Chapter Text
Centuries of relative peace followed the construction of the Temple of Time, but the people were slow to forget the horrors that had come during the breaking of the great empire.
In time, the crown sought to re-establish the old order – to better protect the kingdom’s security.
Small conflicts would rise and fall as the realm grew larger and re-established dominance over greater portions of the continent, but by-and-large, the sealing of the Triforce had stopped the great wars.
Through trade and military alliances, Hylian influence rose again in Akkala, Necluda, and Faron. Eventually, all three would be gathered together under the Royal Family's banner - as provinces of "Greater Hyrule." Hebra and Tabantha too were easily taken – as their populations had been decimated in the war and were slow to recover.
Though these regions were inhabited by Hylian-kin, the people of “the little kingdoms” did not wish to surrender their sovereignty over to the central elite; yet remained powerless on their own. So, they were forced to accept the royal family’s authority, for the time being.
The desert wasteland to the south-west, however, proved to be much more resistant to Hylian interests.
It remained inhabited by a far-removed tribe of humans, who called themselves "The Gerudo." These Gerudo had lived outside of the Goddess' realm and under the blistering sun for so long, that their skin had darkened considerably and their once proud Hylian ears had become stunted and curved.
Secluded in the harsh desert, these warriors had turned their backs upon the teachings of her grace and began to worship “The goddess of the sand.” They adopted strange rituals and even experimented with sinister magics in a vain attempt to grow powerful without Hylia’s blessing.
During the chaos of the great war, the Gerudo had been the first to seek out the power of the Triforce; hoping to use its might to change their desert wasteland into a fertile paradise.
After the relic was sealed in the sacred realm, they bitterly returned to their desert exile in defeat and struggled to survive without the Hylians’ assistance. Once the consolidation of "The Greater Kingdom" became apparent, the Gerudo grew fearful that the massive, recovering nation would come to claim them as well.
Indeed, the royal family and the council of wisemen viewed the desert dwellers as a minor threat that needed to be addressed. But, just how they should be dealt with, was difficult to agree upon.
Some chose to view them as the kingdom's "lost children" who should be treated with tenderness and returned to “the family” for their own well-being.
Others still clung to the bitterness of the Gerudo's involvement in the war which destroyed the Temple of Hylia and forced the sealing of the Triforce. They sought the tribe’s subjugation or even… its complete destruction.
When his majesty agreed to consider force as an option and began to prepare his army for a possible conflict, a male child was born to the Gerudo tribe.
Males were exceptionally rare at that time, and tribal myths warned that male heirs would bring great change to their people - if they were allowed to live.
The name of the child’s mother has been lost to time and many of the more foolish even believe that he was not born of a woman at all, but created through foul sorcery.
What is known, however, is that the child was raised by the twin sorceresses Koume and Kotake. They proclaimed the child's name to be: Gannondorf Dragmire, and that upon his coming of age, he should become the chieftain of the tribe.
Many secretly opposed the boy’s ascension being a foregone conclusion as all warriors were required to prove themselves to the elders before being granted authority or power. But the magical abilities of the sorceresses were fearsome, and none would dare to speak openly against them.
Gannondorf's entire youth was devoted to becoming the greatest warrior and the greatest sorcerer the desert tribe had ever known.
Upon his coming of age and ascension to the rank of chieftain, he declared that the Gerudo would never be subservient to the Hylian Crown. Furthermore, they would take what they wished from the Hylians for daring to threaten their sovereignty.
So began the conflict that would spread throughout Greater Hyrule as "The Great Hyrulean Civil War." In the beginning, the invasion focused on the lands and mountain passes immediately adjacent to the desert.
Their first obstacle was a Hylian fortress – built at the mouth of the Gerudo Pass (upon the Hylian side). Originally known as “the Citadel of the Pass” – it was briefly renamed “the Citadel of Aryn” after the noble household that volunteered to garrison it when tensions ran high.
The House of Aryn had been a faithful servant and close ally of the Royal Family for countless generations; family myth holding that they were among the oldest houses in the realm. Their valor and selfless devotion were legendary within the kingdom and none were surprised at the eagerness Lord Aryn showed – to place himself between the Gerudo and his beloved Hyrule.
Though the warriors of his household fought valiantly, the entire garrison was massacred and the fortress was razed by a young Gannondorf. Only a few messengers on horseback managed to escape and warn the kingdom of the coming danger.
Next, the Gerudo pushed into the Manhala & Taobob plains, the Dalite Forest, and even sent raiding parties as far as Satori Mountain, before the Hylians were able to meet them.
For months, the two armies clashed violently with little success. Though the Gerudo were talented warriors and Gannondorf possessed powerful magic, the Hylians were equipped with superior armor and were better supplied for war.
Frustrated with the stalemate, the chieftain now revealed his true cunning. Through spies and emissaries, he was able to secure secret meetings with the provincial leaders of Necluda, Akkala, and Faron - promising independence from Hylian rule, Kingdoms of their own, and great power.
Though many distrusted Gannondorf and suspected ulterior motives; his evil minions were able to tempt them into breaking with Hyrule and establishing their own realms.
While the Hylian people had treated the natives of Greater Hyrule with love and compassion, the Royal Family had refused to allow the regions' prominent leaders to marry into their household and allow their progeny to enter the line of succession for the throne.
Vague allusions were made that the royal bloodline was somehow holy and could not be set aside or diluted with an ‘improper marriage’. Royal matches had to be carefully made and only true-born Hylians could become the consorts of the Prince or Princess. This had fed suspicions that the Central Hylians looked down upon their cousins and considered them to be ‘lesser Hylians.’
