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The Gerudo palace… Seldie stared up at it in awe; the palace towered over the rest of the town, with a pair of tapestries draped over the front wall, blue tiling and engravings decorating around the entrance, and beautiful curtains hanging just inside. Several glistening waterfalls trickled down from high above, seemingly the miraculous source of all the water that flowed through channels around the town. This settlement was truly an oasis in the middle of the vast, harsh desert, Seldie thought, and a most welcome break from the relentless heat of the sun.
Seldie made to go inside, but hesitated for a moment. As a Hylian in Gerudo Town, she already felt a bit out of place. She didn’t know the local customs, or what the rules were—other than the banning of all men aside from the king. But it was such a trek to get here, and Seldie didn’t want to waste this opportunity to experience something that no one else in her life had. She was going to do it, she told herself, and when she returned home, she would have the best stories to share with everyone. Heading inside, Seldie gingerly set foot into the throne room. She paused to admire the room at first, so it took a few seconds for her gaze to drift towards the throne itself, and onto its occupant. By the Goddesses… the Gerudo king himself! She was really going to meet him! But then second thoughts suddenly hit her. Was she even allowed to be in here? The guards outside didn’t stop her, but to be in the king’s presence, without prior permission…
The king—Ganondorf, if she remembered correctly—laid eyes on her only a moment later.
“I-I'm so sorry, I was just curious!” Seldie frantically explained. “If I’m not meant to be in here…” she trailed off, her heart pounding.
“No, you’re alright,” Ganondorf said, sitting up a little straighter to speak with her. “I presume this is your first time visiting Gerudo Town?”
Seldie nodded meekly. Hylia, she must look like a complete idiot right now.
“Then let me assure you that you are quite welcome. So long as the palace entrance is open, I am always accepting visitors. The upper floor is off-limits, but otherwise, you are free to explore.”
Selfie relaxed a little at Ganondorf's words, and went for a wander around the throne room now that she had permission, admiring all that there was to see. Almost everything bore the same symbol that she’d kept seeing all around the town; the Gerudo crest, she supposed. Long red carpets lined the path from one side entrance to the other and from the main one to the throne. Delicate waterways decorated with fine stone tiling sparkled up from the floor, and looking upwards, several patterned cloths hung from the ceiling. The pair of columns toward the back of the room were engraved with Gerudo writing, and the front pair were wrapped with more cloth, along with possibly the most enormous gemstones that Seldie had ever seen. There was no doubt that royalty lived here, and lived in luxury. Seldie briefly wondered what the inscriptions on the columns said. But as she explored, she became increasingly wary of the king’s gaze following her around; she was the only guest in the palace at that moment, so all of his attention was on her. Seldie felt compelled to approach him, so she mustered her courage before stepping up to the throne to talk to him. She’d had a question on her mind ever since she first saw him, anyway.
As she approached, she noticed a pedestal beside the throne, also decorated with an inscription that she couldn’t read. The pedestal held a magnificent golden helm; obviously something important, Seldie thought, and then turned her attention to Ganondorf as she neared the top of the stairs. He was draped in fine silks and gold jewellery, and his authority was palpable , his mere presence commanding respect. Seldie felt a whole new kind of anxiety now as she got closer. But she didn’t dare to get too close, not when the soldier standing by Ganondorf’s side shot her a glare.
“This place is beautiful. Thank you for letting me in,” she said to Ganondorf, praying that her nerves weren’t showing too badly. “Uh, my name is Seldie,” she added, in the hopes of making conversation with him.
“Sav'aaq, Seldie. You are from Lurelin Village, correct?” Ganondorf asked.
Seldie gave a quick nod. “Mhm, how could you tell?” she asked, a bit surprised.
“Mostly by your clothing, but you also have a very subtle accent. Your fellow Hylians may not notice it, but as a non-native speaker of your language, the differences are quite apparent to me. But you must be here talking to me for a reason; what do you need?”
"Oh, um, there’s something I wanted to ask you, if you don't mind. But I'm afraid that it might not be a very appropriate thing to ask..." Seldie nervously explained. Talking to the Gerudo king was a big deal, and she really, really didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of someone so important. Or worse, offend him.
