Chapter Text
It was wonderful to stretch his wings again. The sunlight trickling down through the dense canopy of the forest warmed his form of dark magic wherever it touched. It had been so long since he was last sealed, the fresh air was invigorating!
When he finally opened his eye he realized he must have been locked away longer than he thought. Time was weird within the sword, keeping your senses muffled and your thoughts dim. The sanctuary that was his prison had always been in a state of decay, the forest decorating the stones with moss and vine, but as he looked around, the wind demon found only broken rock. It was a pity, the mural that once held his image was barely recognizable in such a time battered state. He hoped his palace was in better condition.
The sound of someone clearing their throat drew the demon out of his musings and he turned around with a lazy flap of his mighty wings. A man stood before the sword’s pedestal, though the sword seemed to be still intact. No fragmented heroes to deal with yet, at least.
“Hohoho~” Vaati chuckled, looking down at the curious mortal. “And who, might I ask, dares to stand so confidently before the great Wind Mage, hm~?”
“I am Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo.” The man said, staring him down with a charismatic smirk. “My magic has released you from your prison. You are in my debt.”
Gerudo… Vaati had heard of such a people once or twice but had never seen one in person. A desert tribe, forever in a teetering relationship with the neighboring Hyrule. It would explain the man’s large size. The stature of the Gerudo were certainly the subject of many a tale.
His attire, too, certainly spoke of a man more accustomed to the hotter temperatures of the sand. Dressed in dark browns and blacks, his loose robe did nothing to mask the muscles underneath. Though the demon would have not guessed he was a king if it were not for the elaborate gold headpiece entwined within his vibrant, carefully twisted and styled red hair. Perhaps opulence was not something the man valued. Vaati could not relate.
“Debt, you say?” He cooed, looking down at the so-called king with amusement, “I’ll repay my debt by not killing you where you stand, hm? Does that not seem fair?”
“I’m afraid it does not,” The Gerudo—Ganondorf was it? Bit of a mouthful—shifted his stance. A trident made of pure black metal appeared in his hand. “I have freed you with the purpose of serving in my army. Your strength will be of great value to my takeover of Hyrule.”
“Serve? Oh hohohohoho~” Vaati’s eye narrowed, “I serve no one, Gerudo. Begone before I change my mind about killing you.”
Ganondorf clicked his tongue. “I had hoped you would see the benefit of serving under a powerful leader. No matter.”
The prongs of the trident began to glow. It seemed this Gerudo was not planning on leaving without a fight.
“Oooh?” Vaati flapped his wings, sending threatening gusts through the clearing. “I suppose destroying you would be a nice warm up~”
Ganondorf’s eyes flashed as he swung his trident, sending bolts of energy towards the demon. Vaati dodged easily with the wind, spinning and sending back a flurry of bats back.
With a twirl of the trident Ganondorf easily dispatched the swarm, having to jump back as Vaati followed with balls of lightning. The Gerudo king was faster than his bulk would suggest, dodging every blast and cutting burst of wind the mage sent his way. The rest of the sanctuary was not as lucky. The last bits of rock blasted and scorched with lightning and fire as the wind demon grew more impatient with his target’s agility.
Ganondorf sent back his own volleys of lightning with a similar lack of success as Vaati swooped through the air. Snarling, the demon summoned more bats, this time surrounding him. There was a pause as the bats’ eyes glowed before powerful lasers rained down on the Gerudo king. The man dodged behind the last pedestal, which was blasted to pieces. He took the opportunity to use his trident as a bat, launching the fragments of stone back at the floating mage. They hit their mark, Vaati screeching in pain as he closed his eye against the onslaught.
With the demon distracted, Ganondorf muttered a spell under his breath. With a spin and flick of his trident a beam of gold light pierced through the wind mage and wrapped around him.
The pain was indescribable. Vaati writhed as his shrieking grew more inhuman. Everywhere the golden light touched, his form swathed in dark magic flickered and burned away like smoke in a whirlwind. His wings beat frantically, trying to keep himself airborne, but he could not fully control them.
He hit the ground with a wail, eye prying open to see the Gerudo King looming over him. When had he gotten so big? His form… his being, it was evaporating away! With a final, desperate cry, the wind mage shot out a shadowy claw, slashing Ganondorf’s face with the last force he could muster.
The king stumbled back a step, hand flying up to the cut that now decorated the side of his face. It was deep, and already oozing blood. He was lucky the creature did not hit his eye. Should not have counted the wind mage out so soon.
In moments, the shrinking form of the demon stopped writhing, though thick tendrils of smoke continued to burn away. It was already much smaller than Ganondorf had expected. The spell he had found in his mothers’ library had only mentioned it locked away magic ability. He had hoped he would not have to use such tactics, but he had no interest in killing the wind mage so quickly. He could still be of use, if only he could be convinced.
Ganondorf leaned against one of the remaining chunks of stone still standing, dabbing at the cut with spare cloth. The spell was sure taking its time to stabilize… but at least it was not shrinking anymore. A light breeze blew through the sanctuary, fresh and crisp, unlike the dark winds the mage created. That was all it took to blow away the last scraps of dark smoke lingering on the ground. What was left caught the king by surprise.
Laying there prone on the moss-covered stones was a young Hylian man, dressed in various shades of purple and red. His light lavender hair fell about him almost delicately. Nothing about his appearance matched with the harsh voice of the wind demon before. If anything, his delicate features made him look more like a fairy than a creature made of pure dark magics.
Curious…
Ganondorf crouched down next to the small man, hand brushing his hair away from his face and neck. A golden choker sat snuggly against pale violet skin. The spell had stabilized.
With a wave of his hand the dark trident vanished, leaving his hands empty to pick up the strange Hylian. He would need to hurry; he did not know how long the spell would knock him out for.
At least he was light.