was a whooshing sound, then the person holding me set me down. “Tonight, the God of Death starves, Hakim. I will see you again.” My saviour said, and the cold snow pressed against my face and body, crunching under my weight. Naboris’ footsteps retreating. Then there was a gasp, a brilliant light enveloped me, even with my eyes closed, and I felt warm, like I had woken from a nap under the desert sun. Then I lost consciousness.