Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

Zant's War - Dragmire's Curse

-Joket, Ganondorf Dragmire-

Ganon allowed himself to be led by the young girl, Malon. The girl's bright red hair drew his curiosity, because it was unlike any other Qin he had seen. He thought she might be a breed of Majora, but she used speech that showed she saw herself as separate from them. It seemed he would get no answers until she related that her mother had hair similar to them as well.

Ganon looked up at the sign on the door Malon lead him to.

"Lon Lon Ranch." He read the Qin letters. "But this is not a farm."

"Yeah, but we sell stuff from the Lon farm!" She explained. She used a key she kept tied around her neck to open the door and ushered him in. She called, "Momma! Papa! I brought a friend!"

Ganon shut the door as he entered and looked around. It looked like a modest pub closed for the night. It had your typical chairs, tables, and fireplace for guests. It had the usual cabinets for drinks and a bar which the worker would stand behind. A door next to the bar opened and out came a very large man.

The man didn't say anything, merely took Malon by the hand and ushered her up to the living area.

"Don't let her off that easy! She knows she shouldn't be out at dark!" A female voice exclaimed from the stairs. "And what pet did she adopt this time? Another snail? A worm?"

Malon smiled apologetically. The woman descended the stairs ready to give motherly fury and love at once, only to stop at the sight of Ganon. He was very much not some pet the girl picked up. He had bright red hair that almost glowed in the darkness. In like manner, her red hair was like small flames down her back, and her eyes were like burning coals.

"Malon, dear, go upstairs. Do not come down." The woman said tensely. Her eyes did not leave Ganon.

"But-"

"Go!" The woman snapped. Surprised by her sudden tone, Malon teared up but obediently ran up the stairs. The man followed her up. Ganon sighed.

"You are not in danger. I mean no harm to her nor you nor your man." Ganon said. "Your protectiveness is unnecessary."

"I'll be the judge of that."

Ganon raised an eyebrow as the woman took a protective stance. He could easily take her by the neck and snap it, or physically restrain her against the door, or he could also walk away; but he found none of these options good. He was determined to quench his curiosity and being hostile would only make it worse.

He removed his customary blades and placed them against the wall. He removed his clawed gauntlets and placed them on the bar. He put his hands up.

"Better? I'm only searching for answers, and I have the authority to them, as I own this city. I do not need to be nice about this."

"And I'm a mother. I'm required not to be." She smiled. She took the gauntlets and put them far away from him. "Somewhat better... But stay back." She took a long knife from under the counter and placed it next to her.

"What have I done to wrong you? What justifies this aggression?"

She scoffed. "That's a stupid question."

Now Ganon was getting annoyed. "Then answer me this and I will leave you be. Why do you and your daughter have hair like mine?"

This question stunned her. Her hostile eyes turned wide. The aggression melted away somewhat. "Yo-you don't know? Lord Dragmire... I am Kuroko Dragmire. I too am a Dragmire."

-Kanyou, Zelda and Elder-

"Ah, Ouki Mitagi. Now that is a name I have not heard in a time." Elder mused with a nostalgic smile. "So he is still alive then? I could have sworn he would have gone and gotten himself killed by now."

"So you know him, then?"

"Yes. Well... Once. I mostly know him by reputation. I met him once in the company of King Shorlin, and if any of us were loyal it was Ouki most of all. He worshipped the ground your great grandfather walked on. If you hope to gain his loyalty then you have a hard goal before you if you mean to overcome Shorlin's shadow."

Seeing Zelda get visibly aggravated, Elder smiled. "Or perhaps your goal will be easy. Ouki was always whimsical. He got along well with the Majora and Dragmire and other tribes for his barbaric nature, and he shared a fanatical loyalty with the Sheikah. Never shared much in common with regular Qin, and after King Aou betrayed us I never heard from Ouki again."

Zelda hummed uncommittedly and continued to engage in her meal. Her times in the Fae Grove were the few moments she had in peace. She was starting to see what Elder meant when he said Shorlin regularly visited. It was... a balm for the soul.

Elder was content to sit and be in her company in whatever elemental form he chose to take this time. Sometimes it was a man of water, sometimes wood, sometimes earth. He had not been idle either, Zelda could see the garden had changed. It was a very subtle change, but it seemed to make the former palace garden glow in a relaxing beauty, like pieces of a puzzle slowly coming into place. The water that once was shallow had become deeper and a faint glow from its depth showed the beginning of minute structures.

"Then it should help me if I show him I seek to restore the friendships, and develop stronger ones." Zelda thought out loud.

Elder nodded. "It would be a point in your favor."

Now that Zelda thought about it, it was... odd. It was almost too easy. Before she had struggled to achieve the slightest thing, now, after she had met Midna, everything was falling into place at her feet. The Fae, the Majora, the throne, and now Ouki Mitagi?

"Something wrong, princess?"

"Not wrong, just worrying. Everything is going well. Too well."

"You think that wrong?"

"Spend long enough in the same room as Chancellor Ryo, and you will learn what it is like to question every gift. I do not think it wrong that things have gone my way, but I can't help but feel karma will swing against me once more."

Elder stared at her a moment. "Daughter of Naryu, I know this caution in which you have, but I also caution you against being overly cautious. It can lead to a lack of faith and paranoia. Let me tell you... I do not see this as anything to resist or be wary of, but embraced as destiny."

"Destiny?" Zelda questioned skeptically.

Elder smiled. "Yes. Destiny. Tell me, princess. Did the Dragmire, Sheikah, and Mitagi originate in Qin?" Zelda considered it, but could come to no answer. Elder answered his question, "They did not. Few of the people King Shorlin recruited originated in Qin, but were formerly scattered all across the lands of Hyrule... and he sought them out and brought them to Qin. His peers called it madness to go to such lengths for only a few clans, scattered ones at that. Why go to such lengths for clans so far when you can recruit ones that are near with less effort? The reason was he believed in destiny. Or rather, shaping destiny."

"'Shaping destiny'. An interesting ideal. I prefer it over the ideal that we hold no control over destiny."

Elder chuckled. "As did he. He would call it forcing the 'hand of fate', the 'goddesses hand', and such dribble."

"What is so special about them though? I do not deny his gamble worked, but to say it was about destiny makes it something greater than just a mere gamble."

"A gamble is precisely what it was." Elder corrected. "You see, Shorlin believed in bloodlines. He claimed he was the bloodline of the last King of Hyrule."

"Every king claims that."

"Of course. But then they might be right. If all kings carry that bloodline, then they are all right. If only one does, then the rest are wrong. But that is beside the point. The point is Shorlin was doing it as part of a plan to shape destiny. Because he believed in the Goddesses. He hoped that by bringing the bloodlines together he could create something... unstoppable. Something to make whole that which had been broken."

Elder extended his hand and gently took Zelda's hand. He turned it over so the three triangles showed themselves. "Your great-grandfather believed Qin's royal family, and the Sheikah, was of the bloodline of Hyrule's King. In like manner, he believed the Mitagi was of the bloodline of Hyrule's Champion. And in like manner, he believed the Dragmire was of the bloodline of Hyrule's Demon."