IT WASN'T a grand dwelling. The shapes and curves of the wooden planks seemed to indicate that they were repurposed from the hull of a ship.

The hut's simple wooden skeleton was shrouded in feathers and bones, and banners of symbols and pictures he did not recognize.

This was the abode of the most evil man that had ever lived. Link had seen him once before, shrouded in darkness, yet made visible by the flames behind him.

Link set his jaw. From his back, he pulled off the shield his mother had given to him, drawing upon the wisdom she had imparted to him throughout his life.

From his sheath, he pulled the master sword, the blade of evil's bane. the legendary weapon that had confounded darkness many times before. He gripped it tightly, feeling the personal power and strength his father had cultivated within him.

And he wore the hero's garb, the clothing worn for generations by boys just like him. Worn by his father, and by his father, and his father.

Only, Link was not simply wearing it for a ceremony, but he was wearing it in the role of one of the goddesses' chosen heroes.

His skin felt like it had frosted over.

For a thousand years, boys like him had donned the hero's cloth, waiting for the day that the goddesses would send forth a new hero. The day that they would no longer be left alone to shelter on their islands, but be rescued by a hero as noble as the ones of old.

All his life, Link had revered the ancient hero of time, and he had looked forward to the future day when that new hero would rise.

And Farore had chosen him.

Panic and terror of the highest degree began to seize him. Every doubt and deprecating thought pierced his mind. They came in ever intensity, in every variety.

He was weak. He was not the hero of time. He was not worthy to lay his eyes on the blade the hero had wielded.

No.

He ceased those thoughts. He refused to grapple with them. He had done more than he ever thought possible. He had rescued Aryll. He had laid hold on the mighty master sword. He had heard the voice of Farore.

His boots thudded against the stone as he walked inside the hut, parting a woven curtain covering the doorway.

There was only the light of a single torch in the corner. Link had scarcely taken in the details of the room when he saw a tall figure illuminated by that light, staring out a window.

The figure did not react to his entrance. Surely Link must have made perceptible noise when he drew the curtain door.

Should he make his attack right now? Strike when Ganondorf was not defending himself?

Link felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Ganondorf... that figure... it looked like a man. A very large man, yes, but not like a monster. He was a real, tangible person.

One that he was going to have to attack. And never before had Link raised a weapon towards a living, thinking person.

"You have come."

Link shuddered as he heard Ganondorf's voice. It was not the monstrous growl he had imagined. It... it sounded clear and deep. Calming.

Link didn't respond.

"Your presence has not gone unnoticed," Ganondorf said. "You have accomplished more in your plans than I should have allowed. That was my folly. I relied too greatly on what I knew. I watched the isles near the Forest Haven so closely, imagining that the next champion of the goddesses would spring forth from there. But I was foolish.

"Though I have lost much of my blindness as the centuries have passed, I have in kind lost much of my action. I have lost the man that spurred me forth in the very beginning. Because I have not experienced setback. And so I have become like a mare that has not crossed the sands since it was young."

Ganondorf turned around, and in one of the most frightening moments of his life, Ganondorf, the ancient thief, the enemy of the goddesses, stared into his eyes.

He could not see those eyes clearly in the darkness, except for the glint in them, dancing from the flame burning nearby. He had a skin that had a slight copper-green tint to it. His face looked weathered, like a rock battered by crashing waves. Dull orange hair framed that boulder of a face, drawn back behind him, and growing in a short beard.

Link expected Ganondorf to bellow a challenge to him. To berate him. To mock the ancient hero and the goddesses.

"You... are older than he was."

Link blinked in surprise. What?

"I noticed it," Ganondorf said, "when I began watching the islands, and their... ceremonies. The records were incorrectly transcribed. He was merely twelve when we had our first encounter. But... of course, the goddesses compelled him to give up seven years of his life, sleeping, as I ravaged the land."

Ganondorf looked upon him thoughtfully.

"But I perceive... you have not lived as he has. That hero lived a childhood tormented by many who should have loved him. He had grown strong in spite of them. You however, have had a simpler life."

"I," Link finally spoke, "have grown strong through the goddesses' aid."

Ganondorf... he looked almost like he... smiled? Seeing such a wicked man... smiling... it was extremely disturbing.

"I have seen that, yes," Ganondorf said. "As I said, I am not as blind as I once was. The goddesses have been outfitting you to be their warhorse."

Link shifted his stance uneasily. "W...warhorse? What's a warhorse?"

He was asking questions of the king of evil. The twisted man was trying to distract him somehow, and then he was going to attack him, and -

"So conflicted," Ganondorf noted. "The ancient hero battled those around him, though you battle yourself."

Ganondorf walked to the side of the room, where a bookcase sat. He retrieved a book from one of the shelves.

"And that," Ganondorf said, "they prey upon. Because of the conflict in you, it keeps you distracted from asking too many questions of them. They simply assist you when it befits their whims, and you don't question their tasks. You are the horse they feed, then ride into battle, knowing full well that their other horses have not endured this fight."

"The hero of time defeated you," Link said. "And heroes before him defeated evil as well."

"Link," Ganondorf said.

