• Damn the legends. Damn the curse. Damn the goddesses. Damn the sun. Damn that Hero. Damn that Princess. Damn that former king and his insatiable greed.

    Damn them all to the Shadow Realm.

    It had taken fifty years since that initial raid on Hyrule for the Gerudo survivors to find safety again. With no thanks to Queen Zelda or her little minions she dare call the “Goddesses Chosen People.” Though their temples were being rebuilt after being decimated by the hordes of Gorons sent down to destroy them, it was taking far too long. Since the desert people could no longer inhabit the haunted grounds that had once been their most sacred of areas, they were far from the life giving oasis that had once existed. Groups of women having to leave for days at a time to go to Lake Hylia and retrieve clean water for them to drink.

    These deserts were cursed now. No longer would they hold water, it seemed. No matter how deep they dug, it was barren. A wasteland of death. Nothing more than that.

    So now, the newest king had been born and raised in this distressing atmosphere. One hundred years after Ganondorf had been born, a new king was given life. Another eighteen years passed and he was finally in power. Five years later… and he was in desperate need of help. His people were dying. Their bodies withering away to dust from the exhaustion of rebuilding their once proud empire.

    Golden eyes stared out from beneath the protective wrappings the man had donned to keep safe from the desert winds. Aumek Kuta, the present king of the dwindling Gerudo tribe was faced with the ultimate challenge. Asking for help. For three long days, he and a group of five female warriors traversed the low mountains separating the desert from Lake Hylia. He’d sent a message a week prior to the King of the Zoras, announcing that they would arrive in due time.

    The sight of the lake made Aumek shudder visibly as he pulled his cloak tighter. Nodding gently to the women who risked their lives daily to protect him from harm, they continued to traverse the way down to the lake. Glancing around, he dropped to his knees and pulled the wraps away from his mouth so that they would hang loosely around his neck before dipping hands into the cool water and taking a long draw from it.

    Sighing, he watched as the troop followed in his lead to refresh themselves. Standing slowly, he stared out at the vast waters. It’d still be another few hours before they would reach the aquatic creature’s domain… Sighing softly, he cleared his throat and waited for his troop to finish what they were doing before replacing his facial wrap and continuing to lead the way north towards his destination.

    It was a tiring trek, to say the least. By the time the cascading waterfall came into view, Aumek felt relief wash over him. Even as a masked guard asked him what his business in the domain was and lead the way through caverns to the very top until they arrived at the throne room.

    Aumek’s eyes were wide with wonder. He’d never seen anything outside of the reaches of his Desert. This place… was beautiful. The bright hues of blue, the walls that seemed to refract like a distorted mirror, the glistening gems, the shapely bodies of the aquatic people. It was all so new and daunting. He felt undeniably naïve as he drew his ebony cloak even tighter against his tanned flesh. His warriors were on guard, though. Keeping sharp eyes on every being in the throne area, especially those swimming the central pool.

    Zoras could be tricky, they knew of this.

    But Aumek could care less if they tried anything. He had faith in the known peaceful race. He only prayed to every deity he knew of that the help he sought would be provided as they drew closer to the throne. Standing alongside his female comrades, Aumek waited with limited patience as the Zora people stood and swam, taking in the oddly tanned desert dwellers with as much intent as the Gerudos held themselves.

    Auspicious eyes watched in silence as the leader of such a glorious race entered the throne room. The sharp hues taking in everything from the sapphire flesh, to the royal tattoos spiraling down what appeared to be strong biceps.

    “We Zoras welcome you," The king began, voice as smooth as a riverbed, " for we know you have traveled far in hope of our meeting, and for that we know you mean well." With a gentle nod from his person came an array of aqua skin servants baring nourishment from the confines of the room to present to the weary travelers.

    "Please, refresh yourselves, Welcome," he then bowed his head lightly, eyes fluttering to a close momentarily before rising to view the dark king.

    Jaw tight beneath the sand stained wrappings on his taut flesh as he listened to the words with narrowed eyes. Aumek could feel the wondering glances of his guards on his shoulders before he waved a hand. “Estenu…” He breathed out to them. Wait. The lack of aid from the creatures who lived in Hyrule had made the Gerudos wary of every aspect. Even the idea that the food could be poisoned was ever present in the king’s mind.

    “We thank you…” He stated gently, his voice rough and grainy. Over stressed from screaming through strong gusts of sand storms. It was obvious that Hylian was a second language to him, the words tinted with an awkward accent.

    Reaching up, he unlatched the clasp holding the cloth around his head before unraveling it. Once the article lay in folds in his hand, he stuffed them into a pouch hanging off of his belt. Shaking his head, his inherent crimson hair relaxed smoothly to frame his face. He chose to go without the crown, the one that Ganon had tainted. Not that it was cursed, but Aumek knew he looked very akin to the old king. If he wore the crown, there was definitely a chance that he would be mistaken for the manifestation of evil.

    He rubbed the palm of his hand across his cheeks with a shudder. He hadn’t expected it to be so cool in the domain. Aumek never wore a shirt, he didn’t feel the need to. Having lived his entire life in the desert where it didn’t matter if you wore a shirt or not, he didn’t feel compelled to don such an article simply because of the meeting. But he also didn’t think about the temperature. Instead, he merely shrugged his shoulders so that the cloak swathing his person would close further.

    Clearing his throat, he found it odd at how quiet he felt compelled to be in this place. As if his words might crash apart the serenity if he were to be too abrasive. Polar opposite to his own kingdom. “We’ve come to ask for…” His voice trailed off and he turned to the female on his left. “…Jikar…?” He tilted his head to the side in question.

    “Help, Sa Tif.” She murmured as a whisper in his ear.

    “Yes… Help. Is there… somewhere we might be able to sit and discuss this?” He asked apprehensively with a wave of his hand. “It has, indeed, been a long journey and we are very tired…”