"I doubt it could be so inappropriate that I would not at least be able to answer it, though I applaud your bravery in approaching me regardless,” Ganondorf said. “Please, go ahead."
"I'm just curious if what everyone says is true... Are you really the only male Gerudo?" she asked, genuinely.
Ganondorf chuckled, and a pang of anxiety hit Seldie. Oh Hylia, did she mess up? Was he laughing at her?
“Yes, it’s true. I get asked this far more frequently than you might think,” Ganondorf said before standing up from the throne. “Come, walk with me. I will explain.”
Relief washed over Seldie at the realisation that she hadn’t messed up, but as Ganondorf passed her, she quickly tried to stop him. “W-wait, you don’t have to do that! I don’t want to be an imposition…”
“Today has been slow, and I need to stretch my legs anyway. Come on,” Ganondorf said and kept walking, and Seldie quickly caught up to him as he headed towards the front entrance of the palace.
Seldie followed him outside and down into the market. It was fairly busy right now, with both the resident Gerudo and an assortment of visitors from all across Hyrule bustling around the streets. She might have felt out of place, but that wasn’t to say she was the only Hylian there. Around her, she could see a number of others of her kind, as well as at least a couple of Rito, and—wait, were those Gorons? How in Hylia’s name did they get in here? Oh, whatever, it wasn’t her problem. Enforcing the rules was the Gerudo soldiers’ duty. As they passed by the market stalls, Seldie was reminded of the mental list she had made earlier of some of the shops and other things she wanted to check out while she was here in the town. The food here looked exquisite, and that luxury spa plan sounded awfully tempting. Journeying all the way from Lurelin Village was an exhausting ordeal; she could really use a good meal and some relaxation before she ventured halfway across Hyrule again. But the jewellery store, in particular, looked like somewhere she could easily spend a lot of money. Perhaps she ought to pick up some souvenirs to take back home with her, and maybe a gift for her wife. Come to think of it, Ganondorf was wearing an awful lot of jewels himself. From head to toe, he was practically dripping with gold and gemstones. It certainly made him look majestic. And very, very wealthy.
“It’s weird walking next to you,” Seldie began, looking—Goddesses, she actually had to look up at him. “I feel so… tiny.”
“That’s not an uncommon feeling for Hylian travellers here in the town,” Ganondorf replied, sounding somewhat amused.
That didn’t surprise Seldie one bit. Ganondorf towered over her, an absolute mountain of a man. His shoulders were probably twice the width of hers, and Hylia, those biceps. But the Gerudo women all around them were just as magnificent, if not more so, at least to Seldie. The dancers had particularly caught her eye earlier, especially the one who seemed to be the leader of the troupe—oh, she’d had some delightful curves. If Seldie weren’t already taken, she would have been in paradise right now as she and Ganondorf headed down the middle of the market. But there was one thing putting her off her enjoyment of the scenery…
Seldie had felt a pair of sharp eyes trained on her the whole time she and Ganondorf had been walking together. She glanced back at the Gerudo soldier who had been trailing silently behind them since they left the palace - the one who was standing by the throne earlier - and then quickly looked forward again, away from that piercing gaze.
“Don’t mind Buliara,” Ganondorf said. “As my personal guard, it is her duty to accompany me at all times.”
That made sense, Seldie thought. Buliara certainly was quite intimidating. It must have made her very good at her job; any would-be attackers would probably be scared off just looking at her, if they even managed to get that close to Ganondorf at all.
“Now, to fully answer your question,” Ganondorf continued. “Most assume that we Gerudo are a race comprised entirely of vai, and from the outside, it would certainly appear that way. In reality, we are host to a biological ‘quirk’ of sorts that causes only a single voe to be born to our people approximately every one hundred years. Naturally, there are always some Gerudo who desire each other, but most will marry outside of our race, usually to Hylians, and go on to have vehvis. But when a voe is born, Gerudo tradition dictates that he be crowned king and become the leader of our race when he comes of age, hence the title currently belonging to me.”
“That’s so weird—you’re literally the only one of your kind! Or, well, I guess it’s not weird to you.” Seldie quickly tried to reel herself in a bit. “So, uh, how long have you been the king for?”
