Chapter Text
When Link was young, he was told the story of Ganondorf, the tyrant who ruled the Gerudo almost a millennia ago. He was a selfish and power hungry person, who was placed into power because of an archaic law that stated that a male Gerudo was to rule them. Under his rule, the Gerudo became known as thieves, stealing and killing from anyone who passed their way. Because of this, the Gerudo suffered, slowly dying from hunger and thirst. But they were too afraid to speak out, for fear of what Gannon would do to them and their loved ones. Eventually, his greed extended too far, and he tried to steal a precious treasure from the Hylian royal family, only to be caught by the princess and a hero clad in green. They tried to arrest him, but he fought them off and fled to the desert. The Hylians declared war on the Gerudo, seeking to apprehend Ganondorf. Months later, a group of Gerudo approached the Hylians, seeking an alliance. They were sick and tired of their people dying because of the crimes of one voe. In exchange for delivering Ganondorf to face trial, the Gerudo would be pardoned of all crimes they were forced to commit under his rule.
For years afterwards, the Gerudo contended with the reputation gained through the decades they were ruled by Ganondorf. Through the centuries, they had completely changed this reputation, becoming known as craftsmen and warriors. Though they never left the desert, they had made settlements all around the fringes of it, even some deeper in, but never too far, because of an ever present sandstorm, preventing them from ever truly taming the desert.
Link was told this story as a warning, a cautionary tale of what happens when greed is allowed to run rampant, and when power is allowed to cloud judgement. But passed that, this was also told to him for a simpler reason, a warning of what he could never allow himself to become. Because Link was the first male born of the Gerudo since Ganondorf.
The day Link turned fourteen, he was preparing for a journey that would decide his fate. The day he had been born, his tribe had been in an uproar, debating what was to be done with him. Eventually, it was decided that his mother, the tribe leader, would take him and present him to Chieftess Urbosa, in Gerudo town. His mother, Nabooru, and Urbosa had known each other for many years, and developed a plan on what to do. On his fourteenth birthday, he would make the journey to Gerudo town, all on his own, to prove that the desert accepted him. With him, he would carry a record, made by the elders of his tribe, of all his deeds, both selfless and selfish, and Urbosa would judge him. If she found him carrying a spirit of evil, she would put him to death. If the opposite was true, he would be free to return. If neither could be determined, he would stay in Gerudo town, working however she deemed, until it could be determined.
So, he prepared, dressing in his traditional voe clothing, no matter how little he liked them. Sure, the pants, boots, balaclava, and jewelry he was used to, and he liked them, but the armor pieces, not so much. It wasn’t that he didn’t like armor, he understood its purpose and enjoyed making it for others, but on himself, it made him look like a warrior. He had nothing against warriors, in fact, he respected them willing to put their lives on the line to protect others. But he never wanted to be one, not because he didn’t want to help people, but because, after being raised with the warning stories of Ganon, he wanted to distance himself as far as he could from the idea of the man. So, when he took his trial to determine the profession he would work for the rest of his life, despite being most proficient in combat, therefore to become a warrior, he begged the elders, with tears in his eyes, to assign him something else. When one of the elders angrily asked him why, he explained truthfully. Every story of Ganon described him as a master warlock and warrior. He feared, if he became a warrior, he would eventually follow the same path, no matter how hard he fought against it.
After that, they gave him an option, either take his position as a warrior, or choose two professions and be trained in both of them at the same time. The elders obviously thought that he would back down and become a guard, but to their surprise, and some joy, he chose the second option, becoming a healer and blacksmith.
So here he was, dressed in his voe clothing, a leather belt around his waist, his hammer and tongs on it, a khopesh strapped across the small of his back. Across his shoulder, he wore a satchel, filled with his healing tools and supplies. A tome, bound with seven pieces of twine, one from each elder. On his brow, sat a copper circlet, made in a way that he could swap the stone, so he didn’t have to change circlets every morning and night, blended in almost perfectly with his hair. By all regards, it should have been a higher metal, denoting him as the next tribe leader, but he refused. Most thought him overly humble, unfit to be the next tribe leader, but he had disproven that in a meeting he attended with his mother. It had been a negotiation with some merchants, who were trying to extort them. He had taken one look at the materials, and called them out, demanding they either lower their prices or leave. When the merchants tried to call his bluff, he asked his mother if she could have them escorted away. She did so in a heartbeat. As it turned out, the metals and gems they had been trying to sell were filled with imperfections, making them worth a lot less than what the merchants were trying to sell them at.
