-Elder's Story-

In the beginning of Hyrule were three Goddesses, sisters all. They came to a world filled with chaos and Twilight. Together they purged the twilight away, but the world was left lifeless and without order.

Farore, the ever child-like one, created the firstborn, the Fae, to mold the world. The Fae with Farore molded the world into an ordered earth filled with life. Seeking to further her imagination, Farore created a number of races to populate it.

Din, the passionate fiery one, attempted to do the same. She was not a maker as Farore was, as she lacked the imagination of her younger sibling but she still made the effort. Her firstborn were the Goron. The Goron's way of molding the world was crude in comparison to the subtle Fae, and the Goron were ugly. Farore laughed, and her Fae playfully mocked the creation of Din.

Angry and insulted, Din created the dragons. The Fae were immune to elements, but knowing that fire was not a true element, she gave the lizards fire from her hand. The dragons made the Fae flee.

To sate the fire and mold the seas, Farore made the Zora.

To burn the seas, Din made the sun.

To hide from the sun, Farore made the forests.

Their quarrels resulted in war between their servants, and in the chaos starting to erupt, twilight was seeping back into the mortal realm. Seeing this, Naryu stepped in. She bound all races made by her siblings to a law. With the moon she made the time they would know, she set the sun on its axis, and to mediate between the races just as she had to mediate between her sisters, she made man.

The war was averted, and time passed. To keep the tension low, they left the world, acting instead through chosen champions, and marked them with triangles. At times the champions were chosen through tests and trials, as they left relics to seek out who's beliefs and states of minds resonated with them. At times the champions resonated with the goddesses' good sides. They sought power, freedom, wisdom, strength of will and love. And at times they resonated darkly. Where strength gave way to tyranny, freedom gave way to anarchy, and wisdom gave way to fanaticism.

Then one generation was met with catastrophe. The goddesses chose their champions, but whereas the power was meant for good, the champions fought amongst themselves. The champion of Naryu used his wisdom to make a great kingdom, but it brought war against the champion of Din. As the two champions clashed with armies and kingdoms, the people suffered, demons roamed as Twilight spilled into the land, and the champion of Farore arose with a rebellion.

No one knows who struck the final blow, but in one day the champion of Naryu, the king of Hyrule, died, the champion of Farore, the rebel named Hero, disappeared, and the champion of Din, the Demon of Hyrule, also disappeared. Between the invaders, the defenders, the demons, and the rebels, war ravaged the land, and with all three of their respective leaders gone, Hyrule collapsed on itself. The champions became known as the Spirit of the Wise Tryant, the Spirit of the Rebellious Hero, and the Spirit of the Demonic King.

Since then, the demons disappeared into legend. Hyrule collapsed into a thousand small nations comprised of hundreds of cities and villages. Until one fateful king, King Shorlin of Qin, saw the potential of past legends. He wondered to himself if the three champions at war could destroy a nation what could they do together? So the King went to great expense to track down the three bloodlines and bring them together in Qin.

-Kanyou, Capital of Qin-

Elder finished his story. He sat back and watched as the three processed the information. Zelda already knew much of it, and while Ganon was familiar with parts of it, it was lacking. Link had never heard of any of it.

"Whoa," Link whispered.

"That is one way to put it." Zelda acknowledged.

"So this birthmark makes me some kind of badass or something?" Link looked at his hand in awe.

Elder answered, "It means you are destined for greatness. Whether it is great good, great evil, or great waste of potential is up to you. But the Goddesses have their eyes on you."

Link and Zelda discussed the matter, but Ganon was quiet. He gazed at his hand with his brows furrowed. It troubled him, what he heard. It was nothing like what his mother's taught him. They had taught him of oppression and injustice dealt to their peoples, but nothing as far back as the Elder spoke.

And the demons...

Was there a connection between the Dragmire, the demons, the Twilight, and others things Elder mentioned? He had thought the Dragmire to worship Din, but his fellow Dragmire said they had turned 'back' to demons. To turn back to demons implies they once worked with demons.

The demons that plagued Hyrule.

The war with Hyrule.

The Spirit of the Demon.

If King Shorlin had brought the bloodline of the Spirit of the Demon to Qin...

Ganondorf closed his eyes and sighed. "I see."

"Does this trouble you?" Zelda asked.

Ganon narrowed his eyes in thought. He rose from his chair and looked into the Fae Grove. "Deeply. For the Twilight and demons to be connected is known to me, but I have recently come to learn the Dragmire have a connection to demons I did not know of. I use shadow, fire, and some twilight power. I was raised to use Din fire and Twilight. But demons? I heard the reason for the persecution against my people was because they turned to demons."

Ganondorf looked at his palm as he clenched and relaxed his fist. He felt so much anger boiled inside. It was something he learned to control, but he felt there was something here he was still missing. Was he angry because of the death of his people? Was he angry because his clan had worshipped demons? Was he simply angry because it was his upbringing?

Elder took Link's shoulder and said, "Link, there is a power resting inside you. Something deep and powerful. Once you figure out how to use it, you will be a step closer to your destiny."

"My destiny. What would that be?" Link gulped.

"What you choose for it to be."

"A lot of help that is!" He said sarcastically. "Didn't you say you would help us train?"

"I didn't say I would help you train. The others learned to use their power in their own way. The journey you take to learn yours is what will shape it to be what it will become."

Zelda watched Ganon. The man was deep in thought, and so far as Link went he wasn't the brightest. Zelda had understood, grasped, and welcomed the knowledge provided by the Fae; but the black man seemed unsettled and Link would need time. "Elder Fae. Thank you for the lesson, but I think it is enough for now. There is much for us to consider and meditate on."