“Just under five years; I was crowned at twenty-one, as is tradition,” Ganondorf replied.
“You’re only twenty-six? You’re younger than me!” Seldie exclaimed in surprise. “So then, what about the Gerudo champion, Urbosa? Wasn’t she your leader before the Calamity?”
“Yes, she was—and a formidable one, at that. If there is no king currently on the throne, a Gerudo vai will take on the role of chief and lead just as a king would. Who this person will be is usually chosen by the late king before his death; almost always his eldest vehvi, if he has one, or another close relative. But on the rare occasion that no one is selected for the role prior to the need for a chief, a series of combat trials will take place. Those who believe themselves capable of leading the Gerudo attempt to prove their superiority over the other competitors, and the victor then claims her new title. Once a chief is in place, the title is passed on through the bloodline until a new king arises to take the throne,” Ganondorf explained as the two of them turned a corner away from the market, continuing to wander the town as they talked.
“But if Gerudo leaders are only ever kings or chiefs, then—wait, you’re not married, right?” Seldie asked, her curiosity piqued.
“No.”
“So what if you did get married? Say you had a wife, wouldn’t she be your queen consort?”
“If I were a Hylian, then yes. But Gerudo royalty isn’t quite the same,” Ganondorf said. “‘Queen consort’ wouldn’t be incorrect as such, but typically, the spouse of a Gerudo leader does not receive any formal titles upon being wed. They would still be referred to with the appropriate level of respect, however. So if I were to take a wife, her name would always be preceded by ‘Lady’.”
“Huh. And I guess it would be ‘Lord’ if you had a husband?”
Ganondorf didn’t reply, merely looking down at her and silently raising an eyebrow, apparently rather unimpressed at what she was insinuating.
Seldie recoiled a bit. “Oh, r-right, of course. No other men here,” she stammered. Hylia, how did she not remember that?
Ganondorf cleared his throat. “ In theory , yes, ‘Lord’ would be correct.”
Another question occurred to Seldie, and she hesitated. It could be risky, but she’d already come so far… she might as well be brave. “Has… any Gerudo king ever married another man?” she slowly asked.
“Not to my knowledge. If one did, then any records of the marriage were either lost or never existed, though I deem it very unlikely,” Ganondorf replied bluntly.
“Well, a Gerudo king getting married must be a pretty rare event, given how few of you there are. It would make sense for something like that to be well-documented. So, uh, yeah, you’re probably right.”
The silence that fell over them was rather tense, and Seldie got the sense that that was a bad topic to bring up around Ganondorf. It had obviously made him uncomfortable, but why, she wondered. He had just mentioned earlier that there were some Gerudo women who were attracted to each other, so obviously the Gerudo as a people were fairly enlightened about that sort of thing. That couldn’t be it. Wait… was he gay? No, no, she shouldn’t let her mind wander too much. Whatever the answer, it really wasn’t her business. Seldie quickly came up with something else they could talk about, but Goddesses, being attracted to men in a town full of no one but women sounded like it would be torture.
“Since there’s one Gerudo man born every century, the last one must have been around until fairly recently, right? What was he like?” she asked.
“He should have been around until fairly recently,” Ganondorf corrected, and took a breath before starting to explain. “The time between the death of one Gerudo voe and the birth of another is typically only a few decades, but fate apparently had other plans for my predecessor. He was born not too long before the Calamity struck Hyrule, and was set to eventually replace Lady Urbosa. But once the dust settled, he was nowhere to be found. It is widely believed that he was assassinated by the Yiga Clan, who took the opportunity while most people were distracted by the attacking Calamity to eliminate the future king while he was still a child. Neither his body nor any evidence of his fate was ever found, so we may never know for certain, though I am strongly inclined to believe it is true, as I have very nearly lost my life in the same way on multiple occasions.”
“He never even got to be king at all…” Seldie said softly. “What was his name?”
“Tulanir. There are none still alive who remember him, but many stories have been passed down over the past hundred years. They say he was a very sweet child, whose heart held nothing but kindness for those around him. It is truly a shame that Gerudo Town was never graced with his rule.”
“Yeah… that’s really sad.” Poor Tulanir, Seldie thought. Hopefully the few years he did have were good ones. “What happened after that?”
