by N Felts
hideout of the Gerudo thieves, the area underwent drastic changes once Nabooru drove the last of the criminals out. With Ganondorf’s death came a brief time of peace, and with no one to challenge her authority, Nabooru established a village where the Gerudo women could live in harmony with men and women of all races. A pair of Gorons opened a blacksmithing shop, and the Zora established a trading post at the nearby river. Though the drought became the worst of times for many of the inhabitants of Hyrule, the Gerudo Village prospered, their lifestyles already accustomed to a severe lack of water. The dim light and muffled hoofbeats upon the sand allow Link to pass through the heart of the town unnoticed, the sleeping village doomed to darker days if the hero cannot stop the king of thieves in time. Several smaller huts extend the town’s perimeter well into the desert, vanishing behind the Hylian in the distance as a strange aura begins to come into view. The sun’s rays begin to grow brighter, and still the horizon remains dark as night, the point in the distance the hero charges toward remaining cloaked by some unnatural atmosphere. Charging over one last sand dune, the Arbiter’s Grounds rises into view, and the nightmarish emanations do not bode well.
A river of darkness pours from the coliseum’s open roof, staining the sky like ink being poured into an ocean. Tentacles of black slither out of the doors and windows of the ancient structure, spreading into the desert like a growing plague. With no time to lose, Link spurs his horse forward, sprinting for the entrance of the colossal prison. Dismounting Epona, the hero gives his trusty steed a nod, and without a second glance, the horse races out of the area, eager to leave the ominous place. The spreading cloud of darkness has no smell or texture, seeming only to exist in the visual realm as Link dashes through it, climbing to the central area of the sand-coated building. Another potent feeling of dread sharpens his senses as he leaps upward several steps at a time, the worst case scenario playing out in his mind just before the massive chamber comes into view. The stone which serves as the barrier between Hyrule and the realm of twilight has been opened, and dozens of dark creatures flood through the open doorway. Transformed by and drawn to Ganondorf’s evil spirit, the monsters are given free rein to spread throughout the realm of light. Some spread their dark wings and ascend into the sky while others quickly lumber on all fours, climbing up the walls and leaping through the many archways of the structure. A powerful wind radiates in all directions, casting a blinding curtain of sand from the room’s center. Sprawled upon the ground just beside the portal, Midna lies upon the whirling sands, instantly reminding Link of the state he found his love in. An entire battalion of Twili guardsmen lie defeated upon the sands, their efforts to protect the doorway clearly ending in failure. Only a couple steps into the room, the hero lowers the hand shielding his face as he realizes a battle is well underway.
Agilely flipping and dodging away, Rift narrowly eludes a haymaker punch from Ganondorf, backing into the wall at the edge of the area. The Gerudo king fires an orb of darkness at the boy just as he dips backward through a conjured portal. The blast creates a sizeable hole in the stones, but fails to harm the resourceful boy. Suddenly descending from above, Rift nearly manages to catch his opponent off guard, missing his temple with a spinning back-fist at the last moment. Letting out an angry roar, the dark lord reaches into the air above him before slamming his palm to the ground, causing an eruption of sand to blast upward all around him. As the boy is sent into the air from the blast, Link decides to intervene. Charging against the steady wind, he scoops the shield off his back, twirling it in his hand before twisting his arm through the grip. His sword hand grabs at the empty air, and the hero instantly remembers returning the sword to Malune. Taking a second to lament, he hears a distant whoosh of air, like a whip swinging through a gust of wind.
“Look out!” Navi warns, having only just noticed the ambush herself. Reflexively spinning into a defensive position, Link feels a small projectile clang off his shield before a powerful explosion knocks him off his feet. Rapidly returning to his senses, he spots his shield speared into the ground a short distance away, but a new foe has emerged and is closing in quickly.