The mutinous conspiracies were revealed when the regional governors demanded that the King formally declare one of their sons to be the future consort of his recently born daughter, or else they would declare themselves free and independent kingdoms in their own rights.
His majesty was furious at the ultimatum and flatly refused their demands without a moment’s pause.
The governors expelled the crown’s officers from their realms and beset his garrisons with their own militias.
So, the glorious kingdom of the goddess was forced to withdraw much of its forces from the front line and redirect them to first put down these rebellions and bring the traitors to justice.
Several years of brutal war followed, with much of Greater Hyrule being decimated in the process. Hylian turned against Hylian as men who had once been comrades in arms, now clung to their allegiances to home provinces and slaughtered one another even while in garrison.
Though he had succeeded in destabilizing the vast kingdom, the decisive victory that the desert chieftain sought never materialized. The reserves that the King had left at the Gerudo front shifted and maneuvered skillfully, blocking every attempt he made to break through.
It has also been rumored that the king’s most faithful assassins and spies – the Sheikah – lent much of their power and skills during this time, infiltrating Gannondorf’s war councils and passing the information back to their Hylian brethren.
After nearly a decade of bloodshed, Greater Hyrule was subdued and the throne’s authority reestablished; allowing the full weight of a battle-hardened Hylian Army to be returned and brought down upon the Gerudo.
Swiftly, the king’s knights and heavy infantry smashed into the enemy line and savagely hacked away at Gannondorf’s forces. The scimitars and light arrows of the desert people could do little against their heavy plate, and so the Gerudo were forced backward - toward the pass that led to their realm.
The final battle fell within the shadow of the ruined Citadel of Aryn.
In hours, the entire landscape was consumed in absolute carnage, as fields of mangled and charred bodies were piled high and rivers of blood flowed over the western hills of Hyrule.
The Gerudo desperately thrashed and broke themselves against the shield-wall of the goddess’ faithful - risking everything to now protect their own lands from invasion. Gannondorf himself led charge after charge, casting deadly bolts of black magic and killing scores of the mighty Hylian soldiers.
In the end, the desert tribe was defeated, and their chieftain was taken captive and dragged before the King. The military captains and civil counselors demanded that the criminal be swiftly executed, as only his blood could atone for the countless lives that had been lost and the misery that had been brought upon Greater Hyrule. Also, by displaying his severed head on a pike to the remaining Gerudo, the crown might deter them from any future action against the kingdom.
His majesty saw the wisdom in these arguments, and very much desired to end the challenger’s life. But he had become a cautious leader during the course of this war and forced himself to control his anger - delaying Gannondorf's execution.
Bound and shackled with heavy chains, the ruined man was forced to kneel before the Sovereign of Hyrule and bow his head. The king offered; that if the villainous warrior had any final words that could move the Hylians’ hearts, then he should speak quickly or suffer to be executed at once.
Gannondorf, sharp and cunning, answered that Gerudo males were special creations of the Sand Goddess of the desert and that if any Hylian were to kill one, he would surely bring a curse down upon his house, for all time.
The Hylians roared with laughter at this - as they did not believe in the Gerudo Sand Goddess – and the king shook his head dismissively.
Feeling the shadow of death closing about him, the great thief quickly added that his birth had heralded a time of great change for the Gerudo and that he must have… mistakenly believed that he was meant to lead his people upon a great military conquest. Now, he saw the error of his ways, and knew that his purpose was to lead the Gerudo to a greater peace with the Hylians. Maybe to even return them to the teachings of Hylia one day.
Many today wonder if somehow Gannondorf was able to trick or bewitch our king at that moment, but none now live who could say for certain. Against the wishes of his commanders, the King of Hyrule agreed to allow his prisoner to live.
He would be held prisoner in Hyrule, for a short time, but would be returned to the Gerudo after swearing an oath of fealty and obedience to the crown - and agreeing to provide tribute to the kingdom each year thereafter. Gannondorf was commanded to direct his people to abandon their warlike ways, and to begin adopting Hylian customs.
Eager for any chance to regroup and plan his next attack, he quickly accepted.
Several months of guarded peace followed without incident. The Gerudo abandoned their wartime posture against the Hylians and even allowed their eastern villages to reopen trade with them. The Hylians, eager to pacify their aggressive neighbors and move beyond the terrible bloodshed, welcomed the new markets and promoted open trade with their new ‘friends.’
His majesty even granted special leave for a select few desert traders to move about the kingdom and keep small homes in Hyrule.
Even Gannondorf himself quietly did whatever he was asked to do to satisfy the Hylians. So long as they believed that he was no longer a threat, he would carry enough freedom to seek out his true goal.
He restrained his anger and concealed his powers within, spending much of that first year within Hyrule itself – hosted (or perhaps ‘guarded’) by one loyal king’s man or another, while searching for signs of what he was looking for.
In the fourth year of peace, desert chieftain offered to return to the capitol and reaffirm his oaths to the king, as well as to personally deliver the tribute the Gerudo were preparing to send.
His majesty and the high council were surprised by the offer, but encouraged.
"Perhaps Gannondorf truly means to bring his people back into the fold." they wondered.
The king's daughter, Princess Zelda, urgently pleaded with her father to deny the madman’s request; warning him of dark nightmares and evil omens she had experienced surrounding him. She was certain that his presence in Hyrule would bring ruin.
His majesty dismissed her as a superstitious child however, and granted Gannondorf leave to approach the capital.