“Lady Urbosa ruled until her final moments, after which, a new chief took the throne. The line of chiefs then continued for almost a century until I came of age, and the current chief, Lady Nalaru, willingly stepped aside. Gerudo Town has been under my reign ever since,” Ganondorf said before looking down at Seldie, an amused smile on his face. “Foreign visitors don’t usually take such interest in my people’s past,” he remarked.
Seldie chuckled awkwardly. “I just really like learning about history, especially that of the other peoples of Hyrule. But since I’ve never been here before and I live so far away, I’ve never really had a chance to learn about the Gerudo or your past. This place isn’t exactly easy to get to,” she bashfully explained.
“Inexperienced travellers often find the desert challenging. We Gerudo are accustomed to it, of course, but your kind tends to struggle upon their first visit,” Ganondorf said. “If you find history so fascinating, you might be interested to know that Tulanir is actually a distant relative of mine.”
“Really?”
“It’s not uncommon knowledge amongst the Gerudo. I am a direct descendant of his younger sister, Lasiera.”
“That must be really rare too!” Seldie said in wonder. Hylia, what were the chances?
“Indeed. Even more so is for a Gerudo king to be a direct descendant of the previous king himself, but it’s not unheard of, especially since we are often encouraged to have many children.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s pretty important to make sure you have an heir.”
“That is part of the reason, yes. But it’s also because we are in the unique position of being able to give the Gerudo—as much as I despise this term—their only ‘full-blooded’ children. It is a rather… archaic view, but some do still hold it,” Ganondorf explained.
Seldie wouldn’t want to be under that kind of pressure either, she thought, and that way of thinking would make Ganondorf himself only ‘half-blooded’. His disdain for the idea was quite understandable.
“Do you think you will ever have kids, though?” she asked curiously.
“No. Though others have tried to convince me otherwise in the past, I cannot see myself ever having children of my own. I am simply not father material. In any case, attempting to rule my people and care for a family at the same time would be exceedingly difficult.”
“Gerudo Kings of the past managed to do it,” Seldie remarked.
“True, but as rare as Gerudo voe are, we are no less unique than the vai. All of us are different, and passing the throne to my children is one tradition that I am quite willing to break.”
Before either of them could say anything else, they came to a stop as another Gerudo approached Ganondorf, one of the ones Seldie had seen in the palace earlier. Perhaps a servant of some kind? She spoke with Ganondorf in Gerudo, so Seldie couldn’t understand a word of it, but she was evidently delivering a message for Ganondorf. They seemed to reach an agreement, and Ganondorf dismissed her.
He then turned to Seldie. “I have business to attend to, so I’m afraid I will have to cut our conversation short.”
“Oh, you go on, don’t let me keep you! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, though; I can’t imagine that every traveller gets this kind of special treatment from the king. It’s really an honour,” she quickly explained, not wanting to take up too much more of his time. He’d already dedicated far longer to their chat than she expected. “Next time I come, I’ll have to bring my wife along with me. She’d love it here.”
“About three weeks from now would be an excellent time for it. The town will be holding a festival to celebrate a special occasion, and it’s going to be quite the party.”
“What are you celebrating?” Seldie asked.
“The anniversary of my coronation. It’s mostly celebrated by Gerudo, but outsiders are welcome to participate,” Ganondorf explained. “In the meantime, please, explore the town thoroughly. My people have a great deal to offer.”
“I will—thank you again!” Seldie said with a big smile, and waved goodbye to him as they parted ways.
Ganondorf and Buliara began heading back towards the palace, while Seldie excitedly decided to go hit up some of the shops in the market and find some nice trinkets to take home to her wife, along with the proposal that they both come here again in a few weeks. She wasn’t planning on returning to Gerudo Town so soon after this trip, but if she’d be missing out on something as big, and rare , as this festival… well, Seldie didn’t want to have to wait an entire year for the next opportunity. It sounded like too good of a time to pass up. Besides, she couldn’t wait to tell her wife about getting to chat so casually with the Gerudo king of all people. Maybe Seldie would even introduce her to Ganondorf personally at the festival. Seldie giggled softly to herself as she headed for the jewellery store. Oh, the look on her wife’s face would be priceless!