Dawn of a New Era.

Pain.

Ghirahim lay face down, collapsed in the dirt. Pain shredded through him when he breathed. He was immobile for a few hours until he mustered up enough strength to roll onto his back. There he stayed, completely defenseless and in crippling pain. Then it started raining.

And Ghirahim saw the fuzzy outline of a man.

*??? POV*

I looked down at the demon lying in the mud. And sighed. "Stupid. You could've died." I saw him flinch and he whimpered. Seems like he recognised me as his master. At least I didn't have to tell him. I crouched down and looked him over.

His body was polished obsidian, streaked with white diamond patterns, and darker, more subtle diamonds. His white hair, muddied by the wet earth, was pulled up above his head. And elevated in center of his chest, framed by steel, was a massive pinky-red diamond, the surface of which was spiderwebbed with thin, shallow cracks that covered the entirety of it. His glazed over eyes were a stark white. At his peak, he would be a mighty warrior. Now? Completely defenceless.

I sighed and lifted him into my arms, careful not to touch the gem. He was limp, either in too much pain or drained of energy. Probably a mix of both. Taking great care, I carried him back to the cave, drying him off the best I could. I didn't know if he could get rusty, but I didn't want to chance it.

I led him near the fire, careful not to bring him too close, and just barely brushed the gem, transferring some of my energy to him. He groaned and the diamond lit up from within.

*Ghirahim's POV*

Ghirahim groaned as a rush of energy flowed through him. He felt someone put him into a sitting position, back against a wall, and his eyes snapped open, focusing on a large, red haired man. Gerudo. The realisation hit him like a ton of rocks. He was their king. And Ghirahim was bound to him.

Ghirahim swallowed. He inclined his head in a bow, stomach twisting. His core had a few flecks of white in it now. Fear. The last person he was bound to was also a king. And that king hurt. Hurt bad. So what would this one do to him?

******

Zant watched Link struggling to stay awake. It was quite amusing. The little hero would fall forward for half a second, eyes closing, before jerking back up and repeating the process. Although Zant couldn't really blame him, wanting to strategize and plan, or get in a fight himself. He looked at the paper in front of him, beginning to doodle idly whilst Queen Zelda talked to people about their troubles. He was a tactician, not a people person.

Curve there, point there. Zant saw a shape in his doodle and began to refine it, morphing it to an image in his mind's eye. Flick there, arch here. He wasn't half bad at drawing, it being one of the many therapeutic techniques he had. Hard part. And there it was. The dragon he had seen a few weeks prior.  He didn't know its origin.

His head snapped up when he heard his name. "Zant? Could you contact Ganondorf and ask him how long he is going to take please?"

"Of course, my queen." He rose and bowed, quickly walking out. He closed the door and leant against it, closing his bulbous eyes and searching for Ganondorf's mind. It didn't take him long, Ganondorf's mind energy being huge.

My king? The queen wants to know how long you will be.

A week at most. Ask Link if he has encountered a male sword demon with a diamond in his chest if you please. Tell me the answer.

Of course, King Ganondorf. He severed the mind link and opened the door again. "King Link? May I have a word?" The young king looked up startled and walked outside with him, tilting his head in a questioning way. Link was mute, but they got around it with sign and body language. Zant inhaled before speaking. "King Ganondorf wants me to ask you if you have encountered a male sword demon with a diamond in his chest."

Link nodded. 'I fought one once. He was allied with Demise.'

Sir? He said he has.

Ask him what his name was.

"Link? What was his name?" Link held up two fingers then got a piece of paper from the other room. He wrote a name on the page.

Sir? He said he was called Ghirahim.