The three parted and went their own way. Ganon found a balcony and meditated under the sun, considering all he had learned in recent times.

He recognized that his would-be cousin, and the Elder Fae, were not lying to him. Yet he still felt something was not right. Perhaps it was he who was not right, in resisting what he had learned. Perhaps he needed to hear it from someone who was a Dragmire and was old enough to be involved, or perhaps someone who knew their past.

Zelda was settled in herself already with what she knew and attended to business around the palace as normal. The immediate arrangement was to return life to normal with the return of holiday that had been ignored in the chaos. So Zelda sat at her desk and reviewed an endless stream of letters, statements, statistics, and notifications with a few requests sprinkled in. The only thing that unnerved Zelda was how widely her servant was smiling. For a concubine and servant, Sarah was generally a happy girl and was completely normal in every way. But there was something unnerving about just how widely she was smiling. To make it even worse the girl was getting bouncy and looked like she was going to explode in fits and giggles. It was making her very hard for Zelda to focus on her work.

Sarah toppled over Andim's pole, making the hawkling squawk angrily and fly to another perch. Zelda eyed the servant as her smile turned apologetic. While Zelda liked seeing her in a good mood, it was annoying when she was trying to focus, and so she couldn't keep all of the ice from her gaze.

"What is it?" Zelda questioned. She put down her quill and focused on the girl that was proving impossible to ignore. "It is good to see you happy, but I have yet to see your happiness so bright. What is it that you are desperately wanting to say or do? Surely you have something to say."

"I'm just happy because you are."

"Come again?"

"Those two back there... they are the first people I have seen you open up to. I mean..." Sarah searched for the words. "You respect your servants in ways other masters do not, as you acknowledge them. You allow me to comfort you in your private space and private times. You are open to opinions and thought in court. But despite it, there is a constant feeling of detachment. You keep everyone in their place, and perhaps I may be close, but that is because it is my job to be. You haven't opened to me, trusted me, or simply liked me because you wanted to from the start and perhaps you do not fully trust me either. But today I saw you simply normal." Sarah laughed. "I didn't think you trusted anyone enough to truly be a friend."

"Friend," Zelda repeated the word. She blushed at the praising and empathetic joy her servant proclaimed. "Perhaps we are drawn together and perhaps I can call Link a fair-weather friend. For the chieftain, I would call him an ally. But even so, that is because we have very differing ideas of friends."

"What do you mean?"

"To me, a true friend is someone you can trust with your thoughts and feelings. Someone you can cry with or laugh with. Someone who you can expose your naked back to without the slightest sense they will stab you in it." Zelda said. "Someone who will never fail you."

"That's right."

"Then I have none. At most, I might still have one."

Sarah frowned. "What?"

"They are with me because it benefits them. Link wants a soldier's career. Lord Dragmire is a king in his own right, and as such MUST choose his people over me. The Elder Fae wishes to help me, but he is also a king with a responsibility to his people. Ryo gave me lessons but is using me as a puppet figurehead. Abhdan has a great interest in my learning as a good teacher would, but serves Ryo first and foremost. General Ouki is chaotically unreliable and reliable at once, making him difficult to figure out. I wish to believe he would choose to serve me over all others, as his gesture of support and loyalty would convey, but he is whimsical in the extreme. Dear Impa who brought me here, and has been by my side, she left me behind to tend to her clan as Shadowmaster. I hold no grudge or malice towards her, but it shows where her responsibility lies. So long as she is Shadowmaster her responsibility is divided in regards to me just as much as all the others."

Sarah's joy fell as Zelda spoke. It was honest, and in that she appreciated it, but the coldness of it chilled her. She grew sad.

Zelda turned her sharpness on Sarah. "And you... You are right to say I do not fully trust you, though you see more sides of me than most others."

"That's harsh."

"That's reality. You do not serve me, Sarah, though I wish you did. You serve the Royal Harem. And you know who runs it?"

Sarah nodded. She knew. Zelda had conveyed her relationship with that person before. Zelda was right. It was impossible for her to truly trust the servant so long as she served the Royal Harem.

Sarah's eyes welled with tears until they poured down. Seeing Sarah's tears, Zelda stepped back from the bluntness she was used to having and briefly hugged the girl. "Do not take it personally, Sarah. I like you. You are a good person. What I trust is that whatever you choose, it is for goodness. It is not the same as choosing me. It is the same for everyone I know. They have choices they must make, and it is to their people, their family, and their loved ones that they choose. They may even choose to help the princess, but they do so by choosing the kingdom of Qin. I am Heir Apparent to them, not Zelda. To them I am a symbol, not a person. I am sorry if my belief hurts you, I do not mean to injure."

"I am not hurt, princess. Just sad." Sarah sniffled. "It sounds so lonely."

Zelda looked down, considering the word. In the end, she shrugged. "I have never recalled being lonely."

"And that is what hurts the most."

Zelda looked sharply at the servant, but Sarah did not seem to wish to say anymore. The statement was short and sweet but cut through Zelda deeply into areas she was uncomfortable with.

Seeing the icy glare return, Sarah bowed and left Zelda alone to work. Zelda watched the girl leave. She sighed in resignation. It was a conversation Zelda had not wished to have, but it was for the girl's own good.

"She is better off not getting attached. My hands are covered in blood as it is, and that is not to stop any time soon. I'm not as good as she thinks I am."