“Where is the Sheikah?” A calm voice demands as the woman draws closer. Rolling to a knee, Link eyes the unfamiliar Gerudo, confused by her disc-shaped bun of vivid blonde hair. Slowly creeping a hand behind his back, he offers no response as her demeanor grows even less friendly. “I won’t ask again,” she warns, drawing another kunai from the holster on her belt. The tense standoff lasts a moment longer before a purple orb rockets between them, exploding when it collides with the wall near the entrance. A wayward shot missing Rift, and unintentionally initiating another fight. Reeling backward for a moment, Less quickly whips her projectile at the still-crouching Link, aiming to wound, but not to kill. In a heartbeat, the hero draws his bow and lines up an arrow, the twang of the bowstring lost in the nearby explosion. With pinpoint accuracy, the arrow hits the soaring knife, each of the projectiles colliding with equal force and tumbling to the ground. Her usually emotionless nature failing her for a moment, Less’s eyes grow wide with shock as she immediately draws a second dagger. Another skillful throw, and another projectile knocked down by a perfect shot. Beginning to circle her opponent, the Gerudo launches her throwing weapons at varying angles, simply attempting to hit her target anywhere at all. Rising to his feet, Link is able to draw, aim, and fire just as rapidly as his foe, shooting down attack after attack.
Frustrated by his unexpected degree of skill, Less throws two daggers at once, knowing one of them must hit the mark. Twisting his body to the side, Link narrowly avoids one of the projectiles while shooting down the other. Sensing his vulnerability, the Gerudo repeats the assault, launching the pair of kunai in a vertical line instead of horizontal. Drawing his hookshot like a gunslinger, Link drops to a knee as he fires, blasting one knife aside while the other flies overhead. With an uncharacteristic squeak, Less bends over backward as the extending chain rockets past her and spears into the wall. Jerked forward by the recoiling tool, the Hylian scoops his wayward shield off the ground as he closes in on the recovering enemy. With only a second to react, the Gerudo nimbly steps up onto the chain, leaping higher into the air just before Link flies past. Spinning around she launches three daggers in her wake, only to see them bounce off the Hylian’s kite shield harmlessly as he ascends toward the wall.
Dropping into the fray where the two have just departed, Rift immediately dashes backward as Ganondorf lands with a destructive punch, creating a shockwave around him as deep fissures leap outward like lightning bolts, pillars of earth rising and falling in a rippling effect. A rapid rush of strikes from the boy hardly cause the Gerudo king to even flinch, the heavy hitting blows only lining Rift up for a powerful front kick to his chest. Tumbling head over heels, the boy manages to find his feet as his momentum slows, but a series of glyphs summoned by the dark lord allow the warlock to quickly close the distance. The mighty punch misses the elusive boy, though the force from the attack alone is almost enough to push him back a step. Attempting to counter once again, Rift lands a spinning kick to the Gerudo’s temple, but the stalwart foe grabs hold of the boy’s leg before he can even retract it. His pig-like visage growing even more evil in its distorted appearance, Ganondorf throws his opponent into the air, conjuring another large, purple ring of symbols beneath his feet. The glyph blasts him upward, soaring right past Rift as the boy attempts to block the feigned assault. Long before reaching the apex of his ascent, another magical platform warps into place above the Gerudo as he flips upside down and comes to an abrupt stop. Launching himself downward with twice the momentum, the king of thieves flips into a downward stomp, the likes of which there is no defense against. As Rift crosses his arms in anticipation, the debilitating blow forces his arms into his chest, knocking him unconscious long before he hits the sand with a terrible thud.
Dashing in close for a more intimate approach, Less unsheathes a much larger kunai,
slashing at Link furiously as he predicts her every stroke. A diagonal swing is dodged, and the following kick is batted aside as the hero plans out his optimal time to counter. Sensing an opening, the Gerudo lunges forward with a back-handed stab, determined to pierce the Hylian’s vulnerable torso. Catching the woman’s wrist, Link twists it aside just before she punches at his throat. The strike is slapped downward as the hero dips forward with her captive wrist held above his head. A powerful back-handed strike bounces off of his foe’s stomach, causing the woman to gasp for breath as her wrist is released. A desperate stab attempt arcs toward Link’s head as Less grows increasingly angry, but the hero dashes into her as he turns, utilizing a technique Zelda taught him years ago. Her own momentum turned against her, Less tumbles over the Hylian’s shoulder, landing flat upon her back as the judo throw is completed. Nimbly rolling back to a knee, she realizes the fight is concluded as Link already has an arrow drawn tightly back, and aimed squarely at her