It felt extremely unsettling to hear the primal evil from legend say his name, addressing him like Link's own friends and family.

"You have not seen what I have. You have not watched as numerous noble men and women have sought to stop me, and spilt their precious blood."

Link quivered.

"It is very unfortunate what I have had to do," Ganondorf went on, "but I do so now out of necessity. I do it out of a desire to be a better man than I was centuries ago.

"Meanwhile, I have watched, unfortunately, as the goddesses have not changed. They allowed ancient Hyrule to fall into a horrible civil war, nearly ending millenia of life there. They flooded the land when I tried to take it, destroying the homes of those who fled."

Ganondorf shut the book he was looking at with a clap. It made Link flinch.

"And now they continue their path of sorrow," Ganondorf said, walking back to the window. "They take a poor boy, who is obviously quite fearful, and ask him to kill me."

The corrupted Gerudo king looked him in the eye once again. "Are you going to kill me now Link?"

Link's eyes briefly dropped down to the sword in his hand, and then he shot his eyes back to his enemy.

"You fight my servants," Ganondorf said. "They are monsters, brought into being from the magical arts. When pierced, and weakened, they dissolve into smoke. But myself, I am a man, and I will bleed just the same as you."

Link felt seized with shock. His breathing became quicker, and less deep.

"You begin to see," Ganondorf said, "how they are trying to pervert your innocence. They have taken a boy that should be fishing off the coast of his island with his father, and ask him to murder someone."

Link felt weak, and extremely shaken by Ganondorf's words. This wicked man was speaking so personally to him. He was acting like he was Link's friend.

"Do not...," Link scowled, "talk about my family."

"Do I offend you?" Ganondorf asked. "I merely say these things, because I care about that life that you lived. A life without fighting dark creatures. A life without fearing for your sister. That is the pain your goddesses have spurred you into. But I do not want you, or any of the former Hylian people to endure this."

"You say this," Link scoffed, "when you have sent monsters throughout the land. You have caused great pain to the Rito and the Korok people especially."

"Because I needed to draw the champion of the goddesses to me."

Link was growing colder and more unsure of himself by the second. "What do I have that you could possibly want?" he asked.

"The power which the goddesses have given to you."

"Th... the master sword?" Link asked.

"No," Ganondorf said, glancing at the blade in Link's hand. For the first time, Link noticed a glaring look in Ganondorf's eyes as he looked upon the weapon.

"What I want," Ganondorf said, "is to give recompense for what I have done. Much of it... will forever be lost. The Gerudo people are gone forever. I led so many into a slaughter when we invaded Hyrule, and then, after laying waste to the land after the hero left, I found that I stood alone to contemplate my incomplete victory.

"But Hyrule... Hyrule lays dormant beneath the waves. You have seen it. Its green verdant lands are still there. I can restore your people to the glory you once possessed. Imagine it, no longer confined to the paltry bounty of your island, but allowed to survey a land lush with forests and populated with grand castles once again."

"Why are you telling me this?" Link asked, just as confused as he was angry. "Why tell me your plan?"

Link did not think for a moment that this master deceiver was telling him the truth. Even the hero of time had fallen for one of this man's ruses.

"Because I have no need for subterfuge," Ganondorf said. "And I am petitioning you for your aid."

"No."

He sighed. "The goddesses obviously chose another blind follower. One that will obediently not think for themselves."

Rage stoked in Link's heart. He knew it was meant to provoke him, but he could not stifle it. His love for the goddesses, and the guidance they'd brought him and his family had given him so much joy. And hearing evil incarnate spit upon it. Hearing Tetra spit upon it...

Link rushed forward.

Ganondorf beat a fist against Link's shield with a surprising amount of force, but Link stayed on his feet. He made as if to bash back with his shield, but sliced at Ganondorf's arm instead.

He felt the master sword catch on the Gerudo's cloak, and cut into his skin. While Ganondorf was distracted, Link prepared to -

Ganondorf kicked him to the ground. It was an inhuman level of strength. All the breath was thrust from Link's body, and for a moment, it seemed that his mind and soul had been driven from it as well.

"They lead you along like a mirage," Ganondorf said. He stared down as Link wheezed in pain, unable to get his back off the floor.

"I plead with you Link," Ganondorf said. "Consider what I have told you. Consider that there are paths to happiness that will not involve their conniving plans."

"They," Link croaked, "they... they have... always led me towards happiness... even... even if it passed through sorrow..."

"Yield me your power," Ganondorf said, "and I will see you made king over Hyrule when I restore it. Your family will have all they could ever desire. I will have repaired the harm I have done to the Hylian race."

"You want... the Triforce," Link said through gritted teeth.

"Yes," Ganondorf said. "And I perceive that you can offer me the courage manifested in it."

He... he what? Link didn't have the triforce of courage. Unless... had he had it within his soul, all this time? Did Farore know this?

"You cannot have it."

"Very well," Ganondorf said. "If you will not yield it, I will take it by force."

A crack split the air. Ganondorf grunted in pain and grabbed his side.

He turned with a snarling expression, facing a sillouhette in the window.

Tetra.