No, the real reason he chose to wear a lower metal was because he felt he hadn’t earned the right to wear higher. Just because he had been born the tribe’s next leader didn’t mean he was entitled to more. In fact, the way he saw it, a leader should consider themselves lower than their people, as the people's needs always came first. So he made all of his jewelry out of copper, rather than silver or gold. He also took lower quality gems, filled with fractures and imperfections, and cut gems for himself out of them, leaving higher quality gems for others. The women of the settlement said it made him look interesting, as he normally wore a circlet and one earring. Because of his hair color, they said it made it look like he had gems braided into his hair, their cracked surfaces, paired with his duller colors of clothes, almost made his visage haunting, as if he were a ghost, keeping them safe by tarrying with them, refusing to move on to the next life.
And yet, here he was, dressed in brightly colored clothes, all of his circlet attachments packed, leaving, perhaps never to return.
It took him four days to arrive at Gerudo town, as he had to go by foot, instead of just using a sand seal. At the gate stood two guards, eyeing him suspiciously. Which, he supposed, was fair. It couldn’t be often that a voe, mainly one who looked very Gerudo and nearly as tall as them, approached the gate with no hesitation. He walked up to them, telling them he was here to deliver a message to the Chieftess. They looked at each other, before one told him she was not available at the time. He nodded, walking a bit of a distance from the gate, before stopping and setting up a small camp next to the wall. When questioned about what he was doing, he replied that he was to deliver a message to the Chieftess, and he would wait until he had delivered it. When one of the guards told him that she would take it for him, he refused, stating that he had to deliver it to her and no one else.
The guards thought he would give up after the first day. After the first day, when he made no movements to leave. After the second, they started a betting pool on how long it would take him to give up. Two days passed, and he made no move to leave. Two days turned to three, three to four, then he had been there for two weeks. The guards realized that he wasn’t going to leave until his message was delivered, but he refused to allow any of them to deliver it for them. So, since the Chieftess was sick, they told her daughter of the issue. She arrived at the walls and enquired after him. When he saw her, he knew by her jewelry that she was the Chieftess’ daughter, causing him to tilt his head in respect. When she tried to accept the message on behalf of her mother, he politely explained that he could only hand it to Chieftess Urbosa herself, no one else. In her frustration, she yelled at him that the Chieftess was sick, so just give it to her. Again, he politely declined, and informed her that he was a healer, then asked if he could provide assistance to the Chieftess. The girl just scoffed, before stating that no males were allowed in Gerudo town. Link went quiet, and after a few minutes of silence, the girl stormed off, returning to the town. That night, under the cover of darkness, he snuck into the town, into the Chieftess’ room.
In only ten minutes, he had figured out what ailed the Chieftess and knew how to cure it. He prepared a medicine, then force fed it to the Chieftess. She groaned as the medicine settled in her stomach. The sound awoke the Chieftess’ daughter, who was resting in the corner of the room. She immediately called for the guards, who rushed in. In mere minutes, Link was in the dungeon, to await trial in the morning. When the guards came to retrieve him, he offered no resistance. The second he entered the throne room, he spoke loudly, calling out that he invoked the Rite of the Sands. Everyone in the room was speechless, for only Gerudo knew of the Rite. Someone called out that only Gerudo could invoke the Rite. He calmly replied that he was, therefore, he could. Everyone in the room stared at him, mouths agape.
As the Rite was a sacred tradition, they had no choice but to allow it to happen. They led him to a pair of gates, which led out to the desert. After unlocking his shackles, he was prodded towards the gate. Before he was pushed out of the gate, he turned, holding up the tome he carried with him, along with the pouch from his belt. He called to the girl, telling her to give them to her mother when she awoke. After she took them, he turned away, walking into the desert, as many had before him. After his words registered, she called after him as the gates closed, questioning why he said when. He continued walking, as if he hadn’t heard her. Before she could ask again, the gates closed with a massive bang, as if they were sealing his fate. As she walked back towards the throne room, infuriated by his lack of response, a servant came running to her, informing her that her mother had awoken, though she was still weak. In a rush, the girl ran to her mother’s room, forgetting the items in her hands. Bursting into the room, she saw her mother propped up in bed, looking at her with a weak smile, before her eyes were drawn to the items in her hand, a look of horror overwhelming her smile. She spoke six words, so quiet the girl almost didn’t hear them.
”Little bird, what have you done?”