Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

Ryo's War - 300-man Unit

-Road to Genyuu Pass-

The air was much lighter on the day following the festivities. Zelda felt what animosity there was between Ganondorf Dragmire and Geoffrey Mitagi had been bridged for the most part. Their past actions may never truly go away, as it was not the nature of man to forget nor forgive, but Zelda hoped they would not surface again. Both men had taken a step in the right direction, and in it she sensed there was a hint to the answer of a question she had long been struggling with. A question Ganondorf forced to her attention:

'You think it enough to erase all borders?' He had said early in their relationship. 'You think it enough to unite the kingdoms? Even if you do so, what is there to unite people whose cultures and way of thinking are inherently different?'

For some, Zelda deduced, perhaps it was to act as children do. She did not mean their traits of immaturity and insolence, but rather their willingness to embrace others, naive to their own safety and security. Unfortunately, this was impractical. Few adults lived this way because they developed Man's nature to not forgive and understand each other. That nature then led to a callous willingness to harm others to increase their own prosperity. Attacking others also created a higher need for self-preservation that only strengthened the walls between them.

Heightened acceptance leads to a lack of security, while heightened security leads to a lack of acceptance. If one considered outsiders a threat, security would naturally be one's inclination, and the same would be said in reverse. Unfortunately, Zelda knew, in this era of endless war, nobody perceived anyone as anything but a threat.

Zelda sighed and forced herself away from her dismal thoughts. They would be things she would ponder for many years before her reunification war could even begin. She first needed to survive to that point and with a kingdom capable of defeating six others, none of which easy if Qin continued to bleed.

Before long, the Great Wall of Genyuu Pass towered before Zelda's carriages, and she and her party entered its gates. Along with her on her return to the capital was the Majoran ambassadors, Ganondorf, Link, her royal guard, and additional guards from Mitagi. Geoffrey had stayed behind to continue the repair work on the fortress, and he planned a march to the border in a show of strength afterwards.

"It really had been a nice ride through the country up 'til now," Zelda commented sourly.

Beside her carriage, Ganondorf rode on a horse leisurely. "This land is bigger than I would have imagined. I considered Qin incredible just seeing it from the mountains to this wall, but to see it go on as far as the eye can see... It is like an ocean of grass. Makes me wish to run and see if I could ever reach the ends of it."

Zelda smiled. From his soft tone, she gathered that he enjoyed the ride. "Just imagine: for thousands of years, the three of us have fought on it over and over in an endless cycle, and if we do not fix it, we may end up cycling through until the end of time. We may cycle until this same land is covered in ocean and fire... and we sink together in the depths of our own madness to become nothing more than an endless dance."

Ganondorf showed nothing in response. After their brief talk, the trip carried on leisurely. Malon rode with Nabooru and sang a riding song with the Majora. Link snored atop a carriage, having finally passed out after days of little rest.

"Neat," Ganondorf finally said.

Zelda chuckled. She had been contemplative and retrospective about their fate, and the only conclusion was that it was 'neat.'

"With how Link antagonizes you, I bet you two bickered the most in our past lives," Zelda added.

"That is one way of putting it," Ganondorf replied. "He is... unusually attached. It is as if he enjoys having his face beaten in."